north of Barkley Sound (according to Swan the Makah of Cape Flattery also derive their ritual from this region) make it seem likely that we have to deal with an old and specifically Nootka wolf ceremony that, in course of time, has become profoundly influenced and probably considerably elaborated by the winter ceremonial of the Kwakiutl. It even seems probable that at least one of the wolf dances of the latter is Nootka in origin. At any rate, before the details of the wolf ritual among the more northern Nootka tribes, which are said to be rather different from those above outlined, are known, it is well to refrain from ascribing the Nootka Lōkwa'na' to a primarily Kwakiutl origin.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA,

OTTAWA, ONT.

AN ANCIENT SEPULCHER AT PLACERES DEL ORO,

A

STATE OF GUERRERO, MEXICO

By H. J. SPINDEN

N archeological discovery of great interest and in a region

new to most students of Mexican art was made in June, 1910,

by Mr William Niven, of Mexico City. Mr Niven has for years studied and collected the antiquities of the west coast of Mexico, particularly in the state of Guerrero. Representative collections made by him are now in the Museo Nacional of Mexico City, in the American Museum of Natural History, and in the Peabody Museum of Harvard University.

Mr Niven's investigations have shown that the state of Guerrero contains many extensive ruins which bear witness to a large prehistoric population and to a fairly high culture. The numerous pyramids and platform mounds of this region are, however, merely loose masses of natural or roughly cut boulders, and the temples which once crowned their summits are now in utter ruin. Thus, because they lack in spectacular interest, even the most important sites have never been adequately explored. The collections so far gathered consist, for the most part, of occasional finds of small carved stones, either implements or ornaments. The few slight excavations have revealed carved specimens of jadeite, serpentine, and obsidian, as well as objects of gold and copper. The series of remarkable objects that will presently be described is evidence of much higher and more intensified culture than has hitherto been suspected.

The discovery in question was made in the valley of the Rio del Oro, near the mining town of Placeres del Oro, which lies in the municipality of Coyuca de Catalan, on the Rio Balsas, about two hundred miles southwest of Mexico City. The Rio del Oro, rising in the high sierras of interior Guerrero, flows in its upper courses through a deep cañon. A few miles above the town of Milpa

Chica the cañon comes to an end and a broad rolling valley takes its place. Further down the hills close in again. From this point until it reaches the Rio Balsas the stream is tortuous and the valley narrow, with stretches of box cañon.

ANCIENT SITES IN THE RIO DEL ORO VALLEY

A map of this region, based upon data furnished by Mr Niven is shown in figure 9, and upon this he has marked the principal sites of ancient remains as follows:

A. Near the town of San Augustín at the mouth of the river there is a large pyramid about forty feet in height.

B. Opposite the mouth of the Arroyo Viscaino is a pyramid about thirty-five feet in height.

C. On the west bank of the river four hundred yards above the mouth of the Arroyo Viscaino is the ancient site at which was made the discovery of the sepulcher with its mortuary treasures. Here for a distance of several hundred yards the flood force of the stream has been directed against the bases of three pyramids with the result that almost a quarter of the structures has been washed away. A vertical cross-section has thus been made which reveals admirably the earth and boulder construction. The pyramids are of unequal height, the highest rising perhaps thirty feet above the plain. They are flanked by level courts. About a hundred yards west of this line of pyramids there are three others of less elevation and an orderly arrangement of small courts and plazas.

D. In the town of Placeres del Oro there are two pyramids, the smaller of which is located in the cemetery. One of these is about sixty feet in height and the other about forty feet.

E. On the east side of the river, above the Arroyo de Patamba, are boulder ruins of houses. This mass of ruins is bounded on the south by a great pyramid that rises to the height of eighty or ninety feet in four terraces.

F. On the western side of the Rio del Oro and some two hundred yards back from the river there are abundant remains of a large city extending from the Arroyo de Torres to the present town of Milpa Chica in a strip fully four hundred yards in width. The ruins con

sist of small boulder mounds five or six feet in height and laid out apparently with considerable regularity. The site is so thickly overgrown with brush that exploration is difficult.

G. A short distance above Milpa Chica is a pyramid about twenty-five feet in height. There are no ruins of importance in the narrow gorge of the upper river.

According to another authority1 there are also extensive ruins. at Quiríncuaro, which is shown on the map not far from the Rio Balsas. This site lies between two high barrancas on an arroyo that empties into the Rio del Oro from the east. Occasional excavations by the laborers of the hacienda have uncovered relics of the ancient population.

Besides these valley sites, there is, according to Mr Niven, scarcely a mountain ridge in this region which does not show remains of ancient terraces and platforms. It is possible that they belong to an epoch different from that of the lowland ruins.

THE DISCOVERY

After this general survey of the archeological sites of the Rio del Oro valley we must return to the site marked C on the map. Near the base of the most northerly of the three pyramids and on the plain that extends toward the Arroyo Viscaino there is a ring of stones four feet in diameter. The ring is about six feet back from the brink of the wash bank. Just north of it are two lines of boulders, each about three feet wide and extending fifteen feet back from the edge. These appear to be sunken walls, because they extend downwards on the face of the wash bank for fifteen or twenty feet. At a point about twelve feet from the surface and directly opposite the ring of stones, Mr Niven saw the corner of a cut stone slab sticking out of the bank. Digging around this he brought to light an ancient burial.

On top was a plain slab of diorite, smoothly worked but undecorated, with the following dimensions: length forty-two inches, width twenty-four inches, thickness three inches. This slab was lying in a horizontal position, upon another plain slab of the same

1E. Ruiz, Michoacan, paisajes, tradiciones y leyendas, Mexico, 1891, pp. 325-327.