The Ancient Cities of the New World

Ancient Bas-reliefs-Toltecs Portrayed-Historical Jottings-The

the city. The modern town occupies but a small proportion of the area of the ancient capital, and the few antiquiti

CARYATI

A COLUM

es, lying on the ground, having a round tenon which fitted closely into the mortise and ensured solidity; it is the only specimen we have found where such care had been bestowed. TENNIS-RING, TULA. The carving on the outward portion of the column consists of feathers or palms, whilst the reverse is covered with scales of serpents arranged in parallel sections. This fragment answers Sahagun's description about the columns of a temple dedicated to Quetzalcoatl, already mentioned, where rattle-snakes formed the ornamentation. It is also interesting from the fact that we shall see a similar column at Chichen-Itza in a temple of the same god. Here also among other fragments I noticed a Greek column with a Doric capital, but on which I dare not pronounce definite

as played with a large india-rubber ball; the rules required the player to receive it behind, not to let it touch the ground, and to wear a tight-fitting leather suit to make the ball rebound. But the greatest feat was to send the ball through the ring, when a scramble, a rush, and much confusion followed, the winner having the right to plunder the spectators of their valuables. Sending the ball through the ring required so much dexterity, that he who succ

e other, by far the most valuable, in the wall of a private house, but very old and much injured, representing a full-face figure and another in profile; their nose, beard, and dress are similar to those described by Veytia46 in the following passage: "The Toltecs were above middle heig

those we shall subsequently discover, forming the first links in the chain of evidence respecting our t

And that the new deity should be ushered in with due pomp and solemnity, he had a magnificent temple built in her honour, and her gold statue placed within the temple, covered with emeralds, the size of a palm, and cunningly worked so as to imitate nature. Up to that time, temples had been large mounds erected on the summits of mountains, like that of Tlaloc, or on artificial pyramids like that of Teotihuacan, where the idols were exposed to the elements; that of the Frog was the first which was built with stones and given a rectangular shape, having a kind of solid vault (boveda), also of stone, which by a skilful arrangement covered the whole edifice.48 Here, then, we have a very plain description of the Indian vault, the Yucatec vault, a vault we have observed in the north and the whole extent of our Toltec journey; seen by Guillemin Tarayre in the tombs at Las Casas Grandes, mentioned by Ixtlilxochitl as the distinguishing feature in th

BAS-R

of the surrounding districts pours in for the purpose of buying or selling. Except meat, all articles are sold on the ground, spread on plantain leaves or clean cloths; where vendors dispose themselves in long rows about the plaza, offering their goods, crockery, an

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their scanty costume leaving uncovered their shapely arms, necks, and ankles. On looking at them, I seem to myself to be carried back a thousand years amidst that grand old race whose ruins I am here to study. Further on, under a monumental ash-tree, primitive kitchens have been set up

GIRLS

outline of features to the flat-nosed, flat-faced Kalmuk. Most women are

orth. It was called Palpan in the time of the Toltecs; but now it is known as Cerro del Tesoro, because a poor shepherd-boy, some twenty years since, whilst scratching the moist ground, discovered a vase with five hundred gold ounces in it;

A TOLTE