Mat 8, 1914] 



SCIENCE 



679 



THE NEW PERUVIAN EXPEDITION UNDEB 

 TEE AV SPICES OF TALE VNIVEBSITY 

 AND TBE NATIONAL GEO- 

 GBAPSIC SOCIETY 

 Last Saturday there sailed for Peru the 

 topographical division of a new expedition. 

 The chief engineer, E. C. Erdis, of the 1912 

 expedition, had sailed the week before. In a 

 short time two more members of the expedition 

 will sail, and as soon as the maps have been 

 completed and are ready for use, the scien- 

 tific members of the party will leave for the 

 field. This will probably not be until early in 

 1915. 



As in 1912 the expedition is under the joint 

 auspices of Tale University and the National 

 Geographic Society. Unlike former expedi- 

 tions, it will cover a period of two years, in- 

 stead of being confined to one field season. 

 Three members of the expedition, the chief 

 engineer, the chief assistant, and the assistant 

 topographer, will be in the field for a year and 

 a half, or more. 



It is our plan to make a geographical 

 reconnaissance of a portion of southern Peru, 

 including the Cordillera Vilcabamba and por- 

 tion of the Apurimac and Urubamba water- 

 sheds. 



This region is a part of the eastern edge of 

 the great Andean plateau. The Cordillera 

 Vilcabamba is a chain of dissected mountains 

 rising 16,000 to 20,000 feet above sea-level, 

 situated between south latitudes 12 and 14. 

 Their bases are clothed with tropical jungles, 

 while their summits are mantled with snow 

 and glaciers. In the main they are unexplored. 

 As one of the most inaccessible parts of the 

 Andes, they have been occupied from time 

 to time by the ancient peoples of Peru. In 

 this region are the ruins of Machu Picchu, 

 Palcay and Choqquequirau. 



The reported presence of other ruins and the 

 actual existence of some that have been seen, 

 but not studied or mapped, make the region 

 a particularly attractive area in which to study 

 the problem of man's origin and distribution 

 in South America. 



The character of the land formations in the 

 neighborhood of the ruins should enable some- 



thing to be said in regard to the number of 

 people formerly occupying the region, the 

 causes of the location of the cities, buildings 

 and forts, and the reasons for their final aban- 

 donment. 



An examination of the ruins, studies of the 

 styles of architecture, and of the artifacts 

 and other remains that may be found fairly 

 near the surface of the ground, should even- 

 tually enable a classification to be made, 

 which, in connection with biological, physio- 

 graphic, linguistic and historical studies, 

 ought to result finally in unravelling the 

 puzzle of the ancient civilization of South 

 America. From the standpoint of biology, this 

 area is believed to contain a large number of 

 species new to science. From the standpoint 

 of anthropology it is one of the least known 

 and most fruitful areas in the Andes. 



The plan of work will include the making 

 of a topographical map of the region north- 

 west of Cuzco between the Apurimac and 

 Urubamba Rivers; a detailed geographical 

 reconnaissance of the more lofty portions of 

 the mountains, including a study of the large 

 undescribed glaciated region; the establish- 

 ment of two meteorological stations at differ- 

 ent elevations for the taking of systematic 

 records for two years; a study of the distribu- 

 tion and history of food plants of this region ; 

 the collection of data respecting the forms and 

 distribution of vertebrates, particularly mam- 

 mals and reptiles; a survey of the present 

 Indians inhabiting this region, including a 

 study of their dialects, the collection of anthro- 

 pometric data, and the collection and study of 

 the skeletal remains; an archeological recon- 

 naissance of the entire area, and a continua- 

 tion of the studies begun by the first expedition, 

 looking toward a geographical interpre- 

 tation of the Spanish chronicles of the era 

 of discovery and exploration, with particular 

 reference to the identification of ancient place 

 names, the story of Machu Picchu and its con- 

 nection with the history of the Incas. 



The staff of the expedition consists of: 

 Ellwood C. Erdis, chief engineer; Herbert E. 

 Gregory, geologist (Silliman professor of geol- 

 ogy in Tale University) ; George F. Eaton, 



