﻿N0 . II SMITHSONIAN EXPEDITIONS, I9IO-I9I I II 



it would be relatively easy to ex- 

 tend anthropological comparison 

 to all the rest of the native peo- 

 ples of the southern continent. 

 Such anthropological compari- 

 sons will be greatly facilitated by 

 the collections acquired on this 

 expedition." 



Some of the interesting results 

 of his work are described by Dr. 

 Hrdlicka in a pamphlet recently 

 published by the Institution. 



THE AZTEC VILLAGE OF 

 XOCHIMILCO IN MEXICO 



While returning from his ex- 

 plorations in Peru, Dr. Hrdlicka 

 stopped at the City of Mexico 

 and made an interesting trip to 

 an old Aztec village about 15 

 miles distant, on the shores of 

 Lake Xochimilco, or the " Place 

 of Flowers," one of the few old 

 Aztec towns in existence to-day. 

 The village nestles on the shore 



of the lake and is inhabited Fig. 8.— Clay figure from an old native 

 11, grave in the valley of Chicama, Peru, 



by perhaps a thousand people, 



mostly Aztecs. It is far surpassed in interest by the lake itself, and 

 the many cultivated islands it contains. The development of these 

 islands is peculiar and unique, and yet is very simple from an en- 

 gineering point of view. It appears that many years ago some of the 

 early natives conceived the idea of building islands, which they called 

 " chinampas," by sinking bound bundles of reeds so as to form rafts 

 upon which earth and alluvial soil were placed, and on this more 

 bundles of reeds were piled until actual islands began to appear. 

 Sometimes when these islands needed reinforcement to prevent their 

 washing away, or caving in, willows were planted near the shores to 

 form a firm bank and boundary. The islands, of course, gradually 

 sank from year to year, but after being covered over with alternate 

 layers of soil and reeds, a more substantial piece of land was formed, 

 which was capable of cultivation. 



