Fig. 19.—Objects from Mound No. 4.
It was covered by a layer of alluvial earth 4 inches in thickness, on removing which the following objects were brought to light, lying on the layer immediately subjacent, near the center of the mound: (a) A leaf-shaped spearhead of very light yellow flint, 5 inches in length; (b) a leaf-shaped spearhead of reddish flint, 51/2 inches in length; (c) an eccentrically-shaped flint object (fig. [19], a), 41/4 inches in breadth by 23/4 inches in depth, of light grayish flint, very neatly and carefully chipped; (d) a large, well-made flint arrowhead, deeply grooved on each side of the base, 21/2 inches in length, and of light grayish color (fig. [19], b); (e) the broken end of a roughly chipped flint hook or crescent (fig. [19], c). With these flint objects were found a small red-stone bead and a quantity of pieces of broken images, as arms, legs, faces, hands, breastplates, etc., in rough pottery. Below the alluvial layer the mound was composed of large blocks of limestone, held together by mortar, giving it the consistency of masonry and rendering digging in it very difficult. At a depth of 6 feet a small oblong chamber was opened, built of rough blocks of limestone, about 8 feet by 3 feet, within which were found fragments of human bones, the head pointing to the north. At both head and feet a few very roughly chipped spearheads were found. At a depth of 10 feet another small chamber, 4 feet in length by 2 feet in height and 2 feet in breadth, was opened, also composed of rough blocks of limestone. Within this were four basin-shaped vessels; two, somewhat larger than their fellows, were superimposed upon them (fig. [20]). These basins were made of rough pottery, colored yellow, with a broad red stripe round the rim. Each was pierced by a pair of small round holes, 1 inch apart, repeated at equal intervals four times round the circumference, about one-half inch from the margin. The perforations in the upper vase corresponded exactly to those in the lower when they were discovered, suggesting that they had been connected by cords of henequen fiber, ti-ti, or some perishable material which had disintegrated. It was considered certain that these vessels would contain a number of the small pottery figures which similar vessels from neighboring mounds had yielded. On removing the cover from the first one, however, it was found to contain nothing but a small quantity of impalpable dust. The second contained about an equal quantity of similar dust, together with a small rough opal. The excavation of this mound was continued to a depth of about 18 feet, but nothing further was discovered.
The circular space inclosed within the earthwork was surfaced by a layer varying from 2 feet to 3 feet in thickness, resting on the bedrock, and composed of rubble and powdered marl beaten into a compact mass, covered by two layers of cement, one beneath the other, which formed a smooth level floor over the whole inclosure. A great part of the earthwork and the rubble from the floor of the inclosed space have been removed to repair the Corozal streets. Nothing, however, was found within them with the exception of a few broken flint axheads and spearheads, some hammerstones (which are found practically everywhere), fragments of obsidian knives, and quantities of potsherds. Plate 10 shows a section through the earthwork in process of removal at its western extremity.
Fig. 20.—Pottery vessels from Mound No. 4.
The wall is 21 feet 8 inches in height at this point, though only about 17 or 18 feet are shown in the photograph, as the ground was filled up behind the men excavating by a heap of limestone dust 3 or 4 feet high, left after the stones had been removed. The wall is composed here from the ground up of—(1) a layer of small rubble, 18 inches in thickness, the stones composing which had apparently been picked off the land; (2) a layer of cement, 6 to 8 inches in thickness (the upper surface of this layer is continuous with the upper surface of the cement covering the inclosed space, and the two together evidently formed originally one continuous flat, smooth pavement); (3) a layer of large rough blocks of limestone, 8 feet in thickness, built in together with some care, but without the intervention of mortar (these blocks had evidently been quarried out especially for this purpose, as they were quite fresh and showed no signs of weathering); (4) a cement layer 3 feet in thickness, composed of alternate thin layers of bluish gray cement and thick layers of yellowish cement, which can be faintly seen in the photograph. At the point B, plate [10], were found a quantity of ashes and small pieces of charred wood; the large stones in the neighborhood were also blackened by the action of fire, and ashes were mixed with the lower part of the cement layer, which would seemingly indicate that a large fire, lasting a considerable period, had been kept up at this point on top of layer c before the cement capping was added. The top layer, 8 feet high, is composed of loose, friable mortar with rough blocks of limestone set in it irregularly and finished with a conical cap. In the upper center of plate [10], b, may be distinguished a trench, 3 feet in width, which runs through the whole thickness of this layer. Its walls are composed of rough limestone blocks mortared together. The trench was completely filled in with small loose rubble similar to that found in layer a.
The high, steep, solidly constructed mounds, the bases of many of which are connected with more or less circular earthworks, were probably lookouts or observation mounds. Most of these mounds terminate in a narrow flattened summit too small to have supported even the smallest temple, while many of them form the centers or nuclei of other groups of mounds. Few contain anything besides the stone, mortar, and earth of which they are constructed, though some of them contain superficial interments. That at Santa Rita is exceptional in that it includes stone-faced cysts. These mounds extend in a more or less regular chain along the coast of Quintana Roo and British Honduras, reaching from the top of Chetumal Bay nearly as far south as Northern River, and extending inland in a southwesterly direction along the courses of the Rio Hondo and Rio Nuevo, though many are situated at a considerable distance from either sea or rivers.
Mound No. 5
Mound No. 5 (No. 27 on the plan, fig. [14]), situated about 200 yards to the southeast of the fortification, was 3 feet in height, 30 feet in diameter, and nearly circular. It was built of blocks of limestone, rubble, limestone dust, and earth. Many of these blocks had evidently been taken from some building, as they were well squared. About the center of the mound, at the ground level, a small cyst was discovered, 3 feet long, 2 feet broad, and 1 foot high, built throughout of rough flags of limestone. Within it were two vases; one, shown in figure [21], a, is of rough unpainted pottery, 41/2 inches high, with a small ear-like projection on each side, each of which is ornamented with an ear plug. Vases with these ear-like projections and ear plugs are not uncommon in this area, and are probably highly conventionalized incense burners. The figure of the god outside (which, as will be shown later on, was represented after a time by the face only) has here had every feature and ornament of the face eliminated with the exception of the ears and ear plugs, which would always be unmistakable.