66 THE COLLECTION OF OSTEOLOGICAL MATERIAL FROM MACHU PICCHU. 



The human skull from this cave is of the undeformed brachycephalic tj-pe characteristic 

 of the Peruvians of the coast, its cranial index being 82. 8 and its capacity 1055 ccm. From 

 the indications of age afiforded by the sutures, the woman was young, probably but little 

 more than twenty-five years of age, yet the maxillary arch was practically edentulous at 

 the time of death, and with two exceptions, the alveoli are entirely obliterated. The 

 zygomatic process, also, of the right maxilla presents a pathologic condition, which may 

 possibly have resulted from extensive infection of the alveolar parapet. The lower jaw has 

 gone astray, but according to Mr. Erdis' notes, a portion of it was-collected. As he described 

 it as similar to the jaw of an old person, it seems highly probable that loss of the teeth and 

 absorption of the alveolar margin had given the mandible, also, a senile appearance. Similar 

 conditions were observed in the skull found in Cave 43 (Ost. Coll. 3200). Richarte, the 

 Indian who excavated this grave, stated that the skeleton was in a crouching position, with 

 the hands raised to the ears, and that the sticks of wood were at its feet. 



The dog's skull and long bones are very like those that were found in Grave 26, and 

 may be referred to the breed described by Doctor Nehring as Canis Ingcc peciiarius, the collie- 

 like Inca dog. Food ofiferings of llama and opossum flesh seem to have been made, the 

 bones of the latter animal being limited to a mandibular ramus and a maxilla. As the 

 crowns of the molar teeth are nearly worn away, I do not feel competent to decide which 

 of the species of small-sized opossums is represented. It was, however, twice the size of 

 the diminutive animal found in Grave 63, and in this respect a more acceptable article of 

 food. 



Referring again to the two pieces of wood from this grave, these were about an inch in 

 cross section and 15 inches long, split from a branch or small tree trunk about 3 inches in 

 diameter, as may be seen from the curvature of the natural outer surface of the wood. I 

 have examined these pieces carefully in order to ascertain if there is anything about their 

 appearance showing whether they were cut and split with a bronze or with a steel axe, 

 hoping in this way to throw light on the age of the interment. Small satisfaction is to be 

 had. I can only say that the tool was dull of edge, and that seven or eight laborious blows 

 seem to have been required in order to cut through a thickness of wood that one stroke 

 of a modern hatchet would easily sever. 



In regard to the wood-cutting ability and inclination of the pre-Columbian Indians, they 

 cannot in reason be supposed to have enjoyed this kind of work any more than the modern 

 vagabond who is compelled to pay for food and shelter by doing his measured cord of fire- 

 wood with dull axe and saw. The dried dung of the llama was undoubtedly a convenient 

 fuel of the native Peruvians then as it is now; yet when it became necessary to fell and 

 trim small' timber, they certainly were able to accomplish a good deal with their bronze 

 tools, for the architecture of their stone houses bespeaks the use of long and stout roof-frames. 



The state of preservation of the two pieces of wood, which are still firm and unaffected 

 by decay, might be cited in support of their recent character with better success than the 

 mere fashion of the work, but the question would remain filled with uncertainty. That 

 which is true of animal tissue is also true of vegetable matter. Only those persons who 

 have sojourned in the Central Andes can appreciate to what length of time organic materials 

 under favoraljle conditions may be there preserved from the ravages of decay. 



