34 COPAN. 



tation of the principal figure ; but that the errors in proportion did not arise from the 

 want of knowledge is clearly shown by the far superior treatment of some of the smaller 

 figures on the same monuments. 



Almost the whole of the ornamental carving decorating the Stelae at Copan is derived 

 from the following subjects : — The feathered serpent, grotesque human and animal 

 figures and masks, feathers and feather-work, fish, bands and plaits made of some 

 pliable material such as leather or bark-cloth, and loops and ties made from a softer 

 material. Geometrical patterns, except such as are formed by the folds and plaits 

 of a material with straight parallel edges, are not to be found (unless circles and 

 dots can be so considered). Foliations and other vegetable forms are (with possibly 

 one exception) entirely absent from the designs. 



The dress and ornaments of the human figures represented on the Stelae, although 

 affording infinite variety in detail, are not only similar in general design on all the monu- 

 ments at Copan, but on all monuments of the same class throughout Central America. 

 Until the inscriptions are deciphered there is little to help us in determining 

 whether the figures on the Stela? are intended to be portraits of chieftains or priests in 

 ceremonial costume, or whether they are fanciful representations of heroes or deities. 

 The strong individuality of many of the figures gives force to the former view ; but, on 

 the other hand, there are two of the figures which cannot be included in the category 

 of monumental portraits, as their faces are covered by grotesque masks. The great 

 exaggeration of the personal adornments would be more likely to occur in imaginative 

 figures than in portraits ; but a possible explanation of these exaggerations may be 

 learned from some of the sculptures themselves. The carving on a wooden lintel taken 

 from a temple at Tikal (part of which is figured on Plate XXIII.) represents a central 

 human figure standing under the arched body of a great feathered serpent, on a sort of 

 stepped platform which rests on a framework of poles. This suggests the probability 

 that images made from some lighter material than stone may have been kept in the 

 temples, and used on the occasion of religious processions. And it may be that the 

 exaggerated adornments of the figures on the Stelae were copied from the elaborate 

 ornaments with which in all countries and in all ages it has been customary to adorn 

 such processional figures. 



There is not at Copan any certain evidence of the use of textile fabrics, but it is 

 probable that the waist-cloths and turban-like head-dresses of some of the figures 

 were made from woven material. 



Considerable difficulty is met with in attempting to trace the development of the 

 designs used in the ornamentation : firstly, because, with the exception of feathers and 

 the skins of jaguars, we are not certain of the kind of material from which the ornaments 

 and dress were originally made, and can form no idea of how far the design may 

 have been influenced by the nature of the material worked in ; and, secondly, because 

 the original designs may have been considerably modified when transferred to stone 

 by workmen who had probably no better tools than chips and flakes of obsidian. 



