ARCHEOLOGY. (MEXICO.) 



19 



its forehead, disclosing the upper jaw with great 

 husks projecting down over the under lip. It ia 

 said that there were four of these heads, one in 

 each corner of the great wall around the teoculli, 

 and the design corresponds to similar heads 

 graven on the Aztec calendar stone. On the 

 under surface of the heads Sefior Batres thinks he 

 has deciphered a hieroglyph which he calls tres 

 acatl, the date of the foundation of the great 

 teocalli. 



Among the other relics unearthed was a curi- 

 ous little idol cut out of a piece of* volcanic rock, 

 about 10 inches in height. The 

 workmanship is rather crude, 

 but decidedly interesting, rep- 

 resenting a head with scarcely 

 any body, intended evidently 

 to be in a sitting posture with 

 folded arms across the chest. 

 The incense gum which was 

 found resembled pieces of 

 bone, but upon being carefully 

 cleaned of the earth in which 

 it had been buried all these 

 centuries, it burned upon the 

 application of a lighted match 

 and gave off the proper per- 

 fume. Several large stones are sculptured to rep- 

 resent skulls or death's-heads. They were fash- 

 ioned with long wedge-shaped projections at 

 the back, evidently for the purpose of holding 

 them in place in some wall or edifice, the deco- 

 rative part of which they formed. The work 

 was rather rudely done, and a coat of white 

 paint, still preserved on some of them, added 

 to their horrible aspect. An extremely inter- 

 esting relic was part of a foot of a colossal 

 statue in baked clay. The piece showed the toes 

 perfectly modeled, with the edge of the sandal 

 beneath and the knots of the thongs holding it 

 over the instep of the foot, as worn at the pres- 

 ent day by the Mexican Indians. Other smaller 

 pieces of this statue were found, such as a piece 

 of the knee showing a bit of the ornamented 

 dress; and in handling them one could easily 

 imagine the great war-chief in full regalia as he 



STONE HEADS FROM EXCAVATION IN MEXICO. 



guarded the portals of the temple when set upon 

 by the Spaniards and hurled down the steps to 

 the bottom to lie there crushed and broken with 

 the rest of the ruin. 



The old city of Tenochtitlan was at such a dis- 

 tance (13 feet) below the level of the present city 



of Mexico because the Spaniards did not rebuild 

 upon the foundations of the city they destroyed 

 with the material at hand after the destruction, 

 as would be supposed, but brought material from 

 elsewhere and built upon the ruins. Cortez com- 

 pared the city, as he first saw it with its canals 

 and little islands, with Venice. When he retook 

 the city after he had been driven out the destruc- 

 tion took place. It may be that the Spaniards 

 had no intention of rebuilding the city after the 

 heroic defense made by the Aztecs, in which they 

 left their countless dead and dying strewn about 

 to breed pestilence in the air. The great temples 

 and massive palaces were destroyed by the vic- 

 tors, after which Cortez withdrew to Coyocan on 

 the mainland. Later he built his palace at 

 Cuernavaca, which still exists, and while his 

 lieutenants were, subjugating the surrounding 

 districts he devoted much time to tilling portions 

 of the land granted him, where it is said he 

 planted the first sugar-cane brought to the 

 American continent. 



The evidence is to the effect that the ruined 

 city of Tenochtitlan was abandoned to the sur- 

 vivors of its terrible conquest, who stalked about 

 mid the ruins, eking out an existence the best 

 way they could for many years before the re- 

 construction was begun. This is shown by the 

 stumps of the two trees unearthed at the base 

 of the temple. The Franciscans built a little 

 mission church where the cathedral is to-day, and 

 it is known that the cathedral was not begun on 

 this site till a century later. 



In the year Prof. Marshall H. Saville, of the 

 American Museum of Natural History, completed 

 the four years of explorations in Southern Mex- 

 ico planned by the museum, the funds for which 

 were supplied by the Duke of Loubat. The first 

 two seasons of these years were spent in ex- 

 plorations among the famous ruins of Mitla, 

 where Mr. Saville made important discoveries 

 and surveys. The last two seasons' work were 

 devoted to explorations in the State of Oaxaca. 

 Early in the year Prof. Saville went to Mexico 

 City, where he fitted out this last expedition, as- 

 sisted by the Government archeologist, Seflor 

 Batres, an arrangement having been made with 

 the Mexican Government by which Prof. Saville 

 is allowed to retain a certain number of his finds. 

 The expedition fixed its headquarters at Oaxaca, 

 which is near the extensive remains of Xoxocot- 

 laYi and Cuilapam, centers of culture of the an- 

 cient Zapotecans, a powerful Indian tribe who 

 had developed a high state of civilization, but 

 differing in many important respects from that 

 of the Aztecs of the valley of Mexico, and the 

 Mayas of Yucatan. Three months were spent in 

 making the excavations and studies, during 

 which huge burial mounds were opened, disclos- 

 ing the tombs of the ancient inhabitants. The 

 tombs were found in a good state of preservation, 

 some with sculptured lintels and doors closed 

 with huge stone slabs, and long drains for the 

 purpose of drawing off water that might accumu- 

 late in them. Within were found noteworthy ob- 

 jects of great archeological value, which afford 

 a vivid glimpse of the culture of the ancient and 

 little known people. 



Not far from the places where Prof. Saville 

 carried on his explorations is a range of hills 

 on which, at an elevation of about 7,000 feet 

 above the sea, are the remains of a great forti- 

 fied city whose builders are lost to history, to 

 which the name of Monte Alban has been given. 

 It is thought that this may have been the capital 

 of the old Zapotecan Empire. The entire sec- 

 tion of the country about is thickly dotted with 



