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Tikal: view from the summit of Temple

109.

II; in the

era, it retains

E-VII-sub

of the

at

base,

background, Temples III and

some of Uaxactun

I.

hi the foreground ,

the early characteristics

(such as the

and the small

we saw

main stairway

near

stairs

its

Temple

no.

Tikal: Temple

II.

Detail of the roof-comb

IV

foot)

;

but

in

Pyramid body

set into the

we

find here, for

masonry walls (perforated by small ventilation holes in their lower portions), which probably ed a roof of wood and palm fronds. There is a marked differentiation between the two levels of the sanctuary, clearly reflected on the exterior by a skillful play of volumes in which the projecting and receding planes and the heavy superposed moldings point to the special character of the two interior spaces. the

first

time, slender

These particular elements continued to evolve for more than 800

we

and to them

years;

cisive in

Maya

added principles that were

will see

architecture

— the corbel

vault, for

to be de-

example, and the

roof-comb.

The

first

three centuries of the Christian era (or the end of the

Proto-Classic period)

mark

the appearance in this area of cultural

elements destined to profoundly influence the Classic development of

Maya

Now,

architecture.

monuments (mostly

Maya began

the

to build

commemorative

dating from the inauguration of the

stelae),

initial series. Tikal's Stele 29,

the oldest of

its

kind known, bears the

date 292 a.d. Early examples of the corbel vault are found in funerary architecture,

and arose from the need to roof over tombs

;

later,

the

vault appears in temples, palaces, and other structures. In the course

of two or three centuries,

its

popularity spread throughout the region

of Maya influence, although almost never beyond the corbel vault, so basic to the is

usually

known

—

in this part

it.

For

this reason,

development of Maya architecture,

of the world,

at least

—

as

the

"Maya

arch," or sometimes, unjustly, as the "false arch" (plate 102).

Another this area

definitive architectural

element whose appearance in

seems to coincide with that of the corbel vault

is

the roof-

comb, or cresteria. This soaring structure usually rises from the rear of the temple, growing progressively smaller toward its top, far above the temple roof The roof-comb lends the temples of the Peten region an unmistakable silhouette and almost always entails a mode of construction in which solid walls predominate over interior space.

With

the birth

and refinement of these elements, Maya archi-

tecture finally evolved a basic style

toward the third century

a.d.

when Teotihuacan witnessed the conPyramid of Quetzalcoatl). From El Peten, strong

(around the time, for example, struction of the

cultural currents radiated in tural

all

directions,

borne by

vocabulary apparent throughout the

whose

principal feature

was

a

common

Maya zone

clearly an ingenious

—an

cul-

idiom

and exact system of

vigesimal numeration and glyphic writing, capable of ing with

101

III.

precision not only astronomical observations and computations but dates, historical occurrences,

and other material.

On

while contemporaneous Mesoamerican peoples such

and those

in

Teotihuacan were using

roofs atop

flat

(which in turn were ed by walls and

Maya's exclusive use of the corbel vault the arrangement

Maya

area,

and

we

as

of

size

shall

pillars

the other hand,

was

Few Mesoamerican

less

and

less

two elements appear

or columns), the

the

the

though temples were

space inside

temples express

as

them

(plate 109).

eloquently

those in

as

Tikal the essential role of the temple as a reliquary, or tabernacle, built to

house an effigy of some deity. The

summit of the pyramidal mass of worshipers to

who

forbidden and

steps

was, above

all,

from the

supremacy over the was normally

of the pyramids, on

at the foot

plat-

provided for that purpose. Pre-Hispanic worship

an open-air proceeding, the temple having acquired

symbolic value rather than being thought of

a

space for intimate

as a

communication between man and his gods. This concept of the temple as a raised reliquary, inaccessible to inortal man, impressive in its aura of mystery and veiled in clouds of incense, helps us understand the symbolic function that the roof-

combs served

in

Maya

religious architecture. In Tikal,

element seems to have originated, tural

was

system and to formal usage that

ornamental and symbolic

To

it

in nature

—

it

where

that

so closely tied to the struc-

cannot be viewed

as a

mere

as

simply

architectural finial.

understand the slow and somewhat rigid evolution of architectural

elements during the entire Classic period (that the ninth century a.d.),

it is

is,

important to visualize

from all

the third to

these elements

the

North Acropolis

examples of Classic architecture

offers

in Tikal (plate

as a great pile

and

rising

intensified

of the

from the by a deep

rear

of the comb and (usually

central that creates a strong play is

that the

roof-comb grows

of

is

light

directly

We

might have been

can also trace other,

more

of the upper

a progressive decrease in the size

ornate) elements that face forward,

In Tikal, the items of interest tend to be

The broad

found on the front of the

crowning the roof above the sanctuary the elaborate of the front of the roof-comb the delicately carved lintels of wood (plate 111) all carried a profusion of ornamentation, little of which remains today. Through a millennium of total abandonment, the fertile jungle reclaimed its own; some of the temples in this and other Maya cities sit engulfed by trees up to their very roof-combs. We gain a sketchy idea of the former splendor of this cresteria when we take a close look at one of Tikal s most heavily ornamented buildings. Temple II (plate 110), where the temple.

frieze

;

sections

;

—

remaining traces of

a set

of elaborately carved ear-hoops suggest the sinaller masks

one-time existence of an enormous central mask, while

adorn the upper section of the roof and flank the access stairway to the sanctuary.

top of

When we compare

this structure

and others,

we

original height

From

with similar elements

suspect that

of

its

comb

this

engendered

openwork at the visible on Temple IV

the remains of the

Temple

II

still

missing a quarter of the

is

—which, even

as it stands in

of the temple

the standpoint of form, the

of

verticality

and

this architecture,

equally characteristic elements, such as the graded s on the sides

enhanced

of the temple; the sense of

of

crester'ta

Tikal can be followed over five centuries.

pies

of masonry, substantially lightened by interior arches

and shadow. The impression

104

in the oldest phases

and by These

unified.

—

that

have already discussed. Furthermore, the roof-comb was conceived

rear wall

from the beginning of the Christian era, along with the first masonry walls but executed in part, perhaps, in perishable materials. This might explain why so early an example as Temple 23 shows such a firm sense of confidence in the complex combination of its volumes. We can observe the continuity of some of the architectural elements, such as a peculiar thickening of the back wall, which rises up from the floor level like a spinal column, and soars uninterruptedly skyward past the wide cornice. The evolution of this typical "backbone" in

we

levels

on the

vertical

in use

one of the best early 103). There arc super-

posed moldings, along with the marked differentiation of

Etiiografico

of the inner sanctuary are

forin, almost equals twice the height

simultaneously.

Temple 23 of

the different levels

Museo

an impression heightened by the

lead us to suppose that the principle

access to the sanctuary

could observe religious ceremonies only from

below, standing in the plazas

forms and

priests officiated

base, thus stressing their

whom

of the

last

of the corbel vault; but in El Peten, as in most other sectors, interior space was considered secondary to the matter of emphasizing large open spaces, and to the larger, there

effect

wooden beams

limitations inherent in the principle

becoming

column"

"spinal

(plate 107),

way

In

exterior appearance of buildings, hideed, even

out of the temple floor

the

some parts of ways were found to overcome

see,

:

Zapotecs

as the

fatally limited flexibility in

interior space.

Tikal carved from Temple IV. Basel,

fragmentary

itself.

roof-comb served as a finial of the tem-

the sense of vertical thrust so characteristic

region. Notwithstanding the ponderousness this feature

—

the point of

in

some

cases

it

absurdity (plate

reduced the interior space almost to 113,

lower right)

—we

can appreciate

the powerful impetus that the cresteria gave to the temple's

upward

striving (plates 108, 109). In

dramatic contrast to contemporaneous Teotihuacan (where

112.

Tikal: partial

Central Acropolis; in

North Acropolis

a basic feeling for the horizontal tahlcro), the

Maya of Tikal

was accentuated by the ever-present

clearly oriented their architecture to

make

another kind of statement, drawing on every architectural device at their command to give their temples a feeling of verticality. Thus,

even the heavy projecting "apron" moldings superposed on bases

seem

to point to the sky in a subtle play

of protruding and receding

planes (plates 105, 108); and along with colossal masks in stone and

stucco (plate 104), such elements are an almost inseparable aspect of Tikal's architecture.

A

most imposing embodiment of

this

regional style appears in

Temple

the magnificent building designated

IV, 230 feet (70 m.)

high; but unquestionably the purest example, even (50 m.),

the beautiful

is

which bounds the

Temple

I,

Temple of

or

at

only 164 feet

the Giant Jaguar,

eastern side of the Great Plaza at Tikal (plates 108,

113). Everything here contributes to the underscoring of this marked vertical orientation the unusually slender proportions of the stepped :

Maya) with

;

the rhythmical arrangement

their characteristic

—

a magic number for the of moldings and central s

bodies comprising the base (there are nine

cut-away angles,

their alternately projecting

and receding planes becoming smaller toward the top the steep stairway, unprotected by alfardas, leading to the sanctuary; and, finally, the prolongation of the skyward sweep of the temple in a high roof;

comb with

characteristic set-in s

and inclined planes. The true

culmination of architectural trends born several centuries

earlier, the

Temple of the Giant Jaguar, with its well-balanced proportions, becomes something of a prototype in Tikal. Its slender yet sturdy outline stands silhouetted against the dense tropical forest that, for a

few

was virtually dominated by the splendid buildings of Maya culture. But of all the cities of the Maya only Tikal her ever really conquered the temple-crests sparkling above the treetops centuries at least,

—

—

forest.

And

so the North Acropolis, its sixteen temples visible on the and the remains of a hundred other buildings buried under the product of some eleven centuries of constant the mass of fill remodeling comprises, together with Temples I and II, both the original nucleus and the ceremonial heart of Tikal. Offsetting these

surface

—

markedly

—

religious structures

Great Plaza,

which

is

the Central Acropolis, across the

offers buildings

of

we saw in Teotihuacan,

a residential

and istra-

mega-complex formed by the Citadel and the Great Compound). In contrast to the crowded placement of the temples forming the North Acropolis, the more tive character (as

in the

elongated buildings of the Central Acropolis are usually grouped

around plazas or courts on

io6

different levels

and dominate the Great

of the monuments. In the foreground, the the background, the Market (right) and the

rccotistnictioii

(left)

Tikal: partial view of the North Acropolis; in the background,

113.

