INVESTIGATIONS IN CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA. 07 



foot is bare. The relief of tlie left knee is broken off. The right hand, withont 

 any ornaments, holds a tongue-shaped sharp-pointed instrument, undoubtedly a 

 knife, while the left hand, a little above the wrist, is ornamented by a bracelet of 

 several rows of small square stones, and holds the head of an immolated body 

 upon which the priest is standing. 



This severed liead, from the ear of which hangs a circular disk with a pendant, 

 and from the back of which two serpents depend, is remarkable for the presence 

 of a beard and for its features, which are entirely diflerent from those of the priest. 



From the sacrificial knife in the hand of the priest rises a staft' in the shape of 

 an inverted S, to one side of which five small nodes are attached, in three divisions, 

 of two, two, and one; while the other side has only two such nodes. 



From the trunk of the immolated victim emanates a similar staff, but differently 

 bent, and with only six small nodes arranged in a somewhat different manner from 

 those of the other staff. 



From the evidences of other sculptures we are entitled to suppose that these 

 staves were intended to represent (he speech of both the priest and the victim. 



In the lower part of the sculpture are represented two attendants of the priest, 

 each carrying a severed head. One of these attendants is represented as "death," 

 having a skull in place of a head. His neck is surrounded by a double collar, the 

 lower edge being ruffled, the upper scalloped, and by a ribbon tied in front in a 

 knot with diverging ends. Tlie head of the other attendant, whose straight hair 

 is moderately short, only reaching to the shoulder, is covered by a kind of cap, 

 shaped somewhat like a modern fur cap, and has a plume in front. The ear is 

 ornamented by a disk with a small boss in the centre, and the breast by a ribbon 

 tied in a knot. Around the waist appears to be a scarf tied in a bow-knot, having 

 a kind of apron attached to it reaching below tlie knee. The legs and feet are 

 bare, and are ornamented above the ankles by bows similar to those on the breast 

 of each of the attendants. Both the heads in the hands of the attendants appa- 

 rently belong to a race different from that of the officiating priest. The one in 

 the hands of death resembles the one in the hands of the priest, while the other 

 is beardless and exhibits a strangely-shaped forehead. 



Sculpture Number IT, Plate I. 



This is a porphyritic {rulcanlfr) block, twelve feet long, three feet wide, and two 

 feet thick, of wliich the upper sculptured part, nine feet high, is surrounded by f 

 rim about two inches in width at the top and the two sides, and six inches wide 

 at the bottom, indicating tlie original surface of the block on which the reliefs 

 have been carved. The upper half of the sculpture represents the head, arms, 

 and part of the breast of a deity, apparently a personage of advanced age, as 

 indicated by the wrinkles in the face. The right arm is bent at the elbow, the 

 finger-tips of the outstretched hand apparently touching the region of the heart ; 

 the left upper arm is drawn up, the elbow being almost as high as the shoulder, 

 and the forearm and hand hanging at nearly right angles. The forehead is sur- 

 rounded l>y an apparently ruffled band, and tlie smooth hair hangs down on the 

 sides of the head in two ornamental braids. From the lobe of each ear hangs a 



a 



