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Location: Monument 15 was discovered by Stirling during the 1938-39 field season "at a point almost half a mile northeast of the Long Mound [(Structure 9) where] the arroyo cuts through a mass of basalt in the bottom of the gorge. The water has carved a narrow trough through the solid stone at this point about 8 or 10 feet deep. On top of the east bank of the arroyo is a small mound [Structure 49] which has been partially cross-sectioned by the arroyo. Below the mound and lying on the bottom of the trough" (Stirling 1943:24. Monument 15 was rediscovered by a local inhabitant, Felis Pantoja, and it was moved to the site museum during 1978.
Associations: Monuments, 16, 25, 26 and 27.
Condition: Hand broken off, unfinished.
Photographs: Present report, Plate 23.
Drawings: Stirling 1943a: Figure 6.
Carved Areas: Sculpture in the round.
Material: This monument was not tested by Williams. However, there is nothing about it to suggest that its material is any different than that of Monument 1.
Dimensions: Elbow to shoulder 112 cm, elbow to wrist 106 cm.
Description: Monument 15 is a human? arm, conceived as a complete unit in itself, but probably intended as part of a composite sculpture. The arm is a single tapered form which is bent at the elbow, with a wristband and an armband. Both wristband and armband are ornamented with a large boss. A web of stone buttresses the crook of the arm between the upper and lower arm. The sculpture is well blocked out, the volumes of the arm and its ornament are well defined. However, the absence of detailing on the bracelets and armlets suggests that work on the sculpture was abandoned before it reached the finishing stages evident on the La Puente arm.
General Remarks: Both monuments 15 and 16 were noted by Stirling during his work at the site. But, he did not remove them from the arroyo where they lay under water. Therefore Cassady's drawing of the sculpture's form is highly abstracted. The monuments must have been moved to the site museum sometime after 1973 because de la Fuente repeats Stirling's d description and does not note the obvious resemblance of Monuments 15 and 16 to La Puente Monument 1.
