THE MAYAN CIVILIZATION 127 



form we find at Copan a remarkably homogeneous 

 series of stelae on which a royal or priestly personage 

 stands erect and in front view. A Ceremonial Bar is 

 held symmetrically in the two arms and the body is 

 partly covered with rich and elaborate ornament. The 

 amount of relief, the proportions of the body, the forms 

 of the Ceremonial Bar, etc., all pass through a harmoni- 

 ous development. The earliest monuments show a 

 crude block-like carving of the face, with protruding 

 eyes, while the latest monuments have fully rounded 

 contours. At Tikal the stelae show, for the most part, 

 human figures in profile, but unmistakable development 

 can be seen in general quality of carving as well as in 

 specific details. 



In making comparisons in art it is always necessary to 

 consider similar things. At many other Mayan cities 

 than the two named above it is possible to obtain satis- 

 factory evidence of sequence in art forms by cutting 

 out similar details from different masses. Thus at Nar- 

 anjo when we examine all the Ceremonial Bars we find a 

 remarkable development of flamboyant detail on the 

 later monuments. At Quirigua the faces on the tops of 

 the altars may be compared with the same result. At 

 Piedras Negras the heads of the Two-headed Dragon 

 that occur in exactly similar positions on four monu- 

 ments likewise show a steady modification towards 

 flamboyancy as may be seen from Fig. 46, where the 

 front heads are put side by side. 



Still other lines of evidence on historical sequence are 

 to be gained from a study of architecture. Not only is 

 it possible to determine the general developments thai 

 hold true of the 1 entire Mayan area but also in a given 



city it i- sometimes possible to arrange the buildings in 

 their order of erection according to dependable criteria, 

 both decorative and structural. 



