the excavations in the Eastern City, nor 

 in the Lower City. 



In an excavation near the Main City 

 Gate of the Upper City 29 obsidian peb- 

 bles, slightly larger than ordinary mar- 

 bles, were found. These chunks vary in 

 size from 2.2 cm. x 1.7 cm. x 1.5 cm. to 

 0.9 cm. X I cm. X 0.9 cm., and in weight 

 from 6 G. to i G. One more was found 

 in an excavation a few feet away, but 

 not one was found anywhere else. Most 

 of them might be described as sub-angu- 

 lar in character and somewhat faceted 

 in shape. 



Professor Pirsson, of the Sheffield 

 Scientific School, who examined them, 

 tells me that similar pebbles are found 

 scattered all over the world. Specimens 

 have been picked up in Austria-Hungary, 

 Moravia, Honduras, and Arizona. The 

 finding of these rounded chunks of vol- 

 canic glass where there is no volcanic 

 action has led to the suggestion that they 

 might be extra-terrestrial, possibly a 

 "meteoric shower." From their location, 

 near the city gate at Machu Picchu, they 

 were probably used as record stones. 



Finally, we must continue the search 

 for "record stones" in Inca ruins. They 

 may not be found. On the other hand, 

 they may have been overlooked by former 

 collectors. They certainly would have 

 been overlooked by treasure hunters. 



MUCH IMP0RT.\NT mapping was DONE IN 



I9I4 



One of the greatest handicaps in the 

 way of scientific work in all of this region 

 is the lack of accurate and adequate 

 maps.* 



Accordingly it was felt that the best way 

 to prepare for the scientific work of the 

 Expedition of 191 5 would be to send out 

 two or three topographic parties in 1914, 

 who could utilize the information gath- 

 ered in 1911 and 1912 to prepare better 

 maps than anything we have had. 



With the consent and approval of the 



* One of the most interesting results of the 

 topographical work of the 1912 Expedition was 

 the discovery that the course of the great river 

 Apurimac is quite incorrectly laid down on 

 the Peruvian maps. At Pasaje it is 20 miles 

 farther away from the Urubamba than the 

 government maps show it to be. As a result 

 interesting possibilities for discovery and ex- 

 ploration have been opened up in a region 

 some 600 square miles in extent, an area which 

 did not heretofore exist on any map. 



TYPICAI. hammer-stone:,, SHOWING THE 



WAY IN WHICH THE BUILDERS OF 



MACHU PICCHU FINISHED THEIR 



WONDEREUE BUIEDING STONE 



Hundreds of hammer-stones were found, 

 indicating the great importance and frequent 

 use of this ancient implement, which enabled 

 the old stone-masons to accomplish almost im- 

 possible feats. Yi natural size. 



Peruvian government, we began our field 

 work in 1914 by making a geographical 

 reconnaissance of that portion of south- 

 ern Peru which includes the Cordillera 

 Vilcabamba and other portions of the 

 watershed of the Apurimac and Uru- 

 bamba rivers within a radius of 100 miles 

 of Cuzco. Much of the country is on the 

 edge of the great Andean plateau. 



The Cordillera Vilcabamba is a chain 

 of magnificent mountains, rising from 

 15,000 to 20,540 feet above sea-level, and 

 reaching their highest point at the beau- 

 tiful peak known as Salcantay. The tops 

 of many peaks are 12,000 feet above the 

 floor of the canyons at their base. Since 

 their bases are situated between latitudes 

 12 and 14 S., they are clothed with trop- 

 ical jungles, while the peaks, on account 

 of their great height, are mantled with 

 snow and glaciers, and form one of the 

 largest undescribed glaciated regions in 

 the world. The first description of a 

 scramble through the heart of this great 

 glaciated country was given by the writer 

 in the April, 1913, number of the Na- 

 tional Geographic Magazine. 



207 



