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entirely destroys the suspicion, that they were 

 made after the conquest by the Indians, who 

 attempted to imitate the form of some Spanish 

 vase. We know, that the Toltecks, in their pas- 

 sage through the province of Oaxaca, penetrated 

 even beyond the lake of Nicaragua. We may 

 hence conjecture, that these vases, ornamented 

 with the heads of birds and tortoises, are the 

 work of some tribe of the Tolteck race. If we 

 reflect on the form of the vessels in domestic 

 use among the Spaniards of the 16th century, 

 it is impossible to admit, that the soldiers of 

 Cortez carried to Mexico vases similar to those, 

 which Mr. Pownal has described. 



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