CONTENTS 



PAGE 



Introduction i 



Brief geographic setting 2 



Ethnic and linguistic background 8 



Early historic contacts in northwestern Honduras 19 



Archeological explorations 27 



Chamelecon River 27 



Naco 27 



Las Vegas 34 



Tres Piedras 35 



Other sites 2>7 



Ulua and Comayagua Rivers 39 



Las Flores Bolsa 39 



Santa Rita (farm 17 ) 45 



Playa de los Muertos (farm 11) 62 



Other sites 76 



North end of Lake Yojoa 76 



Aguacate and Aguatal 80 



La Ceiba 90 



Site I 91 



Site 2 94 



Site 3 99 



Causeway and " canal " near Jaral 100 



Pyramids and stone statues near Los Naranjos 102 



Excavations on the northern border of Los Naranjos 105 



The older horizon at Los Naranjos iii 



Other sites 115 



Summary and tentative conclusions 118 



Literature cited 125 



Explanation of plates 127 



