6 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



monuments, Dr. Drucker made tests to locate an occupational zone, 

 and dug a deep stratigraphic trench to ootain ceramic materials to 

 define the culture horizon to which the monuments belong. The 

 material from these investigations will be of inestimable value in 

 tying in the monuments with those of Tres Zapotes and La Venta, and 

 defining the ancient "Olmec" culture. 



Following the close of the expedition's camp in mid-April, Dr. 

 Drucker proceeded to the neighboring state of Chiapas to carry out 

 reconnaissance planned to supplement that done by Dr. Stirling the 

 previous year. He was able to locate a number of caves containing 

 offerings or caches of pottery vessels from pre-Spanish times, and 

 made collections which were shipped to Mexico City for ultimate 

 shipment to Washington. In addition to the caves, a number of 

 extensive village sites were discovered which contained not only 

 remains of stone houses but also ball courts and great ceremonial 

 structures of masonry. 



On May 21 Dr. Drucker proceeded to Mexico City where the San 

 Lorenzo and Chiapas collections were inspected by officers of the 

 Museo Nacional de Mexico, and where, through the courtesy of those 

 officers, permission was obtained to ship the collections to Washington 

 for study and for preparation of reports for publication. While the 

 shipping permit was going through necessary channels. Dr. Drucker 

 availed himself of the opportunity of studying ceramic and jade col- 

 lections in the Museo Nacional, and to visit sites in the central highland 

 where important discoveries have been made in recent years, such as 

 Tula, in the state of Hidalgo, and Xochicalco, in Morelos. At the end 

 of the fiscal year he was completing preparations to return to 

 Washington. 



During the month of July 1945 Dr. Gordon Willey, anthropologist, 

 was entirely occupied in completing a 50,000-word manuscript en- 

 titled "Excavations in Southeast Florida." This paper will make 

 available the results of the archeological field program carried out 

 in south Florida in 1933-36 by the Bureau of American Ethnology in 

 conjunction with the State of Florida. 



From August 1945 to February 1946 Dr. Willey was primarily 

 engaged in editorial work on the final volumes of the Handbook of 

 South American Indians. The fifth and last volume of this work 

 was submitted to the editor of the Bureau at the end of February, 

 with the exception of part 3, "The languages of South America," 

 which is being prepared by Dr. J. Alden Mason. During this period 

 a 25 ,000- word article on South American ceramics was prepared for 

 inclusion in the Handbook, and a 3, 000- word article on the archeology 

 of the Argentine pampas was prepared to be published as part of a 

 Yale University symposium on Argentine archeology. 



