86 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 64 



Mound No. 10 



Vague reports had been in circulation for some years as to tlie 

 existence of a mound close to the headwaters of the Rio Hondo, 

 where the Indians still practiced to some extent their ancient 

 rehgion. It was said that the mound contained a stone chamber in 

 which stood on a stone pedestal a hfe-sized image, painted in various 

 colors, and that aromid the walls of the chamber were niches in which 

 rested life-sized stone turtles, also painted; furthermore, that the 

 bush Indians of the neighborhood were in the habit of coming to the 

 mound for the purpose of burning incense before the idol. 



The mound was found situated quite close to the bank of the Rio 

 Hondo, buried in the bush which covers this part of Yucatan. It was 

 80 feet in height, 350 feet in circumference, conical in shape, and com- 

 pletely covered by high bush continuous with that of the surround- 

 ing forest. After clearing the underbrush from the mound an open- 

 ing 3 feet square was discovered about 17 feet from the summit 

 of the mound on its northern aspect, the walls of which were faced 

 with cut stone. From this opening a low passage led to a small 

 stone-faced chamber 8 feet higli, 6 feet broad, and 10 feet long, the 

 floor of which was composed of earth and lime well beaten down to 

 form a hard, smooth surface. Projecting from the walls were eight 

 small stone brackets, upon which nothing was found. No trace 

 whatever was seen of a painted image or of turtles. The walls and 

 ceiling of the room, especially the latter, were considerably blackened 

 by smoke, possibly caused by burning incense. 



Excavation was commenced at once in the floor of the chamber. 

 At a depth of 8 inches the hard floor gave place to soft brown sand, 

 which was continuous to a depth of 2 feet, where several small deposits 

 or pockets of lime were found inclosed within it, each of which con- 

 tained a number of obsidian knives and small cores. The knives were 

 deeply indented on each side of the base, as if to facihtate hafting. 

 The cores, of which 20 were found, were slender and varied from 1 to 

 3 inches in length. On digging down through an additional 18 inches 

 of the brown sand a layer of hme was exposed about 18 inches in 

 thickness, filhng the entire lumen of the chamber, in which were found 

 irregularly scattered 60 cruciform objects, finely chipped in obsidian, 

 each from 3 to 4 inches in length (fig. 3 1 , a) . These would have served 

 as either arrowheads or small javehn heads, or possibly were intended 

 for ceremonial purposes only. With them were a single pottery vase 

 and two small triangular j avelin heads of obsidian. The vase (fig. 31,6) 

 was circular in shape, 6 inches in diameter, with a long pigUke face 

 protruding from one side. It was made of dark-tjrownish pottery, 

 painted red and fuiely pohshed externally. It was filled with small 

 mussel-Hke bivalve shells embedded in hme. A nmnber of these 



