Discussion 



51 



Fig. 4 — Dzibiichaltun, Str. 38, Cache i: 16 nested unworked valves of Dniocardium robiisttim vanhyningi. Asso- 

 ciated with Copo Complex ceramics. 



and a stingray tail; another contained a pearl. A 

 novel component was stalagmites, which appeared 

 in four caches. At Balankanche in Yucatan we find 

 these connected with rain ritual (Andrews, 1967). 

 At Barton Ramie, only three caches were found, 

 none containing shell of any kind. However at San 

 Jose, 7 structure caches of the 20 found contained 

 unworked shell and/or other marine material. All 

 were of Classic date, mostly S.J. IV. The species 

 found are: 



Neritina meleagns (24) 

 Neritina virginea ( i ) 

 Cerithium variabile ( i ) 

 Columbella mercatoria (2) 

 Terebra (?) cinerea (5) 

 Crassostrea viyginica ( i ) 

 Spondylus princeps (17) 



Again, there is a tendency to include other products 

 of the sea, including eight pumice fragments, sev- 

 eral corals or bryozoans, a pearl, numerous box- 

 fish spines, and even two manatee bones (T, 

 pp. i84-92).2 



^Thompson (1931, p. 273, pi. 31) reports a fragment of 

 branch coral from a structure cache at Hatzcap Ceel, B.H., 

 along with unworked, unidentified shells. 



Of the 64 caches recovered at Uaxactun (A. L. 

 Smith, 1950, p. 92) only five have been recorded 

 as containing identified unworked shells. Four 

 caches of the Tzakol period contained the follow- 

 ing species (RR, p. 199): 



Crepidttta sp. (l) 

 Strom bus pugilis ( i ) 

 Vrunum a. virgineum (54) 

 Ostrea%p. (i) 

 Trachycardium muricatum (2) 



One Tepeu cache contained 19 valves of Spondylus 

 princeps. A. L. Smith lists a number of other caches 

 as containing unworked shells, but these are not 

 individually identified {op. cit., pp. 103—05). Also 

 present in the caches were coral, pearls, marine 

 worm casts, and stingray spines. 



Specifics are not yet available on the uniquely 

 rich caches recovered in the Tikal excavations, which 

 are still in progress as this is written. However, 

 Moholy-Nagy's 1963 paper gives valuable prelimi- 

 nary summary of the data through the 1962 season. 

 Unworked shell and marine material is common in 

 earlier caches, later becoming unusual, and finally 

 disappearing from the offerings. They are com- 

 pletely absent in the 22 stela caches dating after 



