338 CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON. 



bej'ond Huehiietenango in the highlands of Guatemala, and the party- 

 returned to the capital without having reached either of its destinations. 



The Copan trip was more successful. Several new inscriptions, 

 chiefly fragmentary texts from the Archaic Period, were discovered 

 and copied. The most notable find, however, was that of a heretofore 

 unreported stela, which was located in the walls of the cabildo at 

 Santa Rita, a small village 7 miles up the valley from the main group 

 of ruins. Its several pieces were removed from this exposed position, 

 and after the inscription had been copied and photogi-aphed, they 

 were carried to a place of safety. The new monument — to which the 

 number 23 has been given — dates from the early part of the Middle 

 Period 9.11.0.0.0, approximately 380 A. D. 



The third trip, to Tuluum on the east coast of Yucatan, was exceed- 

 ingly fruitful. This site has long held a peculiar interest for students 

 in the Maya field, not only because of its size and individuality, but 

 also on account of its comparative inaccessibiUty and isolation. 



It was first described by the American traveler Stephens, in 1840,^ 

 though owing to the War of the Castes, which ravaged Yucatan in 

 1848, it has since been closed to investigation. Maya Indians, fleeing 

 from the victorious Mexicans in the western part of the peninsula about 

 the middle of the last century, settled in the region around Tuluum, 

 where they have maintained themselves in virtual independence ever 

 since. They have successfully resisted such Mexican troops as have 

 been sent against them, falling back into the bush before large parties 

 and killing such small parties as have ventured into their country. 



Only twice since Stephens's time has the site been visited — once by 

 an expedition from Harvard University in 1911, and once by an expedi- 

 tion from the School of American .\rcheology in 1913. Neither party 

 stayed at the ruins for more than 24 hours, and beyond a brief recon- 

 naissance, little was accomplished by either. 



Several circumstances made the present season especially opportune 

 for visiting this site. Friendly relations have been established between 

 the Mexican Govermnent and the Maya for the first time in many 

 years. The expedition was at Belize, the best point from which to 

 make the trip; and finally the party was sufficiently numerous — 5 

 investigators and assistants — to insure an adequate study of the site 

 in a minimum of time. A small steamboat, of about 40 tons, was 

 hired in Belize and the expedition sailed for Tuluum on March 19. 



The most important result was the location of the hieroglyphic 

 monument first reported by Stephens, and later by Howe of the Pea- 

 body Museum expedition. Howe's reading of the date as 9.6.10.0.0, 

 approximately 290 A. D.,- was verified and drawings and photographs 

 were made. The occurrence of such an early date as 290 A. D. at 



'"Incidents of Travel in Yucatan," J. L. Stephens, vol. ii, pp. 385-409. 



'-"The Ruins of Tuluum," George P. Howe. American Anthropologist, N. S., 1911, vol. 

 xiii. pp. 539-550. 



