60 ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCHES IN NICARAGUA. 



I excavated one to a depth of two feet below the general surface of the ground, 

 but found nothing. At first I thought it would prove to be similar to the oval 

 graves of Chiriqui, described by Dr. Merritt,* but the stones were wanting below 

 the depth of two feet, and the earth underneath showed no signs of having 

 been disturbed. 



Near, or rather among these piles, was a hole in the ground where an arma- 

 dillo pursued by boys took refuge. They began to dig for it, when human bones 

 were found, and the hunters desisted. On examination this proved to be a stone 

 walled sepulchre. The top was about fifteen inches below the surface ; the grave 

 being 35 inches deep, 31 inches wide, and 17 feet long. The stone slabs, from 

 one to four inches thick, walled the sides around and covered it. One slab was 

 35 X 21 inches. The grave contained a small vessel of terra-cotta shaped like a 

 duck, two other small ones of similar quality but different shape, and fragments 

 of a large jar, which was immediately outside the wall. This pottery was of 

 rough character, the rudest in the whole collection ; still, in some places, the 

 pieces show the remains of a surface which had been smoothed, possibly with a 

 piece of gourd, as is done by some of the tribes of South America.-)- A well pol- 

 ished celt of tremolite and a skull were among the contents of the grave. The 

 grave was about north and south. The northern end was paved with slabs, 

 under which were human bones. All the bones were so very old and much 

 decayed that I could not determine whether there were more than one skeleton. 



The geological formation was of hard tenacious clay, with a great many 

 stones of basalt. 



There was considerable similarity between this grave and some of those in 

 Tennessee, described by Dr. Joseph JonesJ in the Smithsonian Contributions. 



MOUNDS. 



The village of Los Angeles is on the southern border of the llanos, as Moyo- 

 galpa is on the northern. Both are on ground higher than the cultivated belt 

 intervening ; the foot-hills on each side coming down closer to the lake. On a 

 hill about a quarter of a mile southeastward of the village, and nearly half a 

 mile from the lake, was a mound five feet high and thirty feet across the base. 

 It was quite regular in form, with round base, sloping sides, and flat top. There 

 were quite lai-ge trees growing on it; and in the centre of the top was a sink, 

 which may have been due to the uprooting of a large tree or to excavation. We 

 began to cut in on the surface on the north side, and carried the cut, four feet 



* Report on the Huacals or Ancient Graves of Chiriqui, by J. King Merritt, M. D. Amer. Eth. Soc. 

 ) Notes on the Manufacture of Pottery among Savage Races. Chas. Fred. Hartt. Page 27. 

 J Aboriginal Remains of Tennessee. 1876. 



