Essays of an AmericanistIEthnologic and archaeologicIIMythology and folk loreIIIGraphic systems and literatureIVLinguistic . sunset at its right. This results from the superstitious preferenceof facing the south rather than the north. fThe triplicate constitution of things is a prominent feature of the ancient Mexi-can philosophy, especially that of Tezcuco. The visible world was divided intothree parts, the earth below, the heavens above, and mans abode between whole was represented by a circle divided into three parts, the upper partpainted blue, the lower brown, the centre white (S
Essays of an AmericanistIEthnologic and archaeologicIIMythology and folk loreIIIGraphic systems and literatureIVLinguistic . sunset at its right. This results from the superstitious preferenceof facing the south rather than the north. fThe triplicate constitution of things is a prominent feature of the ancient Mexi-can philosophy, especially that of Tezcuco. The visible world was divided intothree parts, the earth below, the heavens above, and mans abode between whole was represented by a circle divided into three parts, the upper partpainted blue, the lower brown, the centre white (See Duran, Historia, Lam. 15, foran example). Each of these three parts was subdivided into three parts, so thatwhen the Tezcucan king built a tower as a symbol of the universe, he called it The Tower of Nine Stories (see my Ancient Nahuatl Poetry, Introduction, p. 36). THE COPAN STONE. 155 Another form of representing days is seen in the VaticanMexican Codex, published in Kingsboroughs Mexico,Vol. iii: This is not far from the figure on the stone at Copan, de-scribed in Dr. Hamys paper, where the design is as follows:. Fig. 13. 156 ESSAYS OF AN AMERICANIST. This does not resemble the Ta Ki, as Dr. Hamy sup-poses, but rather the Yin-Yang; 5^et differs from this inhaving a central circle (appareuth^ a cup-shaped depression).This central circular figure, whether a boss or nave, or acup-shaped pit, has been explained bj- Worsaae as a con-ventionalized form of the sun, and in this he is borne outby primitive American art, as we shall see. The twentyelevations which surround the stone, corresponding in num-ber to the twenty days of the Maya month, indicate at oncethat we have here to do with a monument relating to thecalendar. Turning now to the development of this class of figures inprimitive American art, I give first the simplest representa-tions of the sun, such as those painted on buffalo skins by theIndians of the Plains, and scratched on the surface of examples are s
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