MS 1201 Letter to Professor Spencer F. Baird

Scope and Contents

Concerns archaeological field work in the area of the Monte Alban ruins in Oaxaca. Letter written by Ayme in Oaxaca describes his excavations in three areas. The first at an hacienda called Nazarene, at the foot of Monte Alban; a second along a river bank, one mile west of the hacienda, and a third just north of the Oaxaca road, a mile east of Nazarene. The report describes the tombs he encountered and includes rough sketches of these structures and a few of the artifacts. At the close of the letter, Ayme asks for additional funds to continue his work, so as to "put...into your hands a superb, unequalled collection of Mexican antiquities."