GAXX] MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 63 



can be little doubt, however, that the figurines shown in plate 9 and 

 figure 15 are meant to represent individuals inflicting on themselves 

 one or other of these, but, owing to the crudeness of the workman- 

 ship, it is difficult to determine which. In one the foreskin was pierced 

 and expanded in much the same way that the ears were treated 

 when sacrificing to the idols. In the other, a number of men, 

 sitting in a row in the temple, each pierced his glans penis from side 

 to side, and passing a long piece of cord through all the apertures, 

 strung themselves together in this way. 



Mound No. 2 



Mound No. 2 (No. 25 on the plan, fig. 14) was situated a 

 short distance to the south of Mound No. 19. It was circular at 

 the base, conical in shape, 6 feet high at its highest point, and 40 

 yards in circumference. On the summit of the mound, partially 

 buried in the earth, was found a conch shell, much worn by the 

 weather, with the tip cut smoothly off, and still capable of being 

 used as a trumpet. The surface layer of the mound was composed of 

 earth, in which were embedded a few limestone blocks. Within 

 this layer, which was 18 inches thick, near the center of the mound 

 and a few inches beneath the surface, was found a turtle, hewn from 

 a block of limestone, measuring 13 inches in length and 10 inches in 

 breadth. The next layer was composed of ashes, charcoal, and 

 pieces of half-charred wood. This layer, which varied from 3 to 

 8 inches in thickness, extended evenly over the whole surface of the 

 mound, and withm it were found 16 beads of jade, two small round 

 three-legged vases, and the fragments of two pottery images. The 

 beads were all perforated and fmely polished; two of them repre- 

 sented human faces, and one the head of some animal, probably an 

 alligator. One is unusually large, measuring 3f inches in length 

 by f inch in breadth. 



The clay images are so fragmentary as not to be worth figuring, 

 but in construction, ornamentation, and size they appear to be 

 almost identical with those found in the mounds at Santa Rita, 

 already described.^ One of the vases is 3J inches and the other 2| 

 inches in height; both are ovate. All the objects taken from this 

 layer show traces of having been exposed to the action of fire. The 

 beads are all more or less cracked and blackened, and the pottery 

 images and vases are discolored. The next layer was composed of 

 mortar, embedded in which were numerous pieces of limestone; it 

 varied in depth from 18 inches to 2 feet. The upper part of this layer, 

 to a depth of 2 to 3 inches, was yellow and very hard, and seemingly 

 had been fired; the lower part was lighter in color and very friable. 

 Within this layer, toward the center of the mound, was found the 



' Gann, Mounds in Northern Honduras. 



