S84 MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA 
were not in the image of man and the art was essentially 
religious. ‘The gods were at best half human and half 
animal with grotesque elaborations. The high esthetic 
qualities were therefore wasted on subjects that appear 
trivial to many of us. But, as we break away more and 
more from the shackles of our own artistic conventions, 
we shall be able to appreciate more and more the many 
beauties of ancient American sculpture. 
The serpent motive controlled the character of 
Mayan art and was of first importance in all subse- 
quent arts in Central America and Mexico. The ser- 
pent was seldom represented realistically and yet we 
may safely infer that the rattlesnake was the prevailing 
model. Parts of other creatures were added to the 
serpent’s body, such as the plumes of the trogon or 
quetzal, the teeth of the jaguar, and the ornaments of 
man. The serpent was idealized and the lines character- 
istic of it entered into the delineation of many subjects 
distinct from the serpent itself. Scrolls and other 
sinuous details were attached to the serpent’s body and 
human ornaments such as earplugs, noseplugs, and even 
headdresses were added to its head. Finally, a human 
head was placed in the distended jaws. The Mayas 
may have intended to express the essential human in- 
telligence of the serpent in this fashion. ‘The serpent 
with a human head in its mouth doubtless belongs in the 
same category as the partly humanized gods of Egypt, 
Assyria, and India. It illustrates the partial assump- 
tion of human form by a beast divinity. The features 
combined are so peculiar and unnatural that the in- 
fluence of Mayan art can be traced far and wide through 
Central America and Mexico by comparative study of 
the serpent motive. 
A typical serpent head in profile (with the human 
head omitted) as developed by the Mayas for decora- 
