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CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 LIBRARY 
 
©ije ©ttibcrsitg of ©fjicago 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY 
 BULLETIN 11 
 
 The Little Pottery Objects of 
 Lake Chapala, Mexico 
 
 By 
 FREDERICK STARR 
 
 CHICAGO 
 
 !Ibc TUnivctem o( CbtcaflO prcse 
 1897 
 
Efft ©nibersitg of (ttticago 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY 
 BULLETIN II 
 
 The Little Pottery Objects of 
 Lake Chapala, Mexico 
 
 By 
 FREDERICK STARR 
 
 CHICAGO 
 
 ITbc "ranlvctaitB of flbtcaso presa 
 
 1897 
 
Note. — The illustrations are all of nat- 
 ural size, and are made from pen drawings, 
 from the originals, by M. K. Seralian. 
 
THE LITTLE POTTERY OBJECTS OF 
 LAKE CHAPALA. 
 
 Lake Chapala is the largest body of fresh water in the Republic 
 of Mexico. It lies in the State of Jalisco, to the northwest from the 
 City of Mexico and at a distance of about two hundred and fifty 
 miles in a direct line. Surrounded by beautiful mountains, its 
 scenery presents a bold and Alpine character. A number of towns 
 lie along the margin of the lake, among which La Barca lies upon 
 the Mexican Central Railroad, and Chapala is a place of consider- 
 able resort. The country about the lake was, and to a certain extent 
 still is, Tarascan territory. 
 
 My attention was first called to the little potteries of Lake Cha- 
 pala by Francisco Fredenhagen of Guadalajara. Mr. Fredenhagen 
 showed me a string of little ladles and ollitas found at Chapala, 
 either in the lake or washed up on the shore. He suggested that 
 they might come from the site of some ancient town built over the 
 water, analogous to the well-known Swiss lake-dwellings. Since 
 then I have attempted, with no success, to find any signs of such 
 pile-structures. The fishermen of the neighborhood deny the 
 existence of any stumps of posts or piles in the lake, and at the 
 times of my visits the water has been too high for satisfactory exami- 
 nation. The question is not decided. 
 
 The occurrence of these little terra cotta objects — vessels, ladles, 
 sinkers, spindle-whorls, and figures — in the lake is curious. Archse- 
 ological objects abound in the district, and pottery vessels and 
 figures of characteristic types are common all around the lake. But 
 they are all large, and the vessels were serviceable for daily use. 
 These larger objects appear to be rare or quite absent from the 
 lake itself; on the other hand, the little objects which are about to 
 be described are so rare as to be practically unknown at all the land 
 localities with which I am acquainted. 
 
 3 
 
There are several points in the western part of the lake where 
 these little objects are found. Chapala is by no means the best 
 locality, though the first I knew. They are found again about four 
 miles west from it. But the best of the known localities is Ocotepec. 
 At all these places the specimens may be found, though rarely, 
 along the shore, where they have been washed up by the waves. 
 Such specimens usually show signs of wavewear. The most numer- 
 ous and finest specimens are found when the water of the lake is at 
 its lowest level. They may then be taken out or dug from the lake 
 ottom at a spot where the water often stands from one to two 
 fathoms deep. Many of the specimens are coated with a lime 
 deposit or with slimy vegetable growth. 
 
 I divide the specimens in my own collection into five groups — 
 ollitas, ladles, sinkers, spindle-whorls, and figurines. Far the larger 
 number of them are of a dark gray — almost black — or grayish 
 ware, fairly fine-grained and pretty well baked, but easily broken. 
 The ollitas are the commonest of all the types. Out of a collection 
 of 261 specimens there are 181 ollitas, 15 sinkers, 48 whorls, 11 
 ladles, 6 figurines. The ollitas are really more common propor- 
 tionally than this, for in collecting I have often rejected them, while 
 I have never refused specimens of the rest, if they were at all good. 
 Taking up each of these classes, I shall describe the types in detail : 
 
 Ollitas. — These are made with much care. They are too small 
 for use, and the mouths are frequently small out of proportion to 
 
 the little vessels themselves. Very commonly there are two or three 
 projecting ears, pierced near their base for the passage of a cord. 
 
