Repoi't of the President. 1 5 



the several tribes of Indians met by him, providing material 

 unrepresented in this division of the Museum. He next visited 

 ruins at Xoxo and Monte Alban, State of Oaxaca, where with 

 a force of thirty natives he excavated several large mounds, re- 

 maining here forty-three days. His attention was next turned to 

 the well-known ruins at Mitla, where he secured a further num- 

 ber of objects of much interest. The explorations thus far made 

 under the authority of the Mexican Government show the im- 

 portance of further work at the two localities in Oaxaca. If 

 another expedition can be sent the coming autumn to work unin- 

 terruptedly at these places during an entire working season, there 

 is little doubt that a very considerable addition to our Mexican 

 collections could be secured and many important archaeological 

 problems solved. 



In order to obtain further information relating to certain Mex- 

 ican tribes, particularly in relation to their religious ceremonials, 

 among which he had made extended researches during the pre- 

 vious year, Dr. Carl Lumholtz made a four months' trip to 

 Mexico, bringing back an unique collection of exceeding interest. 

 Dr. Ales Hrdlicka was associated with him for the purpose of 

 making a series of anthropometrical records and observations 

 on the physical character of several of the Indian tribes, and to 

 collect as many human skeletons as possible. Dr. Hrdlicka also 

 secured a number of life masks of these Indians, and the burial 

 caves which he investigated yielded many human skulls and 

 skeletons. The material thus acquired is essential for compara- 

 tive study of the past and present tribes of eastern Mexico. 



Prof. F. W. Putnam, curator of the Department of Anthro- 

 pology, reports that "The Jesup North Pacific Expedition has 

 had seven parties in the field. During 1897 the field work of the 

 Expedition was confined to the coast of British Columbia. In 

 1898 the work was taken up on a more extended scale. Parties 

 were in the field on the coast of the State of Washington, in the 

 southern interior of British Columbia, and on the Amoor River 

 in Siberia. The parties in charge of the work on the American 

 Continent returned at the beginning of winter ; the work in Asia 

 is still being carried on. The collections made by the various 

 field parties of the Expedition are now in large part exhibited 

 in the Museum. These exhibits show, in a systematic manner, 



