Biologia Centrali-Americana, or, Contributions to the knowledge of the fauna and flora of Mexico and Central America . hich faced towards the south. The temples areall built on the same plan, but differ in size, some being considerably larger than thathere figured. KUINS NEAR RABINAL. 27 The altars were apparently miniature copies of the foundations of the temples, withsteps only 3 or 4 inches in height and width; but no trace of a miniature house couldbe seen on the top of them. The masonry is all of the same description: irregularflat stones 2 to 5 inches thick and straight at one edge, plac
Biologia Centrali-Americana, or, Contributions to the knowledge of the fauna and flora of Mexico and Central America . hich faced towards the south. The temples areall built on the same plan, but differ in size, some being considerably larger than thathere figured. KUINS NEAR RABINAL. 27 The altars were apparently miniature copies of the foundations of the temples, withsteps only 3 or 4 inches in height and width; but no trace of a miniature house couldbe seen on the top of them. The masonry is all of the same description: irregularflat stones 2 to 5 inches thick and straight at one edge, placed one over another andfaced with plaster. The stones may have been found already apart from each other,or may have been flaked off from the rock with little trouble, and have needed littledressing. The thick plaster coating is in some places still perfectly preserved. From the position chosen, and from the fact that the buildings face inwards, it seemsprobable that each group may have formed a sort of fortress. In one of the Plazas I found the remains of a building, of which a rough ground-plan is here given:—. It is an oblong enclosure with walls 10 feet thick, with recesses at the fourcorners. The walls are in some parts perfect to the height of 7 feet. I could notfind that there had been originally any doorway to this enclosure, but two entranceshave been forced in where the walls are narrowest. It agrees in plan and dimensionswith the building figured in Bancrofts Native Races of the Pacific States, as a typeof Tlachtli courts of Mexico, where a game (which is described by Herrera and others)was played with an indiarubber ball. There were numbers of Chaya (obsidian) flakes lying about on the surface of theground, and I found one chipped arrow-head, one stone axe, and several pieces of stoneaxes and of mealing-stones. An examination of the ruins of the neighbouring hill-tops would doubtless addmuch to our knowledge, and there still remains as a field for enquiry the whole
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