 4 
 
Sometimes, however, the supports are real loops or crests or combs, 
 made after the vessel was shaped and then attached. At times 
 wart-like knobs, grooved across so as to resemble eyes or mouths, 
 occur. Any of these prominences or projections break off easily 
 and leave a nearly smooth spot where they separate. These ears, 
 
 looped handles, knobs, crests, etc., vary much in position : the 
 crests may be placed either horizontally or vertically. The most 
 frequent type is a small, neatly rounded body, the upper rim of 
 
 Fig. 3. 
 which is smooth and concave ; it usually has three ears at equal 
 intervals, placed near the top of the vessel. In size these ollitas 
 range from 14'°'° to 50""° in diameter and from 13""" to 48"" in height. 
 The series selected for illustration shows the diversity in type. 
 
 5 
 
Fig. 1 represents a fair specimen of the commonest type. The 
 three knobs are about equidistant around the main body. As usual, 
 they are pierced transversely for cord suspension. This specimen is 
 somewhat above the medium in size. 
 
 Fig. 2 is a specimen of the same size, but with the knobs less 
 
 Figs. 4 and 5. 
 
 regularly spaced, and rounded at the tips. 
 
 These knobs may be developed into upward or downward point- 
 ing horns (Fig. 3). These are rarely sharp at the ends, usually hav- 
 ing rounded tips. 
 
 Occasionally the vessels are not so nearly globular; in such we 
 have some approach toward jar-shaped ; the knobs in these are 
 
 usually badly formed (Fig. 4). 
 One of the prettiest types 
 has the projecting knobs neatly 
 developed into well-sharpened, 
 upturned horns ; the rim flares 
 and is finely concave finished. 
 This type is always carefully 
 made and in nearly black ware 
 
 {Fig- 5)- 
 
 Rarely, in place of knobs 
 there are little loop handles 
 fastened on the sides. In Fig. 6 is represented a specimen of this 
 kind with a plain surface and three symmetrically placed handles. 
 These handles are sometimes notched along the upper edge (as in 
 Fig. 7), thus adding a decorative feature. 
 
 Such furnish a transition to specimens with slit knobs and with 
 
 6 
 
 Fig. 6. 
 
notched ridges or crests. These may be variously combined. Thus 
 in the specimen represented in two positions in Fig. 8 we have the 
 
 Fig. 9. 
 
 three projecting horns dividing the vessel into nearly equal parts; 
 on one of these is a knob slit across obliquely by an incised line ; 
 
 7 
 
on the second is a vertical ridge, notched transversely by three lines 
 into a sort of crest ; the third space is plain. Fig. g represents a 
 vessel but slightly different ; in it two out of the three spaces are 
 occupied with slit knobs. From one point of view this specimen 
 somewhat resembles — probably intentionally — a human face. The 
 
 Fig. 10. 
 
 Fig. II. 
 
 two slit knobs resemble eyes; one of the suspension knobs forms a 
 fairly good nose, while the other two are like ears ; the third space 
 is plain. A second specimen, very close to this, has a slit knob on 
 the third space and presents the rude semblance of a human face 
 from any one of three points of view {Fig. id). 
 
An odd but pretty form, given in Fig. 1 1 , introduces us to a 
 new series characterized by transverse or horizontal crests. The 
 three ears are developed into down-turned blunt horns. Between 
 them and on the same level — near the top of the vessel — are three 
 
 Fig. 14. 
 little long hummocks, notched by transverse lines into crests with 
 five or six segments. Some specimens present a combination of 
 crest and slit knob. Thus Fig. 12 has one of the spaces between the 
 ears clear, the second is occupied by a thrice notched horizontal 
 
 Fig. 15. 
 crest, and the third by a knob with a nearly vertical slit. Here the 
 ears are of unusual breadth. In another {Fig. 13) the projecting 
 ears are more nearly the usual form, but not symmetrically placed ; 
 one interspace is vacant, but in the other two are a notched knob 
 and a crest almost like a bit of twisted rope. In one specimen, 
 
Fig. 1 8. 
 
where the ears are like down-turned, round-tipped horns, they are 
 united by two notched curved ridges ; these are so arranged with 
 reference to the intermediate ear (which is somewhat broken) as to 
 suggest the idea of eyebrows and nose — or an owl's face {Fig. 14). 
 
 Fig. 19. 
 
 In this specimen there is an interspace vacant, but in another {Fig. 
 is), somewhat similar, there are three crests, filling thus all the 
 spaces ; these crests are nearly horizontal. Sometimes, instead of 
 
 Fig. 20. 
 being near the upper edge of the vessel, the ears and crests may be 
 low down on the body {Fig. 16). Far the handsomest of this three- 
 crested type in our series is the specimen represented in Fig. 17, 
 
where the ears point upward and the crests are finely developed. 
 Rarely, both ears and crests may be at the very base of the ollita, 
 giving it an altogether peculiar appearance {Fig. i8). 
 
