Chalchihuitls from Central America. 



253 



inlaid with it, in small fragments. Of the first of these relics 

 I present a drawing made by "Waldeck and published by the 

 French Government. See Fig. 1.* 



Fro. 1. 

 Human Skull, Ancient Mexican, inlaid with turquoise and obsidian. 



The weight of evidence, in my opinion, goes to show that 

 the stone properly called chalehihuitl is that which Molina 

 defines to be "baja esmeralda" or possibly nephrite, "a jas- 

 per of very green color," as Sahagun, already quoted, avers. 

 I should therefore object, on strictly critical and historical 

 grounds, to the suggestion of Mr. Blake, that the variety of 

 turquoise found by him should be " known among mineralo- 

 gists as chalehihuitl." 



* In Mr. Christy's museum is also a wooden mask encrusted in like manner, 

 with turquoises, malachite, and white and red shells. The predominant stone 

 in all is the turquoise. The back of the skull in the specimen engraved is cut 

 away, so as to admit the face to be hung by leathern thongs (which still remain) 

 over the face of an idol, as was the custom in Mexico. The transverse black 

 bands in the cut are of obsidian in the original. The eyeballs are nodules of iron 

 pyrites, cut hemispherically, and highly polished. 



AUGUST, 1869. 17 Ahn. Lto. Nat. Hist., Vol. IX. 



