The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-12-03

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courses OF stone in such a manner as ~
give increased height and symmetry In
the Interior Of some of the nounde tbus
upl1fted have been found supporting CON
SlrucConS or masonry and even cement
floors.
GODS WE'RE WORSHIPED
Evidently these were sacred hills in
many instances, appropriately crowned
by structures dedicated to the worship
oL the gods. Occasionally they appear to
nave been utilized as places of b,1rfaI
and many human bones have been dfscov,
ered In them, with other curiosities, such
as the painted skeletons of jaguars. In
the neighborhood Of the famous castle
OF Chlchen-Itza are two very symmetrical
terraced pyramids $50 feet on a side. one
or which is well preserved and shows
painting In various colors on the stuccd
| surface.
In no case does 1t seem to have oc
CURED to the old-time Maya architects
| to make pyramid complete-that is. +.
| build 1t up to a point at the top like ths
| pyramids of Egypt. Their constructions
We're never more than frustums of pyr-
| amlds, being designed merely as sup
ports, and most commonly they were
from thirty to sixty feet square at the
base The temple on the top had usually
| a walled Enclosure which was place
! OF sacrfnce and undoubtedly the victims
| were commonly human beings One of
| the best preserved and most strilxIp.,
of the buildings is the so-ca1Ied. castle
OF Chichen-Itza, which stands upon a
| square pyramid eighty feet high It Is
! one OF the most remarkable of existing
| relics Of prehistoric America. =r7'4
In the group of buildings at Clfchen-
liza an immense square edifice, called
I o. III
| terrace, is conspicuous. It's front, fac.
| Ing westward, is pierced by three portals
{ opening into gallery that runs across
/ the whole breadth Of the structure. and
from which three doors give admission
to as many great halls. At Uxrnali. the
splendid governors house, so-caIIed, is
I on similar plan; 1t IS 320 feet long by
| forty feet deep. and stands on a natural
| elevation, c-rtifcfaIly heightened by stone
| blocks rising in three terraces
| ORNATE ARCHITECTURE.
| These and other buildings equally gf-
/ gantic seem to have been pretty bare and
| plain as to their interiors. but orna-
| mented most deliberately and richly with
| matched pieces oEhard. stone. laid In zig
| gag patterns. Wherever the masonry
| was exposed on the exterior II was COW
! cred with red plaster and worked smooth.
! The floors We're laid with rough blocks Of
stone. ss1 t>zs-z.-ssl RTzrss
| 1t IS hard to imagine how these pre-
/ historic architects, without the help of
! iron tools, quarried out Of the mighty
! slabs and pillars of granite employed in
/ the structures described, or how they
/ shaped them. Some of the pillars are
| twenty-five feet high. and in one place
/ a whole avenue Of them has been found.
! One of the most curious of the buildings
is the so-called spiral OF Chichen-Itza.
/ which is circular in form. Of massive
masonry. twenty-five feet in diameter
| and with a narrow double passage run.
/ ming ali around 1t. 1t stands on two ar
| tificial terraces. one above the other. and
/ from the first to the second extends a
| stairway of twenty steps, the rail Of
/ which is carved to represent entwiued
| serpents. The walls and pillars of the old
! Maya buildings are adorned with count,
| less human heads, more or less carica.
| tured, and the artists of that ancient
| race appear to have had great fancy
| for making masks for corpses and
! deaths heads Of incrusted work Repre-
! sensations of fishes, snakes lizards and
monkeys are numerous.
WEALTHY PEOPLE.
The early inhabitants of Yucatan seem
| to have had a great deal of god and
| considerable quantities of the metal have
! been found in graves. Human teeth over
| laid with gold were sometimes used as
/ ornaments. and golden roses were worn
| in the ears Apparently gold was con-
! spicuous among the offerings made to
! the gods. and It IS easy to imagine that
| in that way the priests accumulated
| large quantities OF the precious metal
! Shields inlaid with mosaic of stones and
| studded with gold were carried in war
| the limbs being sometimes protected with
| armpieces and greaves of thin hammered
| silver plate while the feather coats OF
| the leaders were garnished with gold and
| silver. The leading warriors had helmets
| in the shape of the heads of snakes
! crocodiles and panthers, and they rem
dered themselves additionally fearsome
| to look at by the help Of grotesque masks
| Some wore body armor padded thIekly
| with cotton and shields of cane wadded
! with cotton and capable of being rolled
| up.
According to the legend current among
| the ancient MayaS themselves, their own
| remote ancestors were a very miserable
race. depending for food upon worms
| and snails and unacquainted with houses
and Clothing, until suddenly there ap-
/ peared from the westward a band of he
roes. headed by giant named Gamma
| This benevolent Titan was the founder
| of their civilization. He taught them
| their arts and particularly writing This
| writing was hieroglyphio In character,
! and was known only to the priests and
! mobiles. Many books were made of It,
| and OF these a few are extant in various
| libraries Of the world.
| The aboriginal culture of the Western
| hemisphere attained its highest develop
ment in Yucatan. Here the Spanish ex-
| piorers found cities of noble though Pc
! culiar architecture, 8 people OF refined
| manners clothed in woven and dyed cot
| ton stufIs, and literature and history
! inscribed on animal and vegetable parch-
! rnents Not until 1910 did the conquerors
! under Francisco de Cordova first land
| upon the shores of the peninsula. They
! found it divided into eighteen or nine
teen independent petty states or prov
| inces, each ruled by a hereditary chief.
| The provinces were feably united in a
| confedera ton, but jealousies and small
| quarrels gave rise to frequent intertr!-
| bal wars, and these conflicts are mainly
accountable for the destruction of many
of the cities whose ruins yet remain to
excite the wonder and admiration OF
archaeologists.