 Quite a distinct series occurs in which the crests run vertically 
 instead of horizontally. These may present one crest {Fig. ig) or 
 more. They may have not only the crest, but also the slit knob 
 (Fig. 20). The form shown in Fig. 21 is curious. Here two ears 
 of the ollita are developed into narrow, but notably prominent ver- 
 tical crests, which are pierced for suspension ; between them appears 
 a knob, probably the stump of an ear of the usual type pierced for 
 cord passage. This specimen is unfortunately further broken, one 
 
 Figs. 23, 24, and 25. 
 
 of the crests having been injured. In one specimen {Fig. 22) are 
 two crests, opposite each other, both perforated, but differently set 
 — one being vertical, the other transverse. This ollita vaguely sug- 
 gests a bird ; V/. Fig. jj- 
 
 This last specimen leads us to a totally different series — those 
 with but two pierced ears projecting from the body. The simplest 
 and commonest type {Fig. 23) has the ears at the base, which is 
 more or less flat. The ears may be located higher as in Fig. 24. 
 Some are beautifully symmetrical, with daintily formed little ears, 
 turned upward and pointed at the top, located near the upper edge, 
 ^z;?-. J — representing a three-eared specimen— gives an idea of this 
 
 14 
 
style. Occasionally looped handles are luted on ; such are usually 
 situated near the base. Fig. 25 represents such a specimen, which 
 may be compared with Fig. 6. Lastly, prettily crested forms occur, 
 such as that represented in Fig. 26, which is really a variant of the 
 idea expressed in Fig. ly. It may be objected that these two-eared 
 
 Fig. 26. 
 
 specimens are simpler than the three-eared and would precede them 
 in evolution. They are, however, far less common than the three- 
 eared forms, which appear to be the original type, and from which 
 these probably were really derived. 
 
 Entirely alone in this collection is a little jar of reddish ware 
 with gray clouding; it is fairly symmetrical 
 and has neither ears nor crests. The whole 
 surface is dotted with little pits. It is the 
 only specimen of ollita from the lake that is 
 unperforated. It measures 41'°"* in height and 
 31"° in greatest diameter (Fig. 2y). 
 
 Occasionally little vessels of a totally dif- 
 ferent character are found. Two somewhat 
 similar types occur. In one the vessel is like 
 a cylindrical jar, contracted upward to a nar- 
 rower neck, with an expanding edge or rim^ 
 The other is cylindrical, with a flat base some- 
 what spread out beyond the cylindrical body ; 
 the under side of the base is somewhat concave. Both tj'pes have 
 a series of blunt, thorn-like prominences. One specimen of the first 
 type is shown in Fig. 28. It is composed of grey ware. But one 
 perforated, thorn-like ear is present, but there are traces of one — 
 perhaps of two — that have been broken off. Fig. 2g represents a 
 
 IS 
 
 Fig. 27. 
 
specimen of the second type. Two views are given of it ; one shows 
 four projections at the sides (two on each side) and a central one 
 between them; the other shows the same four lateral projections, 
 
 and three (one broken) knobs between the lower ones. The perfora- 
 tions in this specimen pierce the base of the vessel ; when suspended 
 the vessel apparently hung upside down. It is quite possible that 
 
 i6 
 
this specimen was intended to represent a human face. In Fig. jo 
 is presented a cylinder, which was probably a vessel of the same 
 character as the last, but from which the bottom has been broken 
 out. Placed upside down, it plainly represents a human face. The 
 eyeholes are pits; the mouth is a dug-out slit; from the sides pro- 
 ject four knobs. Four similar 
 knobs are placed symmetrically 
 with these at the rear of the cyl- 
 inder, but the space between, 
 corresponding to the human face 
 of the front, is plain. 
 
 Sinkers. — These present little 
 variation. They are usually of 
 reddish-brown, fairly baked ware; 
 they resemble little elliptical 
 pebbles about which a groove 
 has been cut. They are strik- 
 ingly like what Abbott and others 
 call pogamoggons, but are in 
 miniature and of pottery instead ^"^' ^°' 
 
 of stone. They are quite like the beads described by Thruston and 
 figured at p. 320 in his Antiquities of Tennessee, but are not per- 
 forated. The only important variation is in size: they range 
 from 10°"" to 27°"° in length (See Figs. 31, 32, and jj). 
 
