OBJECTS FROM CEMPOALAN AND XTCO 



265 



sents a laughing face, ^^'itli niouth wide open, tongue evident, but no 

 teeth, suggesting an old man. This head has a median crest extend- 

 ing from the bridge of the nose backward to the top of the head; the 

 nose and cheeks have many wrinkles. Plate cxxi, ^, also represent- 

 ing a much-wrinkled face, has the median crest passing from the nose 

 over the head; the eyes are closed and the features those of an old man. 

 In c and d are figured extraordinary examples of rock sculpture, the 

 specimens here represented being in Governor Dehesa's collection at 

 Jalapa. The exceptional feature of this specimen is the long nose, 

 suggesting the trimk of a tapir, but the features are human rather than 

 animal. Like other heads, this specimen has the notched base so com- 

 mon in carved objects from the Totonac territory'. The two small 

 heads {e and /'), belong to the same type as the preceding {e and d)^ 

 being found in the same col- 

 lection. Specimen (j bears a 

 I'emote likeness to the head 

 of a clown priest or mud head 

 of the New Mexican pueb- 

 los. Clowns accompanied the 

 masked dancers in Central 

 American ceremonies, and it 

 is not unlikely that this stone 

 head was intended to repre- 

 sent one of these performers. 



Other heads here repre- 

 sented may belong to the 

 same category as the laugii- 

 ing face above mentioned. 

 Specimen // is one of the most 

 unusual forms of these stone heads with the notch at the neck. This 

 specimen, which is in the Dehesa collection, is made of lava stone of 

 the same kind as the paddle-shaped objects. The face is artistically 

 carved and apparently the nose was continued into a curved extension, 

 reminding one of the long-nosed god of the codices. The unusual 

 feature of this stone head, in addition to its flattening, is the headdress, 

 probably of feathers, arising fi'om a crown. 



In / is represented a notched stone of bird form. Several siniilar 

 specimens are figured by Strebel in his work on the antiquities of the 

 state of Vera Cruz," referred to in previous pages. 



One of the best of these bird-shaped stones is shown in figure 59. 

 This, like the specimen last described, has a notched base, expanded 

 wings, and tail. Its use must have been somewhat like that of the 

 paddle-shaped stones as it has a similar base and the same general form. 



.00. SliDg stones. (Dehesa collection.) 



ti Alt Mexico. 



