58 



ARCHAEOLOGICAL KESKAKCHKS IN NICARAGUA. 



and Palenque, and those on the " sacrificial stone " and the " calendar stone " dug 

 up in the Plaza Mayor of Mexico.* Some of the figures have on sandals, and 

 all are strikingly Aztec in style. On the outside the bottom is a solid buff color, 

 with a red band surrounding it at the upper edge of the junction with the legs, 

 Above this is a buff and then a black band. The space over the latter is divided 

 into three compartments by lines above the legs. Each space contains the profile 

 of a macaw's head, with plumes. The legs are pigeon or dove-like in shape, the 

 breast supporting the vase, the head turned to one side, and the tail of the bird 

 serving as a foot of the vase. The head is red, with black eyes, bordered with 

 yellow, and the back, wings, and tail are indicated by black lines and checks. 



The vase No. 28,436, which was first graven and then painted, is ornamented 

 in a manner so intricate that any attempt at a written description would be futile. 

 Among other figures can be distinguished the plumed serpent of Mexico and 

 Gruatemala.f 



" Serpents are symbols of his (Huitzilopochtli's) mother Cohuatlycue, and 

 also Cihuacohuatl, the serpent woman who begat twins, male and female, from 

 which man proceeded ; the same serpents and feathers are the symbols of Quez- 

 atlcohuatl." J 



Fig. 116. 



No. 28,409. Plumed serpent vase, Santa Helena. 



Native Races of the Pacific States. Bancroft. Vol. IV, pages 511-51C. Anales del Museo Nacional de 

 Mexico. Tomo I, Entrega 1. 



) Squier's Nicaragua, Vol. I, page 406. Native Races of the Pacific States. Bancroft. Vol. IV, pages 

 185, 227, 513. 



J Gallatin in the American Ethnological Society's Transactions, quoted by Bancroft in his Vol. Ill, page 398. 



