HOLDEN. J THE MAYA HIEROGLYPHS. 231 
It has the crotalus mask, with nose ornament, which he wears over his 
face; then the cross, with the “five feathers” of Mexico, and the sun 
symbol. These are in the middle of the chiffre. Below these the oval 
may be, and probably is, heaven, with the rain descending and produe- 
ing trom the surface of the earth (the long axis of the ellipse), the seed, 
of which three grains are depicted. 
We know by the occurrence of the hieroglyphs on the reverse side of 
the stone that this is not of Aztec sculpture. These symbols are of the 
same sort as those at Copan, Palenque, etc., and I shall show later that 
some of them occur in the Palenque tablets. Hence, we know this en- 
graving to be Yucatec and not Aztec inits origin. If it had been seulpt- 
ured on one side only, and these hierdglyphs omitted, I am satisfied 
that the facts which I shall point out in the next paragraphs would have 
led to the conclusion that this stone was Mexican in its origin. TF ortu- 
nately the native artist had the time to sculpture the Yucatec hiero- 
glyphs, which are the proof of its trueorigin. It was not dropped by a 
traveling Aztec; it was made by a Yucatec. 
In passing, it may be said that the upper left-hand, hieroglyph of 
Plate XIII most probably repeats this name. 
I collect from the third volume of BANCROF1’S Native Races, chapter 
viii, such descriptions of HurrzILOPOCHTLI as he was represented among 
the Mexicans as will be of use to us in our comparisons. No display of 
learning in giving the references to the original works is necessary here, 
since Mr. BANCROFT has placed all these in order and culled them for a 
use like the present. It will suffice once for all to refer the critical reader 
to this volume, and to express the highest sense of obligation to Mr. 
BANCROF1?’s compilation, which renders a survey of the characteristic 
features of the American divinities easy. 
In Mexico, then, this god had, among other symbols, “five balls of 
feathers arranged in the form of a cross.” This was in reference to the 
mysterious conception of his mother through the powers of the air. The 
upper hieroglyph in Fig. 52, and one of the lower ones, contain this 
sign: “In his right hand he had an azured staff cutte in fashion of a 
waving snake.” (See Plate LXI of STEPHENS.) ‘ Joining to the tem- 
ple of this idol there was a piece of less work, where there was another 
idol they called TLALOCG. These two idolls were alwayes together, for 
that they held them as companions and of equal power.” 
To his temple “ there were foure gates,” in allusion to the form of the 
cross. The temple was surrounded by rows of skulls (as at Copan) and 
the temple itself was upon a high pyramid. SoLis says the war god 
sat ‘on a throne supported by a blue globe. From this, supposed to rep- 
resent the heavens, projected four staves with serpents’ heads. (See Plate 
XXIV, STEPHENS.) “The image bore on its head a bird of wrought 
plumes,” “its right hand rested upon a crooked serpent.” ‘Upon the 
left arm was a buckler bearing five white plums arranged in form of a 
cross.” SAHAGUN describes his device asa dragon’s head, * frightful in 
the extreme, and casting fire out of his mouth.” 
