[NTRODUCTION 39 



among the finest textile products of the world. The 

 best period was before 1850. San Miguel blankets 

 show characteristically a rosette instead of a diamond 

 in the center. Many beautiful blankets come from 

 other localities in Mexico. The ( Ihimayo blankets have 

 the same part Indian, part Spanish origin and are made 

 by the Spanish-speaking natives in the mountain val- 

 leys of New Mexico. 



In southern Mexico there are many towns of Indians 

 where the women still wear the finely embroidered 

 huipili. This old-time garment varies considerably in 

 different towns but as a rule it is a simple sack-like 

 gown cut square at the neck and with short sleeves. 

 Sometimes it is shortened to a blouse, and is worn with a 

 skirt : at other times a short huipili is worn over a longer 

 one. An easily visited town 'where the natives still 

 wear the old-time dress is Amatlan, within an hour's 

 walk of Cordova. The women of the Isthmus of 

 Tehuantepec have a gorgeous costume of which the 

 most remarkable feature is a wide ruff worn around the 

 neck or on the back of the head. The Mayan women 

 of Yucatan wear white huipili with needlework in color 

 around the bottom. On the highlands of Guatemala 

 the huipili is usually a blouse. The skirt sometimes 

 consists of a strip of cloth wrapped several times around 

 the body. 



The Lacandone Indians live in tin 4 marshy jungles 

 that border the winding Usumacinta. They speak the 

 same tongue as the Maya Indians of Yucatan but in the 

 matter of culture they have acquired little from the 

 Spaniards. They still weave simple garments and make 

 pottery vessels. In hunting they use the bow and 

 arrow, the latter usually tipped with a point of stone. 

 In their religion- practices they use incense burners 

 which arc comparable to those of the sixteenth century. 



