Ancient Inhabitants of the Region

From the contents of the mounds we are able to deduce many valuable facts relating to the physical appearance, social life, religion, and art of the former inhabitants of this area.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

A very accurate idea of the physical appearance of these people may be derived from the figurines, paintings, stucco moldings, and skeletons found in the mounds. It would appear that they very closely resembled the modern Maya Indians.[8] They were broad of face, with small features and rather high cheek bones; without beard or mustache, but with straight, black, coarse hair, which was allowed by both men and women to grow long.

The skull was naturally brachicephalic, and as this characteristic was (and is now by the Maya) admired, it seems to have been almost invariably accentuated artificially by pressure applied over the occipital and frontal regions during early infancy.[9] The average cephalic index of eight skulls removed from the mounds was found to be 110. The following list gives the average lengths of a number of bones of adults taken from the mounds, though in no case were all the bones of one individual found in a sufficiently perfect condition to permit of their accurate measurement:

Humerus, 29.21 cm.
Ulna, 25.38 cm.
First phalanx (little finger), 3.04 cm.
Femur, 36.83 cm.
Tibia, 33.27 cm.
Metatarsal bone of great toe, 5.33 cm.

The bones are small, the ridges for muscular attachment not well marked, and the phalanges, metacarpal, and metatarsal bones small and delicate, indicating a body with rounded contours, poor muscular development, and small extremities. The front teeth in some cases were filed, in others filled with round plugs of obsidian, iron pyrites, or jadeite, for ornamental purposes.

DRESS

Among the lower class the men seem to have worn no garment except the maxtli, consisting of a loin-cloth wound several times around the waist, the ends hanging down in front and behind, like small aprons. The women wore two garments, similar to those of the modern Maya, the huipil, or loose, sleeveless upper garment reaching to the hips (at the present this is worn longer, reaching well below the knees) and a short, loose skirt, both of cotton, and both embroidered in colors at the borders.[10] The warriors wore in addition to the maxtli a breastplate of thick quilted cotton, saturated with salt, arrow and spear proof, and ornamented with bows, studs, and tassels. To its upper border was attached a hollow bar, through which passed a cord, continued round the back of the neck, holding the breastplate in place.

Both warriors and priests wore very elaborate headdresses. Those of the former were decorated with plumes of feathers and many of them held in front the head of some animal carved in wood,[11] as the jaguar, eagle, peccary, snake, or alligator. Some of the headdresses of the priests were shaped like a bishop's miter, while others resembled the Egyptian headdress. All classes wore sandals of leather or platted henequen fiber. The ornaments worn consisted of large circular ear plugs of shell, greenstone, or pottery, many with a tassel dependent from the center; studlike labrets at each side of the mouth; and occasional triangular ornaments attached on each ala of the nose. Round the neck were worn strings of beads, some in the form of human or animal heads, others with a gorget of greenstone or shell in the form of a human mask dependent from them. Wristlets and anklets of large oval beads, fastened with ornamental loops, were common, and copper finger rings have been found on two occasions, though it is possible that these may not have been introduced till after the conquest. Among the upper classes the ornaments were made from jade, greenstone, iron pyrites, obsidian, mother-of-pearl, and copper; among the lower, from pottery, shell, and stone.

WEAPONS

The offensive weapons of the natives here dealt with consisted of flint and obsidian tipped arrows,[12] javelins, and spears, flint and stone axes, with slingstones, and stone-headed clubs, made for the most part of hard limestone. Their defensive weapons were small circular shields of leather-covered wickerwork and thick cotton breastplates.

HOUSES

The lower classes probably lived exclusively in thatched pimento-walled houses, identical in construction with those used by the Maya of the present day; naturally, these have completely disappeared, but the former sites of villages composed of such huts may easily be recognized by the presence of half-choked wells and the great number of malacates, broken pots, weapons, implements, ornaments, and rubbing stones, which are to be found scattered all over them. The priests, caciques, and upper classes doubtless lived in the stone houses, the remains of which lie buried in considerable numbers in the mounds. The walls of these houses were of stucco-covered stone and lime, the floors of hard cement, and the roofs, no doubt, of beams and thatch, as many of them are too wide to have been covered by the so-called "American arch."

Many of these buildings were doubtless used as temples, but probably the majority of them were private houses.[13] In one of them an interment had taken place beneath the floor of the house before the structure was destroyed.[14]

ARTS

The former inhabitants of this part of the Maya area do not seem to have fallen far behind those of northern Yucatan in the arts of sculpture upon stone, stucco molding, mural painting, ceramics, and the manufacture of stone implements and weapons, as excellent examples in all these fields have been found.

