Abstract
THE unknown land of which Mr. Gann writes is Yucatan, which he visited with Dr. S. G. Morley for the purposes of archaeological investigation. From Belize the party went northward and then westward on a two months' trip round the coast, making several inland expeditions to visit ruined Maya cities. Incidentally the book contains a great deal of information on a part of Central America that is little known and not easy of access, but its main value is the account the author gives of the Maya ruins and the Santa Cruz Indians. These form an independent tribe, since the Mexican government virtually evacuated their province, and represent the purest descendants of the Mayas. A great deal of work was accomplished, including visits to Chacmool, a previously unknown ruined city, Tuluum, which has always been difficult to reach owing to Indian hostility, and two minor new discoveries at Cancuen and Playa Carmen. All these are fully described. Of great interest are the accounts of the remarkable mural paintings of human figures and gods executed in bright colours on a hard stucco, found at Tuluum in a fresh condition despite their age of four centuries. The elucidation of the Maya method of dating in Yucatan was another striking discovery.
In an Unknown Land.
Thomas
Gann
By. Pp. 263 + 32 plates. (London: Duckworth and Co., 1924.) 21s. net.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
In an Unknown Land . Nature 115, 454 (1925). https://doi.org/10.1038/115454c0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/115454c0