Temple I

from an average height of 33 feet (10 m.) (plates 106, U2). Except for the unusual finials on the roof of -Building 5-D-63Athe type of long galleries that predominate (at times consisting of two Plaza

and three

and the absence o( cresterias suggest that

stories)

this part

of

the ceremonial center had some kind of distinct and special function, The ample dimensions of the interior spaces (plate 115) and the

presence of several wider-than-usual apertures indicate that these

may have

buildings

temporary

With

its

levels

—the upper one opening out toward the op-

two low,

its

extended wings,

slightly

a continuous frieze (decorated

its

raised base,

above each door only), the Maler

Palace offers one of the clearest examples of this type of residential architecture. tation that

we do

Only

a

few fragments remain of the rich relief ornamenfriezes of certain buildings. However,

once embellished the

find well-preserved

with vaulted ceilings

galleries

— often

by wooden braces; lintels of sapodilla wood; built-in benches; and the stucco rounded off to avoid sharp angles (plate 115). crossed

These buildings reveal the typical arrangement of interior space in elongated galleries,

sometimes forming three or four

occupying two or three for

stories,

parallel

easy or flexible intercommunication

(plate

114).

There were

probably exceptions; but due largely to the limited dimensions permitted by

this

be narrow, dark, tion,"

Hardoy

mode of construction, the interior spaces tend to and quite damp "unsuitable for prolonged habita-

—

feels,

adding that

it

is

"hard to beheve that these

were permanent residences. But they may have been occupied by novices and priests during the relatively protracted period imposed by the long vigils that preceded important ceremonies."^" Whatever their function, and however they may have been occupied, few of the structures could be called appealing as architectural approaches to the use of space especially when compared to the lightness and spatial flexibility to be found in far-away Teotihuacan, with which Tikal and other Maya cities shared cultural and commercial 'palaces'

—

Betwecn

the third

and seventh century, the influences that

Teotihuacan seems to have exerted

epoch

or 123

sq.

(its

km.),"

— and

Maya

area

were many and Maya city of

45,000 inhabitants occupying some 75 square miles,

ways, including

themes

in the

perhaps the largest and most important

subtle. Tikal,

its

reflects the

its

ceramics

impact of the City of the Gods

is

in

seen escorted

wherein some

by two warriors dressed

in the

Teotihuacan

two of them appearing

talud-tahlero ,

in

—

the middle of a plaza not a customary placement in Tikal; a third example can be seen in the small building to the north, at the foot of the Central Acropolis (in front of the ball court of the east plaza,

near the Great Market). Built of large limestone blocks in accordance practice,

local

Teotihuacan

this

base displays a coarse imitation of the

crowned by

tablero,

a

beveled cornice

—resulting

inverted version of the talud

from

distinct

But

these

few

regional stamp.

Its

own

erately cut itself off

basic

its

an appearance totally

in

little

of Teotihuacan

in the

buildings reflect a highly individual

structural possibihties offered

its

contemporaries.

its

architecture

which Tikal developed

style,

tendency seems to have been to delib-

from the

of

flat-roof approach

To

we fmd

cases aside,

architecture of Tikal; indeed,

—an element created

The

sole feature

was the corbel

we

conclude our study of Tikal,

complex"

—apparently an

the far-away original (plate 116), despite decorative

motifs adopted equally from the Teotihuacan

by

the

around

vault,

should mention the "twin

here toward the end of the Classic

period (between the seventh and ninth century a.d.), and almost

always local in

its

application. Several examples

Tikal (plates 117, 118). William to

commemorate

consist

of an

Coe

The

the end of a kati'w, or period of

artificial

upper platforms; so

—

it is

sacrifices,

this

200

days.^"*

is

and west ends

no

trace

possible that they served

(plate 117).

of a temple on the some other type of

devoid of any rehef decoration

same esplanade we

see a

we

usually find nine stele-

(plate 118).

On

doorway shaped

one

side

of

long building with nine doors that look

across onto a precinct that opens to the exterior only

ness

They two

perhaps, or ritual dancing, or theatrical per-

formances. In front of the western base altar pairs

7,

at

were erected

esplanade with rounded corners, ing

bases have four stairways, but there

function

have been found

suggests that they

identical stepped bases rising at the east

like a

Maya

arch, cut

through an

through the thick-

of the wall. Within the precinct stands the only

stele-altar

com-

we find inscribed the date on enormous ceremonial complex was solemnly inaugurated

bination carved in bas-relief; and here

which

this

(plate 119).

We

many

—often inspired by Teotihuacan forms or

sculpture, as in Stele 31, for example,

important personage

io8

after the typical

unusual

ties.

this

Although in general local styles dictated quite otherwise, the architecture of Tikal includes some curious bases obviously modeled

rows

but seldom provided with any means

(center)

Teotihuacan manner.

with

two

—

posite side

and

served as habitations of either a permanent or

sort.

and Central Acropolis

(left)

should note the characteristic form these monoliths almost

always took its

in Tikal,

and

in the

Peten region in general.

front face slightly wider and

The

more rounded toward

stele,

the top,

usually portrays a richly attired priest carrying an elaborate cere-

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Tikal: plan of Building 51 of the South Acropolis

ti4.

115.

Tikal: interior of a gallery of a five-storied palace in the Central Acropolis

116.

Tikal: base showing the Teotihuacan influence, situated at the foot of the Central Acropolis

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— 117-

Tikal: aerial view of one of the twin complexes

1 1 8.

Tikal: one of the two twin stepped bases of

Complex

Tikal precinct located north of the twin complexes, with an entrance the form of a Maya arch and a pair of carved monoliths (stele-altar)

119.

:

Q

monial rod in (plate 120).

The

two hands;

the altar looks like a thick stone

halach

iiinic

as

Westheim

or all-powerful priest."^^

with the construction of

new

puts

\>

drum

of commemorating

sculptures have the dual purpose

period in time and,

a specific

of the

his

in

it,

They

the "glorification

are often associated

buildings, denoting the principal axes

of the urban plan (plate 121). A millennium ago the forest of El Peten, its lush vegetation now completely grown back, was densely populated. But can we speak of true urban planning at that time? William Bullard, who mapped out these ridges and swampy reaches in order to study the settlement patof the ancient Maya, mentions the difficulty of trying to delineate the areas that were clearly urban in each city, scattered as they were through the dense forest like an archipelago in the sea. The terns

peripheral nuclei of farm dwellings, at a ratio of five or six inhabitants

two and one-half

per every

a quick first glance

acre,

seemed

so widely spread that "at

appears that they are practically everywhere. "^^

it

This impression grows

as,

following the thousand pathways and

through the forest, one approaches the ceremonial and istrative center, where the various

wide causeways, or buildings are

sache-ooh, that cut

— temples, palaces, steam baths,

ball courts,

grouped around plazas and esplanades on large

near rain-storage reservoirs created

from

and markets

artificial

platforms,

natural depressions in the

of the broad causeways that interconnect the most important architectural complexes was essenland. In the last analysis, the function

tially

ceremonial

Maya to

(plate 112).

architects used these

the

As Hardoy remarks,

"It

temples and principal complexes. In Tikal,

find that

some of the

we know of are

is

possible that

causeways to dramatize the approaches

visual corridors created

closed off by a temple.""

He

by

the

we

invariably

few causeways

then adds a particularly

comment, postulating "a fifth- or sixth-century merchant from Teotihuacan visiting some of the centers wc have mentioned, to trade articles made in the central part of the Valley of Mexico for products from the tropical forest. He would find it difficult to apply the term 'city' to the harmonious complex of temples built around a evocative

plaza,

ed

its

fields.

dwellings scattered about in the cleared portions of cultivat.

.

.

But

as the visitor

became

familiar with various aspects

in Tikal, he would realize that he was

of life might have encountered architectural scale

...

in the forest.

a detail

He would

and harmony

the hands of almost unsured

and ceremonies more elaborate,

in a place unlike

.

.

note the unusual

in the friezes

more and attended by

artists

.

any he

stelae

connoting

than usual,

greater

numbers

of people."^* In spite

112

of its informal pattern of growth and

its

enforced adapta-

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120.

Tikal: Altar

5

Tikal: Stele 16

121.

t>

of Tikal reveals

tion to a difficult landscape, the heart

grandeur wherein,

in place

of an undesired and

impossible symmetry, the architects

managed

in

conceptual

a

any case almost

to create a sequence

of

ever-changing impressions along the principal access roads leading to the ceremonial center

—roads whose once lengthy

today by the insurgent

forest, so that

they be fully appreciated.

vistas are

only with the aid of a

obscured

map

can

We will have other opportunities to observe Maya

who

the skillful,

and

found

very ruggedness of the topography ways to add grandeur

in the

and drama to

devices of

at times subtle,

their ceremonial

architects,

complexes.

and perhaps even surprising, to learn that this area of El Peten contains some urban layouts that seem least to be the products of random growth Ixkiin and Nakum, for example, and interesting,

It is

:

Yaxha

(plates

122-125).

The

first

two

centers suggest a quite cal-

culated alignment of buildings along established axes, the at

symmetry whose

times achieving an almost Teotihuacan rigidity. In Yaxha,

important and dense structural groups the

same name, we

of Tikal

—including

lie

on the banks of the lake of

find a layout that seems freer and a

twin complex of the same type.

more

A

like that

painstaking

study by Nicholas Hellmuth established the existence of a local variant

of the

''%c^

taliid-tablero ,

patios

—a

cities

of

iJHiMtibt

and of structures

common

device

this region.

in

of plazas and

Teotihuacan, but infrequent in the

Even more

^^

in the centers

significant

is

the finding

of urban

midway in style between the Teotihuacan avenue and the Maya causeway. These uias, as Hellmuth calls them, appear

elements typical

more

rigid,

with ninety-degree intersections; they are usually bor-

dered by more buildings than are the sacbe-oob, whose main purpose

was to connect major building groups

that

were

set

out in no par-

ticular pattern (plate 124).

Except for such aspects of the urban plan and some tions in the style

and disposition of the buildings, the

Peten are similar to those of Tikal. is

known

The stylistic

local variacities

of El

influence of this region

to have spread to far-distant sites such as

Coba, northeast

of the Yucatan peninsula, where El Peten's typical indented corners are transformed into something

much more rounded

(plate 126).

THE USUMACINTA RIVER BASIN Piedras Negras

The dense

forest

of El Peten extends westward through the Usuma-

cinta River basin into

other

Maya

cities that

more rugged

competed

terrain

in the arts

— the

setting for

many

of sculpture and architec-

ture during the Classic period.

One of the most

114

important was Piedras Negras, on the Guate-

••

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El Pcten, Guatemala: plan of the

122.

Ixki'iti,

123.

Nakiini, El Peteii: plan of the city

city

124.

Yaxhd, El Peten: plan of the

city t>

[&' n

D

D

50 _l

116

100

1_

200

M

^^^H HKi

hhhIH

60

10OM

125.

Yaxlid

Group 4.

:

plan of the 2.

city.

Detail of the western section:

Northwest Acropolis

3.

1.

West

Northeast Acropolis

Principal Acropolis

Here we find

malaii side of the Usumacinta River (plate ill).

of

skillfully laid

a series

out buildings and esplanades, giving the appearance

—

—

of freedom yet not without a sense of plan and spreading out over the hills and along artificial plateaus created on the slopes (plate 128). The complex, today all but destroyed and totally overgrown, must have been imposing

in

its

time of splendor, judging by Tatiana Pros-

kouriakoff's reconstruction of the Acropolis in the northwestern sector (plate 129).

