The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1916-11-17

architecture exceedingly ponderous,
and that the builders developed better
constructions as time went on. The
buildings, especially the pyramid tenn
pies, are solid and with very thick
walls. The numerous structures of the
residential type are also in excellent
state of preservation as regards their
lower story. The crumbling of the
second tier of rooms has tended to
cover and protect the lower part OF
the building so that the lower stories
are as firm and solid as the day they
were built.
| Practically all the buildings are built
upon some form of artificial mound.
| In the case of the temples, the mound
takes the form of a truncated pyramid.
| 1t is notable fact that the pyramids
at Tikal are higher and sleeper than
at any other Maya center. The sides
of the pyramids are made in great
steps or terraces, faced with stone, and
often inset at the corners and paneled
at the sides. Access to the temple is
gained by single stairway only, in.
stead of by four stairways, one on
each side of the mound, as is noted
at Chichen-Itza.
In no other Maya area is there such
uniformity and similarity in the plans
of the great temples. AS a general
rule, they contain three chambers, one
behind the other. The floor of the
two back rooms is raised slightly above
the level of that in the front room.
In the residential buildings there APP
pears to be great diversity of plans
no two being exactly alike. They
range from two to five stories in height
and some of these buildings contain up
to 40 chambers. These We're probably
the homes of the priests. In these
residences the rooms run longitudinal.
ly in two rows along the length of the
building, with one or two transverse
rooms at either end. They sometimes
form a court by themselves or per.
haps form one Or more sides Of court
the other sides of which are occupied
by temples. Frequently there is
close connection between a building
for dwelling purposes and that foI
worship.
| Earliest Maya Roofs.
| The temples show greater thick.
ness of wall than the residential build.
ings, and the room space in Tikal is
smaller In proportion to wall space
than has been noted anywhere else
The fact that the principal temples
browning steep and high pyramids
were themselves topped by lofty
roof structure necessitated this heavy
wall for support. From their cumber.
| some nature it may be reasonably sup.
posed that the Tikal roof structures
represent the first attempt in this di.
rection by the Maya. The walls are
made of slabs of limestone set in
plentiful supply of mortar and covered
up under a liberal coating of stucco,
and upon this the occupants skilled in
writing and designing made incised
drawings, presumably with the pointed
flint or obsidian knife peculiar to that
period. Wooden beams placed over
doorways and deliberately carved wood.
en- lintels are a common form Of EN-.
Enlistment at Tikal.
In the wealth of stelae and circular
affairs Tikal, according to Mailer, Is
unequaled among all the known
ruined cities. Over 100 stelae can be
found there, and nearly every one with
| its own circular altar. A compare.
lively small number of these show the
| splendid bas-relief work of Magyar art
| The hundreds of small mounds and
chultunes stretching in line from Tikal
eastward and the large number of i'm
| portant sites in the vicinity show that
this city was the center of a large
population. AS already noted, the few
dates that have been deciphered place
it among the very oldest of the Maya
cities. 1t is true that there are no
accounts concerning the abandonment
or destruction of Tikal nor can it be
actually proven that this city had
ceased to exist at the time of the
Spanish conquest. That this is prob
ably so, however, is to be deduced
| from the fact that in all the Spanish
accounts of the invasion and conquest
of this country there is absolutely no
mention whatever of those cities. Ere
quently the conquerors wandered
through jungle and forest. Soldiers
and scouts sent on ahead in search Of
| food and supplies are known to have
been within days march of some Of
these ancient Maya cities and it is ex-
lremely difficult to believe that liv.
ing town Oh great religious center,
such as Tikal, could, under the cir
| cumstances, have been overlooked.