THE GRAVES. 19 



of individuals is enough to show that flesh of the paca, as these animals are commonly 

 called, was a recognized article of food at Machu Picchu. I note with great interest M. J. 

 Stolzmann's statement (Proc. Zool. Soc, London, 1885, page 167) that in comparatively 

 recent times the flesh of Agouti tacsanoiuskii was highly esteemed by the Indians of Equador. 

 "La viande du 'Sacha-qui,' qui possede un gout exquis, est tres recherchee par les habitants 

 du pays." 



Cave 14. 



It was impossible to secure a good photograph of this burial place in the lower cave region, 

 on account of the steepness of the mountain slope, which prevented the setting up of the 

 camera at a suitable distance. The cave was beneath a large rock. Its length from front 

 tO' rear was about 20 feet, and its width 8 feet; its height in front 2}4 feet, and at the 

 rear about one foot. A few nondescript rotten fragments of bone lay on the floor, and 

 at the rear of the cave, just beneath the earth and cobbles of the floor, we found the sherds 

 of five earthenware vessels, namely, two ladles or deep plates, two pelike-shaped jugs and 

 a two-handled flat dish (M. P. 932). 



The two-handled flat dish has been restored since the return of the Expedition and is an 

 interesting article. A photograph of it is reproduced on Plate V, figure 3. A small bronze 

 knife (M. P. 747; Plate II, figure i), with flat pierced handle, was also found. Digging 

 down under these objects to a depth of nearly five feet, we brought to light the decayed 

 fragments of two skeletons — one of them that of a small adult woman of highland stock, 

 whose skull, with patent metopic suture, had been deformed in the Aymara style. The 

 other skeleton belonged to a small woman, whose apparently undeformed skull is too 

 imperfect for accurate description. 



Cave 15. 



This burial cave among the rocks of the lower grave region contained the fragmentary 

 and decayed skeleton of one individual, a young person, probably female, of about sixteen 

 years of age. The undeformed immature skull is so highly brachycephalic, the cranial index 

 being 86.8, that I suppose the girl represents the people of the coast. The burial was in 

 the contracted position, but the skull had fallen back and lay on the floor. 



Fragments of the skull of the new species of Agouti, described on page 89, were also 

 found. There was no pottery. 



Cave 16. 



This burial cave, beneath a bowlder of the lower grave region, was deep and narrow. , 

 One of my Indians crept in, and dug out the fragmentary skeleton of a well-developed man 

 of the brachycephalic coastal type, one of the few that I found at Machu Picchu. The 

 skull (Ost. Coll. 3168) of the man, who was about forty years old, is shown on Plate 

 XVI. The burial was in the contracted position; and the proximal ends of the femora 

 and the distal ends of the tibiae and fibulae had entirely decayed. There were also a few 

 sherds of an earthenware vessel, which may or may not be rightfully associated with this 

 burial. 



