ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY 
mythology. Of one thing we may be 
assured—our imaginings, howsoever 
elaborated and fanciful, can be but as 
shadows compared with the complex 
imagery with which the two-headed, 
twelve-eyed dragon was invested by 
the ancient worshipers of Quirigua. 
The Functions. — The sculptured 
monoliths of Quirigua were carved with 
a definite purpose in view, and had a 
particular and very important function 
to perform. Although the highest tech- 
nical skill of the people was lavished 
upon them and the esthetic perfection 
of the result was kept constantly in 
view, the primary purpose was not the 
gratification of the craving for beauty. 
They had a most vital bearing on the 
welfare of the people—a practical func- 
tion of the greatest moment. Through 
the idols the mysterious powers of 
nature, which, without doubt, they were 
believed to represent, were reached, 
and by means of an elaborate system 
of shamanistic conjurings and appeals, 
were placated, controlled, and utilized 
in the interests of the people. 
The story of the development of the 
system of invocation of the gods through 
zoomorphic forms furnishes one of the 
most interesting and important chap- 
tersin the culture history of the American 
race. It operated at all times as a strong 
force in the direction of material, intel- 
lectual, and artistic advancement, and 
this notwithstanding the fact that the 
whole divine structure was a work of 
the imagination pure and simple. The 
beginnings of the function of the works 
which we call idols is to be sought in 
the vague imaginings of primitive man 
when he first essayed to localize and 
interpret the mysterious powers of na- 
ture to which he found himself subject. 
As the result of his speculations he 
reached the generalization that all 
things in nature were imbued with life 
and power in some degree like his own; 
and special things, as stones, trees, 
animals, the heavenly bodies, were re- 
garded as having exceptional potency 
for good or evil; some were adopted by 
him as protective agencies, as charms 
and talismans—incipient divinities— 
while others were feared and avoided 
as agencies of malevolence. 
In time with the growth of myth the 
imagination reached beyond mere nat- 
ural forms conjuring up supernatural 
beings, largely zodmorphic in type, 
having special superior attributes and 
powers. Reptilian forms on account of 
their death-dealing powers and myste- 
rious ways and birds on account of their 
mastery of the air were especially re- 
vered, and in time images of these with 
strange variations took the place of the 
real creatures and were invested with 
attributes and powers in a superior 
degree. With the further growth of 
myth the conceptions became com- 
posites of unrelated originals, and the 
images were elaborated to the extent of 
the mechanical and artistic capabilities: 
of the people. Carved in wood or stone 
and modeled in stucco or in clay, these 
became the centers about which sanc- 
tuaries were built and ceremonies were 
conducted—all designed to cultivate 
the favor of the divinities whose forms 
they represented for good to themselves 
and evil to their enemies. These activi- 
ties, growing in importance, led to the 
organization of bodies of religious servi- 
tors, of a shamanistic priesthood whose 
function it was to care for the sanctu- 
aries, conserve the sacredness of the 
idols, instruct the people in their 
duties, and formulate and conduct the 
elaborate rituals. But the activities 
of the priestly establishments thus de- 
veloped, based primarily on the idea of 
appeal to the gods in the interests of 
the community for the commonweal, 
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