io8 



Appendix 



tions of floating corals. It might be that your ancients 

 were collecting from such a selection, and not from 

 a real reef suite. There are obviously many other 

 possibilities." 



As was the case with MoUusca, coral from Dzibil- 

 chaltun seems to have been collected from the 

 immediately adjacent coast rather than the more 

 distant reef areas, where strikingly beautiful speci- 

 mens could be found. Again, as with molluscs, no 

 care seems to have been taken to choose attractive 

 material, even though it was locally available. 



At Dzibilchaltun, coral occurred among other 

 marine offerings in the Cenote Xlacah and in one 

 cache, never in tombs. In all other cases it was found 

 loose in fill or refuse. We would be inclined to search 

 for some other reason for its collection but have none 

 to suggest. At other sites its ceremonial association 

 is more clear. At Mayapan, Hatzcap Ceel, Caracol, 

 Copan, and Piedras Negras it is found only in tombs 

 and caches. At Uaxactun it is found in three caches 

 as well as in fill. At Tikal it occurs in great abun- 

 dance in tombs and caches of the Early Classic 

 period, then markedly diminishes during the Late 

 Classic. Classification and analysis of this very large 

 body of material should prove most informative. 



BRYOZOA 

 DZIBILCHALTUN: Specimens identified by Dr. 

 R. J. Scolaro, of Tulane University: i6 multilami- 

 nated colonies of Schizoporella floridana Osburn 

 were found, six in two Late Early period caches, 

 nine in one Pure Florescent cache, and one in Flores- 

 cent or later midden. On one of these was found a 

 small colony of Hippaliosina rostrigera Smitt. Dr. 

 Scolaro writes that these are common shallow-water 

 species found in Gulf and Atlantic waters. These 

 gray, bleached specimens would seem an unattractive 

 addition to ceremonial offerings, but he adds that 

 when living they were strikingly colored. 



TIKAL: Very large numbers of Bryozoa were 

 found. They have not yet been classified or analyzed 

 in terms of context. 



PORIFERA 



TIKAL: Moholy-Nagy (M— MS) lists a considerable 

 number of soft sponge fragments, not yet classified. 

 At least some were epiphytic on other marine life. 



GORGONIANS 

 DZIBILCHALTUN: 14 examples found in Cenote 



Xlacah, obviously as offerings. After storms, beauti- 

 ful specimens of the sea fan are found on nearby 

 beaches. 



TIKAL: Numerous. At least one placed under 

 skull in burial. Others were epiphytic to uncleaned 

 molluscs. 



Comment: Dr. Frederick M. Bayer, of the Univer- 

 sity of Miami, wrote (personal communication) that 

 such gorgonians as would be found in a cenote 

 would have lost so many essential characteristics 

 that any classification would be highly conjectural, 

 even to generic or often family determination. 



PEARLS 



Pearls, nacreous concretions found about foreign 

 particles inside the shells of a variety of molluscs, 

 were highly valued in ancient times as they are 

 today. As they are extremely vulnerable to the 

 alternate desiccation and saturation of the tropics, 

 they were probably much commoner than recorded 

 archaeological frequency would indicate, and it is 

 probable that archaeologists have often failed to 

 recognize their remains. They have been reported 

 from five sites in the Maya lowlands: 



CHICHEN ITZA: i, pierced in offering at Caracol, 

 Pure Florescent (Ruppert, 1935, p. 36, fig. 37). 2, 

 pierced, in fill of High Priest's Grave; probably 

 Modified Florescent (E. H. Thompson, 1938, p. 53). 



COPAN: II, pierced and unpierced, in one cache, 

 and two tombs, all Full Classic (Longyear, 1952, 

 pp. 43, III; figs. 94,d; 109,/). One was in a jewel 

 box made of a pair of Spondylus valves, similar to 

 that described by Gruning from Pusilha which con- 

 tained cut "blisters" of pearls removed from valve 

 (i93°> P- 483; pl- XXI, fig. i). 4 were used in a 

 necklace from a tomb in Mound 4, illustrated by 

 Maudslay (1889— 1902, vol. i, pl. 21). 



SAN JOSE: 3, pierced, in a tomb. Transitional S.J. 

 III-IV. I in cache, S.J. V or close of IV. (T, p. 182). 



TIKAL: Pearls were found in considerable quan- 

 tities, apparently in large part as beads or pendants 

 in burial jewelry (M— MS). 



UAXACTUN: 2, perforated as pendants in Tzakol 

 burial; 2 perforated as beads in Tepeu cache; i, un- 

 perforated, in Tzakol burial. A fragment of "blister" 

 from which disks had been cut, probably for mosaic, 

 was found discarded in Tzakol fill (K, p. GS"). 