 Figs. 31, 32, and 33. 
 
 Spindle- Whorls. — Spindle-whorls of pottery are found at almost 
 every archaeological locality in Mexico. They present wonderful 
 variation at different localities. Those from Lake Chapala are 
 unusually small and present two extreme types : {a) flat, straight- 
 edged disks, like checkers in shape ; they bear various patterns com- 
 posed of simple lines, corded lines, and dots; (b) spheroidal or 
 quite spherical forms, with more or less complicated patterns of 
 
 17 
 
Figs. 34-41. 
 
lines. -Figs. 34, js, 36 represent the former; Figs. 44, 45, 46 the 
 latter. Intermediate types are represented in Figs. 37-43. Fig. 38 
 is a flat disk with grooved circumference; Figs. 3g-40 are plano- 
 convex ; Fig. 41 doubly convex, but flattened ; Figs. 42-43 doubly 
 
 Figs. 42-46. 
 
 convex, with an equatorial belt of smaller curvature. No detailed 
 description of these forms is necessary, as the figures convey a clear 
 idea of them. 
 
 Ladles. — These are not infrequently made of a red or reddish- 
 brown ware ; they range from 50""° to 94""° in length and from forms 
 which are plainly ladles to forms which cannot be so considered. 
 They form, however, a single 
 series. 
 
 Fig. 47 is a simple shaft 
 bent up at the two ends, one 
 of which tapers to a point, 
 while the other is simply broadened and flattened a little. It is 
 perforated near the middle of the shaft by a small hole punched 
 
 19 
 
 Fig. 47. 
 
through from one side. This is the plainest, smallest, least ladle- 
 like of the series. 
 
 Fig. 48 shows a specimen where the shaft is quite heavy and 
 thick ; at one end it is broadened and hollowed into a fair ladle- 
 
 FlG. 48. 
 
 bowl, while at the other end it splits into two claws, which are quite 
 abruptly bent upward. The specimen measures 84"° in length. 
 The perforation is near the end of the handle. In some specimens 
 this perforation is vertical instead of transverse. 
 
 Fig. 49. 
 
 Fig. 4g. The shaft is much as in the last: the bowl is less well- 
 shaped; the end of the handle is turned up into one point or claw; 
 two legs or claws occur a little way down the shaft ; the perforation 
 
 20 
 
lies a little beyond these. Fig. jo shows a more clumsy specimen 
 than the preceding. It bears four leg-like projections, two at the 
 very end of the handle and two further down its shaft. The per- 
 foration is situated between the two pairs near the latter. 
 
 One imperfect specimen shows the end of the handle as a blunt 
 
 Fig. 50. 
 
 point, while two pairs of legs are situated along the shaft. In Fig. 
 J/ a rather slender, well-made specimen is shown. The end is bent 
 upward and notched into three little knobs or toes ; a pair of legs 
 project from the shaft; the perforation lies between these and the 
 end. 
 
 Fig. 51. 
 
 In almost all of these specimens the little projecting knobs sug- 
 gest the legs of animals. This idea was probably in the mind of the 
 ancient potter. In Fig. J2 is represented, not a ladle, but a curious 
 figurine; it belongs, however, plainly to the ladle series. It is of 
 coarse, reddish ware, darker within. The animal represented is like 
 
 21 
 
a dog, with long, slender body ; his ears (one is gone) stick straight 
 up from the head ; the tongue hangs from his mouth ; the eyes are 
 made by impressions of a slender, hollow, cylindrical object; the 
 legs are spread ; the tail is erect. From the middle of the back 
 rises a little column, at the top of which is a shallow bowl. The 
 length of this specimen is about loo""", the height about 50""°. 
 
 This dog figure is in some respects notably like the extremely 
 curious little dog-bodied chariots found by Charnay at a height of 
 13,000 feet, on Popocatepetl. Curiously, too, these were also found 
 with miniature vessels, which Charnay considers children's toys. In 
 Ancient Cities of the New IVorld he says : 
 
 " Next are toys and tiny terra cotta chariots ; some are broken, some 
 still preserve their four wheels ; they were, presumably, a fond mother's 
 
 Fig. 52. 
 
 memento who, ages gone by, buried them with her beloved child. These 
 chariots are shaped like a flattened cayote{a. kind of long-bodied fox), with 
 its straight ears and pointed face, and the wheels fit into four terra cotta 
 stumps ; on my renewing the wood axle-tree which had been destroyed 
 long since the chariots began to move."' (P. 171.) 
 
