INVESTIGATIONS IN CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA. 77 



Sculpture No. XII, Plate V. 



This is a large fragment of a stone, four and a half feet by five, and is likewise 

 buried in the vicinity of the preceding ones ; the sides are mutilated. On the 

 visible surface there is nothing but three hieroglypliics discernible on the left side 

 of the base. It is hard to say wliether the remainder of tlie surface has been 

 sculptured or not, but it may reasonably be supposed that it was. These hiero- 

 glypliics consist of three rings, each of which incloses the head of a fierce animal, 

 as indicated by the teeth. They are not all ahke, each one differing from the others 

 slightly in form and position. 



Sculpture No. XIII, Plate VI. 



At the side of the heap containing the majority of the sculptures stands this 

 monolith, undoubtedly having been a part of the series. It is five feet five inches 

 long, and two feet ten inches broad. On it is a person in a reclining position, with 

 a single band tied around his forehead, forming a knot with two pendent tassels. 

 From his temple rises an ornament resembling the wing of a bird. Besides these, 

 the head has no other ornament. The emaciated face, as well as the recumbent 

 position of the body, indicates a state of sickness. The hair, which is plain in front 

 and on the top of the head, is interwoven behind with many ribbons forming 

 loops, which are bound together by a clasp, and then spread out in the shape of a 

 fan. The ear is ornamented with a circular disk, to the centre of which are 

 attached a plume and a twisted ornament, similar to a queue. On the breast is a 

 kind of brooch, which is hollow like a shell, and in which are imbedded seven 

 pearls. The wrists of both hands are without bracelets, a single line only denoting 

 the separation of the hand from the arm; this line would almost lead to the sup- 

 position that the arms are covered by a knitted garment, fitting tightly to the 

 form. Around the waist are three rows of a twisted fabric, which is knotted in 

 front in a bow, the ends descending between the thighs. Another band, of a dif- 

 ferent texture, stretches out horizontally from the region of tlie above-mentioned 

 knot. Attached to this girdle is another fabric, of a scaly texture, which surrounds 

 the thighs. The body seems to rest on a cushion. The right leg, below the knee 

 — which in other instances we have seen adorned by a band with a pyriform 

 pendant — is encircled with a ribbon and a rosette. This would seem to be the 

 undress substitute for the band and pendant, wliile the other is worn on official or 

 festive occasions. In front of the recumbent person stands the representation of a 

 skeleton, quite well executed. Although the bones of the head, especially the 

 upper jaw and frontal bones, are not anatomically correct, yet tliey show that the 

 people who produced these sculptures possessed some knowledge of anatomy, for 

 they indicate quite plainly that the upper arm and thigh consist each of one bone, 

 while two bones form the forearm and the leg. Other points noticeable about tliis 

 skeleton are the hair on the head, and the fact that its hands are fleshy, and the 

 lingers and toes have nails. Like all representations by these sculptures, the 

 skeleton is also embellished with ornaments. 



From the back of the head emanate two objects, similar to horns, which, if they 



