NO. I HONDURAS — STRONG, KIDDER, AND PAUL 33 



were confined to the southeastern end, owing to the presence in the 

 other end of modern burials placed here under the impression that 

 the structure was a colonial church. The discovery of a portion of 

 one of the ball court rings in the center of the north wall was of 

 especial interest (pi. 2, fig. i). A complete ring of very similar type, 

 said to have been found at Naco by Sr. Roque Hernandez of San 

 Pedro Sula and presented by him to Mrs. Dorothy H. Popenoe, is 

 now at Lancetilla. It is possible that this specimen came from one of 

 the neighboring pueblos, since none of the present Naco inhabitants 

 remember its discovery and removal. As with the other structures at 

 Naco, the ball court will be described in more detail at a later time. 



We searched in vain for any large refuse heaps along the Naco 

 River. Scattered sherds occur where the deeply worn trail leads^ 

 down the steep gravelly bank to the river at the village but we found 

 no thick deposits. The children brought us various fragmentary arti- 

 facts from along these banks but could show us no concentrated 

 deposits. We saw little at Naco indicating any great antiquity, but 

 our impressions were based on only limited study. Naco appears as a 

 one-culture site, and we obtained no indication of stratigraphic 

 changes. 



Artifacts do not appear to be very abundant at Naco, although 

 considerable broken pottery occurs in the various mounds ^nd scat- 

 tered along the river bank. The bulk of the ceramic remains here as 

 elsewhere in the Ulua region are from monochrome cooking vessels 

 which, so far as present knowledge goes, are rarely distinctive. From 

 the samples preserved, this ware appears to be primarily dull red in 

 color ranging from smoke-stained black to gray. For the most part it 

 is fairly well polished, but a considerable portion has artificially 

 scratched and roughened surfaces. Sizes are highly variable, but 

 medium to small vessels seem to predominate. Rims are usually 

 direct or slightly flaring; broad strap handles, notched flanges 

 (pi. 3, w) and projecting lugs occur ; and bottoms are either flat or 

 slightly dimpled. Plain ware legs do not occur in our sample. The 

 tempering of all the Naco wares is a fine micaceous grit. Particu- 

 larly significant, though much less abundant, is the Naco painted 

 ware (pi. 3). Characteristically, this ware has a white slip and 

 painted, geometric or curvilinear decorations on both sides in red and 

 black. One sherd (pi. 3, fl) of this ware is unusual in showing a 

 portion of what appears to be a plumed figure. The painted vessels 

 appear to have been small and flat-bottomed with either direct or 

 slightly flaring rims. Tripod supports containing rattles are very 

 common in Naco painted ware (pi. 3, s-w). A strange, four-pointed, 



