158 MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA 



with concrete facings taking the place of rubble and 

 cut stone. The temples that crowned these pyramids 

 were also of less solid character and no single example 

 is now intact. Vaulted ceilings do not appear to have 

 been used, but instead flat, timbered ceilings or high 

 p tched roofs of thatch. Sometimes two or more 

 columns were placed within the room to support the roof 

 beams. The groundplans of buildings other than 

 temples, show small rooms arranged in an irregular 

 fashion around courts. 



A ceremonial game that resembled basket ball was 

 an important feature of Toltecan religion. Two rings 

 were set vertically in the walls that flanked a level 

 space and the object of the game was to make the rub- 

 ber ball pass through one of the rings. This sacred 

 game spread far and wide. It was introduced into 

 northern Yucatan and the most elaborate ball court of 

 all was built at Chichen Itza. Another special feature 

 of Toltecan religion was the worship of the sun disk 

 which was passed on to the later civilizations of Mexico, 

 and which likewise was carried to Yucatan. Prayers 

 are commonly represented in Toltecan sculptures by the 

 device of the "speech scroll" which issues from the 

 mouth o he speaker and pictures forth what his 

 desires are. 



Xochicalco. Let us now pass over in brief review 

 several ruins which belong to the Toltecan period. 

 Xochicalco, the House of the Flowers, is a large ruin 

 near Cuernavaca. The position seems to have been 

 chosen primarily for defense. The rounded ridge that 

 drops off into deep valleys on either side is laid out in 

 courts, terraces, and pyramids. Only one building 

 offers evidence of the sculptural skill of the ancient 

 habitants. It is a temple, standing upon a rather low 



