7© THE COLLECTION OF OSTEOLOGICAL MATERIAL FROM MACHU PICCHU. 



The urn { M. P. 895) found in this grave is just large enough to receive the remains 

 of a small baby, the inside diameter of the vessel's neck being 17.5 cm., while the inside 

 height and maximum diameter were about 42 cm. and 34 cm., respectively. It was roughly 

 fashioned and is a good deal fire-blackened all around, from its mid-height down to the 

 broken basal portion; it may have been originally made and used for purposes having no 

 relation whatever to the burial rite. The Indians were very expert in firing their choicer 

 pieces of pottery without disfiguring them by the action of smoke, and as a general rule 

 only the cooking- ollas are blackened. 



The pieces of the large bones mentioned above are from the llama, with one exception — 

 the proximal epiphysis of a human tibia, which has possibly been associated by accident 

 with the other contents of the grave. 



Cave 80. 



From this cave, which like the last mentioned was "about 200 yards east of the foot 

 of the main stairway" approaching the city, the greater part of a well-preserved human 

 skeleton, including the skull and mandible, is recorded as having been collected, together 

 with a broken plate (M. P. 822) and some sherds. From the sherds two pieces of pottery 

 were probably restored, namely, a tiat dish of unique form (M. P. 1071) and a fire-blackened 

 beaker-shaped olla (M. P. 1073). A little confusion has arisen regarding some of the 

 artifacts from this cave and some from the next (Cave 81), and accordingly the source 

 of those articles only that are actually mentioned by Mr. Erdis as having come from one 

 cave or the other can be entirely relied upon. On examining the human material it appears 

 that some poorly preserved parts of another skeleton (female and of small size) were 

 taken from the cave. 



That the first individual (Ost. Coll. 3235) was a woman of the coastal type, is made 

 clear by the female pelvis and by the pronounced brachycephalic form of the natural skull. 

 Although apparently not over thirty-five years of age, decay and ah-eolar abscesses have 

 caused serious losses in the superior dental arcade, and have left only the incisors and 

 cuspids in the lower jaw, the alveoli of the cheek teeth being no longer visible. 



Were it not for the unmistakable female characters of the pelvis, there might be some 

 doubt regarding the sex of this individual, for not only is the skull large, having a measured 

 capacity of 13 10 ccm. but the long bones are also considerably longer and stouter than those 

 of average size among Peruvian women. Only two female skeletons from Machu Picchu 

 (Ost. Coll. 3157 and 3175) have indicated statures equal to that of this individual. 



Cave 81. 



This cave was "one-third the way down the mountainside, east of the city." Fragmentary 

 remains found here can be referred with certainty to a man about twenty-five years of 

 age, whose skull (Ost. Coll. 3236) exhibits a moderate Aymara deformation and whose 

 muscular development was excellent, as indicated by the stoutness and rugosity of the long 

 bones. The man's physique was probably equal to, or a little better than that of the second 

 individual (Ost. Coll. 3231) described from Cave 75; yet this strong man from Cave 81, 

 although a trifle taller than the other, was hardly above the mean height for male Peruvians. 



