APPENDIX 5 

 REPORT ON THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



Sir : I have the honor to submit the following report on the field 

 researches, office work, and other operations of the Bureau of Ameri- 

 can Ethnology during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1945, conducted 

 in accordance with the act of Congress of June 27, 1944, which pro- 

 vides "* * * for continuing ethnological researches among the 

 American Indians and the natives of Hawaii and the excavation and 

 preservation of archeologic remains. * * *" 



During the fiscal year emphasis on activities concerned with the 

 war effort and with Latin America has continued. It is hoped that 

 as the need for war studies becomes less, the Bureau may soon resume 

 its normal functions. 



SYSTEMATIC RESEARCHES 



Dr. M. W. Stirling, Chief of the Bureau, left Washington for 

 Mexico on January 29, 1945, to continue the work of the Smithsonian 

 Institution-National Geographic Society archeological project in 

 southern Mexico. From February 24 to March 6 a reconnaissance 

 trip was made in the vicinity of Tapachula, Chiapas, during which a 

 number of archeological sites were located. Two of these, at Caca- 

 huatan and at San Geronimo, contained carved stone monuments. 



From March 6 to May 24 excavations were conducted at the site of 

 Piedra Parada, Chiapas, 12 miles north of the town of Ocozocoautla. 

 Most of the work was conducted on a large earth mound which cov- 

 ered a complex stone-masonry structure, but a number of excavations 

 were also made at other points in the site. Previous to inaugurating 

 this work, and at intervals during its progress, trips were made to a 

 number of limestone caves in the vicinity, all of which had been used 

 as places of offering and contained large quantities of ceramic re- 

 mains. The material from the caves belonged to the same relatively 

 early period as that from the mound site. 



From May 28 to May 31 a new and large site of the La Venta cul- 

 ture was discovered as a result of information received from Juan 

 Del Alto, of Coatzacoalcos. It is located on the Rio Chiquito in 

 southern Veracruz, near the small village of Tenochtitlan, on lands 

 known as San Lorenzo. The site contains two large mound groups 

 and a considerable number of carved monuments, including the two 

 largest colossal heads of La Venta type yet discovered. Unique fea- 



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