20 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XI. No. 262. 



Dr. Seler on a special expedition to Mexico 

 and Central America ; and to this end Mr. 

 Maudslay, of England, has devoted much 

 of his time and private means. For the 

 same purpose Messrs. Bowditch, Salisbury 

 and others have for several years given their 

 generous support to the Peabody Museum of 

 Harvard University, that explorations 

 might be carried on in Yucatan, Guate- 

 mala and Honduras. 



All this research has made it possible to 

 secure such an exhibit as is now installed 

 in the Mexican Hall of the American Mu- 

 seum of Natural History ; but it is due to 

 the intelligent interest and liberality of the 

 Duke of Loubat that the Museum has been 

 able to bring together this large and im- 

 portant collection, vrhich is soon to be ex- 

 hibited for the instruction of the public. 



The originals of the great sculptures in 

 stone, of which facsimile casts are here 

 pi-esented, are, with the exception of a few 

 specimens in other museums, still buried in 

 tropical jangles or amid the ruins of ancient 

 temples. The general labels on each of the 

 larger specimens, and the illustrated labels 

 in the frames near them, give information 

 relating to each of these sculptures (known 

 as monoliths, stelse, idols and altars) from 

 the prehistoric ruins of Quirigua in Guate- 

 mala and of Copan in Honduras. These are 

 all monuments of the Maya culture, and on 

 most of them will be seen groups or columns 

 of hieroglyphs, the deciphering of which is 

 one of the most important researches in 

 American archseology. The sculptures at 

 the farther part of the hall are from 

 Mexico, and belong mosth^ to the Nahuatl 

 culture. The dark color of the casts shows 

 that the originals are of a different kind of 

 stone from that used in Quirigua and 

 Copan. 



On entering the hall, the most conspicu- 

 ous object on the left is the so-called ' Great 

 Turtle of Quirigua.' To the right is a 

 large ' idol ' known as the ' Dwarf,' because 



it is the smallest of the stelse standing amid 

 the ruins of Quirigua. A cast of the larg- 

 est of these monoliths, standing twenty-five 

 feet above ground, is too high for this hall. 

 It is exhibited in the hall below, where 

 from the gallery a study can be made of 

 the upper portions of the sculptures. 



On the right of the hall is a restoration 

 of the sanctuary of the ' Temple of the 

 Cross,' showing the position of the bas- 

 relief known as the ' Tablet of the Cross,' 

 with the oiBciating priests and the hiero- 

 glyphic inscription. In a frame on the side 

 of this reconstruction is an illustrated label 

 explanatory of this temple at Palenque. In 

 the table-case near by are several pieces 

 showing hieroglyphics and figures made in 

 stucco, which was widely used. The great 

 ' Calendar Stone,' the most remarkable of 

 Mexican sculptures, is shown on the south 

 wall. On the walls and screens on the 

 north side of the hall are many fine bas- 

 reliefs from ruins in Guatemala, Honduras, 

 Palenque and Yucatan. Over the northern 

 case at the east end of the hall is a group 

 of slabs from Palenque, upon which are 

 many columns of hieroglyphs. Over the 

 adjoining case, and on the south wall near 

 by, are casts of slabs from the ruins of 

 Chichen Itza in Yucatan. Here are also 

 the sculptured stone posts of a doorway 

 upon which rests a carved wooden lintel. 

 To the right of this is shown the sculp- 

 tured wall of a portion of a room in a 

 temple at Chichen Itza, on which are many 

 human figures and a feathered serpent. 

 There is evidence that this and many of the 

 other sculptures were formerly painted in 

 several colors, of which red, yellow and 

 blue predominated. The statue of Chac- 

 Mool, found by Dr. and Mrs. Le Plongeon 

 at Chichen Itza, is an instance where the 

 colors were still preserved. The cast of 

 this reclining statue was colored by Mrs. 

 Le Plongeon in exact copy of the original 

 when found. 