 Also "baby tables, which, like the toy chariots, represented some 
 quadruped — resembling Greek toys." (P. 171.) 
 
 Figurines. — From these ladles and the long-bodied dog figure 
 with the bowl atop it is but a step to true figurines. They are not 
 common. They are crudely shaped and of poor material. 
 
 ' Figures of two are given on p. 175. 
 
 22 
 
P^S- 53 represents perhaps the amphisbxa or two-headed snake. 
 It is of a dark purple brown. It tapers and flattens vertically at 
 both ends. Two grooves encircle it near the ends: on the body 
 space between these, on each side and on the back, are lines of 
 three dots each. Each of the head-shaped ends has an eye spot on 
 either side and a mouth notch. The specimen may possibly be of 
 stone. The length is 53'°"". 
 
 Fig. §4 much resembles the last, but is certainly of pottery. One 
 end is broken off, the other is bluntly rounded. One groove 
 
 Figs. 53 and 54. 
 
 remains, and traces of the other are visible at the point of fracture. 
 The ends were probably alike. The one which is still preserved has 
 a dot sunk in each side, but no mouth slit. A line of three dots 
 occurs along each side. 
 
 Fig. jj plainly represents a bird. Its head is raised, and the eye- 
 spots, the beak, and a little 
 crest are indicated. The 
 bird is represented as stalk- 
 ing, but curiously, probably 
 to facilitate the figure stand- 
 ing rather than for any 
 artistic purpose, the forward 
 leg is doubled. The tail is 
 broad, spread, and upraised : 
 notches indicate its division 
 into feathers ; from the 
 
 Fig. 55. 
 
 back of this little creature rises a short column, with a shallow bowl 
 atop. From tip of tail to tip of beak the specimen measures 54"°'. 
 The perforation is at the base of the column. 
 
 Fig. 56 represents a quadruped. The ware is almost black. 
 The head as represented in the figure is far to broad ; the front legs 
 are broken off ; the hind legs sprawl notably ; the tail is erect. The 
 perforation pierces the body behind the fore legs. Length 68°". 
 
 23 
 
Fig. S7 is a rudely modeled human figure, much broken and 
 apparently representing a woman. It will be noticed that the work- 
 manship in none of these figurines is as good as in the ollitas, but 
 in this specimen it is particularly bad. The piece is not perforated. 
 
 Fig- 58 represents the largest of the figurines. It is incomplete; 
 in its present state it measures 64°"° in height. It represents a 
 
 Fig. 56. 
 
 human (?) figure seated. The head is gone; one leg is folded 
 upward, and the knee rests against the side of the chest or the upper 
 abdomen. The arm is curved about it, and the hand, rudely out- 
 lined by two incised lines, rests upon the chest, just below the neck. 
 A curious prominence along the back suggests an upturned tail ; it 
 is broken quite square across, just back of the perforation, which 
 pierces the back from side to side. 
 
 The most difficult specimen to compre- 
 hend and figure is represented, in three 
 aspects, in Fig. 59. This has a flat base, 
 from which rises a clumsy body ; at the top 
 is a projection, somewhat resembling a 
 head. Two pieces have been broken from 
 this trunk, which from their position might 
 have been arms, or breasts. To the right 
 of the head an arm-like projection ends in 
 ^^'^' 57- a shallow cup ; a series of similar projec- 
 
 tions, all no doubt once cupped at top, crown the head, while a tail 
 held upright rises behind the body and ends in a cup. Two eye- 
 like spots are on top of the head. A perforation runs through the 
 body, from side to side, under the armpits. This object was, no 
 
 24 
 
doubt, at first bilaterally symmetrical, but many parts have been 
 broken off. It is of fairly fine, grayish-black ware and stands 50""° 
 high. 
 
 Such is the description of the principal types in a collection 
 which was secured by several visits to the lake. Other types may 
 be found later, but these satisfactorily represent the character of these 
 little potteries. How are they to be explained? Were they toys for 
 children, miniatures of objects used by adults in daily life? That 
 is the most natural first suggestion ; but if so, why are they only in 
 the lake and not on the land? If the specimens came — as Freden- 
 hagen suggested — from a pile-dwelling village site, the theory of 
 their being toys gains in probability; 
 but why are not larger objects found 
 more commonly with them? 
 
