Mound No. 3
Mound No. 3 (No. 26 on the plan, fig. [14]) was situated immediately between Mounds Nos. 6 and 11. It was roughly circular in shape, 120 feet in circumference and 3 feet in height. On being dug away to the ground level it was found to be composed of earth and small blocks of limestone, among which were numerous potsherds and fragments of terra-cotta images, though the latter were so small that it was impossible to tell how many images they represented. The potsherds varied very much, some being rough and undecorated, others polished and well painted in geometrical devices. Fragments of flint spearheads and obsidian knives were also found in this mound. On reaching the ground level the opening of a narrow passage 18 inches square was discovered which led obliquely downward toward the east for a distance of 8 feet; it was lined with roughly squared flags of limestone and terminated in a small stone-lined chamber 2 feet square. On the floor, half buried in fine dry earth, lay a small urn, roughly made of coarse pottery, neither painted nor glazed. It was circular in form, 381/2 inches in circumference, with a semicircular handle at each side, and was covered by a mushroom-shaped lid; with the lid in situ the whole formed a somewhat irregular sphere. In the urn and almost completely filling it were 20 small pottery figurines, comprising 3 warriors, 1 seated human figure, 4 alligators, 4 dragons, 6 quashes or picotes, and 2 serpent-like creatures.
The warrior figures resemble very closely those found in Mound No. 24 (see pl. [8]), the only difference being that while two of them hold shields on their left forearms, and grasp spears in their right hands (as in pl. [8]), the third warrior from this mound grasps a long dagger, instead of a spear, in his right hand. The seated figure is very similar to those from Mound No. 24 (see fig. [15]), the only difference being that the glans penis is grasped in the left hand while the right hand wields the knife. The alligators are closely similar to those already described, except that they are solid throughout instead of being hollow. They are painted red, white, and black, and vary in length from 51/2 to 61/2 inches. The tigers are similar to those found in Mound No. 24, but are rougher, and not so carefully modeled; all are hollow and are painted red throughout. The four dragon-like creatures vary from 6 to 7 inches in length; the body, which is round and slender, ends in a flattened bifid tail; the mouth, which is held wide open, is furnished with a set of formidable teeth. Upon the upper lip is a horn-like excrescence, and over the thorax are one dorsal and two lateral fins. Each animal is painted white over the whole surface; the inside of the mouth is painted red over the white layer. The six quashes are exactly similar to those found in Mound No. 24, as are also the two serpents.
Mounds containing animal and human effigies appear to be singularly limited in their distribution. At Santa Rita seven have been explored in all, each containing 1 to 49 effigies, some very crudely and roughly made from sun-dried clay, others nicely modeled and painted in various colors. Probably several more of these mounds had been removed by the former owners of the estate to obtain stone for building and road-making purposes, as figurines similar to those taken from the excavated mounds were found in the possession of coolie laborers working on the estate, which they said they had found from time to time when digging for stone. The effigies comprise figures of men, alligators, turtles, quashes, lizards, birds, sharks, and snakes, together with two-headed dragons and other mythologic animals. Similar mounds containing animal effigies have been found at Douglas, about 18 miles southwest of Santa Rita; at Bacalar, 25 miles northwest; at Corozal, less than a mile south; and near San Antonio, about 9 miles north of it. In each of these localities only a single effigy was found, the workmanship of which resembled so closely that of the Santa Rita specimens that it would be difficult to decide from which locality they had come.
So far as it has been possible to ascertain, no similar human and animal effigies have been previously discovered in this section of the Maya area. The significance of these figurines appears to be somewhat obscure. They are not invariably found associated with human remains, though this may be owing to the fact that the bones have completely perished through decay or because cremation has been practiced. They show no signs of use or wear and were evidently made only to be buried. The hollow specimens frequently contain one or more beads of red shell, greenstone, or clay in their interiors, while in most cases they have been found associated with fragments of pottery incense burners, which in this region seem to have been very commonly mortuary in use. On the whole it seems probable that these figurines were merely votive offerings to the gods, buried with the dead. Some of them may indicate the occupation of the individual with whom they were buried. A priest and warrior from the same mound have been described, whose occupant may have combined the double office, while a small statuette of an old man, with a macapal slung over his shoulders, by a strap passing across the forehead (typical of an Indian laborer of the present day), was found by a coolie digging out stone from a mound at Santa Rita many years ago.