36 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 97 



Tres Piedras is a very miniature Copan since the Chamelecon River 

 has nicely cross-sectioned it (pi. 2, fig. 4). It is located less than a 

 kilometer down stream from Las Vegas and on the same or western 

 bank (map, fig. 2). 



Originally, the site must have resembled Las Vegas in outward 

 appearance, having four mounds enclosing a central plaza. In the 

 photograph (pi, 2, fig. 4) two of these mounds can be seen in cross- 

 section on the right and left of the cut ; the rear mound is visible 

 to the left of the figures, but the fourth or nearest mound has been 

 completely washed away except for the many boulders deposited 

 in the river channel. A fifth mound, likewise cross-sectioned, occurs 

 to the west. Unlike Las Vegas, the plaza at Tres Piedras had a series 

 of three plaster floors, the highest at a depth of 1.5 meters below the 

 present surface, the lowest at a depth of 2 meters. The material 

 was a thick, white " mezcla " or plaster. The upper floor appeared 

 to be flat, but the two lower floors each had one step rising to the 

 east. From our limited excavations it was impossible to tell how 

 extensive these floors originally may have been. Along the river bank 

 they extended for about 10 meters, and a considerable amount of 

 broken plaster was visible elsewhere on this general level and in the 

 talus deposit at the foot of the bank. It seems probable that the entire 

 court or plaza between the mounds was once paved, but until adequate 

 excavations are made here this cannot be proved, nor can the nature 

 of the steps or mound approaches be determined. Over the plaster to 

 a depth of three-fourths of a meter is a thick deposit of large river 

 boulders. These may have rolled down from the mounds or may have 

 been placed here later to raise the level. 



Among the vast quantity of stones deposited in the river bed from 

 the portion of the site that has been washed away are many that 

 indicate human workmanship. The most tantalizing of these are a 

 considerable number of large lava blocks that strongly suggest 

 sculpture in the round. None, however, are definite enough for 

 certainty, but they do give an impression of either a dying or a 

 nascent sculptural drive. The " ape's head " from Las Vegas is of 

 this type and may have been transported there from Tres Piedras. 

 In addition, there are numerous squared blocks of limestone or gray- 

 green schist, one circular block with abrupt edges, and several thick 

 slabs with holes drilled through them. Metate and mano fragments, 

 as well as lapstones without legs, occur. Stones are particularly 

 concentrated in the river bed below what was once the position of 

 the east mound. With them occur large fragments of plaster flooring. 

 This flooring often contains boulders or shows the molds from which 



