FOURTH FLOOR 17 
The collections have been arranged so as to illustrate the 
several “‘cultures’’ of the region. The word “culture” is used 
to comprise all the items which go to make up the gen- — Mexican 
eral life of a people or a race. Filling the eastern por- and Central 
tion of the hall are casts and collections, partly from, American 
: , ; Archeology. 
Copan, showing many features of the life of the ancient 
Mayas, while the west central portion of the room is occupied 
by the collections from the neighborhood of the City of Mexico 
which show the culture of the ancient Aztecor Nahuarace. The 
casts of the so-called Calendar or Sacrificial stones are of popu- 
lar interest, and the ancient codices, or pre-Columbian charts 
or books, are worthy of special study. Cases illustrating the 
old Tarascan, Mixtecan-Zapotecan and Costa Rican cultures are 
in the northwest, southwest and southeast corners of the room 
respectively. One of the most remarkable single specimens 
in the room is a life-size terra cotta human figure which was 
found in a cave near the city of Texcoco, Mexico, and which 
seems to be the portrait statue of some great war chief of the 
prehistoric Alcolhuan tribe. The specimen indicates that this 
ancient people had carried the art of working in clay to a high 
degree of perfection. The collection is particularly rich in ob- 
jects made from jadeite, gold and copper, and in ceramics. 
The major portion of the exhibits in this room consists of casts of 
the carved stelz and other stone monuments found throughout 
the region. Among the most celebrated of these is the huge 
Turtle Stone. The meaning of the emblems and inscriptions 
carved upon this and other stones has been but partly determined. 
Casts of two stele from the ruins of Quirigua, Guatemala, 
are in Hall No. 202 (second floor), on account of their height. 
Hall No. 401 not yet being open to the public the visitor 
should retrace his steps, pass to the middle of Morgan Hall and 
then enter the Hall of Geology (No. 408). 
The rocks and fossils displayed in this room illustrate in 
general the geology of North America and Europe and in par- 
ticular the geology of New York State. The oldest rocks will 
be found in the northeast corner and the succession of rocks 
