Mexican and Central American antiquities, calendar systems, and history; . th projectingeye teeth, very often Avith a distinct halo. I believe these must beidentified Avith the old god, the male part of the primal pair of other principal type is eAidently that of a youthful female is generally to be recognized over the broAv the transverselygrooved palate and the tAvo eyes of a reptile (alligator), out of whoseopen jaAvs looks the face of the goddess. These heads thereforedoubtless represented the earth goddess who grants fertility andprosperity. Jaguar heads, or faces Avh
Mexican and Central American antiquities, calendar systems, and history; . th projectingeye teeth, very often Avith a distinct halo. I believe these must beidentified Avith the old god, the male part of the primal pair of other principal type is eAidently that of a youthful female is generally to be recognized over the broAv the transverselygrooved palate and the tAvo eyes of a reptile (alligator), out of whoseopen jaAvs looks the face of the goddess. These heads thereforedoubtless represented the earth goddess who grants fertility andprosperity. Jaguar heads, or faces Avhich Avear a jaguar as a helmetmask, are seldom met with among these smaller potterA^ antiquities,and the face Avith the inserted serpent jaAvs, Avhich is so frequent inthe larger figure A^essels, the mortuary vessels, seldom or never occuramong them. We obtained, chiefly in Zoquitlan, torsos dressed inwadded armor, holding a shield in one hand and a club or a lance inthe other; but similar ones are also found occasionally among theantiquities discovered in other srlkr] DEITIES AND RELUHOUS (M)NCKPTI()NS 305 One reflection in particular is forced on us while consideringthese anti(}uities peculiar to the Za})()tec country. Ihe types arevery uniform and very characteristic, and in them can be recognized,strictly speaking, only the old creative god (fire god?), the earthgoddess, Tepeyollotl, and perhaps a war god. Among the genuineZapotec antiquities there is no trace to be found of the crowdedOlympus of the picture writings and its very characteristic hgures,particularly the forms of Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca, Xipe, andthe rest, which we shall meet with again in the frieze of Mitla, whileamong the antiquities of the Valle de Mexico and that portion ofthe highlands bordering upon it the characteristic form of Quetz-alcoatl, at least, is often found. Hence the conclusion seems inevi-table that the cosmogonic representations referring to Quetzalcoatl,explained more fully ab
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectmayas, bookyear1904
