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AZTECS AND MAYAS 43 
In the aisle near the end of the hall stands a copy of the great sacri- 
ficial stone, or Stone of Tizoc, on which is a record of the principal 
conquests made before 1487. 
The statue of Coatlicue, the mother of the two principal Aztec 
gods, is a curious figure, made up of serpents. See page 42. 
These three sculptures were originally in the Great Temple enclosure 
at Tenochtitlan, the native name of Mexico City before its conquest by 
Cortez, but they have been removed to the Mexican National Museum. 
The Nahua culture of Mexico extended through many centuries, 
relics of which are found deposited in distinct layers, one above the 
other. Inthe valley of Mexico there are three so-called culture horizons, 
the last being that of the Aztecs. These three stages of culture are 
represented on the north side of the hall beginning at the western end. 
We first have the Archaic Period as represented in the culture of Tarasca 
and Jalisco. Here are many crude figurines of pottery. The eyes and 
other features are formed by adding fillets of clay which are afterwards 
rudely modeled. 
Next in order is the culture of the Toltecs, who were skilled in making 
pottery, the decorations of which were frequently stamped on with 
terra cotta stamps. Examples of this work together with the stamps 
-are shown in one of the cases. 
Near the middle of the hall the final period, that of the Aztecs, is 
shown representing their work in clay and stone. 
Near the cast end of the same side of the hall in the same order will 
be found the Archaic Period of Central America, and the succeeding 
Maya civilization as represented at Chichen Itza and Copan. 
The Maya were perhaps the most highly civilized people in the New 
World. They built many cities of stone and erected many fine pillar- 
like stelae to which attention was called on entering the hall. The sculp- 
tures on these monuments represent priest-like beings who carry serpents 
and other ceremonial objects in their hands. There are also on them 
long hieroglyphic inscriptions containing dates in the wonderful Maya 
calendar. Maya history contains two brilliant periods. That of the 
south, extending from 160 A. D. to 600 A. D., was chiefly remarkable 
for its sculptures. The principal cities were Copan, Quirigua, Tikal, 
Yaxchilan and Palenque. The second period fell between 950 A. D. 
and 1250 A. D., and centered in northern Yucatan. The chief cities 
were Chichen Itza, Uxmal and Labna, and the finest works of art were 
architectural. (See Handbook, No. 3, Ancient Civilizations of Mexico 
and Central America.) 
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