Apart from the virtues of

location and the

its

way

builders

its

unevenness of the terrain to terrace various buildings and

utilized the

with patios and long

alternate pyramidal bases

impression of

this

complex

is

that

in Tikal. Like Tikal's temples,

Piedras Ncgras are

it

galleries,

our

resembles some of those

some of

first

we saw

the principal sanctuaries in

crowned by heavy

cresterias,

rising in similar

fashion above the rear wall. Too, the stepped bodies of the base are

outlined with the same type of projecting and receding planes and the

same superposed moldings, though more obviously rounded at the corners. But the feeling is less vertical here, and the more elongated sanctuary has three doorways (plate 129, Temple ]-4 at right) instead of the one that in

is

more frequent

in Tikal.

temples of the Late Classic period

much

earlier buildings in this city, as

known

K-5. This, like the oldest

This local style

—such

is

seen not only

—but

J-4 or K-5 in the initial phase of as

structure in

Temple Tikal (Building 5-D-

sub-l-l°), offers a spaciousness incomparably greater than

version

— the former's slim masonry walls

in

its

later

having been designed to

only a light roof of wooden beams and palm fronds.

a

The influence of El Peten emerges, in certain of these temples, as marked decrease in the amount of interior space, necessitated by the

adoption of the heavy roof-combs

some

buildings in Piedras Negras

of space over

The

solid walls.

swayed by Palenque, the achieved the most notable

However, reassert the dominance latter were most likely

the style of Tikal).

(in

managed

to

builders of the

city that, as

we

shall see,

seems to have

architectural advances in this region

of the

Usumacinta. In contrast to the El Peten style that, as in

Palenque, bear a light

of sanctuaries,

cresteria

wc

find others

ed by the central

part of the roof, a solution that permits a thinner wall and the gaining

of space with greater flexibility. Such is the case in Temple J-24. Recalling the covered galleries that surround the Palace at Palenque, we find here halls that allow a relatively fluid communication between the facades. In

some of

the elongated buildings

of the Acropolis,

multiple apertures almost reduce the exterior walls to simple pillars (plate 129)

Ii8

—

a revolutionary departure

from

the normally

cumber-

126.

some

of central

Maya

exemplifying

this

quality

mention

—

as

architecture.

Finally,

we

largest

Qiiiiitana

Roo, Mexico: plan and

wctioii

of Buildinj^

1

should

surprising structural lightness

spacious and attractive Building P-7,

Cohd,

—the

of the eight steam

baths in Piedras Negras, and displaying a rare combination of the

corbel vault and a

flat

roof.

Along with its architecture, representing a compromise between of Tikal and that of Palenque, and explained in part by the fact that it was situated midway between these two strong poles, Piedras Negras' stone sculpture looms large in Maya art as much for its quantity as for its novelty of expression, which avoided the prevailing forms, hi this rich repertory of sculptural themes, we should point out four outstanding examples, beginning with Throne 1, which was placed inside a kind of niche in the shape of a Maya arch in Building J-6. On the back we sec an enormous mask of the rain god, Chac; two great holes represent the eyes, out of which emerge two personages whose gesturing hands suggest that they are having a conversation (plate 130). Of the numerous carved stelae, the influence

—

one

several deserve special mention, hi

carved in high

we see a seated

figure in a niche,

with glyphic inscriptions and other motifs

relief,

in

But perhaps the most beautiful stele in Piedras Negras, in composition and execution, is Stele 12 (plate 132), dominated by the elegant figure of a lialach iiinic, who is seated with one leg drawn up, leaning forward, spear in hand, to hear a plea by the chief of a group of bound captives guarded by two armed soldiers. We can see how the artist was able to draw attention a

very delicate has-relicf

to the

upper

gradually

part,

from low

(plate 131).

emphasizing the to high relief

Jorce in this city's sculpture

damaged,

it

is

social

hierarchy by changing

But the most surprising

undoubtedly Lintel

3.

reveals the entire sculptural repertory

tour de

Although badly

from the

delicate

etching of glyphic inscriptions to parts carved in the round, and

encoming in

between

all

from

degrees of relief

the shallowest to the deepest

(plate 133).

Ya.xchildn

Mexican

Situated up-river on the

groups

lie

along slender

side,

man-made

Yaxchilan's principal building

esplanades set into the banks of

Usumacinta River, with certain edifices that complete the ceremonial center placed on the sides of the adjacent hills (plate 134). the

Although seems

less

its

position

influenced

despite the eclecticism fact,

is

by

more

southerly, Yaxchilan's architecture

the El Peten region

of many of

its

buildings.

display such diversity in their conception

tural elements.

Here, for example,

we

find doors

than

by Palenque,

Few Maya

cities, in

of certain architecof

different shapes. \

119

127-

Piedras Ncgras, El Pcteii, Guatemala: plan oj the city

128.

Piedras Negras: plan of the

city.

Detail of the northeast section

..-*^

fcsg-v?
,-s /.''/

JCS/'V''

^'-X''/^'-'-// y^y.S-X'.-

YX<<'=T.%'-^

% Xv--'

121

129-

122

Picdras Ncgras: reconstruction of the Acropolis

130.

Piedras

Museum

Ncgras: of

Throne

J

from

Building J-6.

Anthropological

Guatemala

123

i

131.

Picdras Ncgras: Stelae 14, 40, and 12

132.

Piedras Ncgras: Stele 12

\>

124

---r^-

i!

IWKr-.

:'â

.; A»fi

!

'".)',

13

Pic'dras

3-

Ncgrns: Lintel 3

and variants of the

from

The

the rear least

cresteria,

which

— unhke those of Tikal— do not

of the building, but are based on

common

of these involves

above the main facade (we

setting the

different principles.

roof-comb

directly

see this variation in certain regional styles

of the Yucatan peninsula). Another, similar to the hollow

two openwork

Palenquc, consists of

rise

roof-comb

slightly to the rear; but this

two

of

cresteria

walls fastened together, tilted is

taller

and wider than that

at

on one of the interior walls of three parallel galleries. The effect produced by this colossal superstructure is overwhelming, as we can see in Building 6 (the Red Temple of the Shore), part of whose rich sculptural decoration can be observed in its frieze (plates Palenque, and each of its

of the building, which

walls rests

in this case consists

135, 137).

The most frequent type of roof-comb found in Yaxchilan is more in tune with the elongated proportions of the galleries and with the particularly It

consists

of a

wide

thick, high,

toward the top and at times

33, the

it

frieze that

openwork wall on the

that rests

may crown

adorns the upper part of the facades.

a building

prototype of this local

that usually

central part

grows thinner though

—

of the roof

with one gallery only,

style (plates 136, 138).

as in

Building

We note here the

of ornamentation and the vigorous chiaroscuro to be found wide, inclined frieze, as well as the monumental character of

richness in

^.%

its

the roof-comb, with the remains

standing out in the center.

The

of

a large sculpture in strong relief

interior

of the sanctuary shows a

lovely variant of the corbel vault, with a multilobed appearance that will occur again in

Among

Palenque

(plate 139).

richly carved monolithic lintels that

buildings.

we

Yaxchilan's sculptures,

should mention especially the

adorned the doors of many of the

Whereas Tikal bequeathed

us beautiful specimens carved in

we

hard sapodilla wood, Yaxchilan's were of hmcstonc. In Lintel 26 can ire the exquisite and minute detail with which the hair

-v-i«

costume, and even the expressiveness of

style,

the hands are rendered; and,

of a composition showing a god armed emerging from the jaws of a fantastic serpent

in Lintel 25, the linear fluency

with

a spear

and

while a priestess

shield, raises

her face

in ecstasy (plate 140).

Boiiampak In speaking

of the Usumacinta River basin,

we cannot ignore Bonam-

pak, a ceremonial center located in the same region as Yaxchilan.

Though

small in

size,

it

Classic also,

Maya world

Maya we know in

occupies a preponderant place in

on the strength of its painted murals,

still

the loveliest

(and, indeed, in Mesoamerica).

of their great documentary value

art

the

We are mindful,

in reflecting diverse aspects

of

127

134-

128

Yaxchildii, Chiapas,

Mexico: plan

oj the city

135-

Yaxchildii

:

Building 6

(Red Temple of the Shore)

129

33

136.

Yaxchildii: section and plan of Building

137.

Yaxchildn: section and plan of Building 6

i.LJ..U..U..i_LJJ^f::^..' II

if

rt

to

ZIm.

N

5 ::t:

130

138.

Yaxchildn: Building 33

139.

Yaxchildn:

140.

Yaxchildn: Lintel 25 from Building 23

interior

of Building 33 \>

f* ^•

.-

"i

—

Maya life up

We

to the

end of the eighth century

need only glance

at the

work of

a

southwest

A. D.

of Bonampak and the keen sense

the -Master

freedom and sureness of line this painter on a par with the great masters of other civilizations. The central part of the scene known as the Torture of the Captives shows a dying prisoner sprawled on the stairs to appreciate the

of composition that place

the southeast,

the Sun, the Cross, and the Foliated Cross (plate 141).

monumentality of changing, forest

of triumphant warriors. With spare

of the stepped base

at the feet

but sure strokes, the

artist depicts

the

agony of the victim,

his

body

his head thrown back, breathing with difficulty, hand clenched and his left hanging limp. While one of his companions in misfortune reaches out to him in comion, another, his face filled with horror, tries to staunch the flow of blood

Temple of the Inscriptions (plate 142). To on higher ground, appears a lovely trio: the Temples of

the massive

is

its

this spatial

Palace reflects the

work of many

Its

hands.

Paletique

We now turn good

to

Palenque, regarded by

reason, as the jewel of this region.

respects the headquarters this site as a

Palenque

fascinates,

authors, and with

seems to have been

of a school of art, which

vertex of the Classic

buildings rise

It

many

Maya

series

why we

many

choose

"triangle." Everything in

beginning with the

on the harmonious

is

in

very location.

city's

Its

terraces situated on from here they domithe south and southeast

of artificial

the nearer spurs of the Chiapas Mountains, and

nate the lowlands to the north, protected to

in the

arranged around a

series

we

of some retaining walls whose apertures, combined with flights of stairs, suggest that their purpose was defensive. All

left

most privileged position strategic in the eventuality of attack and, above all, the probable civic and religious center of the broad and fertile region fanning out at its these features together afforded Palenque a

its

Apart from raphy that offers

a

artificial

we

its

excellent location, and the skillful use of topog-

have already observed

in other

Maya

cities,

composition utilizing the ridges themselves platforms,

buildings,

whose balance and harmony central area

we

and stairways

arc rare in

— to

Maya

create

an

with array

architecture. In the

from whose sprawling mass there rises tower of several stories balancing it to the

find the Palace,

an asymmetrically sited

Palenque

—along

;

base (plates 143, 146).

regular patios (plate 155),

less

facades there ally

is

a series

of galleries

at least three

of the outer

built in different stages; they eventu-

girded the structure with an almost continuous "arcade" offering

sheltered access to each

of

feeling

of the

their outer walls to

some of the buildings

in

interior patios (plates 143, 144).

lightness in the structures arises

that tended to reduce

saw

On

at Piedras

The

from the many openings mere pillars such as we

Negras.

