catch the water that flowed over the edge of the wall. A small outlet had been provided at the end of this basin so that the water could flow underneath the floor of the bathroom or tank house and then proceed on its way down the ridge to the buildings below.
As the western slope of the Choqquequirau spur is a sheer precipice, little attempt at fortification was made on that side. The eastern slope, however, is not so steep. On this side it was necessary to build enormous terraces hundreds of feet long faced with perpendicular walls twelve feet wide. Two narrow paved stairways lead from one terrace to another.
Near one of the terraces I picked up either a bola or a hammerstone nearly as large as my fist.
In the jungle immediately below the last terrace, under ledges and huge boulders, were dug little caves in which the bones of the dead were placed. I found that the bones were heaped in a little pile as though they had been cleaned before being interred. No earth had been placed on them, but on top of the little pile in one grave I found a small earthen-ware jar about one inch in diameter. It had no handles and was not closed at the top although the opening, a quarter of an inch in diameter, had been fitted with a specially well-made perforated cap. There was nothing in the jar, although it had retained its upright position during all the years of its interment. The natural entrance to the little tomb had been walled up with wedge-shaped stones from the inside in such a way as to make it extremely difficult to enter the cave from the front. I found, however, that by digging away a little on one side of the huge boulder, I could easily remove the stones which had evidently been placed there by the grave-digger after the bones had been deposited in the tomb.
The workmen had excavated under a dozen or more of the projecting ledges and in each case had found bones and occasionally shreds of pottery. In no case, however, had they found anything of value to indicate that the dead were of high degree. Probably they were common soldiers and servants. If any of the officers of the garrison or Inca nobles were ever buried in this vicinity, their tombs have not yet been discovered, or else the graves were rifled years ago. But of this there is no evidence.
All the conspicuously large rocks below the terraces have been found to cover graves. The skulls were not found alone but always near the remainder of the skeleton. The larger bones were in fairly good condition but the smallest ones had completely disintegrated. Nevertheless, ribs were frequently met with. Some of the largest bones could be crumbled with the fingers and easily broken, while others were very hard and seemed to be extremely well preserved. Some skulls likewise were decayed and could be easily crushed with the fingers while others were white and hard; all that we found were those of adults, although one or two of them seemed to be of persons not over twenty years of age. So far as has been observed, no superincumbent soil was placed on the skeleton.
| 1. A Hawaiian. | 2-4. Skulls from Choqquequirau. | 5. A Flat-head Indian. |
| 6. Bola found at Choqquequirau.7. Whirl-bob. | ||
| 8. Jar found in a grave, Choqquequirau. | ||