. The serpent symbol, and the worship of the reciprocal principles of nature in America . yed himself in this very territoryof the Zapoticas, in discovering the burial-places of the Caziques, andin opening their graves, for the sake of the golden ornaments which theinhabitants of the olden time were accustomed to bury with their this manner he collected more than $100,000 worth of gold.—{Lock-harts Diaz, vol. ii. p. 322.) Du Paix also found, in the vicinity of the remains just alluded to, atumulus, or artificial hill, beneath which, upon excavation, at the depthof six feet, was disco
. The serpent symbol, and the worship of the reciprocal principles of nature in America . yed himself in this very territoryof the Zapoticas, in discovering the burial-places of the Caziques, andin opening their graves, for the sake of the golden ornaments which theinhabitants of the olden time were accustomed to bury with their this manner he collected more than $100,000 worth of gold.—{Lock-harts Diaz, vol. ii. p. 322.) Du Paix also found, in the vicinity of the remains just alluded to, atumulus, or artificial hill, beneath which, upon excavation, at the depthof six feet, was discovered a sepulchre, the form of which was oblong,and its walls lined with square hewn stones, with mouldings and Mosaicwork of well finished execution. The roof was composed of large squareflags, and on the outer side, which faces the west, there was a smalldoor. All that we found in this vault was a skull and some smallerbones, together with fragments of pitchers, jugs, and dishes of fineearthenware, of blue color. The same authority found also, near the town of Chila, on the summit. Fig. 12. Pl. a\d Section of Sepulciirai. Chamber at Ciiila, Mexico. of a mountain called Tortuga, a pyramid of solid mass, resting uponan equilateral base, the sides of which faced the cardinal points. Thewestern face was ascended by steps. At the foot of the northern angleof the pyramid, at the depth of eleven feet from the surface, exist theruins of a sepulchre in the form of a cross. It was descended by sixsteps into an oblong vault, the four compartments of which, like thesides of the pyramid, face the four points of the compass. The wallsof this subterranean structure were constructed of squared blocks of SACRED HIGH-PLACES. 101 stone, cemented and polished. The ceiling was coated with lime. Butfew human remains were found subjoined cut, Fig. 13, exhibits a section of the pyramid here re-
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1851
