3t) THE COLLECTION OF OSTEOLOGICAL MATERIAL FROM MACHU PICCHU. 



"The women of the Sun were engaged, during the night, in preparing an immense 

 quantity of maize pudding called Cancit. This was made up into small round cakes, about 

 the size of an apple. It must be understood that the Indians never ate the corn kneaded 

 and made into bread, except at this feast \^Raymi'\ and at another called Situa, and they 

 did not eat this bread during the whole meal, but only two or three mouthfuls of it at 

 the beginning. Their usual food, in place of bread, was maize toasted or boiled in the 

 grain."* 



Figure 2>?>- — Near view of Cave Z7 shovv'ing pottery. Photograph b}' the author. 



If Garcilasso's statement applies to Machu Picchu as well as to the places with whose 

 customs he was undoubtedly familiar, the presence of a rocker-edged grinding stone at a 

 woman's grave distinctly favors the supposition that the owner, like many other women 

 whose remains were interred at Machu Picchu. was connected with the service of the Temple 

 of the Sun. 



Cave 37. 



In the lower grave region and hardly more than a hundred yards from the ruins, we 

 obtained a splendid lot of material beneath the large rounded bowlder shown in text-figures 

 32 and 33. To photograph the entrance to a cave from a distance of 25 feet, was an 

 unusual experience. In most places the contour of the mountainside rendered this impos- 

 sible. Fortunately, in this instance nearly the whole of the exposed portion of the sheltering 

 bowlder can be shown. In the nearer view of the cave may be seen a pile of pottery, most 

 of the vessels being badly broken. 



The entrance to the inner cave was small and the interior very dark. With an un]ileasant 

 adventure with a Fer-de-lance snake a few minutes before still fresh in niv niemorv, I 



* Ibid., Sixth Hook, Chapter XX. 



