ARCHEOLOGY. 



Morley, Sylvanus G., Santa Fe, New Mexico. Associate in American ArchcB- 

 ology. (For previous reports see Year Books Nos. 13-18.) 



The first four months of 1920 were devoted to the completion of the 

 monograph on " The Inscriptions at Copan,"^ which appeared in April. 

 As originally contemplated, this investigation was to have included a 

 study of all the Maya inscriptions (see Year Book No. 13, p. 333), but 

 soon after its inauguration it became apparent that the hieroglyphic 

 texts at Copan alone — about 40 per cent of the Corpus Inscriptionum 

 Mayarum — w^ere sufficient to merit monographic treatment. Mean- 

 while the research has been broadening in other directions. Recent 

 advances in the decipherment of previously unknown glyphs, the 

 accumulation of a large amount of new material gathered by the 

 Carnegie Institution's Central- American expeditions for 1915 to 1920 

 (see Year Books Nos. 14-18), while delaying publication of the results, 

 have at the same time made possible a much more exhaustive pre- 

 sentation of the subject and the inclusion of much new related matter. 

 As completed, this volume with its appendices presents a standard 

 cross-section of Maya chronology to which all other ancient American 

 cultures must ultimately be referred for their true positions in time. 



During the final phases of this investigation Mr. Morley had the col- 

 laboration of Mr. William Gates, of Point Loma, California, and Dr. 

 Carl E. Guthe, of Phillips Academy, Andover. Mr. Gates compiled 

 the index, contributed a study of the distribution of the Maya lin- 

 guistic stock (Appendix XII), and assisted in the preparation of the 

 appendix on the correlation of Maya and Christian chronology (Ap- 

 pendix II), besides generously placing his large and important col- 

 lection of manuscript material at the author's service. Dr. Guthe 

 verified all the Maya calculations, as well as all the bibliographic refer- 

 ences and citations, and spent the month of April in Washington on 

 the final revision of the page proof. 



The staff of the 1920 Central- American expedition took the field 

 at the end of April. The objectives of the party (composed of Mr. 

 Morley and Dr. Guthe) were, first, the exploration of the northern 

 part of the Department of Peten, Guatemala (into which no archeo- 

 logical expeditions had penetrated for the past four years), for the 

 purpose of ascertaining whether any new sites with associated hiero- 

 glyphic monuments had been discovered by chicle-bleeders during this 

 period; second, a visit to the village of Copan, Honduras, to present to 

 that municipality a specially bound copy of publication No. 219. 



The trip to Peten, although less than a month in duration, was un- 

 usually successful. The expedition first visited the capital of the 



» Carnegie Inst. Wash. Pub. No. 219, quarto, xiv+644 pp., 34 pis., 93 text figs., 1920. 



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