(UO 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



[bull. 28 



women's usual attire. The representations at Palenque and Copan 

 show us exactly the same thing. Such joetticoats are very common in 

 the Maya manuscripts (see d^ figure 122, Dresden codex, page 17, 

 above; ^, same figure, from the Dresden codex, page 21, above and 

 /, from Codex Cortesianus, page 35). They are almost always 

 richly decorated and seem to have been an especially favored article 

 of the Aveaver's and dyer's art among the Mayas. Especially dis- 

 tinct ornamentations of a very tasteful kind, quite recalling the 

 Greek classic style, occur in a figure in the Troano codex, page 27, 

 below delate xlv, number 7). In another from the Troano codex 

 (page 25, plate xlv, number 8) the skirt is shorter than is usually 

 seen elsewhere in the manuscripts. The women of the loAver classes, 

 however, as well as the men, seem to have worn merely a simple cloth 

 about their hips, examples of which are seen in the Dresden manu- 

 script, as g^ figure 122 (Dresden codex, page 10, below). 



a h c 



Fig. 123. Mantles from Maya codices. 



Petticoats like those copied above from the manuscripts, and wath 

 similar ornaments, are worn, as already stated, by the female figures 

 in the reliefs of the Yucatan collection. Here, too, the ornamenta- 

 tion often displays graceful and tasteful meander patterns. This 

 article of dress seems to have been of like appearance and nature 

 throughout Central America. It occurs as frequently among the 

 reliefs at Palenque as among the idols of Copan, and the pattern in 

 both jilaces agrees exactly with «, figure 123 (see Stephens, Central 

 America, number 7, statue at Copan, and number 34, bas-relief at 

 Palenque). In old Mayapan j^roper (Yucatan) female figures are 

 very rare among the architectural remains, but they are all the more 

 abundant in the Yucatan collection, where the petticoats, as in the 

 Dresden codex, usually reach to the ankles (see plate xlv, number 1). 



DRESS OF THE UPPER PART OF THE BODY 



For meAi. As a rule, in the manuscripts, the upper part of the 

 body is bare, while elaborate necklaces with broad ornaments cover- 

 ing the breast occur, which in the drawings sometimes make the trunk 



