The City of the Sacred Well

by T. A. Willard

“Gourds of all kinds we brought up—small tree gourds which broke even under the most careful handling and which were preserved with the utmost difficulty; leks or big gourds, some measuring a foot across and with a two-gallon capacity; gourds cracked and mended with bark lacing, just as they are still mended and used by the Mayas of to-day; gourds coated with the same whitish enamel used on terra-cotta vessels and painted or hieroglyphed. The gourds were undoubtedly used not only as containers for liquids but for other things such as corn and beans, as they are used by the modern Mayas. None of these gourds was found with a top or stopper in it, but we brought up separately many of the top sections which had been removed to permit the hollowing out of the gourd. Some still had an inch or two of stem left on them purposely to provide a handle and were undoubtedly used as covers or stoppers. Possibly some of these gourds with their contents of food or drink were originally sealed before being cast into the well.

“Among the wooden objects, the hul-che, which I have previously described, is the most interesting, and our finds in the well represent the whole history of the development of this weapon, from its most primitive bill-hook appearance to its most finished and ornamented ceremonial form.

“The highest stage in the development of the hul-che is represented by two specimens from the well. One represents an entwined serpent, its fangs at the hook; in its now hollow eye-sockets probably were once glittering eyeballs of jade. The shaft of the second specimen is formed of human figures and is fronted with a fine mosaic or mask of burnished gold. The whole weapon is as elaborately and minutely carved and inlaid as the finest example of Japanese wood-carving. And we found the stone-headed darts which were used with the hul-che. They are pictured clearly on the walls of the temples, but an actual dart or any part of one had never been found before we raised our specimens from the well. Any one may now view them in the Peabody Museum at Harvard University—some without the stone heads but showing the cleft in the wooden shaft into which the head was fitted. There are also several of the sharp stone dart-heads, made of common chert and flint. A few are beautifully formed and fashioned of translucent chalcedony, jasper, and even jade. These specimens represent the highest known development of ancient stone point-work of the American continents and probably of the whole world.

“Portions of lance-poles were found, and stone lance-points. Some of these, like the beautiful dart-points, still carry traces of the hard black bitumen—possibly hardened copal—that once fastened the stone point to its wooden shaft.

“Wooden objects shaped like the incisors of a jaguar and bearing fragments of handsome mosaics encrusted on them are probably parts of what were once jaguar head-masks. Other similar objects are plated with gold—portions of golden jaguar-masks. Parts of large trough-shaped wooden objects are doubtless the remnants of shields. The wood is Yucatan cedar, light and easily worked, yet resistant to the destroying effect of weather and insects. All of the wooden objects required quick and skilful application of preservatives, for, while they had about the consistency of wet punk when they came from the water, even a few moments’ exposure to the air would have been sufficient to crumble them into dust. Happily, I was fully prepared for this contingency, and not a single important wooden find was lost or injured for lack of proper treatment.

“Next to the hul-che, the most important of the wooden treasures is the caluac, the wand, scepter, or symbolic badge of high priesthood or nobility. Many times upon the temple walls are pictured dignitaries holding this device, as a king might hold a scepter or a bishop his crook. The general form is that of a forked rabbit-stick. It may be significant that the figure portrayed carrying the caluac is never depicted as carrying also the hul-che, and perhaps the caluac may be a ceremonial weapon, symbolic substitute for the hul-che. Whatever its purpose, we have several specimens. Some are nearly perfect and there are several sizes. The most common of these finds is about half an inch thick by three inches wide and twenty-four inches long.

“In addition to the wooden dolls and figures I have previously mentioned, I obtained a curious ritual rattle inlaid with mosaics, and several spatulas somewhat like Japanese praying-sticks. The spatulas are thin and about three inches wide by seven in length. Both faces show traces of the same hard white enamel found on several of the gourds and potsherds. The faint characters on these spatulate wooden objects are so precisely like those in the Dresden Codex that one might readily believe them the work of the same artist.

“That phallic rites were practised in some, if not all, sections of the peninsula is indicated by a phallus, well carved from hardwood, which we brought up from the well. It was recovered from the deeper layers of the well-bottom, and this fact precludes any chance that it is a later intrusive artifact. Some distance to the south of El Castillo lies a straggling line of large stone phalli, evidently taken from some portion of the ruined city by early Spanish settlers and then abandoned by the roadside. The House of the Phalli in old Chi-chen Itza further emphasizes the fact that the cult here existed and there are unmistakable evidences in the ancient ruins of Uxmal.

“The several wooden labrets, or lip- or cheek-plugs, are of some dark, hard wood, possibly circicote or ebony. The frontal surface is a sunken panel on which is usually carved in relief the figure of a plumed warrior. The carving in many cases is as fine as that on the best cameos and is brought out by red pigment. Slight traces of green are indicated, also, following the same general scheme as the large carvings on the temple walls, where green and yellow pigments are used to indicate respectively jade and golden objects or ornaments. That these colors have withstood centuries of immersion is truly remarkable; I doubt much if any of our modern colorings would have the same lasting qualities.

“Now I come to the last and perhaps most important of our finds—various objects of jade. We brought up from the very lowest part of the well seven jade plaques or tablets, broken but later fitted together with almost no parts missing. They measure, approximately, three by four inches, and are well carved with cameo-like designs of Maya deities. Of similar design and length, but only two inches wide, are nine additional plaques.