COPAN. 



51 



the other monuments ; but in this case the central face is covered by a small seated 

 human figure with one arm resting on its knee, and the other passed through the eye 

 of the serpent's head ornaments. 



In the upper part of the design, above the central mask, is the figure of a sort of 

 grotesque bird, whose claws can be seen grasping a horizontal bar. Two plumed and 

 tasselled serpents' heads of the conventional type take the place of outstretched wings. 

 From the mouth of the bird hangs what may be called a tongue with three round 

 spots on it, and apparently attached to the end of the tongue is a plaited ribbon. 

 Below the bar clutched by the claws of the bird is a design something like that of the 

 breastplates of the principal figures, with the difference that in place of the serpents' 

 heads are what appear to be two grotesque birds' heads. On the central panels of this 

 ornament there is twice repeated one of the symbols which occur so frequently on 

 girdles and breastplates. 



To the birds' heads at the end of this ornament is apparently attached the plaited 

 ribbon which hangs down on each side of the central mask and ends in a serpent's 

 head with disks and tassels attached to it. 



There now remains to be mentioned that part of the design (coloured red) which 

 extends from the tongue of the grotesque bird to the top of the central mask. I have 

 no doubt that it is a symbolical ornament especially connected with the mask below it, 

 and one of considerable importance. It is not only repeated again at Copan, but is 

 also of frequent occurrence at Palenque and Menche. 



The following figures give some examples of this ornament. 



In a (Stela I, Copan) the full front view is given. 

 In b (Stela H, Copan) the left-hand part is given in profile. 



In c (interior mural decoration, Palenque) both the centre and left-hand parts are 

 given almost in profile. 



Up to the present no example has been found of the use of this ornament except in 

 connection with the head or mask having the four-lobed mark on its forehead, and it 



