1825.] 
Tn many cases, the head-dress, though 
more bizarre (indeed, somewhat ara- 
Sesque) than the Egyptian, is generally 
constructed of the same symbolic mate- 
rials:—the breastplate and collar, to 
which a mimic sun is similarly suspended, 
is precisely the same as those worn by 
Egyptian kings and heroes; frequently, 
the mimic tail of an animal (indicative 
of ancient origin) is appended to the 
Mexican hero, as it was to the Egyptian 
demigod ; the sandals are, in most cases, 
precisely the same; the head-dress often 
consists of the lotus, the bisrus, birds, 
animals, agricultural and musical instru- 
ments, &c., like the Egyptian, from 
whence the Crests of Heraldry are 
derived. 
Mexican heroes are represented en- 
throned upon couches perfectly Egyp- 
tian in their model, namely, constructed 
so as to represent animals, and sup- 
ported by animal claws. Over the heads 
of these deities, tables of hieroglyphics, 
expressive of their titles and qualities, 
are similarly arranged; and devotees are 
offering to them, in the same posture, 
and with the same gesture, as exhibited 
in Egyptian paintings, pots of flowers 
(whence came the legend of the gardens 
of Adonis), among which flowers, the 
manapas, or hand-plant, doubtless sym- 
bolic of rule, appears to have been a 
favourite. 
Again:—the most striking of these 
analogies is, that actual adoration is 
paid, and infantine victims offered, to 
the Egyptian Tau, or. cross; and that 
the cross is every where multiplied, in 
the architectural forms and ornaments 
of the Palencian city. 
The hieroglyphics, more elegant in 
their form than the Chinese, are less so 
than the Egyptian: they appear, like 
the Egyptian demotic writing, to have 
reached that stage of their progress, 
when beauty was sacrificed to utility, 
and when the pictural image was almost 
entirely superseded by the conventional 
form. They, in short, bear no inap- 
posite resemblance to modern highly- 
ornamented letters of the Roman 
alphabet. 
All these circumstances certainly go 
to show a common origin: still there 
are, in the midst of the analogy, as in 
the case of the Astronomical System, 
marks of an independent, aboriginal 
and peculiar people, which are not in 
fairness to be overlooked,* The nose, 
* Dr. Robertson had not seen the map 
of ancient Mexico: had he done. so, he 
would have inferred that it possessed ad- 
Analogies of Mexican and Egyptian Antiquities. 
395 
lip and ear jewels would seem to be of 
Indian extraction ;—the armlets and 
anklets are entirely American ;— the 
temples, surmounted by three fire vases, 
are Japanese ;—the ornamental parts of 
the dress approach the Arabesque ;— 
the royal mode of sitting is decidedly 
Hindoo ;—finally, the physiognomy is 
different from that of any people with 
whom we are acquainted ; though bear- 
ing an exaggerated resemblance to that 
of the Cherokees and other Indian 
tribes. The receding forehead and 
conical form of the head—according 
to the very principia of craniology— 
would indicate idiotism: did we not 
know that the modern Mexican Savages 
model the head of their children in the 
same way; the Cherokees dress their 
hair in tufts on the top of their head, 
in the same manner: for the predomi- 
nant nose, and under-hung lips, we know 
of no analogy in any nation, ancient or 
modern; neither do the modern Mexi- 
cans resemble their ancestors more than 
the modern Copts do the ancient Egyp- 
tians. It is, however, probable, that the 
protrusion of the lower lip was produced 
among the Mexicans, as it is now pro- 
duced among their neighbours, the 
Botecues,—namely, by boring a hole 
through it, in order to load it with heavy 
ornaments. 
We might be inclined to distrust the 
drawings attached to the description of 
ancient Palanque, were they not cor- 
roborated by figures similarly habited on 
the sides of magnificent sacrificial altars. 
We had intended to have expatiated, 
at some length, on the valuable picture- 
writings, of Mexico ; but our space will’ 
not allow us to expand this article be- 
yond its present limits. We have little 
doubt ‘that one of those curious histo- 
rical paintings, is the same which the 
Mexican painters were employed upon 
by Montezuma’s commands, at -the 
first interview of his deputies with Cor- 
tez, in order to supply intelligence of 
the ships, the horses, the artillery, the 
soldiers and whatever else, in the array 
of the expedition, attracted their atten- 
tion. The painting evidently details 
the line of march pursued by Cortez; 
the resistance he occasionally met with; 
the alliances he formed, and the time 
which his various days’ journeys (indi- 
cated 
ETE ase a a RE ees 
vantages still superior to the accuracy and 
rapidity of its posts, and the copious supply 
of its water—both proofs of high eiviliza- 
tion—in the admirable order of its munictpal 
regulations. 
3 E 2 
