DISCOVERIES AT TEE AZTEC RUIN 



171 



aid tlie ^^"omcn in placing them upon 

 their heads, in which position they 

 were carried, either full or empty. 



There were evidently occasional at- 

 tempts to mold the forms of men or 

 animals in clay, due perha])s to the in- 

 dividual caprice of the potter, or to a 

 desire to represent some deity. Exam- 

 ples are rare, however, only one having 



been taken from the Aztec ruin. This 

 is a seated human figure which had 

 been broken. The marks of a keen- 

 edged flake of stone upon the severed 

 neck show that it was intentionally 

 decapitated. 



The most beautiful variety of pot- 

 tery shows a red ground ornamented 

 with black on the interior of the vessel, 



These long chisel-like blades, commonly called skinning knives, are tlie most boautiful stone imple- 

 ments found in the Aztec ruin. They are made from an extremely hard, finegrained material varying in 

 color from black to creamy gray. Usually they are shaped so that the dark mottling and banding of the 

 stone form a pleasing ornamentation. Such objects are called tcamaJiias by the Hopi Indians today, and 

 in certain ceremonies tliey place them upon their altars to symbolize the spirits of departed warriors. No 

 stone of the kind from wliich they are made is known to occur witliin one hundred and fifty miles of 

 Aztec 



