458 ANNUAL EEPOKT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION^ 1916. 



design had to be worked out in minute detail, and the application of 

 the drawings to the irregular rounded surface of the stone was a 

 matter of no little difficulty. As a preliminary step the shape of the 

 stone had to be modified to suit the purpose, the surface smoothed 

 before the outlines could be applied in pigment, and the many fea- 

 tures adjusted to their several places preparatory to the beginning 

 of the sculptor's work. 



The execution of the work is a deep mystery and its successful 

 completion a great marvel. A lump of coarse sandstone — according 

 to Maudslay " a breccia composed of feldspar, mica, and quartz, 

 very absorbent, and weighing about 130 pounds to the cubic foot " — 

 had to be attacked with tools the nature of which remains to-day 

 a matter of conjecture. It is generally believed that these people 

 were without hard metal tools, and although stone tools were prob- 

 ably equal to the task, few traces of such tools applicable to the pur- 

 pose have been found. We thus pause before a second mystery, 

 for had stone tools been used in the arduous and prolonged task of 

 crumbling with pick and hammer and smoothing by abraders, they 

 would still exist and ought to be found frequently in the work of 

 clearing and excavation, for it seems highly probable that the carv- 

 ing of the various monuments was carried on, not only on the spot 

 where they now stand, but after final placement upon their founda- 

 tions. If bronze were used, it may have disappeared by decay. 

 However, thero are no traces of the use of this metal in any form 

 and no documentary testimony supporting the hypothesis of its use 

 by the Mayan peoples. 



A striking feature of the sculptural work of Quirigua, well illus- 

 trated in the example here presented, is the masterly workmanship. 

 The design is adjusted perfectly to the shape of the stone, and 

 there is no suggestion of incompetence on the part of the sculptor 

 and no indication of the lack of effectiveness on the part of the im- 

 plements used. The forms, shallow or deep, simple or complex, 

 are all carved with equal directness and vigor. The chisel may not 

 have accomplished all that the conception required, for ideals may 

 rise entirely above the capacity of material embodiment, but there is 

 no suggestion of hesitation or inefficiency in the completed work. 



Culture status. — The date inscribed in hieroglyphic characters on 

 this monument occurs on the left shoulder of the southern front, 

 and, as read by Morley, corresponds with the year 525 of the Chris- 

 tian era. Certain groups of the Maya race, including the people of 

 Quirigua, had made such advance in culture as to justify the claim 

 that they had attained the state known as civilization. Glyphic 

 writing was well advanced, and students are pretty well agreed that 

 a phonetic method of record, the achievement of which best marks 



