254 



CERTAIN ANTIQriTIF.S OF F.ASTEKX MEXICO 



lioads cut in relief on the sides iiiid ends ut' the anus will he seen in 

 natural positions. As a rule, when yokes are placed otherwise than 

 liorizontal, the majoi'ity of the heads cut on the sides of the arms 

 are reversed or thrown into unnatural positions, although there are 

 some specimens, as in plate c.w, where an upright position of the 

 yoke is necessaiy to give normal positions to the ligures cut upon the 

 arms. Having placed the yoke horizontal, with the curved part of 

 the arch at the left, the two arms of the yoke may be distinguished as 

 proximal and distal, the curved or arched end maj' be designated the 

 anterior, and the free arms the posterior; the base is the lower side or 

 margin upon which the 3-oke rests. 



Fig. 50. Fnd view of n 



An examination of decorated stone yokes leads the author to classify 

 them in two large groups each with subordinate divisions, some of 

 wliich have their surfaces decorated with geometrical ligures, others 

 with representations of heads or limbs of men or animals. Many highly 

 decorated yokes are covered with a much conventionalized tracery of 

 geometrical designs, oftentimes so elaborate and intricate that they 

 conceal or obscure the figures, if any. which are cut on the yoke. 

 This is especially true of arms or that part representing the body, and 

 in some .-ipecimens this ornamentation t'xtends over the legs, head, and 

 even the protruded tongue. As a rule, geometrical figures when com- 

 plicated are deeply incised, forming rectangles and curved ornamental 

 designs, some of which remind one of representatives of feathers on 

 stone in)ages of the Plumed Serpent. It is to be noticed also that 



