72 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull, et 



Mingled with the human bones were found: (a) A flat, oblong ob- 

 ject, made of finely polished bone, 1 inch broad and one-tenth inch 

 thick. Its original length could not be determined, as the upper 

 part had been broken away, (b) Three beads, one of polished green- 

 stone, two of pohshed red shell; one of the latter was IJ inches long, 

 with two incomplete perforations passing through it longitudinally. 

 It had probably been intended to form part of a wristlet, (c) Parts 

 of three small obsidian knives wliich had evidently seen considerable 

 use, as their edges were much chipped, (d) The curious object shown 

 in figure 21, d, front view, and e, side view. It is made of cop- 

 per, and was evidently used as tweezers, either for the removal of 

 hair, for which purpose it would be admirably adapted, as the lower 

 expanded parts of the blades when pressed together come into such 

 close apposition that the smallest and most dehcate hair can be 

 removed by means of them;^ or for the extraction of small thorns 

 from the skin. Landa mentions the fact that the Maya were in the 

 habit of removing the hairs from their chins and lips, but if this little 

 implement was the only one employed for the purpose the custom can 

 not have been a very common one in this locahty, as no other 

 similar specimen was found in any of the mounds. Passing from 

 north to south through the mound, about 8 feet from its center, were 

 two parallel rows of limestone flags, set perpendicularly, about 18 

 inches apart. Against the outer of these rows lay a considerable 

 accumulation of animal bones, probably those of the tapir. In the 

 space between the outer row of flags and the edge of the mound 

 were found 10 oblong blocks of limestone, averaging 18 by 10 inches, 

 the upper surfaces of which were hollowed out to a depth of 3 or 4 

 inches. These were probably intended as water receptacles for the 

 use of fowls or small animals kept about the home, as precisely sim- 

 ilar smaU stone troughs are made and used by the modern Indians 

 for this purpose. The space between the rows of flags was floored 

 with mortar, but nothing was found within it. 



Mound No. 5 A 



Mound No. 5 A (No. 28 on the plan, fig. 14) was situated 

 within a few yards of the opening into the circular earthwork 

 attached to Mound No. 7. It was long and narrow, nowhere ex- 

 ceeding 2 feet in height. It was built throughout of small limestone 

 bowlders, mixed with a large proportion of black earth. The limits 

 of the mound were difficult to define, as the earth of which it was 



1 Landa, in mentioning the beardlessness of the Yucatecans at the time of the conquest, says it was 

 reported as being brought about hy applying hot cloths to the chins of the children. This seems improb- 

 able. "No criavan barbas, y dezian que les quemavan los rostros sus madres con panos calientes, siendo 

 ninos, por que no les naciessen,. y que agora crian barbas aunque muy asperas como cerdas de tocines." — 

 Landa, op. cit., p. 114. 



The pure-blood Indians of the present day have l)iit a very scanty growth of hair on the face and ] 

 and in some cases even the few straggling hairs which the.v possess are pulled out. 