At Seibal, Holmul, Naranjo, and Benque Viejo, cities of the old Empire lying along the British Honduras-Guatemala frontier, examples of sculptured stelæ and altars have been found, equal in fineness of workmanship to those found at any other site within the Maya area. The molded stucco figures at Pueblo Nuevo are beautifully executed, while the painted stucco upon the temple walls at Santa Rita is probably the finest example of this kind of decoration yet brought to light in the whole Maya area. The colors used (green, yellow, red, blue, black, and white) seem to have been derived from colored earths and vegetal dyes ground to a paste in small shallow stone mortars with spatulate flint grinders, which have been found with traces of paint still adhering to them. Ornaments in the form of human and animal faces and heads nicely cut from jadeite and greenstone are not uncommon. Some bear incised hieroglyphic inscriptions. The greenstone shell from Kendal, described later on, in its fineness of finish and accurate imitation of the natural form, is a remarkable example of gem cutting.

Most of the domestic pottery used was of a rather coarse hard red ware. This comprises large amphora-like water jars, shallow dishes, saucers, and bowls, used probably to hold food; cooking pots of various sizes and shapes, chocolate pots with upright spouts, and disks for baking tortillas. In addition to these, thick brittle vessels of very coarse pottery, some of exceptionally large size, are found, which were probably used as receptacles for corn, beans, pepper, and other light dry substances. Of the finer kinds of pottery some are ornamented with incised devices, executed after the vessels had been fired, others are covered with devices in polychrome, and still others with ornaments molded while the clay was plastic. Lastly, these three methods, or any two of them, may be combined in the decoration of any one vessel.

The objects most frequently depicted on the vases are human heads, simple glyphs, animal and mythological figures, and flowers. Most of the vessels are polished, some of them to a high degree, but the art of glazing does not seem to have been understood. The finer kinds of pottery are thin, tough, light, and very hard. The appliqué work, displayed best in incense burners, upon which the figure of the god in high relief is built up bit by bit, is rather coarse, but in some examples very effective. Stone implements and weapons of great variety have been discovered, including ax, spear, javelin, and arrowheads, knives, clubs, throwing stones, hammerstones, scrapers, chisels, borers, paint and corn grinders, fiber cleaners, and many others. Flint, chert, obsidian, greenstone, and limestone were the materials most commonly used in the manufacture of implements and weapons. Very remarkable eccentrically shaped objects, including crosses, crescents, rings, and a variety of other forms, chipped with great care and precision, from flint, chert, and obsidian, are also found, though not in great numbers. They seem to be confined almost exclusively to this part of the Maya area.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

With the exception of clay whistles of from one to four notes, no musical instruments have been found in the mounds, unless the hollow cylinder (10¹/₂ inches high by 4 inches in diameter) from Yalloch may be regarded as a small hand drum similar to those mentioned by Landa as having been in use at the time of the conquest,[15] and somewhat resembling the clay jar with a piece of gibnut hide stretched over the opening for a head, still in use as a drum among the Lacandones.[16] The late Sir Alfred Moloney obtained in the village of Succots a tunkul, or wooden drum, with two rubber-tipped drumsticks, which had been brought by the Indians from Guatemala at the time of their emigration from that country. This had been handed down from Alcalde to Alcalde from time immemorial, and was used to summon the villagers on special occasions, as a fire or the election of new Alcaldes.

FOOD

The staple article of diet among the ancient Maya seems to have been maize, as it is at the present day among their descendants. Numbers of rubbing-stones and rubbers, both broken and whole, are found in the mounds, as are also the clay disks used for baking corn cakes. The bones of various animals, which had probably been used for food, are also found; among these are the peccary, gibnut, armadillo, puma, tapir, and manatee, together with woula (snake), alligator, and (of birds) the curassow and wild turkey. Shells of the conch, cockle, oyster, and freshwater snail are also found in abundance. The Maya probably kept small domestic animals and birds,[17] as great numbers of rough stone troughs are found in the mounds, precisely similar to those manufactured and used by the modern Maya Indians for watering their fowls, while eggs, with turkeys and other birds, have been found, held in the hands of figurines upon the incense burners, as offerings to the gods. They seem to have made periodical expeditions to the cays and islands off the coast to fish and collect shellfish, as quantities of net-sinkers, flint chips, potsherds, and broken javelin heads are found on many of the cays. But few mounds, however, which give evidence of permanent human occupancy have been discovered in this situation.

SPINNING AND WEAVING

Judging by the great number of spindle-whorls found in the mounds and on village sites, cotton spinning must have been practically universal among the women. Oval perforated stones of a size suitable for loom weights have been found, and it is probable that they were used as such, as they do not seem to be adapted to any other purpose. With this exception we learn nothing of the art of weaving from the contents of the mounds. Henequen fiber was doubtless used for the manufacture of rope, mats, hammocks, and other objects, as grooved flat stones for beating the pulp from the fiber are common.

GAMES

The appliances for at least two distinct games have been found.[18] The first consists of a large spherical block of limestone, nicely polished, and about 1 foot in diameter, found associated with 6 to 12 smaller spherical stones, each about 3 inches in diameter, of very light material somewhat resembling pumice stone. The second consists of a number of small disks of shell, about three-fourths of an inch in diameter. Collections of these have been found together on several occasions; they might have been used as beads or ornaments but for the fact that they are neither perforated nor decorated with incised figures as shell beads usually are.

