. Young folks library . f Death, composed of a greatnumber of small mounds, Tlateles, the tombs of greatmen. They are arranged symmetrically in avenuesterminating at the sides of the great pyramids, on aplain of some six hundred and twenty feet to nine hun-dred and seventy-five feet in length ; fronting them arecemented steps, which must have been used as seats bythe spectators during funeral ceremonies or pubHcfestivities. On the left, amidst a mass of ruins, arebroken pillars, said to have belonged to a temple; thehuge capitals have some traces of sculpture. Nextcomes a quadrangular block, o
. Young folks library . f Death, composed of a greatnumber of small mounds, Tlateles, the tombs of greatmen. They are arranged symmetrically in avenuesterminating at the sides of the great pyramids, on aplain of some six hundred and twenty feet to nine hun-dred and seventy-five feet in length ; fronting them arecemented steps, which must have been used as seats bythe spectators during funeral ceremonies or pubHcfestivities. On the left, amidst a mass of ruins, arebroken pillars, said to have belonged to a temple; thehuge capitals have some traces of sculpture. Nextcomes a quadrangular block, of which a cast is to befound in the main gallery of the Trocadero. Exploring an Ancient Mexican Palace 33 In the course of my excavations I had found nowand again numerous pieces of worked obsidian, preciousstones, beads, etc., within the circuit of ants nests,which these busy insects had extracted from the groundin digging theirgalleries; andnow on the sum-mit of the lesserpyramid I againcame upon my f r 1 e n a s, and. Terra-Cotta Masks and Heads. among the things I picked out of their nests was a perfect earring of obsidian, very small, and as thin as a sheet of paper. It is not so curious as it seems at first, for we are disturbing a ground formed by fifty generations. Glass does not seem to have been known to theIndians, for although Tezcatlipoca was often figuredwith a pair of spectacles, they may only have beenfigurative ones like those of the manuscripts, terra-cotta,or hassi-relievi, for there is nothing to show that theyhad any idea of optics. I now went back to my men, when to my great de-light I found they had unearthed two large slabs show-ing the entrance of two sepulchres ; they were the firstI had yet found, and considering them very important,I immediately telegraphed to Messrs. Chavero and Berra,both of whom are particularly interested in Americanarchaeology. I expected to see them come by the verynext train, to view not only the tombstones, but also 34 A Book
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