. Ancient civilizations of Mexico and Central America. Indians of Mexico; Indians of Central America. 92 MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA intelligence of the serpent in this fashion. The serpent with a human head in its mouth doubtless belongs in the same category as the partly human- ized gods of Egypt, Assyria, and India. It illus- trates the partial assumption of human form by a beast divinity. The features combined are so pecu-. e f g Fig. 28. Upper Part of Serpent Head made into a Fret Orna- ment; a, Ixkun; b, Quirigua; c, d, g, Copan; e, Naranjo; /, Seibal. liar and unnatural that the influenc
. Ancient civilizations of Mexico and Central America. Indians of Mexico; Indians of Central America. 92 MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA intelligence of the serpent in this fashion. The serpent with a human head in its mouth doubtless belongs in the same category as the partly human- ized gods of Egypt, Assyria, and India. It illus- trates the partial assumption of human form by a beast divinity. The features combined are so pecu-. e f g Fig. 28. Upper Part of Serpent Head made into a Fret Orna- ment; a, Ixkun; b, Quirigua; c, d, g, Copan; e, Naranjo; /, Seibal. liar and unnatural that the influence of Mayan art can be traced far and wide through Central America and Mexico by comparative study of the serpent motive. A typical serpent head in profile (with the human head omitted) as developed by the Mayas for deco- rative purposes is reproduced in Fig. 27 with the parts lettered and named. It will be noted that the lines of interest in this design are either vertical or horizontal, although the parts themselves have sinu- ous outlines. Two features of the typical serpent's body enter widely into the enrichment of all kinds of subjects. One of these is the double outline which is derived from the line paralleling the base of the serpent's body and serving to mark off the belly region. The second feature is the small circle ap- plied in bead-like rows to represent scales. The profile serpent head is also seen in scrolls and frets. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Spinden, Herbert Joseph, 1879-1967. New York : American Museum of Natural History
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