The Bismarck Tribune

DISCOVERY OF ANCIENT THRONE MADE

Find Made in Excavations in Yucatan and Guatemala

Washington, August 5.-Discovery of the reputed throne of the emperors and priests of Chichen Itza, civil and religious center of the Maya, an aboriginal civilization that extended through Yucatan and Guatemala, and the unearthing of another court where the god of chance reigned, has just been reported by the staff of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, engaged in excavating ruins in that region.

Tlachtli was the name they called the game akin to modern basketball and which they played in the century before Christ.

Dr. Sylvanus G. Morley, associated in Middle American Archaeology, with Dr. Earl H. Morris is engaged in the institution's program for excavation of the ancient Maya metropolis.

The Tlachtli court was composed of two high parallel walls, from 50 to 100 feet apart. A stone ring, parallel to the wall and at right angles to the floor, jutted out, near the top of either wall. Through this ring the contending sportsmen sought to put a rubber ball by bouncing it from either wrist, elbow or hip.

In the heat of the sport, the ancient gamblers were wont to wager their liberty, accepting slavedom if they lost, says Dr. Morley's account.

The ownership of vast estates hung on the outcome of the games. Quills filled with gold dust or trinkets of intrinsic value were the more common bets.

The ancient throne, recently brought to light, is likewise described by Dr. Morley's account. It is thirteen feet wide, seven feet deep and three feet high, elaborately and beautifully sculptured, he says.

"Its sloping sides are carved with a procession of gorgeously costumed warriors, weaving in and out among whom are long, sinuous rattlesnakes," Dr. Morley reports, "his panel is topped with a cornice composed of other intertwining rattlesnakes."

The throne is painted in deep red, warm yellow, brilliant blue and vivid green, and when approached from the front, between the outer pair of sculptured columns, which are similarly painted, it must have presented a striking picture of barbaric splendor.

"The floors were of hard lime plaster, painted a rich red, and around the back and side walls runs a deep broad bench with sloping back, where priests sat in solemn deliberation, and, with the Itzan rulers seated upon the rattle-snake throne, settled the affairs of state," Doctor Morley points out.

During July, the excavators discovered a small temple buried just southwest of the throne room colonnade. A plain throne, surrounded by flanking benches, similar to the rattle-snake throne, was found in the temple.