Photo by George N. Bucklin, Jr. 



VIEW OF structure; b after excavation 



"In the deep twilight of a tropical jungle the crumbling remains of this once proud city 

 lie forgotten, its builders unknown, and its very name lost in oblivion— a melancholy com- 

 mentary on its vanished glory" (see text, page 360). 



shade of red. When discovered, this 

 vase was in fragments on the floor of a 

 back room, in a dark and inconspicuous 

 corner. 



WHY WAS QUIRIGUA ABANDONED? 



In finding such an unusual specimen 

 one is prompted to ask. What dire cir- 

 cumstances could have necessitated its 

 having been left behind? Was it aban- 

 doned in the extremity of sudden flight 

 or overlooked in the confusion of an 

 equally hurried sack? Or, again, could 

 some general death or universal pesti- 

 lence have laid low all the hands which 

 might have borne it off? 



The number of conjectures possible is 

 as endless as such guessing is idle. Such 

 questions by their very nature are des- 

 tined to remain unanswered until the 

 end of time. 



In its dark corner, shattered and for- 

 gotten, this gem of Maya ceramic art 

 slept undisturbed throughout the cen- 



turies, only to be awakened in another 

 day and age by the archeologist's shovel. 

 Decidedly the most unique article re- 

 covered during the course of the work 

 was a series of small worked hematites, 

 found near the efligy vase above de- 

 scribed. For the most part these were 

 hexagonal in shape, about 1/16 of an 

 inch in thickness and not over an inch 

 in width between any two points. One 

 side was very highly polished in each 

 case, the other being ground smooth. 

 The edges were beautifully cut. and in 

 some cases finished off round, as thougb 

 such pieces had formed the border of 

 some mosaic. The use of these curious 

 little stones is unknown. 



THE AGE OF THE BUILDINGS 

 One important point which the excava- 

 tion of Temple A and Structure B settled 

 beyond dispute was the relative ages of 

 the two buildings. After the southern 

 side of the temple court had been par- 



358 



