HOLMES ANNIVERSARY VOLUME 



At Quirigua the most striking face is that on the north side of 

 Stela E. Beards are represented on more than half the human 

 beings at this city (pi. ix, e). At neither Copan nor Quirigua has the 

 writer been able to find certain proof of portraiture, although all 

 artists declare that the faces in stone could not have been carved 

 except from living models. 



There is an interesting series of monuments at Piedras Negras, 

 consisting of Stelae 25, 6, 11, and 14, in the order given. All present 

 a human being seated cross-legged upon a gorgeous throne canopied 

 by the signs of heaven. A line of footprints up the front of each 

 throne may signify the ascension to the seat of theocratic power of 

 the person portrayed. The dates show intervals of 80, 45, and 60 

 years. The face of the earliest monument is badly damaged, but those 

 of the succeeding ones are excellently preserved and have much 

 character (see pi. IX, f). 



The Profile-view Sculptures. — In the earliest sculptures of the 

 Maya the face is represented in profile and the body in either profile 

 or front view. The profile presentation is, in fact, much more common 

 than the front view. This is not to be wondered at, since it is effective 

 when the relief is low and the labor of stone-cutting reduced to a 

 minimum. Space considerations limit us to the examination of a few 

 contrasting products. 



A head form so common at Palenque that it has come to be known 

 as the Palenque type deserves attention. It offers evidence of arti- 

 ficial flattening of the forehead, and possibly of the occiput, and a 

 consequent lifting up of the peaked crown. The nose is prominent, 

 with a high bridge, a convex profile, and a drooping tip. The mouth 

 is often slightly open. The upper lip is short and arched, but the 

 lower one is full, protruding, and pendulous. Although the jaw is 

 ordinarily heavy, the chin is rounded and retreating. Such a type of 

 face would seem to give little hope of an esthetic treatment, yet 

 an astonishing amount of dignity and grace is found in the low- 

 relief profile figures, modeled in stucco or carved in stone, that 

 adorn the temples of Palenque. A number of faces showing the 

 wide range of variation within the limits of this type are sketched 

 in outline (fig. 9). 



At Yaxchilan the heads and faces show considerable likeness to 

 the Palenque type, but are not so extreme. The eyes are often large, 

 with heavy drooping upper lids. Careful study brings out many dif- 

 ferences in the modeling of eyes as well as in the outlining of nose 

 and brow. As a rule the supraorbital ridge is prominent. The admir- 

 ably preserved upper portion of Lintel 26 (see pi. xi, a) represents a 



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