THE RUINS OF TENAMPUA, HONDURAS' 



By Dorothy Hughes Popenob 



[With 5 plates] 

 INTRODUCTION 



The traveler approachiii<^ Tegucigalpa, Honduras, over the excel- 

 lent motor road that winds through the mountains from the southern 

 end of Lake Yojoa will see upon his left, an hour after he leaves 

 Comayagua, a flat-topped promontory which juts out menacingly 

 from the pine-clad mountain range. Sentinellike, it watches over the 

 ancient capital and its classic valley. This is Tenampua. It is the site 

 of extensive ruins dating from pre-Columbian days and is reckoned 

 among the major archeological treasures of Honduras. Obviously, 

 the spot was chosen by the ancients for its military value. As a place 

 of permanent residence it offers few attractions, for it has neither 

 abundant water nor fertile soil; but as a stronghold to which the 

 people might retire in times of danger it is well-nigh impregnable. 



Early accounts of the struggle between the primitive inhabitants of 

 Honduras and their Spanish conquerors contain numerous references 

 to mountain fortresses such as this. To illustrate their importance in 

 the general scheme of defense, I may be pennitted to recite the follow- 

 ing bit of history, gleaned from a letter which Francisco de Monte jo 

 addressed to the King of Spain. The date was June 1, 1539, 



Disturbing news reached Gracias, where Montejo was sojourning 

 with 11 Spanish soldiers. The Indians were preparing stubbornly to 

 resist him. In Yamala, a nearby village, " estavan f aziendo muchas 

 cases en un peilol muy fuerte que tienen e proveyendolos de basti- 

 mentos." ^ The Spanish chieftain sent a Negro spy, who knew the 

 language of the Indians, to enter the stronghold and bring back a 

 report. The frightened Negro found there " quatro casas muy grandes 

 hechas, y otras quatro mayores lienas de maiz, y pusoles fuego a las 



1 The author of this paper, Mrs. Dorothy Hughes Popenoe, died December 30, 1932. 

 The present article is the original English version from which the article in Spanish, " Las 

 Ruiuas de Tenampua ", Tipografia Nacional, Tegucigalpa, 1928, was translated. The 

 illustrations and the text of the two articles differ slightly. 



' Translation : " They were building many houses on a great, very strong rock which 

 they have, and providing them with provisions." 



559 



