564 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19 3 5 



where rain water collects and a swampy area has formed. In the 

 center of this are two pits overgrown with weeds; these may have 

 been used as water holes by the ancients, though it is also possible 

 that they may have been opened in more recent times. One of these 

 holes is triangular in outline, the other circular. Both measure, 

 roughly, 30 meters across. They are only half a meter in depth. 



In addition to this meager supply, additional water can at times 

 be obtained from three ravines which drain the eastern part of the 

 plateau. But these carry only tiny rivulets, which go tumbling over 

 the edge of the precipice to lose themselves in the valley below. 

 Along their courses toward the edge of the plateau, nances and live- 

 oaks arch overhead. Squirrels and humming birds abound. Wild 

 frangipani grows down the cliffs, its waxy blossoms gleaming white 

 against the pines above. 



Unless the supj)ly was far greater in the time of the Lencas, it is 

 difficult to imagine how the small quantity of water available upon 

 the plateau could have sufficed for the many people who must have 

 stayed at Tenampua during times of siege. 



THE CENTRAL ENCLOSURE 



During our stay we camped on a mound in the Central Enclosure. 

 Advantage was taken of an excavation made by previous visitors; 

 above this we constructed a rude shelter of ponchos and pine boughs. 



In general plan, the Central Enclosure (which Squier considered 

 to be the most important group at Tenampua) agrees with at least 

 three other groups (pi. 1, fig. 1). This uniformity would suggest a 

 religious basis. 



Each of these major groups possesses a platform or terrace, large 

 and oblong in outline. A wall surrounds this, or, if the situation war- 

 rants, a flight of steps leads up to it. Surmounting the platform, and 

 placed side by side, are two large mounds of different sizes. Close by 

 is a third mound, scarcely more than 30 centimeters high, and edged 

 with stones. The stairway leading to the summit of the larger mound 

 suggests that it was originally occupied by a building of some sort — 

 probably a temple. 



The general arrangement of the major groups recalls the writings 

 of the historian Oviedo, who describes the religious practices of the 

 ancient Costa Ricans. There, wooden temples were built within 

 courts or patios; each was dedicated to an idol of wood or clay, 

 which was usually kept in a small house within the patio. The 

 center of the enclosure was occupied by a mound where sacrifices 

 were made. Women danced around the mound before the com- 

 mencement of a sacrificial ceremony. 



