INVESTIGATIONS IN CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA. 83 



(No. 10) entwined serpents, and in others it is so complicated as to remind us of 

 tlie fasliions in highly enlightened nations. The most lavish care was bestowed on 

 the hair, which in very few cases indeed appears without ornament, even on the 

 heads of immolated victims. The method of ornamentation seems to have indi- 

 cated the social position of the Avearer. The hair is at times adjusted to resemble 

 a wig, but is generally braided with ribbons, adorned with rings, etc., and reaches 

 in cues to the shoulders and below them.' Other yet more complicated ornaments 

 reach to the ankles, and even trail upon the groiuid, ending in some animal form, 

 as an eagle, American tiger, or a fish. One of these ornaments which is met with 

 in every case is in the form of a sheathed scimitar. 



This variety is again noticeable in the ornamentation of the ear, which assume 

 the form of rings, emhossed disks, tassels, etc., and of the neck, Avhich may be a 

 single band, a double collar, a ring with pendant tassel, or a necklace of many 

 rows of beads or stones. 



Generally the wrist of but one hand is adorned with a bracelet, which is either 

 made of some textile fabric or consists of rows of stone or metal beads. The 

 otlier hand is inclosed in a human skull or in that of a fierce animal. If these are 

 the skulls of immolated victims, we have here the evidence of the sacrifice of ani- 

 mals as well as of human beings. 



The waist, above the hip, is surrounded by a broad stiff girdle, the upper portion 

 of which stands off from tlie body. On the back part of it is usually seen the 

 head of a ferocious animal with open jaws, replaced in one instance (No. 2) by a 

 human head. From the lower edge of the forepart of the girdle descend two kinds 

 of sashes, the one surrounding the thighs, the other tied in a bow-knot in front. 

 The material of these sashes varies greatly. In one instance (No. 3) it appears to 

 consist of leaves and flowers; in another, that of the priest (No. 1), it is replaced 

 by a serpent. A twisted band tied in a bow replaces the girdle on the waists of 

 the immolated victim (No. 1). 



The ornamentation of the leg deserves especial attention. A band with a pyriform 

 pendant encircles the right leg below the knee in (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8). A single pendant 

 is attached to the band in all cases excepting that of the person sitting on a throne 

 (No. 9), where the entire lower edge of the band visible is occupied by six pend- 

 ants. From this circumstance is supposed tliis person to have been the chief, or 

 grand master — to use a heraldic term — of an order of which the others were simply 

 knights or laymen. The occurrence of the same ornament on the neck of the 

 figure supposed to represent the sun, indicates that an order may have existed in 

 honor of the sun, and the members thereof may have been knights of the sun, 

 who had their counterpart in the Virgins of the Sun in Peru. 



This instance of wearing a badge on the leg below the knee is remarkable in its 

 resemblance to the Order of the Garter in England. It is impossible to suppose 

 that one people imitated the other, but we have here a striking illustration of the 

 development of similar thoughts and ideas in individuals and nations widely sepa- 

 rated in time and space. This is further impressed in tlie fact that these knights 

 only wore their distinctions on high nnd festive occasions, or when adoring their 

 gods; while on ordinary occasions, as with the sick man (No. 13), a simple rosette 

 takes the place of the badge. 



