160 MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, WEST INDIES. 



truncated, the free space on the upper terrace forming an altar open to the 

 heavens, where the sacrificing priests celebrated their rites in the presence of the 

 assembled multitudes. None of these massive piles were carried to any great 

 elevations — so as, for instance, to overtop the largj forest trees. The highest 

 pyramids fell short of 100 feet ; but in some instanc3s the base covered a vast 

 space, that of Zayi, near TJxinal, presenting a periphery of over 1,500 feet. 



According to VioUet le Duc, one of the most remarkable architectural triumphs 

 of the Maya builders was the employment of mortar to cement the layers of 

 stone in a solid rock, modelling and carving the cement itself with figures and 

 ornamental designs. JMortar, cement, plaster, stiicco, all was made of sand and 

 lime mixed in different proportions, but always hard as stone. Made with nearly 

 pure hydraulic lime, it is so thoroughly adhesive both in the mass and when 

 applied as a surface coating, that it can scarcely be chipped off by the hammer. 



Tn the Yucatan buildings and round about very little pottery and instruments 

 have been found, although such objects are usually met in abundance in historic 

 and prehistoric stations. Idols also have rarely been brought to light, doubtless 

 becaus3 they were mostly hidden away by the natives after the arrival of the 

 Spaniards, who destroyed all images they could lay their hands upon. But the 

 walls are sometimes found completely covered with sculptures and figures in bas- 

 relief. The type of such figures is the same as that of the present natives, 

 especially the eastern Lacandons, except that it is highly exaggerated, especially 

 in the temples of Palenque. Receding forehead and arched nose were regarded 

 as marks of nobility, and such features were naturally given to human or divine 

 images held up to the veneration of the people. There is in any case reason to 

 believe that in those times, as well as at present, the heads of the children 

 were artifici dly deformed by the Maya women. Symbolic animals, especially the 

 serpent, embellish the walls, on which are also seen ornaments in the form of 

 elephants' trunks. From this it has been hastily concluded that the Maya sculptors 

 were acquainted with that animal, and consequently that they had received their 

 first lessons from masters of Asiatic origin. Some of the bas-reliefs represent 

 social scenes; but nowhere have been discovered warlike subjects, such as those 

 covering the walls of the Ass3-rian palaces and Egyptian temples. Hence the 

 Maya would appear to have been in the enjoyment of profound peace when the 

 monuments of their great artistic epoch were erected. The almost total absence 

 of fortifications round their cities and buildings also attests the tranquil condition 

 of the land, and the peaceful character of its inhabitants. At present all these 

 grey carvings intermingled on the crumbling walls, such as those of Uxraal some 

 350 feet long, seem to be merged in a chaos of indistinct forms. But they were 

 formerly relieved by fresh colours — yellow, red, white, and black — sharply contrast- 

 ing one with the other, and presenting a m3'stic or historic subject understood by all. 



The " calculif orm " hieroglyphics, so named from their contours, usually 

 rounded like those of calculi or pebbles, are all arranged in long lines like the 

 written characters of a book, and undoubtedly served as the explanatory text of 

 the associated carvings. These writings still remain undeciphered, but may 