In Palenque, this relative delicacy

of structure

is

the

first

thing

our eye. The principal buildings here date, however, from

of the seventh century a.d. (that is, the middle of the period), a hundred years or more before Tikal erected her

the beginnings Classic

higher temples. city

of

ways

would seem

It

that the architects

relatively recent vintage

to

latter, as

employ

to

we know,

the ponderousness

maximum

—found,

of Palenque

—

despite certain limitations,

advantage techniques that had been

by

their neighbors in El Peten (the

never having managed to escape entirely from

of their original

One of Palenque's

style).

was to reduce the weight of the roof through the simultaneous use of two techniques: leaving thus eliminiches in the ititrados of the vaults over the middle wall nating some of the dead -we'iû (plate 150) and slanting the upper part of the facade as though the outer wall itself were following the line of the corbel vault (plate 147). There was also a conspicuous outer cornice with an ingenious drainage system for rain water, and an exceptionally light roof-comb that rested on the central part of the great innovations

—

feet.

132

bulk of

find other unusual features as well.

created several centuries earlier

what is narrow

the

as

and include the unique and famous tower that commanded a view of the open reaches to the north and that probably served as both astronomical observatory and watchtower. The tower makes the Palace one of the best-known buildings in Maya architecture; but

On

find

setting.

epochs. "Cellar" chambers have

of more or

that catches

we

perspectives constantly

various surface buildings, only portions of which exist today, are

by high mountains covered with a dense, eternally green forest, Between these mountains flow the crystalline waters of the Otolum River, a small tributary of the Usumacinta that in its age through the ceremonial center was channeled, in Maya fashion, through a tunnel roofed with a corbel vault. Another stretch of the same tributary was crossed by a broad stone bridge based on the same principle, the steep slope that abruptly bounds the city to the north,

But even the

complex known

the

base,

artificial

its

been found partially hidden

own wounded

its

—pales before the grandeur of nature's

Prominent on

draped diagonally,

his

—

buildings silhouetted against the sky or the green of the

his right

from

symphony

structure. All

of

this

—

permitted Palenque's architects to reduce the

of the walls, creating additional interior space and increasing the number of openings. These truly revolutionary features would thickness

<

141.

Palenqiie, Chiapas,

Mexico:

aerial

view Jwin the northeast. In the

Temple of the Inscriptions; Temple of the Cross, Temple of the Foliated Cross, and Temple of the Sun

forcgroinid , the Palace; to the right, the to the left, the

142.

Palenqiie

:

aerial

view from the north. In the foreground, the Palace ;

the background, the

Temple of the

in

Inscriptions

.^^

^'

J^

%._ *>.,' 'T^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Kf'*'' r

'^^^^^^M K —-^^.•''^ -*— ,

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^w-

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:'

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jBr ^^B^^>^ ^flL^

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ftp

133

Palenque: western facade of the Palace

143-

soon be accompanied by a refniement of proportions to produce style

of singular elegance (plates 145, 146). Innumerable details add enchantment to the Palenque

a

ruins.

There arc stucco medallions, masks, and other adornments on the interior walls.

A

House

the trilobate shape of the arch giving access to

is

of the Palace

under

es

There

this arch,

(plate 151).

There

the sudden view, as

is

one

of the harmonious west patio leading to the

House C, behind which we see the profile of the guardtower (plate 147). There is the subtle richness of House C's base, with

front of

its

glyphic inscriptions in the center of the steps (plate 156),

on the

representing kneeling figures, and the decorations base,

where groups of four glyphs

alternate

its

alfardas

of the

sides

with projecting vertical

s carved in rehef and portraying individuals (plate 148). There is,

finally, the sinall

T-shaped window cutting through the central

wall of House B, highlighted by whimsical motifs in stucco that

show signs of the original polychrome Noteworthy at Palenque is the embedded

which

Palenque replaced the

in

center detail of the exquisitely

example art

(plate 152),

—of a on

sitting

two

either side

slaves,

We must ire

Beatriz

de

of some of the rooms,

Maya

of other

stelae

executed Tablet of the Slaves, for

—so

frequent in

of him. Seated on

cushion carried by

a thick

a

by the simsomewhat mannered

la

—

silhouette,

in

the

"idealization

and by the

Usumacinta mode

Fuente finds one of

human body

—are

Maya man"

of the

by

greatest exponents in

the

harmony of

the

its

attest to

always so

described

an art fully mature. ^°

Similar qualities of expression are to be found in the

maining examples of rich ornamentation, modeled painted, that once covered the facade and

Palenque's buildings.

Some

surrounding the building.

On

(plates 153,

these piers

re-

and then

interior walls

better-preserved fragments arc

the west facade of the Palace

many

in stucco

some of the

we

still

154),

lishing the slim walls that, pillar-like, ed the roofs galleries

woman

man and

which

This

contours of the

in

Maya

accepting offerings from a

Tablet of the Scribes, in which the purity and

ired

In the

cities.

the principal personage here impresses us

gestures,

expressive.

in the walls

recognize the theme

and nobility of his

plicity

hand

lialach uinic

we

whether

bas-relief sculpture,

carved in very fine limestone or modeled in stucco. the great stone tablets

still

(plate 149).

of

to be

embel-

of the wide

find various

which the artist was able freedom of action, framing

scenes, apparently liturgical in nature, in to give his

human

subjects a particular

each scene with ornamental bands and garlands

—veritable arabesques

which elegant and imaginative plant motifs were combined with small masks and the heads of various deities from the Maya pan-

in

theon.

134

:^m^m0^:r -2rr5««<Sft

,t

w

t--,» i'*;'^

.^m.

Li*+"

-^^

*r

"'^'Sr.'**-''

'

Aljiy* JHeBm lmS?-^ i

^5^^vL

[44-

Palenque: general plan of the Palace

and longitudinal

145.

Palenqiie: plan

146.

Palenque: cross-section of House

section

H

of House

and of

[m

di

CD

CH

cn

:Q:Q:Q:A:Q:Q: Tf

I

50

10 1

136

I

I

I

I

It

!

I

of the Palace

the "cellar" chambers

the Palace

EH

A

of

147-

Pdli'iiqiie:

House

C of the

Palace and the tower

137

*'

*s|!

^

Mr.

•-^-i/.:

V f-y w

B^ F*U'-"

P

\^

.-

M

L

'

i

If'

h- '11 «'<

f'

>

^--î

Aa:-,

^.;

1 M

MKm

''^

^<^

^^^s^^'

>:.

:^

'-<':'

^ ^^^-'V.--

.

w^

^^^te<# feSlti-i»*i::3

biSsOLi

2ij

148.

Paleiiqiie: detail

149.

Paleiiqiie

of the base oj House

of House B. Detail T-shaped wall opening :

interior

C

oj the decoration

around a

139

Palaiqiic: wall of the Palace with a niche

:50.

and T-shapcd window

151.

Palenquc: archway

to

House

A

of the Palace

Let us now analyze Palenque's principal temples, selecting as a prototype the Temple of the Sun, which retains the greatest number of

We

features (plates 157-159).

original

its

proportion

note

perhaps along with an only

that,

first

a delicacy

of

slightly elevated base,

makes the building seem almost small. This impression lasts only until we see the width of the access portico, as drawn by the English artist Frederick Catherwood, who visited these ruins in 1844 in the company of the famous North American explorer John Stephens. The lower part of the facade has few remains of its stucco decoration; but the frieze on the upper part shows a number of fragments carved in high relief. The ornamentation must have continued up the roof-

comb

itself,

judging by some white patches of stucco that

still

adhere

to this lightweight skeleton and that suggest decorative riches

we

can only imagine today (plate 159).

Compared

to the imposing and

ponderous

cresterias

of Tikal,

the type developed in Palenque displays an almost incredible lightness in

both senses of the word. Formed by two thin walls of deep open-

work, ed together and diminishing que's cresteria

the Peten version, roof,

rests

it

separates the front

and rear

toward the

comb

top, Palen-

for a mantilla. Unlike

not on the rear wall but on the building's

weight bearing directly

its

in size

suggests an ornate Spanish

down

over the central wall that

and so presenting no

galleries (plate 157),

impediment to the creation of a spacious interior. It seems that the architects of Palenque, outstripping their mentors in Tikal, were able to carry the basic elements of Maya architecture toward a greater purity. We need only compare characteristic buildings in each city to see how totally changed were the proportions between solid walls and openings, almost to the point of complete reversal (plates 109, 159).

What always

Tikal gained in breath-taking monumentality was almost

at the cost

of

created an architecture that in

keeping with the

in the

we

on the other hand, instead of overwhelming the viewer was

interior space; Palenque,

human

condition, and yet

width of its portico, and outside,

in

its

still

majestic. Inside,

sober elegance of

line,

more human, gentler feeling. Whereas Tikal placed all the emphasis on the front of the sanctuary, Palenque's temples, through the central position and linear symmetry of their outer bodies, were endowed with a more harmonious silhouette from any angle. Palenfind a

que's completely in the

over

a

new approach

to traditional architectural elements,

middle of the Classic period, seems to have had repercussions

wide

area,

even including Piedras Negras, despite the

dependence on Tikal the western

in architectural matters.

boundary of the Maya zone,

lattcr's

From Comalcalco, at Tonina and Agua

to

141

J

\

-

J

Palciiqiie

152.

Paleiiqiie

:

central detail

more

Escondida,

153^ 154- Palenque: stucco decorations on one of the piers of the western facade oj the Palace

of the Tablet of the Slaves.

Museum

and

to the south,

Yaxchilan to the southeast,

in such sites as

Bonampak and

we find the same laudable tendency toward

airiness in architectural spaces.

We

do

not, as yet, understand the symbolic role

in the architecture

of Palenque

of the

cresteria

however, the use of the roof-comb

;

does not seem to have been limited to religious purposes, for traces

of it appear on buildings that seem more tial,

such

have

as the Palace.

likely to

have been residen-

The temples of this city do, on the other hand,

a distinctive featiure that

confirms their role

as sanctuaries: a

small roofed shrine usually placed in the central chamber, against the rear wall, and apparently the sanctum sanctonini

of almost every

religious

We find it, quite well preserved, in the Temples Sun (plate 157) and of the Cross (plates 162, 163). The latter, its roof-comb almost intact despite the collapse of the better part of its main facade (plate 162), is the subject of a lovely reconstruction by Tatiana Proskouriakoff illustrating the "tabernacle" quality of this small interior sanctuary, whose central feature was invariably one of those great tablets, richly carved in bas-relief and embedded in the back wall, that are so typical of this city (plates 160, 161, 164). It is by the central theme of its s, and the name it suggested, that we

structure in Palenque.

of the

know

each of these sanctuaries today.

