NO. l6 EXPLORATION IN PERU — HRDLICKA 5 



the sands or are but partly buried by the earth thrown out from the 

 excavations. On the writer's arrival, the place looked like a ver- 

 itable Golgotha, or some great barbaric battlefield, with skulls and 

 bones whitening the ground and ruins in every direction. 



In one sense, of course, these conditions, however they may be 

 regretted, proved of great service, giving an invaluable opportunity 

 for investigation and collection of skeletal material. It made pos- 

 sible the examination on the spot of several thousands of individual 

 skulls, a good proportion of which, however, were not removed be- 

 cause of damage done by the shovel or the elements. 



As to collecting the skeletal remains, the writer at first hesitated, 

 because the place was the focus of pilgrimages from a large part 

 of ancient Peru and doubtless the last resting place of numerous 

 visitors from distant sections. But examination of the material 

 soon revealed such a degree of anthropological uniformity, that it 

 was decided to make as extensive a gathering as possible. In con- 

 sequence, all the well-preserved crania and a large part of the long 

 bones, besides other skeletal parts, were gradually transported to 

 Lima and there packed, with Doctor Uhle's kind help and super- 

 vision, to be eventually shipped to Washington. The total collection 

 from this locality (now safely housed in the U. S. National Mu- 

 seum) numbers over 2200 crania, and several thousands of other 

 bones that are of special value for anthropological determinations. 



It is not as yet possible to speak of the full scientific value of the 

 collection, but it is not readily overestimated. A number of the 

 more important points which presented themselves during the 

 preliminary work in the cemeteries, are as follows : 



It was seen first of all that the remains were derived partly from 

 mummies, which were especially numerous in the neighborhood of 

 the Temple of Pachacamac, and in part from simple burials ; also, 

 that in rare instances cremation had been practiced. 



The mummies were not only artificial as to their exterior, but 

 there appeared evidence that the bodies themselves, or at least some 

 of their parts, had been specially treated ; thus a number of skulls, 

 for the most part such as were damaged by wounds, were found 

 filled with cotton. 



All the larger cemeteries contained burials of males, females, and 

 even children, but the last were nowhere very numerous and were in 

 a decided minority near the temples. Males and also a few adult 

 and elderly females were collected from about the Temple of the 

 Sun. On the southeast terrace of this temple, Uhle reports 1 finding 



1 Pachacamac, p. 84. 



