Mexican and Central American antiquities, calendar systems, and history; . beencut aAvay, intentionally, as it seems. The north side Avas the principalside in all the palaces. It lay along tlie principal axis, since the prin-cipal courts of all the palaces open t()\\ar(l the south, and the mambuilding, Avith its adjoining court, lies on the north side of the chief 306 SBLER] EXPLANATION OF WALL PAINTINGS 807 court. Hence the siiii glyph in the niidclle of this side in Pahice IVmust certainly be looked upon as the sign of the palace. There is in fragment 1, besides pedunculate oculiform element
Mexican and Central American antiquities, calendar systems, and history; . beencut aAvay, intentionally, as it seems. The north side Avas the principalside in all the palaces. It lay along tlie principal axis, since the prin-cipal courts of all the palaces open t()\\ar(l the south, and the mambuilding, Avith its adjoining court, lies on the north side of the chief 306 SBLER] EXPLANATION OF WALL PAINTINGS 807 court. Hence the siiii glyph in the niidclle of this side in Pahice IVmust certainly be looked upon as the sign of the palace. There is in fragment 1, besides pedunculate oculiform elementsand the stone knives, which here represent the rays of the sun glyph,a design, already mentioned, which consists of an eye with an eyebrowrolled up at the ends, on which rest elongated (protruding) eyes,between which latter are inserted threc^ pointed elements resemblingrays. In the Mexican figurative symljolism eyes are very generallyemployed to express radiating light. Lustrous stones (emerald, tur-qouise, and muscovite) are expressed heiroglyphically by a disk that. Fig. 72. Symbols and figure of deities, from Mexican codices. is marked dilferently according to the nature of the stone, and on itscircumference are drawn four eyes placed in the form of a cross (seethe hieroglyph chalchiuiti, emerald in the pyramidal structure ofthe temple, «, figure 75). The stars shining down from the nightsky are designated by eyes which are attached to the surface and tothe rim of a stripe or lialf circle painted in a dark, nebulous color(SQC the representation of day and night in the middle design offigure 58 and the drawing of night with the symbol of the moon, alabbit in a watery field, in figure 65 and figure 72). It seems, therefore, certain that the composite designs in fragment1 are intended to represent radiating light. One is even tempted 308 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 28 to ascribe to them a special meaning. If the eyes mean stars, thiseye surounded by other radiating e
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectmayas, bookyear1904
