78 MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA 



The supplementary monuments are stelae and altars. 

 These are monolithic sculptures that are often set up 

 in definite relation to a building either on the terraces 

 or at the foot of the stairway. The stelae are great 

 plinths or slabs of stone carved on one or more sides 

 with the figures of priests and warriors loaded down 

 with religious symbols. The altars are small stones 

 usually placed in front of the stelae. Many stelae and 

 altars are set up in plazas and have no definite archi- 

 tectural quality. 



Fig. 21. Mask Panel over Doorway at Xkichmook. Yucatan. 



Minor Arts. While the richly ornamented temples 

 and the great monoliths attract first attention as works 

 of art, the humbler products of the potter, the weaver, 

 and the lapidary also attained to grace and dignity. 



The Mayas were expert potters and employed a 

 variety of technical processes in the decoration of their 

 wares, such as painting, modeling, engraving, and 

 stamping. We can only take time to examine a few 

 examples of the best works, leaving the commoner 

 products practically undescribed. Suffice it to say, 

 that tripod dishes were much used, as well as bowls, 

 bottle-necked vessels, and cylindrical vases, and that 



