598 THE INSCRIPTIONS AT COPAN. 
it has not a hole in the center, I do not divine its use [possibly the altar of Stela 1]. 
There are other circular stones among the ruins of more or less the same size and 
some of them with holes in their middles. 
Some distance from the temple toward the northwest there are five obelisks 
still standing (see No. 24), the northernmost, at the foot of a great fallen edifice 
(Mound 2], has on the face opposite the building the representation of a man [Stela 
D]. It should be borne in mind that all of the standing figures have the hands 
resting in the same manner, across the breast, and the shoulders are not well 
delineated. The sides of the obelisk are curiously wrought and the back is divided 
into 16 squares, wider than they are high, each one containing one or two little 
figures squatting in various postures. Hard or fine stones are encountered set in 
the obelisk... The latter and other works of the ruins are of a soft kind of stone, 
but, nevertheless, it is admirable how the ancient architects wrought them, they 
being ignorant, as is known, of the use of iron. Did they work with chisels of gold 
or silver, or did they use chisels of chaya? In front of this column there 1s an altar 
or iene table with corners toward the principal figure and 5 yards distant from it. 
To the south of this obelisk there 1s another, whose eastern face contains 
figure No. 14, and in the opposite face the drawing No. 15 [Stela B]. The height 
of the stone is 4 yards, the width is 1 yard 13 inches, and the thickness 1 yard 4 
inches. The sides contain squares with characters (hieroglyphics). Itis seen that 
the figure of this obelisk, like the others, has bracelets on the wrists and ankles, the 
feet have sandals tied on them, the laces passing between the first, second, third, and 
fourth toes. The dress of this figure extends only to the upper part of the thigh. 
A little to the south, and close to another fallen building [Mound 4], there is 
an obelisk [Stela A], the back of which contains the characters shown in No. 16, 
which are placed in double squares, that is to say, 2 in each quadrangle. Those 
which appear in the lower row are no longer legible. The Indian writing found 
among all these relics is quite interesting, especially because heretofore we did not 
know that the art of writing was known on this continent before the voyage of Co- 
lumbus. ‘This writing is hieroglyphic-phonetic, representing sounds, and 1s greatly 
superior to the paintings of the Mexicans and the symbolic hieroglyphics of the 
Egyptians, which only represented things.?, A human figure appears on the front 
of this obelisk, and on each of the two sides there are 2 single rows of squares with 
characters; its height is 3 yards 21 inches, 1 yard 2 inches wide, and 1 yard thick. 
It 1s evident that it had had red paint, and it seems to me that all the obelisks were 
painted, although in some of them the influence of time has destroyed the color. 
‘To the east, and in front of figure No. 14 [Stela B], there is another standing stone, 
the back of which contains 20 squares arranged in groups of 4, as can be seen in 
No. 19 [Stela F]. The upper ones seem to be hanging, and the same is true of the 
two squares of No. 15, all of which lead us to believe that this nation used to write 
their letters on wooden tablets which they afterward hung in their homes with 
strings or mbbons. The front of the obelisk is occupied by a human figure in half 
relief, in front of which there is a large square table or altar, having a hole in the 
middle. The obelisk nearest the temple is located at a distance of about 200 yards 
to the northeast, being to the south of the last one described, separated by a dis- 
tance of 25 yards [Stela H]. The figure on its face is shown in drawing No. 12. The 
trousers he wears are curious; perhaps it was a woman’s dress. No. 13 represents 



1Galindo here refers to the roughly spherical inclusion composed of a harder, more indurated material found 
in the rock-mass of Stela D, for a description of which see Appendix I. 
*It is hardly necessary to point out that Galindo is in error here as to the real character of the Maya hiero- 
glyphic-writing. While it is indubitably true that phonetic elements occur here and there in the texts, the great 
majority of the signs are ideographic, that is, they stand for ideas rather than sounds. (See Morley, 1915, pp. 23-30.) 
