| FACING PAGE |
|
|---|---|
| El Castillo—a Pyramid Temple at Muyil | Frontispiece |
| Map Showing the Route of the Expedition and the New Archæological Sites Discovered | 16 |
| A Good Sea and Mud Boat was the H. S. Albert | 28 |
| A Rare Moment when Both Spinden and Mason Were Silent | 32 |
| Griscom’s Fortune at Ascension Bay | 102 |
| Some of the Drunken Mayas of Santa Cruz de Bravo | 132 |
| We Hung McClurg’s Shark from Our Bow—A Warning to his Kind | 146 |
| Spinden and Mason Before Remains of a Fisherman’s Shrine | 150 |
| We Find an Outpost of the Commercial City of Muyil | 160 |
| From this High Building Canoes Approaching Muyil Were Sighted Before they Could See the City | 166 |
| Vigia del Lago (“The Watch on the Lake”) | 184 |
| The Chief Temple of Tulum | 206 |
| The Ear-Ringed Chief of the Tulum Indians, “General” Paulino Caamal | 210 |
| Tulum’s Temple of the Frescoes | 214 |
| Behind this Temple to Some God of Maya Sailors we Found the Walled Town of Xkaret | 224 |
| McClurg Took the First Motor Boat into Xkaret Harbor | 228 |
| This “Lighthouse-Temple” is the “Broken Pyramid” which Gives the Ruins Behind it the Name Paalmul | 236 |
| On an Altar in the Upper Story of this Building at Paalmul we Found the Fragments of a Terra Cotta God | 238 |
| Front View of Round Building at Paalmul which Was Perhaps an Astronomical Observatory | 242 |
| Back View of Round Paalmul “Observatory” | 248 |
| This Building on the Harbor of Chakalal Contains Murals of a Style Never Found Before in East-coast Art | 252 |
| Wall Paintings Found in a Temple at Chakalal | 256 |
| The Laborers who Built the Stone Temples Probably Lived in Huts Like These of the Modern Indians of Acomal | 260 |
| Temple Found at Acomal with Curious Pineapple Shaped Object on Outdoor Altar Before it | 268 |
| McClurg, Spinden, Mason, Whiting, Griscom | 272 |
| Though Cozumel Island is Small, Spinden Found Ruins the Thick Bush had Hidden from Previous Explorers | 276 |
| The “Lighthouse-Temple” on Cozumel Island | 280 |
| Buildings at Acomal Showed an Interesting Use of Stucco Faces | 284 |
| A Lucky Halt for Lunch Led to the Discovery of Okop | 298 |
| The Great Moment when Spinden Reached the Top of a Pyramid at Okop | 300 |
| We Found Magnificent Spanish Churches Deserted to the Hot, Silent Bush | 304 |
| The Author was Glad to Reach “Civilization” at Chichen Itza | 308 |
| Small Wooden Crosses Put by Modern Indians on Altars of Ancient Temples | 332 |
Silver cities of Yucatan
About This Book
A firsthand account of an expedition into eastern Yucatan that blends travelogue with archaeological reporting and historical interpretation. The text describes coastal and jungle landscapes, ruined Maya temples, and ancient trade routes, and examines architectural and sculptural links between lowland Maya sites and central Mexican influences associated with Quetzalcoatl. It presents field observations about later phases of Maya civilization, contrasts pre-Columbian and colonial vestiges, and discusses indigenous resistance, population decline, and growing commercial penetration of the region. Photographs, drawings, and a map accompany the narrative and analytical commentary.