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Technic Aspect.—The technic history 
of the great stone begins with its re- 
moval from the quarry and transporta- 
tion to the present spot. How this her- 
culean task was performed must remain 
a matter of conjecture. With a people 
unacquainted with the highly devel- 
oped appliances of civilization, the task 
would seem beyond the possibility of 
accomplishment. It is quite impossible 
to say whether the removal was by 
land or by water. If by land, a road 
had to be constructed over ground now 
rough, now yielding and unstable, and 
a great force of men with rollers and 
ropes would be required. If by water, 
a broad and deep canal had to be dug, 
and a raft of large proportions con- 
structed and launched to sustain the 
immense weight. Unless decided evi- 
dence of the use of the latter method 
appears, the former must be accepted 
as the one probably employed. 
The designing and carving of the 
monument, the methods and means, are 
matters of great scientific interest on 
which we have but meager light. It 
was not a task within the reach of an 
uncultured people. The complicated 
conception had to be clearly in mind, 
the design had to be worked out in 
minute detail, and the application of 
the drawings to the irregular rounded 
surface of the stone was a matter of no 
little difficulty. As a preliminary step, 
the shape of the stone had to be modi- 
fied to suit the purpose, the surface 
smoothed before the outlines could be 
applied in pigment, and the many fea- 
tures adjusted to their several places 
preparatory to the beginning of the 
sculptor’s work. 
The execution of the work is a deep 
mystery and its successful completion 
a great marvel. A lump of coarse sand- 
stone, almost a quartzite—according to 
Maudslay ‘‘a breccia composed of feld- 
[47] 
spar, mica, and quartz, very absorbent, 
and weighing about 130 pounds to the 
cubic foot’’—had to be attacked with 
tools the nature of which remains today 
a matter of conjecture. It is generally 
believed that these people were without 
hard metal tools, and although stone 
tools were certainly equal to the task, 
slight traces of such tools applicable to 
the purpose have been found. We thus 
pause before a second mystery, for had 
stone tools been used in the arduous 
and prolonged task of crumbling with 
pick and hammer and smoothing by 
abraders, these would still exist and 
ought to be found at least occasionally 
in the work of clearing and excavation, 
for it seems highly probable that the 
carving of the various monuments was 
carried on, not only on the spot where 
they now stand, but after final place- 
ment upon their foundations. If bronze 
were used, it may have disappeared by 
decay. However, there are no traces of 
the use of this metal in any form and no 
documentary testimony supporting the 
hypothesis of its use by the Mayan 
peoples. 
A striking feature of the sculptural 
work of Quirigua, well illustrated in the 
example here presented, is the masterly 
workmanship. The design is adjusted 
perfectly to the shape of the stone, and 
there is no suggestion of incompetence 
on the part of the sculptor and no indi- 
cation of the lack of effectiveness on the 
part of the implements used. The forms, 
shallow or deep, simple or complex, are 
all carved with equal directness and 
vigor. The chisel may not have accom- 
plished all that the conception required, 
for ideals may rise entirely above the 
capacity of material embodiment, but 
there is no suggestion of hesitation or 
inefficiency in the completed work. 
Culture Status.—The date inscribed 
in hieroglyphs on this monument occurs 