We

Temple of the Inscriptions, one of the most imposing of Palenque's monuments in of its dimensions and its partially restored stepped base (plate 165). But what will mention, finally, the

makes this building one of the most fascinating in Mesoamerica is its famous tomb, discovered in 1952 by Alberto Ruz-Lhuillier. To this day, it serves as a most extraordinary exception to the seeming rule in Mesoamerica that a pyramid is nothing more than a base to enhance the temple. In sentially to hide the

this case,

the building seems intended es-

tomb of someone whose

existence

must have

been of prime importance in the history of Palenque. Unlike several burial

chambers

introduced a

pre-Columbian buildings,

posteriori

we have

here a

the

into

tomb

bases

of other

carefully planned to

V^S'^V^

remain forever hidden under the temple's enormous mass. The subterranean ages structed

by

that lead to

it

were found

to be completely ob-

%

-.=^*f:->v, '-

rubble, and the access to these ages, through the floor

was sealed off by a thick stone slab, leaving only a small tube running up one side of the stairs as a magical with the outside world. As it appears today, its debris cleared away, the interior stairway (roofed by short sections of corbel vaulting) goes straight down to a landing where two wide ventilation galleries inside the temple,

once connected with a small sunken patio.

It

L

then continues in the

opposite direction, to a level lower than the building's base. There,

TTi -

i

I

•

r

I

143

155-

144

Palcnqtic: one of the four patios of the Palace

156.

Paleiiqiic

:

stairway with glyphic inscriptions

in

one of the four patios of

the Palace

145

157-

Palciiqitc: section

158.

Palenqiie: of the

and plan of the Temple of the Sun

Temple of

Cross

the

Sun

seen from the level of the

Temple ."***'

[>

-^'"•3:;

:^'

.f;..

"•¥*,-

m^':

«%-c

-

-.

at-V./^.

.^ ''J¥r^>.

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.

>.

" >"'

,

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146

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:^. T,

-Xrr . '5-»v

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Ik

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fr

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k!>,.^

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<]

159-

Palciiqiie:

Temple of the Sun

i6o, i6i. Palenque: Temple

XIV. Stone

bas-relief with scene of

an offering

149

^j>*«^^^fe»^^

N 162.

Palenqtie:

Temple of the Cross

163.

Palcuqiie:

Temple of the Cross. Detail

oj the

Maya 'false" arch

and

interior shrine

^/

M, •t» ^f-.

t?

*

IA<

*.

it'fri^

^^v ^*^:

.>^

;«4

:-.^>C.'?sfeg

.jti»«j-

^''^

151

164.

Paleiiqiie: detail

of one of the personages represented on a

tablet in the

Temple of the Foliated Cross 165.

Palenque: Temple

of the Inscriptions seen

from the tiorthwcst

t>

mi

152

r

-^^ r>l,*;.

v;/

^•H-^ '•

-r^^^fa. T

'^^Mk

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"f^ k?'""i*f:

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-.**.

-^J. '•T*VJ>

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66.

Palenqiw: Temple of the Inscriptions. Interior of the

secret crypt

with

sepulchral slab

f'^m'^mj.'^ri^.

or.

154

—

I

167.

Palcnquc plan and transverse section of the Temple of the :

showing the

secret crypt, the access stairway,

and the

Inscriptiotis,

ventilation

galleries

in the

very core of the pyramidal base, lay the secret crypt

pendicular to the axis of the stairway,

its

—per-

entrance sealed by a thick

trapezoidal slab at the high point of the ceiling (plate 167).

The (7

interior

m.) long, 23

dimensions of

and 12'4"

liigh,

chamber

sepulchral

this

— 23

feet

(3.75 m.) across at the widest point

1' 1

I

II I

ii

view of the limitations of Maya construction techniques and the enormous pressure of the pyramid's weight. But what makes this crypt a truly unique fmd sarcophagus, carved in the shape of a uterus out of a huge is the monolithic block, and covered by a finely carved heavy slab, 12'6" (3.80 m.) by 77 inches (2.20 m.) across and 10 inches (25 cm.) thick (plate 166). Upon lifting this slab, Ruz-Lhuillier found the remains of constitute in themselves a technical triumph, in

a

clearly august

covered with walls

personage,

skeleton

his

The immense sarcophagus

jewels of jade.

bas-reliefs,

of the crypt we

and

covered with beautiful

sits

on thick stone s

almost the entire chamber.

fills

sec nine figures

modeled

in stucco,

perhaps the Bolontiku, or Nine Lords of Night of

and on the

floor,

apparently as final offerings,

lie

its

which modeling

cities in

the

symbolizing

Maya mythology; two

stucco heads.

These, together with the bas-reliefs and other fragments,

que one of those Maya

On

make

in stucco

Palen-

reached

purest form.

Comalcalco

We

of the architecture of the Usumacinta

will close this analysis

River basin with a mention of Comalcalco, one of the in the

western confines of the vast

sphere of influence. use of great

flat

Maya

cities

located

zone, within Palenque's

What we

bricks ed

find most interesting at this site is the by lime mortar, a rarity in Mcsoamerican

and among the Maya in particular f;;/flfc 168). The charming designs carved on the bricks before baking look like architecture in general,

the

work of

the material

—scribbled

the architect himself in his

still

calculations,

made with

hand. Or, perhaps the brick-makers amused

20

themselves by doodling while waiting for the oven to heat.

Apart from these brick walls and vaults, which follow similar to those

stucco

relief,

a pattern

of Palenque, Comalcalco has some good examples of

including an impressive mask

access stairway to a

temple

set in the

center of the

(plate 170).

THE MOTAGUA RIVER BASIN Copdn Southeast of the central

Maya

"triangle,"

is

Maya

a section

zone, at the other end of the Classic

of the Motagua River that today con-

155

i68.

Coiualcalco, Tabasco

169.

Copdti, Honduras: Altar

(Altar of the Astronomers) , with relief representing a gathering of astronomers

170.

Comalcalco: stucco mask on a temple stairway

:

detail

of a structure constructed with flat bricks

Q

Wr.\'i-:A

156

t>

*v -

— 1

71.

Copdu: plan of the city. 1. Ball Court 2. Temple 11 Temple 22 4. Tribune of the Spectators

1

Copdu

72.

:

altar

and

Stele

D

[>

3.

of the border between Guatemala and Honduras. This small, and quite far from El Peten created a unto itself in both sculpture and architecture, and made notable

stitutes part

region style

—relatively

—

Maya astronomy.

contributions to

Copan, undoubtedly the key exponent of this regional style, was the site of important assemblies attended by renowned astronomerpriests who came from all over the Maya world to compare their most recent sidereal computations, thus perfecting the complicated

Maya (at

calendar (plate 169).

By

the end of the seventh century a.d.

the beginning of the Late Classic period), the calculations of the

Maya

tropical

year

as

made

in

Copan

anticipated our

own

with

incredible exactitude, deviating

by an

of a day per year, and suring

in accuracy all solar calendars created

up

error of three ten thousandths

to that time.

Proskouriakoff 's reconstruction

Copan

reveals a flexible

than that found in

of the ceremonial center of

urban layout, one "with greater dynamism

Monte Alban,"

and with some subtle reminders of

observes Raul Flores Guerrero, its

overall lines

of composition

The Great Plaza, laid out along a north-south axis, is divided into sections by various major elements. The far northern end became an immense amphitheater, clearly ceremonial in charac-

(plate 171)}^

with

tiers

form, or

altar,

ter,

of

steps that enclose three sides

bounded

the other side, and

of the

plaza.

A

rows of stelae and

plataltars

underscored some of the principal axes. The marked regional style of these carved monoliths appears not only in their sheer size (plate 173),

but even more in the depth of their relief carving, in their form

—

which is both freer and more capricious and in their generally less static and more baroque appearance (plates 172, 174). The central part of the Great Plaza is a sober series of esplanades situated at different levels, leading out to the rest of the city. The section at the far south ends at the imposing front

of the Acropolis,

whose unusually wide stairway must have provided another immense tribune, as well as offering access to the platforms on the upper level and to Temple 11, which rises majestically on the plaza's axis. (The city's astronomers carved a glyphic inscription on the temple walls announcing the number of eclipses the planet Venus would undergo in the

course of a million years.) This face of the Acropolis, elongated

and northeast by other structures placed at about the same level, had the effect of minimizing the increased elevation of the east and west courts, which were situated on higher terrain perhaps to protect them from the possibility of flooding. ing through this to the east

—

menacing curve, the Copan River, over a period thousand years of total abandonment, ultimately undermined

sector

of a

158

of the

city in a

- --V-*v,^

^%^,i*?..3^,;^^.^^

..^

^-.^ ^

^"'^j^^

•.

I

K^'-J.-iT

>....'

^^^; ft^":V-

^-r^-j-V- y^^-*., •^4J^»-

-^

Copdn:

173-

Stele

C

174.

Copdn: Altar

175.

Copdn

:

G

ball court

and destroyed almost all of the eastern part of the ceremonial center. Returning to the Great Plaza, we note that its south side is bounded primarily by the platforms and buildings of the Acropolis. Into the center of the plaza there juts out a small ball court, together

with is

its

L-shaped annex

notable for

its

sculptures, especially

heads (plate 176).

(plate

significant its

We

J

75).

Despite

its

modest

size,

the court

placement and for the quality of

six marcadores (markers) in the

its

form of macaw

can peer through the openings

in the half-

ruined facade of one of the two adjacent temples and observe the intersection

of two corbel vaults

basic architectural principle

—

a beautiful

Maya

of the

(plate 177).

of

note, in ing, the strange disposition

stepped variant of the

And wc might

interior space in the

two

form part of the ball-court complex (plate 171). Here we fmd one of the most famous buildings in Copan, its pyramidal base touching one end of the ball court. The extraordinarily rich sculptural detail on its front has earned it the name of the Temple of the Hieroglyphic Stairway (plate 178). On the risers of its steps are giving us the longest inscription a series of over 2,500 Maya glyphs in this culture known to date. Further embellishment is seen on the broad alfardas that border the stairway, presenting a succession of sculptures in strong rehef, including some outstanding stylized masks of birds. Emerging from the center line of the stairway are large sculptures in the round, some of which represent enthroned personages, richly dressed in the local style. Little is left of the temple that stood on the upper platform, but its rubble has yielded some of the most beautiful examples of Maya statuary, such as a face that seems to portray the young maize god and here serves as the protosmall temples that

—

type of

classic

Maya beauty

(plates

by Tatiana Proskouriakoff)

(again

179,

lets

baroque splendor of this building, which a richness

seldom found

testifying to a

in

180).

