276 RUINS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 



brow is broad, the nose aquiline, while the arms and legs are 

 rudely indicated. Other curious idols have been dug up in 

 the neighbourhood of the town of Leon. The Spanish priests, 

 anxious to put down the ancient idolatry from the time of 

 their arrival in the country, have taken pains to destroy these 

 idols, and many have been mutilated and others buried by 

 their orders. 



In the island of Zapetero, rising out of Lake Nicaragua, 

 there are a still greater number of statues — some from eight 

 to twelve feet in height, and others of still greater magnitude 

 — elaborately carved out of hard stone. Sometimes they are 

 placed round mounds which have evidently served the pur- 

 pose of altars, on which human sacrifices probably were 

 offered. One of the most interestino^ which has been brouocht 

 to light is twelve feet high, sculptured from a single block, 

 and representing a human figure seated on a high pedestal, 

 the stone at the back of the head being cut in the form of a 

 cross. The limbs are heavy, and the face large and expres- 

 sive of great complacency. 



Some of the idols represent an animal, apparently a tiger, 

 springing upon the head and back of a human figure. One 

 — also at the Washington Museum — represents a man squatted 

 on his haunches, with one hand at his side, and the other 

 placed on his breast. The head is erect, and the forehead 

 encircled by a fillet, much carved. The features are unlike 

 most others — indeed, it seems as if each one had its individual 

 characteristic. A jaguar appears on the back of this statue, 

 its fore-paws resting upon the shoulders, and its hind ones 

 upon the hips, while it grasps in its mouth the back part of 

 the head of the figure. 



Although many of the figures represent human beings. 



