ARCHEOLOGY. 345 



visited by Fernando Cortez in 1525 on his memorable and tragic march 

 from Tabasco to the Gulf of Honduras. 



After resting here a few days, the journey out to the coast was 

 resumed, and on June 5 the expedition returned to Belize, thus closing 

 a loop of over 1,000 miles of mule, foot, and motor-boat travel, which 

 had taken three months almost to a day. In addition to the three 

 sites, an examination of which was contemplated in the original plan, 

 nine other ruin-groups were visited, as follows : Quirigua, La Ref orma 

 III, Seibal, Itsimte, Flores, San Jose de Motul, Yaxha, Benque Viejo, 

 and Nakum; and new material was obtained at each. 



The results, arising from the study of the various inscriptions at 

 the foregoing twelve sites, may be summarized as follows: 



First and most important, 7 new dated cities have been added to the 

 19 previously known, an increase of nearly 37 per cent in this direction, 

 as follows: (1) La Honradez, (2) Cancu^n, (3) Itsimte, (4) Flores, 

 (5) Yaxha, (6) Nakum, and (7) Benque Viejo. The distribution of 

 these is shown in figure 3, where the newly dated cities are represented 

 by black dots and those the dates of which were previously known 

 by crosses. 



Four new monuments were discovered : a stela at Seibal, an altar at 

 Cancuen, and an altar and a rock-cut shrine at Copan. 



Eight new Initial Series were discovered: four at Copan, three at 

 Itsimte, and one at Yaxha. 



Ten new period-ending dates were discovered: two at Copan, two 

 at Cancuen, two at Flores, two at Nakum, one at Seibal, and one at 

 Benque Viejo. In addition to the foregoing, a large number of ''cor- 

 rected readings" of previously deciphered texts, as well as new read- 

 ings of previously reported but heretofore undeciphered texts, were 

 secured. Many of the earher readings were found to be inaccurate, and 

 a thorough revision of all previous decipherments was undertaken. 



The general relation of this new material to the whole subject of 

 Maya chronology is set forth graphically in figure 4. This figure shows 

 the several periods of occupancy of the different southern cities based 

 upon the dated monuments at each. 



The successive 20-year periods of the Maya Era appear across the top 

 of the figure, there being 20 years (7,200 days) between any two adja- 

 cent heavj^ black fines, i. e., from 9.0.0.0.0 to 9.1.0.0.0 for example, and 

 5 years (1,800 days) between any two adjacent lines. The new dates 

 appear in outline, previously known dates being shown in soUd black. 



It will be seen in figure 4 that all of the new dates, except the one 

 from Yaxha, occur during the Great Period; and that not a few fall 

 at its very close from 10.1.0.0.0 to 10.2.0.0.0 (580-600 A. D.). This 

 is perhaps the most important single contribution of the expedition — 

 that is, the accumulation of data tending to show that the Old Empire 

 made its final stand in the northeastern corner of Guatemala, in what 