A

us imagine in

its

I

1!

reconstruction

more

easily the

heyday must have had

panorama of Maya architecture, for the integration of sculpture with

the

genuine feeling

construction.

The

special

talent

that

Copan's builders used to incorporate

sculpture (both in relief and in the round) into their principal buildings

most flamboyant and rococo expression in the Hieroglyphic Stairway. But many other architectural complexes also

is

seen in perhaps

show

its

the impressive remains of integrated sculpture

subtle,

and always displaying

fresh principles

—sometimes quite

of composition. Let -us

take for an example the small Tribune of the Spectators (plates 171,

Sometimes

Reviewing Stand, it looks toward the west court from its position near the foot of one corner of Temple 11 's stepped base. The front of the tribune is gently delineated by 183).

called the

161

marker

176.

Copciii: a

177.

Copau: semi-destroyed facade

for the hall

game

iu the form

of a macaw head

1^ ' *.

^

of one oftlie-hiiiidiiigs bordering the

j^jtMnh

ball court

178.

Copdii

:

Hieroglyphic Stairway

y D>

-0'

r t

3 J'

4

>'

/ *>

-^

*-y^-^ >?

i^>-^

#

162

^

» f

N

>^

&=* "^1^.

^

^^yh

ALJkkfSi

A.W-

i.^

^

»

i'

V"

."•.

I.

*-f^,

V-

jfe-

/

'^fr-

^^

'a<

/" f-*-

:

\

^f*

-

-

^^'^

>'^ i:-y-

r.w-r

-

r-

.•-^'WJL.

-.^^

^5^--^^t-

;*-*

maize god, from Temple 26. Washitigtori D.C., Dumbarton Oaks, Bliss Collection

179. i8o- Copdii

:

head of the

yoiiiig

,

carved stone slabs erected on the court floor; the rear

with enormous

seashells

carved in stone and a

series

is

embelHshed

of deep niches

hke simulated doorwrays, enliven the sides of the stepped base. The tribune proper is formed by steps ed to the foot of this base, and is flanked at its upper corners by two large figures carved almost that,

— that

—

up from its sides. One of the figures wears a grotesque mask and waves a timbrel with his left hand (plate 184). These compositional features are united by a string of glyphs running along the last step of the tribune. The step is decorated in the center by a mask in relief, and it ends at the foot of each of the impressive "guard" statues in a kind of "dado" emerging from the step above, from which yet another step descends, like an embroidered totally in the

round

border falling

at the sides (plate 183).

rise

More subtle still is the composition of another of Copan's many tribunes, known as the Jaguar Stairway, whose tiers span an entire side of the eastern court. The steps are flanked by elongated and slightly sloping s, which are bordered at the top by the thick cornices typical

of the region

(plate

stairway, ornamentation

On

181).

(in particularly

rampant jaguars, reminiscent of animals' large spots are suggested top, there

is

the sides of the

deep

relief)

wide

access

limited to

two

European heraldic device; the

a

by deep

cavities (plate 182).

On

the

an enormous mask of the sun god (or planet Venus?)

between two narrow

flights

of

steps (plates 181 , 185).

glyphs on the sides of one of the access stairway

embedded

slabs

is

in the plaza floor

Spectators and in the ball court In the northeast corner

runs into the access

stairs

—

steps, as

like those in the

Two

small

well as stone

Tribune of the

—complete the sober decoration.

of the

plaza, the

of Temple

22,

broad Jaguar Stairway

which, along with Temple

one of the best-preserved and most representative of Copan's sanctuaries (plate 186). The temple proper stands on a platform that projects forward at both ends and is bordered by the heavy molding 11,

is

On

of the building, we see great masks of Chac, the Maya rain god, with his characteristic hookshaped nose (plate 190) a motif common in the architecture of the typical

of the region.

the corners

—

As for the frieze that once crowned the facade, some fragments remain of those enchanting deities misnamed the "singing maidens," who appear to be associated with the young maize god (plate 191). The wide entrance door retains enough sculpYucatan,

as

we

shall see later.

tured material for us to identify enormous monster jaws similar to

Rio Bee, Chenes, and Puuc styles in the Yucatan (plate 189). Today there remains only the lower part of this imposing entrance decoration including, toward the front on the those

we

will see again in the

—

164

If

T.

.-

-.

:*

.*?F

^1)^3 ;,*-."«

1^

^

^

«^. •5*

^

^

K*

^ .^^ ^:

^MK-

-^>1^

,1^^-hM|^

^»*?*^'î'

U k.<^

.

Jaguar Stairway

181

Copdii

182.

Copaii jafiuar Stairway. Detail showing a rampant feline creature

166

:

:

^>rf

Copdn: Tribune of the 184. Copdn: Trihtine of the 183.

Spectators Spectators. Detail

showing a grotesque figure

with timbrel 185.

Copdn -.jaguar Stairway. Detail showing planet Venus?)

a

mask of the sun god

(or

1>

^z:^

'^#o%«^

"^

^,

'..

:*r^^ :fi-:ir >. *

\-'>t

:jA'':

m-.,

.;//

'^-

-

..^

-*<^"»^"'-

^

^^ A

^-e^«^->0-

•

*-,

t

!&

m

r*

/^^ ^>i!!S-,^.

1'^/ ».>

•

ft

>!'#*».•

N«.;^

•fc'

rtj-

"3

"*«•.'•.

'i&fîiml

^'^--.'.

V-

-w

.V

A c?

siw

m. ^.

«>

^

—•K

>l,^

K *

iî

^

,.r.

^'

1

86.

Copdii

:

Temple 22. Plan and section

187,

188. Copdti

189.

Copdn

:

:

detail

Temple 22. Details of an

interior portal

of outer facade of Temple 22

\>

L

._,

e-

7

d

b_

T=J«d

^3=

fez

:

I

,

i

I

I

I

5

1

r-

1

_5;

I

I

I

Im.

r

r

»!:.•

11 1

r

1 1 -^ feVH-î ^ 1P^ -

1^ rir*

170

t

/

•^^fetew.

y-iii-*

_J',

:*î

/

.»\.^

îL'^

^Ks

-

./"

î

T5Ui^Y*-

SfiiS

^v'

W>^.

^V.H

vj'Vl

/V*^

<%#'gl

190.

172

Temple 22. Detail of corner showing a mask of the god Chac Copdii

:

rain

191.

Copdn:

bust of a

yoiwg

deity frovi

Temple 22. London,

British

192.

Qiiirigiid,

Guatemala: Stele

E

Museum

173

I

193-

174

Quirigiid: Stele F. Detail

194.

Quirigud: Stele F. Detail of a glyphic inscription

195.

Quirigud: Zoomorph

B

[>

"^'i

'

»

J

^f >' •^©T' *»tS-''

:)i' -45-

M^#«^,

•JQ \

•

*

''^^>^

^

196.

Yucatan, Mexico: Temple of the Seven Dolls

Dzibilchaltt'iii,

two

access platform, the

of a serpent's forked tongue

tips

(or fangs?).

But what captures our attention, once we. cross the threshold, is on both sides of the middle doorway that embellishes the central wall (plates 187, 188). Unique for its lavish ornamentation, the portal is outlined by a row of glyphs that border a thick molding around it is the heavy baroque frame that makes this interior doorway one of the masterpieces of Copan's sculptural art. Here, carved in particularly vigorous relief, we see two corpulent atlantes seated on enormous skulls and leaning on the edge of the molding. They appear to be holding aloft the whole upper section of the sculpted frame among whose fantastic volutes we find those frolicking gnomes who symbolize the "maize spirits." This peculiar sense of sculptural integration, markedly baroque the interior portal

;

—

of Copan's architecture. The

in style, constitutes the essence

unique,

among

absence of as

an

that

those in the

and for

cresterias

artistic

have predominated

associate

its

sphere of influence, for

its

city

is

apparent

preference for sculpture in the round

expression, rather than the bas-relief and mural painting

above these regional

we

Maya

in other

aspects,

with only

a

Mesoamerican

Copan

sites.

But over and

breathes a spiritual intensity that

few Mesoamerican

centers, such as

Monte

Alban and Palenque. Quirigud

Northwest of Copan, the ceremonial center of Quirigua shows the direct influence of the former on its urban layout. The general lines of its

architecture arc also similar to Copan's

may

have possessed

a

roof-comb

—except for one temple that

in the style

of El Peten. But the

importance of Quirigua lies in its outstanding monolithic sculpture, and particularly in the outsized dimensions and imaginative conception

of some of

its

stelae

and

altars

(plates

192-195).

We

might

mention the glyphic inscription displayed on one side of Stele F,

whose glyphs, representing personages carved in the round, are considered the most beautiful in all Maya writing. Then there are colossal sculptures such as Stele E, whose 36-foot height (10.67 m.) makes it the largest in Maya art; and the strange "tropical fantasies" such

as

Zoomorph B

(plate 195)

wide and possessing an

or P, the latter 11 1/2 feet (3.50 m.)

especially intricate composition.

SOME ARCHITECTURAL ASPECTS OF THE YUCATAN PENINSULA Dzibilchaltun

We

will continue

look

at the

176

our survey of Classic

northern zone

—

Maya

architecture with a

the area comprising the greater part of the

> ^N' :^;t: >^"'

lI^ v

.V 'v

AV

f.'fei

."^

c«^ Kv v^

.<;\.^ u.

'.

2*^

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vV-r. .-V «"w

^-ii •

«

.-».

,^ i*

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«i

* ^'*s:

i^v

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••

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"i-

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;^

vi:

•*--».w».

'vV.

L-iL*

.

^*.; \.

:-^*i

^

'\f\i

V^

'

u

^

A :\

îy.t^^TTT^

M«.

>?.

.k>>

1 ••V If.

.•»i*^

w^

.^'^

:l

yû

.4

V

.

V .^-'

•''^

?:-î.

±--

.i^-j!

"^^

•

*'

w

>/'>dk*

^tT^-

>

i^>-.'

-^^: .

Zi^ .•ii,*

•/•

'-•*•-'

*^

"

-

— 197-

Kohiiiilich, Qiiintana

198.

Fragment Quiiitaua

oj a facade

Roo

or

Roo, Mexico: mask on a temple facade in

painted stucco, perhaps from the south of

Campcche. Mexico City, National

Museum

of

Anthropology

Yucatan peninsula. of such

sites as

We

have already mentioned the importance here

Dzibilchaltun,

which by

the Early Classic period had

grown to be one of the largest in the area. The heart of this ceremonial center shows evidence of central

a large

causeway around which groups of buildings were placed. One

of these complexes was deliberately positioned causeway, which

at this

in the

middle of the

point becomes a wide ceremonial plaza whose

secondary buildings surround the unique Temple of the Seven Dolls (plate 196). In this latter building,

pletely

new

in

Maya

we fmd

two features comThe windows opening on its

architecture.

at least

front and back facades have dimensions that in general seem large

compared with the occasional narrow apertures seen in other Maya buildings. And a curious blind central tower rises from the roof not a true roof-comb, but presumably meant to lend dramatic visual impact to the building from all angles. The Temple of the Seven Dolls, still possessed of the stone skeletons of its great masks and the remains of its stucco decoration, was built around 500 A.D., during the Middle Classic period. The revolutionary elements we see here could well have marked a turning point in the development of Maya architecture; nevertheless, their influence seems to have been confined to the city of Dzibilchaltun

itself.

of the Yucatan peninsula, we find many seem to elude attempts at classification into any of the various great regional styles. These include the great Pyramid of Izamal and the Palace of the Stuccoes at Acanceh^whose upper frieze displays zoomorphic motifs rare in Maya architecture. Acanceh's Pyramid of the Masks clearly reflects the influence of the hi the architecture

atypical structures that

Proto-Classic architecture of El Peten.

