Evening star., 1915-12-25
STATUETTE IS THOUGHT
TO ANTEDATE CHRIST
Found Near Vera Cruz, Mexico, and
Is Now in Possession of Ma
tional Museum.
Carving On It Is Believed to Have
Been Done With Hammer
and by the Maya.

A small stone statuette found near
Vera Cruz, Mexico, which has been in
the possession of the United States Ma
tional Museum since 1908, has recently
been identified as the Oldest known
dated antiquity in America. Its ancient
Mayan glyphic Inscriptions show that
it was made 100 years before Christ,
which is the oldest date authenticated
in the new world.
This unique image was originally
found in 1902 by peon while piowing
in the district of San Andres Tuxtla
near the Gulf of Mexico. about 100
miles southeast of Vera Cruz, and came
to the museum, through the courtesy
of r. E. Ulbricht, the next year. 1t is
composed of very hard grayish-green
stone. variety of nephrite or jade.
carved into rounded conical form
about six and one-half inches in height
and three and three-quarter inches in
diameter at the base. It's general out
lines give the impression of an old
Mexican idol or priest in a cape or
cassock- The upper part represents
human head with somewhat pointed
bald crown, with well defined though
primitiyely cut features. The lower
part of the face is covered with a
mask, in appearance resembling the
bill of duck, carved in relief and ex-
tending down over the chest like a
beard. The cheeks and ears are out
lined by conventional scroll design,
which lends 81 genial expression to the
face. The idea of cassock or other
loose garment is destroyed when the
figure is examined closely, for the bird
like form is further emphasized by the
wings covering the sides of the figure,
the lower margins of which are carved
to represent feathers. Beneath the
wings the outlines of birds feet and
legs are engraved.
Early Characters Used.
On the front, back and sides of this
little figure are the peculiar characters
called glyphs. in which the early in
habitants of southern Mexico and the
northern part of Central America
known. as the Maya. wrote and re-
corded their early history and achieve
ments. SO far only calendric parts of
the ancient Inscriptions of the Maya
have been deciphered, the chronological
skeleton of Maya history. as it were,
stripped of the events themselves.
Thirty years ago Maya inscriptions
were sealed book. and yet today we
read of the rise and fall of the several
cities in relation to one another, and
follow the course of the native de-
velopment even though we cannot fill
III the background. The nature of the
several inscriptions is, of course, SINH
lar to more recent writings of this pre-
historic race, yet the forms of the par
ticular characters are so elemental
that only the date signs or numbers
are translatable.
In determining the date on this fig
ure, however. a most valuable clue or
index to further research and investi-
cation is gained by students of Ameri-
can archaeology, the locality of the find
gives a hint to further excavation
there in the hope of locating more
location of another settlement of some
branch of the Maya race.
The figurine in its conception and
execution is well within the range of
ancient Mexican or Mayan achieve
ment, and presents no features sugges-
tive of foreign origin or influence.
Stone Hammers Used.
The general shape was evidently
laboriously worked out from block of
irregular conical outline. by pecking
with stone hammers, the unevenness of
the surface especially on the front and
back, never having been fully removed,
although the stone is well polished.
The under surface shows the charac-
teristic markings produced by primi-
tive methods of saving hard stone be-
fore the discovery of metals. Broad,
shallow lines trace the composite fea-
lures of the man and bird. and estab-
lish the fact that the polishing was
done after they were cut. All the
shaping of the various features of the
image was completed and the surface
polished. The engraving Of the hero
glyphics on the hard polished surface
was not easy, as Is shown by the mar
#, row and uneven scratches which never
received the smoothing and finishing
touches.
What is known as the Introducing
giyph" of the initial series on the
image has been shown by Sylvanus G.
Morley of the Carnegie Institution of
Washington to indicate a length Of
time in the Maya calendar equal to
eight cycles, six katuns, two tuns, four
uinals and seventeen kins. which. COM
pared to our calendar, goes back to
about 100 BE, the Oldest definite re-
corded date known to students of
anthropology in connection with the
new world.
The people responsible for this little
image. known to anthropologists as the
Mayas. are now resident principally in
Yucatan. Chiapas. Tabasco. and in ad-
joining Central American republics, but
one small group. the Huasteda. Is found
in northern Vera Cruz. 1t does not seem
unlikely that the entire coast line of
the state was at one time the habitat
of these ancient peoples, who have left
US key to their history. religion. Ian.
guage and customs in the stone mani
kin described above.
Michael B. Lehman. Ss. a retired