Mexican and Central American antiquities, calendar systems, and history; . ome from the cave of Zabalam, near Coban, are of a peculiar character(^7, ^, and c, figure 21). The material is a brick-red clay, which is some-what more sandy than in the fragments described before, painted incertain places partly light-blue and partly white. The whole construc-tion has something reniarkably modern about it; the first, shows afigure clothed with a maxtlatl and a loin cloth, wearing large roundear pegs and a cylindric stone bead on a cord around the neck, andadorned with great winglike feather ornaments
Mexican and Central American antiquities, calendar systems, and history; . ome from the cave of Zabalam, near Coban, are of a peculiar character(^7, ^, and c, figure 21). The material is a brick-red clay, which is some-what more sandy than in the fragments described before, painted incertain places partly light-blue and partly white. The whole construc-tion has something reniarkably modern about it; the first, shows afigure clothed with a maxtlatl and a loin cloth, wearing large roundear pegs and a cylindric stone bead on a cord around the neck, andadorned with great winglike feather ornaments projecting from thesides of the head. The figure is represented in a dancing posturebefore a sort of tree, whose branches are made of unripe ears of maizestill in the husk. Such an ear of maize also rises high over the headof the figure. Both at the right and left are seen figures of animals 102 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 28 (squirrel and bird) nibbling the ears of maize. There are also animalfigures erect on their haunches at the feet of the principal c Fig. 21. Pottery figures from Guatemala. The second piece, h, is a sitting figure, similarly costumed, with a largeheaddress, the chief feature of which is a high braided structure, perhaps .selkk] ANTIQUITIES OF GUATP^MALA 103 an imitation of an ear of maize. The tree with the ears of maize and theanimal figures is lacking. The third piece, c, one might actually sup-pose to be the representation of a Spaniard if this idea were not con-tradicted by the ear ornament, the broad bead anklets, and, especially,the maxtlatl. The figure may, perhaps, be thought to be clothed withan ichcauipil, or quilted armor, unless we have before us, which is alsovery probable, a Christian cacique in Spanish costume. Under the lefthand there is an object which looks almost like a Spanish shield, butis perhaps a piece of cloth with a broad border. It is this last figurewhich suggests the idea that in all three pieces we have fanta
Size: 1297px × 1927px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectmayas, bookyear1904