And Coba,

of the peninsula, shows obvious sculptural the

Usumacinta River

basin, while

its

in the eastern part

affinities

architecture

is

with the

style

of

more reminiscent

of that of El Peten.

The Stucco Masks ofBclice and Quintana Roo Although we can as yet draw no general conclusions tion of architecture in this vast zone,

which

still

as to the

evolu-

remains only partially

explored, certain regional characteristics are beginning to emerge.

The

area

sites

such

on the eastern and northeastern edge of El Peten, for example, in what is modern-day Belicc, and in the southern part of Quintana Roo, seems outstanding for facades richly ornamented in polychrome stucco. Here we find great masks of Maya deities; and as Altiin

Ha and Benque

same tendency. One of the temples

178

in

Viejo, also in Belice, illustrate this

Kohunlich,

in

Quintana Roo,

retains al-

Xpuhil, C'aiupcche, Mexico: plan and reconstruction of the main

199-

building

most intact the sloping walls of its main facade, whose dominant theme is the mask of the Maya sun god that stands out in strong relief amid other mythological references (plate 197). Judging by another which richly ornamented mask found at a still unidentified site portrays the sun god flanked by two ancient fire gods of apparent Teotihuacan inspiration (plate 198) we might consider the pos-

—

i

'•

:

—

of outside influences (Teotihuacan or Zapotec) architectural elements of this zone.

in

sibility

:

:

i'L

n

certain

1

ImiKniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiffliiiii)

now

from the center whose respective

to a study

of the Classic architecture of various areas

to the northwest styles

show

so

of the Yucatan peninsula

many

similarities that

we

—areas

often find

1

1

1

M

5 1

1

1

'

P L^ Pn c.:-^

The Rio Bee Region Let us turn

_r

^<

n

J ]

^

10

Im.

it

hard to distinguish between the structures involved. This applies to the zones

we now

call

Rio Bee, Chenes, and Puuc, which, during

the Late Classic period (the seventh through the tenth century A.D.),

produced the peninsula's most here to bring out

some of

characteristic architecture.

We will try which

the stylistic highlights, indicating

elements reflect local approaches and which arise from a

common

vocabulary of forms. In

Rio Bee's architecture, the predominant characteristic is the masonry towers that simulated pyramids and temples

use of heavy

in the fashion

of El Peten, which lay some 74 1/2

to

100 miles (120 to

160 km.) south of this region. These ornamental structures are usually

found

rising in pairs at each

end of the main facade of an elongated

—

not only in Rio Bee itself, but in Chicanna, Becan, and Hormiguero as well. Occasionally they appear in sets of three, as in the main building at Xpuhil.

building

Xpuhil Tatiana Proskouriakoff 's beautiful reconstruction of

this latter

build-

ing (plate 199) gives us an opportunity to study these strange towers,

rounded corners and simulated stairs along whose axes large masks appear. Reinforcing the illusion that we are looking at with

their

some of

El Peten's sanctuaries

simulated

—complete with

a

is

the presence

roof-comb and

of the temple

a false door.

The

—

also

facade

of a type common in the area for its ornamental opulence. There "dragon-mouth" entrance, echoing the theme of Copan's Temple

is

Combined

here, over the lintel

facing forward, with

The jaws seem

into the all-engulfing

Itzamna, the

around both

mouth of

Maya god of

a

22.

of the door, are the features of a mask,

two enormous

to close

is

a

serpent's

sides

jaws seen

m

profile.

of the door, transforming

it

monster associated, perhaps, with

creation,

who

is,

as

Jack Eaton suggests,

179

—

200.

Cliicaiiiid,

Campeche

:

detail

of the southeast corner of Building

XX

"displayed here in reptilian form, with possibly both terrestrial attributes.

celestial

and

"^^

Uniting and complementing Xpuhil's three-towered structure low building the only truly functional one whose main facade

—

—

is

a

is

clearly divided into three parts, a characteristic identified

and others

by Pollock

of architectural composition

as a basic principle

in these

The upper frieze of each of the three parts, slightly inclined and projecting, displays a mask seen frontally; the walls of the lower areas. ^^

wide vertical strips of bas-relief the Rio Bee and Chenes areas. Finally,

part bear, as their only decoration,

an equally

common

another original

motif

in

can be seen in the simulated columns, embedded

trait

which project from the two bodies that stand away from the front. The columns serve to reinforce the resemblance of these low buildings to the simple wooden palm-thatched huts that still characterize the typical dwellings of the Yucatan peninsula. in the corners,

Chicannd Lateral towers in the shape distinctive features

elements

we have

of the Rio Bee

temple-pyramid might be called style.

With this exception, many buildings of

which was recently explored,

pyramidal base displays vertical s in

a

Xpuhil. Along with these s

which

will appear again in

all

of masks of Chac, the Maya nose

a

just discussed appear in

region. In Chicanna,

on

of

is

these areas

temple

relief like those

found an element

rain god,

a lovely

the this

we saw

at

at

Copan,

—naimely, the superposition

with

his typically

prominent

(plate 200).

One of the

better-preserved examples of an entrance in the shape

of monster jaws has just been found

at this site.

Here we

see the

prominent fangs of the large upper mask jutting out sharply over the lintel of the

doorway;

a

wide

access stairway in front

shows the

remains of other fangs, which vigorously dramatized the similarity

Once more, we see the facade as a tripartite conception whose lateral doors are crowned with an imitation palm roof, the wide aperture suggesting the entrance to a Maya house. In the middle of the roof we fmd the remains of an openwork to a monster's

crestcria less

mouth

(plate 201).

—an architectural element always present

in these regions

but

frequent here than in El Peten or the Usumacinta River basin.

Becdn It

would be wrong

to confine a description

of Rio Bee's

architectural

repertory to those few elements mentioned above. Aesthetically, the

ornamental tower

—

a

prototype of the area

of those imposing sanctuaries

i8o

in the forests

—seems

a pale reflection

of the south

(for

example.

201.

Cliicamid: Building II, with main doorway in the form oj monster jaws

iSi

202.

1S2

Hochoh, Canipcche: main

building. Detail of the central

body

203.

El Tabasqueno, Campeche:

side facade

of Building I

\>

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•

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.

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204.

Nocitchich,

Campcche: tower with

colossal

Hochob: plan of the main hiiildiiig 206. Edziid Campeche five-storied huildwg

mask

in stucco

205.

,

:

\>

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184

D c:

r^

-t

^

207.

Edzud

:

208.

Edznd

:

its

five-storied building. Detail of a cohiinn on the fourth story five-storied building. Detail of the top story with the remains of

temple and rooj-conib

more

of the buildings on a site such as Becan reveals the "variety and complexity" cited in David Potter's

in Tikal), but a

recent work.^* is

detailed study

We note in ing that the ceremonial center of Becan

totally enclosed within

Mesoamerica.

It

consists

one of the oldest known defensive systems in of a deep, dry moat, complete with raised

terracing works. Furthermore, the cylindrical construction found

the Puerto Rico

towers, of the

site

on

suggests similarities to the chulpas, or stone burial

Andean

region.

The Chenes Region Located more to the northwest, the neighboring region of the Chenes shares

with Rio Bee

though

it

a large

number of

architectural elements. Al-

did not build huge symbolic towers

characteristic

—

—exclusively

Rio Bee we fmd here and there strange masonry towers of memay have been incorporated into larger buildings and a

dium size that that show the remains of a rich stucco decoration, as we see at Chanchen and Nocuchich (plate 204). These towers do not, however, seem

to be imitations

of temple-pyramids,

as in

Rio Bee, nor are they

so frequent as to be considered a distinctive regional feature.

Hochob

One of the

most representative of the Chenes style is Hochob, whose main plaza has an interesting array of buildings grouped around it, ranging from a simple temple with pure lines, unadorned walls, and an openwork cresteria to some large and imposing buildings whose facades are covered in an assortment of ornamentation that Marta Foncerrada de Molina "the most baroque phase of Maya art."^^ Within this group, and outstanding for its opulent decoration and harmonious play of volumes, is one of the most interesting a building whose central body, variants of the "tripartite rule"-^ crowned by an enormous roof-comb decorated with human figures, rises from a higher base than do the two lateral bodies that project slightly toward the front (plates 202, 205). Its decoration, heavily applied, consists essentially of a typical dragon-mouth entrance, bordered in this case by elongated geometric motifs inspired by Maya huts. sites

—

On

the

one hand,

ethereal effect

this

ornamental avalanche pleasingly

of the openwork

with the smooth walls of the parts, solely

cresteria;

lateral

bodies

on the other,

— decorated, on

by an enormous mask and on

the corners

offsets the it

contrasts

their

upper

by rows of

small masks of Chac.

El Tabasqueho

We

see the

temple

186

in

motif of Chac's mask again on the corners of

El

Tabasqueiio, a building that likewise

a small

illustrates

the

209-

Sayil, Yucatdii: three-storied building. Detail of a corner

187

210.

188

Xiahpak, Yucatan: main building

Yiicatdu: plan and section of the Palace

211.

Cliaciuiilti'iii,

212.

Kichiiool, Yucatan

:

biiilditig

with frieze decorated by medallions

markedly baroque character of architecture in this region (plate 203). hi comparing these elements at El Tabasqueno (and also at Hochob or at Dzibilnocac) with those

we

we saw

in

another small temple

at

makes it difficult to Bee and Chenes styles and distinguish clearly between the Rio sometimes, as we shall see, between these and the style of Puuc. Chicanna

(plate 201),

find a similarity that

—

THE PUUC REGION Edznd

The Puuc style developed in a hillier region, northwest of the Chenes and Rio Bee zones, and probably was strongly influenced by these two sites. Edzna, a city located west of the Chenes region and southwest of the Puuc, transitional

site.

in the state

As we

will

in the areas that separate the

region seem to

of the

see,

central

together here, evolving during the

Classic period into in

st)'les

come

may have been another many elements perhaps born Maya zone from the Puuc

of Campeche,

now

last

centuries

one of the most outstanding architectural

Mesoamerica.

