THE MIDDLE CIVILIZATIONS 161 



sculptured stones from the other three sides of the 

 temple were allowed to fall into neglect by the Toltecs 

 or were carried away and put to other uses, but the 

 portion buried was kept in its original state. The colors 

 are still bright in many places and the great heads of 

 plumed serpents and obsidian butterflies sometimes re- 

 tain their inset eyes of obsidian. The decoration is a 

 repeated motive. The head of the feathered serpent 

 projects outward from the terrace walls and from the 

 balustrade of the stairway, while the body is in low re- 

 lief. The tail of the serpent has a rattle, and the body is 

 covered with feathers. Shells are seen below the serpent 

 where the body arches and just in front of the tail is a 

 massive head with two rings on the frontal which doubt- 

 less represents the Obsidian Butterfly, a divinity of great 

 importance among the Toltecs, which is represented un- 

 mistakably in frescoes at Teotihuacan as well as on 

 pottery. The Citadel well deserves its name, since it is 

 a great enclosure, much like a fort, with buildings upon 

 its bulwarks, and with steep outer walls, which could 

 easily be defended. 



A few large sculptures have been found at Teoti- 

 huacan. But the site is chiefly remarkable for pottery 

 figurines and heads that are picked up by thousands. 

 The heads present such a marked variety of facial 

 contour and expression that it would seem as if every 

 race under the sun had served as models. It is very 

 likely that these heads formed part of votive offerings, 

 beings attached to bodies made of some perishable 

 material. The heads were seldom used to adorn pottery 

 vessels, although many modern and fraudulent vases 

 are so adorned. Dolls with head and torso in one piece 

 and with movable arms and legs made of separate pieces 

 were known. The face of Tlaloc, the Rain God, is 

 fairly common in Teotihuacan pottery but other deit ies 



