The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-23

/ lures deliberately and intricately
| carved, While in the lower half are the
/ abbreviated and conventional charac-
ters such as are commonly found in
! the Magyar glyphS.
/ Undoubtedly an unraVeling of the
! picture writing viii aid greatly in de-
| ciphering the hundreds of inscriptions
/ which are found in the territory once
/ occupied by the Maya race. formerly
| the most advanced of all the ancient
/ peoples Of America. on only two other
monuments is this form of picture"
writing found. one example being in
! the ruins of Copan, Honduras, where
| the back of 4 stella is entirely covered
with pictures.
About two hundred feet south of
these three monoliths are the two high
est monuments which have been dis
covered in the new world. The first,
known as Stella f. stands twenty-five
feet above the ground; the other Stella
T.. is twenty-five feet high. The first
mentioned is leaning at an angle of
! forty-fiVe degrees, and as it stands
there must be at least ten feet of its
length under ground. There are full
face human figures carved on the front
and back. and 4 hieroglyphic inscrip-
tion on either side. II has settled per-
ceptibly since Catherwood's visit in
1871 Fortunately it has been accu
rately nodded by Mr. Maudslay in plas
lti, anu Il cast - III the <Ali4CIlNdu V1d-
scum of Natural History.
The second stella. twenty-five feet
high, is by far the most artistically
carved of all the standing monoliths.
1t has large, full face human figures on
the front and back. and both sides are
occupied by hieroglyphs.
The ears of the person are almost
covered with huge ornaments The
/ breast and body 10 the waist are loaded
with ornaments, and an deliberately
worked lOin cloth hangs from the waist,
/ down between the legs to the feet. In
/ the right hand is held a kind of wand
/ or scepter, much resembling a Jump
/ ing jack. The upper part is gro
/ tesque little figure, With long nose,
/ representing a deity From the bottom
! of the stick hang feathers. The left
! hand is covered by shield. on the
] face of which is a mask, probably a
representation of the sun god.
Near at hand are two fallen stelae
about ten feet in length, entirely COW
/ cred with moss and vegetable debris.
About 500 feet south of these two large
stelae is j high truncated pyramid,
more than $50 feet in diameter at the
/ base. \ short distance east and north
east are three large monuments, and
from 500 TO 400 feet south, in a plaza
/ inClOsed on three sides, is another
| group Of stelae.
The most important Of these Is in the
/ form Of conventionally carved gigan-
/ tic turtle, the most extraordinary
1 sculpture in c ntral America. Roughly
/ described il is a cube about eight feet
in size and probably weighing twenty
tons. 1t is entirely covered with pic
ture and hieroglyphie writing. and
/ representations of a symbolic eharac-
! ter, among which are several eXagger-
ated animal and human faces and fig
ures. Maudslay spent much time in
securing a plaster mold of this stone
in more than 400 pieces.
In addition there is an interesting
/ figure carved on another stella. repre-
1 senting q woman, with fat, round
/ cheeks, which has been called the ena-
no. or dwarf.
Besides the monuments now standing
/ there are several fallen steIae some
l complete, while others are broken.
! They are all covered over with moss,
which hides the most delieately carved
/ lines. so that in order to photograph
/ them il is necessary TO have them care
/ fully cleaned with brushes.
The rock out of which they are
7 carved is q gray porphyry, the quar-
+ ries being. several miles from the ruins
and more than 600 feet above the val
4 ley The stones were probably all trans
ported in the rough and carved on the
/ spot where they now stand. the debris
being used in the construction of the
pyramids and edifiees The labor OF
/ transporting these immense stones
must have been stupendous, and indi-
! Gates very high knowledge of me-
4 chanios.
In the mounds and pyramids all
( traces of palaces and temples of stone
/ have disappeared. Such edifiees are
/ entirely destroyed, so much SO that
/ Maudslay was of the opinion that these
( structures did not support stone
/ houses, but buildings of perishable ma
/ terlal, such as wood or adobe bricks
( One excavation made however, proves
/ that stone buildings once existed, for
IN the principal pyramid several rooms
have been uncovered. revealing the tri-
angular Maya arch with walls TO the
rooms, made of nicely laid stones,
covered with stuccO or plaster, and
with smooth cement floors.
MARSHALL III cAuVrru