Photo from Sylvanus G. Moiiey 



SCULPTURED stone; heads found during the excavation of temple a 



These heads, with the exception of the three in the bottom row, were found in front 

 of the temple. Originally they had been fastened to the facade by rough stone tenons pro- 

 jecting from their backs. The large grotesque head in the second row was over the middle 

 doorway, and the two heads in the third row were over the eastern and western doorways 

 respectively. The three smaller heads in the bottom row were fastened to the back wall of 

 the sanctuary, sYz feet above the floor-level. 



hood of 150 which are still indeterminate. 

 These undeciphered hieroglyphics prob- 

 ably treat of the events which occurred 

 on the corresponding dates; or, in other 

 words, they probably deal with the sub- 

 ject-matter of Maya history. 



The frame- work of Maya history— 

 that is, its chronology — no longer pre- 

 sents serious difficulties to the student; 

 but the more human side of this great 

 aboriginal civilization, the records of its 

 wars and conquests, its religious and so- 

 cial movements, its rise and fall, still re- 

 main a sealed book. 



The building material used in Temple 

 A is sandstone, which was quarried from 

 the foot-hills two miles west of the city 

 and probably transported thither on rafts 

 during the rainy season, when the greater 



part of the valley is submerged by the 

 overflow of the Motagua River. 



In this way the building material could 

 be floated right up to the base of the 

 temple substructure. The blocks were 

 finished — that is, either sculptured or 

 faced — as occasion required, after they 

 had been laid in the wall. 



This accounts for the remarkable ac- 

 curacy with which the lines of a design 

 are carried from one block to another 

 without a perceptible break in the com- 

 position. This is particularly true of the 

 hieroglyphic cornice, which could have 

 been sculptured only after the blocks 

 were laid in the wall, so perfect is the 

 fit of the lines in the details of the char- 

 acters. 



In addition to the temple just de- 



354 



