259 
or great nobles might pass^ though carried in a 
palanquin on the shoulders of their subjects. 
The door-posts were not parallel, but inclined, 
probably in order to use stone lintels of less di- 
mensions. The niches (hoco) hollowed in the 
walls, and serving for cupboards, imitate the 
form of these porfe rastremate : the inclined 
position of these parts in the Peruvian edifices 
gives them some resemblance to those of Egypt, 
in which the lintels are always shorter^ than the 
thresholds. Between the hocoes are cylindric 
stones, with polished surfaces, which project out 
of the wall to the length of five decimetres ; the 
natives assured us, that they were used to hang 
weapons or ornaments on. We observed also 
in the corners of the walls cross pieces of por- 
phyry of a singular shape. M. de la Conda- 
mine thinks, that they were intended to join the 
two walls. I am rather inclined to believe, that 
the cords of their hammocks were fastened round 
these cross pieces ; at least we find similar pieces 
of wood, serving for this purpose, in all the huts 
of the Indians of the Orinoco. 
The Peruvians showed surprising dexterity in 
cutting the hardest stones. At Cannar we find 
curved grooves hollowed in the porphyry, to 
supply the want of hinges to the doors. La 
Condamine and Bouguer saw in old edifices, 
built in the time of the Incas, ornaments' of por- 
phyry, repi^senting the muzzles of animals, in 
s 2 
