HOLMES ANNIVERSARY VOLUME 



southern Maya cities and doubtless were intended to represent the 

 foreign overlords. 



Maya Sculptures of the Great Period. — The last and most impor- 

 tant division of our subject still remains for consideration, namely, 

 the monumental sculptures of the early Maya, dating from the Great 

 Period (400-600 A.D.). The monuments on which human beings are 

 represented include stelae, altars, lintels, and mural panels. The 

 medium is usually limestone of varying fineness, although stucco is 

 not unknown. Of these monuments the most numerous and impor- 

 tant are the great plinths and slabs sculptured on one or more sides, 

 that are called stelae. These are architectural in the sense that they 

 beautify the approaches to temples or adorn the ceremonial centers 

 of the ancient cities. Inscriptions that contain dates are found on 

 most stelae as well as on other monumental pieces. This fact has given 

 rise to a theory that the monuments in question are primarily markers 

 of time, and particularly of round numbers of days in the Maya 

 notation. 



Captives on Memorials of Conquest. — Judging by the graven pic- 

 tures, many monuments of the southern Maya are memorials of con- 

 quest. Captives bound with rope or held by the hair are actually 

 represented in several instances. On a still greater number of monu- 

 ments the principal personage stands upon a crouched or prostrate 

 man devoid of all signs of rank and power. Sometimes this debased 

 figure has his arms bound and is clearly a captive, while in other cases 

 the expression of woe upon his countenance evinces a state that is 

 far from happy. Even when captives themselves are not shown, the 

 shield and spear of war are seldom wanting. Now it is obvious that 

 the presence of vassals and overlords on the monuments increases the 

 probability that actual historical events are being commemorated and 

 that actual historical persons are being portrayed. 



The lintels and stelae of Yaxchilan and Piedras Negras are richest 

 in scenes that depict the triumph of war, and an examination of repre- 

 sentative details might prove timely. Two captives seized by the hair 

 are reproduced in plate vm, a and b. The faces are more carefully 

 drawn than in the majority of cases when captives are represented. 

 While there is an undeniable feeling for individuality in the expression, 

 there are no marks by which the portrait character can be definitely 

 established. 



Lintel 4 at Piedras Negras pictures two soldiers returning from war 

 with booty and a captive which they present to their commanding 

 officer. Stela 12 at the same city doubtless memorializes a conquest 

 of importance. A richly attired war-chief on a lofty throne looks 



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