metatl. Rubbers of the first type, however, dating from an early period, have been found in ruins in Alta Vera Paz. Flesh food was not much eaten on ordinary occasions, but was reserved for feasts. The Maya were good hunters, and organized communal drives besides manufacturing various forms of traps, principally springes and deadfalls (Fig. 62). The deer was the principal
| Fig. 62.— | |||
| A. | Turkey in a trap. | B. | Hunter with deer. |
| C. The black god making fire. | |||
| D. | Deer in a trap. | E. | Alligator in a deadfall. |
| (Troano-Cortesianus MS.) | |||
quarry, but various animals were domesticated, including turkeys, geese and bees, and fish was considered a great delicacy. For fishing, canoes were employed, of the dug-out variety, and the inhabitants of the lower Usumacinta led a semi-aquatic life. Between Yucatan and Tabasco is a large lagoon, with many small islands, teeming with fish and bird-life; here the navigation is very confusing, but the natives made their way from point to point by the aid of signs which they
