A Remarkable Burial Mound
The next mound excavated by us in this neighbourhood was situated in the valley to the east of the last two, and about half a mile distant from them.
From: Unknown To: 1934 C.E.
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From Discoveries And Adventures In Central America by Thomas Gann, 1929.
The next mound excavated by us in this neighbourhood was situated in the valley to the east of the last two, and about half a mile distant from them. It was one of the most remarkable mounds I have ever excavated, not because of the number, variety, or beauty of the artifacts which it contained, for it was singularly poor in this respect, but owing to the fact that it was a house mound, which had been used secondarily for sepulchral purposes.
Not once, however, but at no less than three different periods, had it been re-occupied, and on each occasion the owner had been buried beneath his former house.
The mound appears to have started as a low platform, built of rubble, and covered with hard mortar, which formed the floor of the original house. Later, the owner, apparently wishing for a better-class house, covered this first floor with a layer of rubble 16 ins. thick, upon which he placed a solid floor of thick cement, like mortar, and, with this as a foundation, built himself a new house, the walls of which, to a height of 2 ft., were constructed of cut stone, and above this of wood, the roof, no doubt, being of palm-leaf thatch.
Only one of these walls is now left standing, so it is impossible to estimate with any degree of accuracy the original dimensions of the house.
This form of house—low stone walls, with wooden super-structure—seems to have been exceedingly common amongst the Maya of the New Empire, as we know from the accounts of the Franciscan Fathers who first visited the Itzas of Peten that it was in use amongst them in the construction of their temples and better-class dwellings, and I have found numerous mounds covering structures of this kind around Corozal during my excavation of tumuli belonging to the New Empire.
The owner of the house having died, a long hole was made in the floor of his new house, down to the level of the floor of the first house. In this was constructed a small cyst, or chamber, some 5 ft. 6 ins. long by 2 ft. broad, the sides formed by upright flags, the roof by larger flags laid across them, and in this the body was laid, fully extended on its face, the left arm, bent at the elbow, lying beneath, so that the left hand touched the right elbow. The skull was deliberately fractured at the time of burial with a large stone, which was left in situ, and, curiously enough, not a single ornament, weapon—or, in fact, object of any kind—accompanied the corpse, a most unusual circumstance amongst the Maya of any period.
The skeleton was that of a young man, just over 5 ft. 2 in. in height. Judging by lesions found on the lower end of the right humerus, it seems not improbable that he died of syphilis. After this, the site was probably abandoned for some time, till a second owner, finding a convenient truncated pyramid ready to his hand, adjacent to excellent corn-lands, erected a second house, by the simple expedient of covering in the whole of the original structure with a layer of small rubble, and laying a stout mortar floor on top of this, to form the foundation of a new stone-walled house, almost exactly similar to the first one, except that the walls were only 16 ins. high.
Outside the walls of this house the cement floor was extended for a couple of feet, and immediately beneath this extension two interments were found, one of a young man, the other of a very old, entirely toothless individual, the latter of whom suffered from some chronic inflammatory bone disease, judging by the appearance of the outer extremity of the right clavicle, or collar-bone. With them was found a single perforated shell disc, probably intended for a gorget, about the size of a five-dollar piece. The bones belonging to these two skeletons were mixed together indiscriminately, and it looked as if the two corpses had been simply dumped into a pit dug beneath the extension of the cement floor, huddled together casually.
They represent the second occupation of the house, and may have been father and son. They were evidently buried at the same time, and died possibly of some epidemic, almost simultaneously. The bones were not in such good preservation as those of the deeper burial, though the latter were obviously older, the reason probably being that the first interment was, owing to the cyst in which it was contained, and the numerous floors which overlay it, almost completely protected from moisture, whereas the second, lying under the edge of the outward extension of the house floor, was not.
After this second interment the site was no doubt again abandoned for a time, till a third occupant came along, and covered the second site over with a layer of rubble about 18 ins. thick, on top of which he proceeded to construct another smooth floor of mortar. His house, however, apparently had no stone walls, or at least no trace of them is now to be found. On his decease his remains were simply laid upon the floor of his house, and a pyramidal cap, composed of earth, rubble, and blocks of limestone, built over them, to form the summit of the mound. Of this last interment only a few fragments of bone remained, almost disintegrated, owing no doubt to the fact that rain-water could soak through the porous layer which covered them, and it was impossible to tell the age or sex of the individual to whom they belonged. With them were found two minute red pottery vessels, each holding about one ounce, and two peculiar, oval pottery rings, scalloped on their inner edges, such as I have never seen before.
Over the whole mound, covering in its dead with a pall of nature’s own providing, was a layer of vegetal humus, averaging about 1 ft. in thickness, indicating that at least several centuries must have passed since the last interment had been made.
This mound presents many interesting features, and several intriguing problems, none of which, probably, will ever be solved. Why was it chosen for re-occupation as a house site twice after the first owner had been buried beneath it? As a rule, the very fact that a house site had been used for this purpose rendered it taboo amongst the ancient Maya.
How is it that two individuals of the second occupation come to have died simultaneously, and to have been buried higgledy-piggledy, in such a curious and unusual situation, outside the house?
Lastly, how may one account for the curious fact that individuals of both the second and first occupation suffered from some form of inflammatory bone disease, closely resembling syphilis?
There were a great number of mounds scattered around near Benque Viejo, of which we opened six in all, every one of which proved to be a house mound, beneath which burial of the owner had been effected.
In no case were ornaments, weapons, or implements of any interest found, and one had to come to the conclusion either that the former inhabitants of this region were very poor, or very stingy with the dead, or that the custom of burying with them some of their belongings, for use in the next world, prevalent throughout the whole Maya area, was not in vogue here.
As a rule it is quite easy to tell, from the contents of the grave alone, the sex, social condition, and approximate age of the individual buried therein. With the child were buried its toys and small ornaments, and, very rarely, a terminal phalanx of the mother’s little finger. With the housewife were placed her corn-rubbing stone; malacates, or spindle-whorls, of pottery; domestic clay utensils representing the working part of her life, together with her few poor ornaments—a string of clay, stone, or shell beads, and wristlets, gorgets, or earplugs of the same material.
With the noble, in his elaborate stone cyst, were placed his carved jade, serpentine obsidian, and mother-of-pearl ornaments, his finely chipped flint and greenstone weapons, and his beautifully painted pottery. With the warrior were his flint spear, and arrow-heads, and his shield; with the fine lady her iron pyrites, or obsidian mirror, her depilatory, and the red ochre, charcoal, and other coloured powders used in her toilet, together with her delicate jade earplugs, wristlets, necklaces, and bracelets. Landa tells us that it was the custom to bury with the priests their painted manuscripts, on astrology, medicine, history, divination, and so on.
Unfortunately no explorer in the Maya area, as yet, has come across a burial of this kind, which would be inevitably of surpassing importance in the apparently hopeless task of deciphering the hieroglyphics on the monuments, and it is doubtful whether they ever will do so, as no perishable material, howsoever tough it may be, seems to be able to withstand, through the centuries, the effects of the great heat and moisture encountered throughout a great part of the year over the whole region.
Gann, Thomas. Discoveries And Adventures In Central America, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1929.
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