RELIGION

Of the 15 gods of the codices classified by Schellhas five may be recognized in this area with a fair degree of certainty. God A, the god of death, in the form of a human skull, decorates the outside of not a few small pottery vessels, and is depicted upon the painted stucco wall at Santa Rita. God B, the long-nosed god, is usually identified with Cuculcan. Representations of this god are found throughout the whole area in great abundance, painted upon pottery and stucco, incised on bone and stone, and modeled in clay. This god is associated with the cities of Chichen Itza and Mayapan, and is supposed to have entered Yucatan from the west; indeed it is possible that he may originally have been the leader of one of the Maya immigrations from that direction. He appears to have been by far the most popular and generally worshiped deity in this area, and it is his image which is found on nearly half of all the incense burners discovered. God D, probably Itzamna, appears in the codices as an old man with a Roman nose, shrunken cheeks, toothless jaws, and a peculiar scroll-like ornament beneath the eye, to the lower border of which are attached two or three small circles. In some representations a single tooth projects from the upper jaw, and in a few the face is bearded. This god is not infrequently found associated with the serpent. A typical representation of him is seen upon the Santa Rita temple wall;[19] here he is depicted standing upon intertwined serpents, holding in his right hand a feather-plumed serpent. This god is represented upon some incense burners, and is found not infrequently associated with Cuculcan.

God K, the god with an elaborate foliated nose, often closely associated with God B, his face in some cases forming the headdress ornament of the latter god, is unmistakably depicted upon the Santa Rita temple wall.[20] God P, the Frog god, is found on some small pottery vases, and on a few incense burners. Nothing found in the mounds proves definitely the practice of human sacrifice in this area, but that it existed is almost certain, as Villagutierre refers to it as prevalent among the Itza of Peten at the time of their conquest,[21] at the end of the seventeenth century, and Landa mentions it as occurring among the Maya at the time of the coming of the Spaniards.[22] Near the headwaters of the Rio Hondo a mound was opened, which contained, in a stone-walled chamber, a number of human skulls unaccompanied by other bones. It is possible that these may have been the remains of sacrificial victims, as it was customary to remove the head of the victim after death, which became the perquisite of the priests.

Human sacrifice among the Maya was probably a somewhat rare event, taking place only on extraordinary special occasions, as in times of public calamity—for example, during the prevalence of famine, war, or pestilence—when it was felt that a special propitiatory offering to the god was called for. This practice was confined to one, or at most to a very small number of victims, never reaching the proportions which it did among the Aztec, by whom it was probably introduced into Yucatan. The main offering of the Maya to their gods seems to have consisted of an incense composed of copal gum and aromatic substances. Landa mentions this as largely employed at the time of the conquest; Villagutierre encountered it among the Itza at the end of the seventeenth century; and Tozzer found it in use among the Lacandon Indians at the present day. The incense itself has been found all over this area, as well as great numbers of incense burners.

In addition to incense, the blood of fish, birds, and animals was smeared over the images of the gods, as an offering, together with human blood obtained by cutting the ears, tongue, genitals, and other parts of the body. The hearts of various animals, together with live and dead animals (some cooked and some raw) and all kinds of foods and drinks in use among the people,[23] were also employed as offerings to the gods. In the hands of figurines upon the incense burners are found, modeled in clay, fruit, flowers, eggs, cakes, birds, small animals, and other objects, all evidently intended for the same purpose.

CHRONOLOGY

Three distinct periods of Mayan civilization seem to be represented in this area. The center of the earliest of these was along the Rio Grande, in southern British Honduras, within 20 miles of the Guatemala frontier, where the Leyden Plate was discovered, upon which is inscribed the earliest but one known Maya date—namely, Cycle 8, Katun 14, Tun 3, Uinal 1, Kin 12. If the massive stone-faced pyramids and terraces of these ruins are contemporaneous with the Leyden Plate, as seems possible, they must be reckoned among the earliest monuments of the first, or southern Maya, civilization. The Benque Viejo temple, in the extreme western part of British Honduras, comes next in point of time. This was almost certainly contemporaneous with its near neighbor, Naranjo, where the earliest Initial Series found is 9.10.10.0.0, and the latest 9.19.10.0.0, giving the city an age of at least 9 katuns, or 180 years. It will be seen that the difference between the Leyden tablet date and the earliest recorded date at Naranjo is rather more than 16 katuns, or 320 years.

The latest of all the sites is undoubtedly Santa Rita, which shows strong Mexican influence; this belongs to the second era of Maya civilization, which reached its highest development in Yucatan and the northern cities. Excluding the Tuluum Stela, the date upon which, 9.6.10.0.0, is almost certainly not contemporaneous,[24] the only Initial Series deciphered with certainty in Yucatan up to the present time is that at Chichen Itza, 10.2.9.1.9, nearly 3 katuns, or 60 years, later than the latest at Naranjo; but probably the Santa Rita site is much later in date than this, and if we may judge by the objects found in the mounds in the vicinity, some of which show strong Spanish influence, it was occupied up to and beyond the conquest.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 64 PLATE 7.