 That the perforation was of im- 
 portance seems certain. The sinkers 
 and a>7ipliisbce?icz (together with one 
 little jar and one human figure) are 
 the only specimens not perforated. 
 They are grooved. So all (with the 
 exception of two out of 261 speci- 
 mens) could have been easily attached 
 to a cord or string. That they were 
 not all simply sinkers for fish-lines is 
 plain enough from their forms. 
 
 So far as their presence in the 
 lake is concerned it impossible that the 
 lake's level may have risen, covering 
 an original place of deposit on the 
 dry land. The spot is almost within sight of the active volcano of 
 Colima, and changes of level, through volcanic or other igneous 
 agency, in the waters of the lake are not improbable. The old 
 schoolmaster at Chapala insists that the town of Chapala has long 
 been slowly sinking, and that half of it has already been engulfed by 
 the lake. He also claims that the god formerly worshipped at 
 Chapala was a little god, a child god, and that the little vessels were 
 offerings to him. Mota Padilla in speaking of this town says : 
 " Chapala is at ten leagues' distance from Guadalajara, to the south- 
 east, and the lake is named from the pueblo, because it was perhaps 
 in its ancient days the most populous of those which surrounded it, 
 
 25 
 
although today it is almost 
 destroyed by various in- 
 creases of the lake, especially 
 those of 1555 and 1577;" 
 further on, in the same pas- 
 sage, he states that Fr. Juan 
 de Almolon threw into the 
 lake idols of flint, green- 
 stones, and clay, which he 
 took from the natives." 
 
 Taking all points into 
 consideration, with some 
 hesitancy, the following sug- 
 gestions are made : May not 
 these small objects be offer- 
 ings made to the lake itself 
 or some spirit resident there- 
 in? They may have been let 
 down carefully into the water 
 by means of cords, rather 
 than thrown in haphazard. 
 May not resin, or gum, have 
 been burned, or offerings 
 placed, in the little vessels 
 and ladles and in the cups 
 on such specimens as those 
 shown in Figs. j2, jj, and 
 59? Their miniature size, 
 the forms, the location, the 
 fact of perforation, or groov- 
 ing, would all be thus ex- 
 plained. It is perfectly 
 realized that these hints 
 demonstrate nothing ; fur- 
 ther explanation will be wel- 
 comed.' 
 
 Notwithstanding the em- 
 phasis laid upon the locality 
 of these and their mode of 
 occurrence, such vessels have been found elsewhere. The American 
 
 26 
 
Museum of Natural History, in New Yorlc Cit)', has a number from 
 Tillo, Oaxaca. Some have also been shown me that claimed to 
 come from near Palenque. Some in Dr. Sologuren's collection came 
 from "near Tehuantepec." I know nothing of the circumstances 
 under which any of these were found. They are all ollitas, mostly 
 of the ordinary, three-eared, plain type. 
 
 ' Mota Padilla ; Historia de la Conquista de la Provincia de la Nueva Galicza, 
 written in 1742; Mexico, 1870; pp. I0I-I02. The passage runs as follows: 
 '* Chapala estA d diez leguas de Guadalajara, entre Oriente y Sur, y de este pueblo 
 tomo la denominacion la laguna, quiz^ por haben sido en la antiguedad el mas 
 populoso de los que le circundaban, aunque hoy est^ casi destruido por varios cre- 
 cimientos de la laguna, especialmente por los anos de 555 y 577." 
 
 ' Mrs. Nuttall, in her paper on the little terra cotta heads of Teotihuacan, quotes 
 Father Duran as follows : "Food was offered to each one (of these images), and 
 the ta?nales they gave them were very small, in keeping with the images them- 
 selves, which were small. The food was placed in diminutive plates .... two 
 little cup-shaped gourd vessels were filled with pulque and put before them " (Book 
 II, chap. j5). Also: "This accursed beverage was a special offering to the gods, 
 and in several sacrifices and offerings I came across (besides eatables) feathers, 
 copal, and other childish things, such as toys of bone, and little dishes of terra 
 cotta, and also beads; I found very small jars of pulque as well " (Vol. II, p. 291). 
 To this Mrs. Nuttall adds : " Light is hereby thrown upon the probable reason for 
 the multitude of diminutive earthen vessels found in the ancient graves of Mexico, 
 They have generally been thought to be children's toys, and to mark the burial 
 place of children." — Nuttall: "Terra Cotta Heads of Teotihuacan," ^ot. Jour. 
 Arch., 1887, p. 327. 
 
 27