The five-story building at Edzna that rises amid an imposing com"acropolis" so —forming the planning —presents various solutions new to

plex of structures

Maya ture. is

city

popular in

artificial

this architec-

The high stepped

girded by narrow

the base presents a

below, while

its

base that s the temple

galleries, so that

row of chambers

roof serves

the short column, with

on the fill of the floor for the floor above (plate 206).

Maya

pronounced

the top level

that rest

as a terrace

In addition, a very rare feature in

on

each of the five stories forming

architecture appears here:

entasis,

provided with

a

qua-

drangular capital and designed essentially to emphasize the apertures

of one of the facades

we note how

wide stairway manages to free some of the layers of the facade through corbel vaults that act like flying buttresses (plate 206). The ornamentation of the facades consists of simple moldings, while the temple on the upper level is crowned with a high roof-comb (plate 208).

We

(plate 201). Finally,

the

will find these innovations again in various buildings in the

Puuc zone, system and

especially in a broader utilization in the use

of columns

as a

of the corbel vault

decorative feature on facades.

We

should that the pillar and the column, whether of masonry or monolithic stone, were architectural elements that had been in common use by other Mesoamerican peoples from PreClassic times. Throughout the central Maya area, where the prevailing mode of construction was based on the corbel vault, columns were almost nonexistent. (The finding of one building with columns in Tikal, and another in Yaxha, is merely an exception confirming the

189

213-

Lahud,

Yticatdti

:

facade of a sciiii-cicstroyed building adjacent to the

Arch. In the background the so-called Mirador ,

214.

Labud:

detail of the decorated wall of a semi-destroyed building

of the

Palace

The

architecture of the

Yucatan peninsula, on the other hand, seems to have been less resistant to the idea. Apart from the example mentioned at Edzna, we can add others, on such sites as Pechal, Channa, and Peor es Nada in the Rio Bee zone; and there is a quite exceprule.)

of the sculptured column with glyphic inscription in a place southwest of the Puuc area known as XcalumkinHolactun. We will see this element used with greater frequency in Puuc architecture, beginning with one of the great masterpieces of tional representative

this style

— the three-storied Palace of Sayil

(plate 209).

Sayil Its

three successive stories

the Palace of Sayil

The lowest

floor

mounted on

shows an

is still

a

pyramidal base

entirely different treatment

and

in ruins

level.

partially buried in rubble, while

smooth

the upper one displays simple,

Edzna),

(as at

on each

walls

whose

sobriety only

emphasizes the richness and balanced composition of the level in

between facade,

(plate 209).

how

We

can note, in the

sectioned off by pairs of columns, and in a projection that balances the effect triple

tempt

harmony of

classical

this

the single openings alternate with the

openings, the jambs

show

how

of the

wide apertures jambs end hi both single and

the tops of the capitals,

a slight inclination

—an evident

at-

at subtle optical correction.

The decoration of the middle

sections includes simulated vertical

rows oi junquiUos

con ataduras ("reeds with knots"), a design that

imitates in stone a

common wooden

secured with couplings

(still

brace consisting of short trunks

visible

of some buildings:

/;;

situ

reinforcing

as

On

beams

the upper part

of rows of junquillos, or plain colonnettes, alternating with those of the lower story. Other ornamental elements are harmoniously placed on both sides of a broad central motif conin the interior this

we fmd

facade

sisting

of

a

mask

the influence

plate 115).

vertical

in strong relief,

its

great jutting fangs suggesting

of Chenes or Rio Bee. The motif between the central

—the

mask and that of the corner Chac that is a familiar sight

latter

in this

with the hook-shaped nose of

region

—consists of two

fantastic

serpents flanking the grotesque figure of a "descending" deity.

ing at the unit formed by it

—

a single

this

doorway with

serpent motif and the section just

junquillos con ataduras

on each

Lookbelow

side

—we

might again think we were gazing at a Maya hut equipped with a ornamented roof The facade of the top level also observes the tripartite rule common in these regions. It shows, between the two cornices that gird the upper wall, large jutting stones that seem to have served as s for the decorative s that may have risen above the level of richly

the roof; this

190

is

demonstrated in

a reconstruction

by ProskouriakofF.

215-

Lahiid: detail of the

junquiWos con ataduras and fantastic mask

a corner of the Palace

216.

Lahnd facade :

of a hiiilding

at

217.

Lahnd

218.

Lahnd: southeast facade of the Arch

:

iiortiiwest facade of the

Arch

of the Palace

A^§r-

191

219-

Kahah, Yucatan: remains of a "flying" stairway

Kahdh

220.

monumental entrance arch

:

In a small building still

at

on the neighboring

find decorative finials in

Uxmal,

in

Quadrangle

to the city

210).

situ (plate

>

of Xlabpak

site

We will see

we

can

them again

one of the buildings that form the so-called Nunnery-

(plate 237).

with the architecture of the

Puuc region allows of line, a great clarity in the composition of elements, and a true feeling for balance in the use of its varied ornamental motifs. As in other Maya regions, Puuc's architecture occasionally surprises us with evidence of the contrast between a gigantic expenditure of materials and labor and the ostensibly nonfunctional results. We find a ready example in the buildings at Chacmultiin, with their impressive land-fill works and terracing (plate 211). We are fascinated too by the ever-new appearance of these buildings, despite the relatively limited range of elements employed in their composition. Stucco plays a minor role here, and is This

first

us to note

less

some of the

characteristics

of its

style: a cleanness

often used than in buildings elsewhere; but the

impeccable, and delicate carvings

it

work

in stone

is

seems almost incredible that these precise and

were made by

artisans totally ignorant

of the use of

inetals.

Lahnd Rather than attempting to compile an exhaustive repertory of the Puuc region,

we

will try to

list

of the ornamental

show some

representative

motifs, beginning with the simple medallions adorning the upper

Kichmool (plate 212). Although such was not rule as we shall see some of the lower sections of the facades carved in diverse motifs, as in the three examples at Labna, which

frieze

the arc

of

a building at

—

—

include a variant o(junquillos con ataduras (plates 213-215).

The mask,

one of the favorite iconographic themes of the region, appears city

of Labna

in a

number of

different

forms

in the

—sometimes equipped

with prominent fangs and flanked by the remains of small statues

by Frederick Catherwood at Chunhuhu, and sometimes armed with huge gaping jaws out of which a deity's face emerges (plate 216). But what makes Labna another of the most outstanding sites of the Puuc region is unquestionably its monumental Arch (plates 211 218), which connects two groups of buildings, today in ruins, and which embodies an architecsimilar perhaps to the atlantes sketched

,

tural

concept exclusive to

the Classic

Up

this

region and quite revolutionary within

Maya framework. now, we have seen

to

the

Maya

arch used solely

structural device, providing a roof over interior space;

perhaps, for archways used

twin complexes

192

as

entrances

at Tikal (plate 119)

—

—

this

as in

as a

and except,

the precincts

of the

element has been visible

'

''

^^'^

U_L

<&;

i^#-=;-^-»^'*^

-*•.».-«--. -ii.«-r

«fV

221.

Kabdii: Codz-Poop. Detail of masks on the facade

from

the outside, only through the openings in

At Labna, however,

some

half-ruined

was employed for its own aesthetic value, running through the facade from front to back and clearly meant to be seen from the outside. Its shape the facade (plate 162).

the corbel vault

—

upper part gently concave, the facade

—

curve rising cleanly over the walls of

And

quite novel.

is

its

its

solitary silhouette

is

by

set off

a

sharply contrasting ornamentation, completely different on each side.

On

one facade

all is

sobriety: essentially, large stepped frets in

strong relief over a frieze ofjiitiqnillos (plate 218).

The ornamentation

becomes much more complex on the other side of the Avch(plate 21 7), obviously intended to be the front as indicated by its customary tripartite division and by the two small lateral doors of slightly trapezoidal shape whose purpose is to enhance the monumental

—

feeling

of the central archway.

The Arch

cuts

unadorned. The

of

Maya

a

work

—

bodies are ornamented

which

hut,

motifs

One of the

through the middle of the facade, and

lateral

stands out against a

a facsimile in stone

corners displays a

—an element we saw

at

it is

of a wooden or palm-frond

Xpuhil. Fine beveled cornices, typical of the

positional elements, outlining the principal contours,

of shadow.

screen.

mask of Chac and an embedded column

region, complete the decoration, limiting and defining the

clear lines

almost

by a lovely stylization background of lattice-

Finally, elegant stepped

com-

and establishing

openwork

cresterias

give the building a feeling of lightness.

Kabdh Contrasting markedly with the ornamental richness of Labna's arch, the isolated arch that heralds the entrance to the neighboring city

— Uxmal —

Kabah

at the is

buildings,

forming

we find

a sort

corbel vault, as

end of a wide

it

did the one

ficial

rising,

"white road," coming from

(plate 220).

Here,

among

half-ruined

example of a "flying" stairway (plate 219), of vault-ed arch. Built on the principle of the a perfect

constitutes another regional variant

of the Maya arch,

we saw at Edzna.

But the most Poop,

sacbe-oob, or

devoid of decoration

of

interesting structure at

Kabah

is

the so-called

Codz-

along with other constructions, on an enormous

arti-

platform and crowned by an elongated roof-comb decorated

stepped frets. Something of an anomaly in Puuc's architecture (which usually maintains a balance between plain and decorated s), this building is covered entirely with sculptures in strong relief; in

their quality

the

Maya

of execution

name of Kabah, which

language means "the hand that

doorway openings and long horizontal

194

fully justifies the

strips,

the

this

cornices

chisels."

in

Except for the

that divide the facade into

sculptural ornamentation consists of an

222.

Kabdh: Codz-Poop. Detail of the facade

195

Kabdh: Codz-Poop. Detail of a corner of the facade 224. Kabdh Codz-Poop. Detail showing the protruding hooked noses 223-

:

196

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225, 226. Kahdh: Codz-Poop. Details of masks

ofChac on

the base

r^*^

—

—

both vertical and horizontal of hook-nosed masks of Chac, the god of rain. Over and over, hke a htany, the same uninterrupted

series

theme

fervent

What

repeats itself

surprises us,

in

elaborate

this

harmony of the composition, which takes a feature might have been monotonous and makes it fascinating (plates

building, that

is

the

221-227).

Let us try to imagine the extraordinary play of volumes and of chiaroscuro that these facades must have offered, with their almost surrealistic efflorescence

remains intact today resting

on

of great hooked

(plates 223, 224).

the floor outside

of each door

(plate

different levels

steps rising

noses

up

—broader, and

to the full height

227); inside the rooms, they connected the

of the building

which earned

thick nose,

—became

one of which

noses, only

The same

(as

did the great mask, with

this structure the

its

two

broad,

name of Codz-Poop,

or

"rolled mat").

Uxinal

One of the most is

important and best-known

Uxmal, whose plan shows,

artificial

typical

cities

of the Puuc region

in a relatively free layout, the raised

platforms and quadrangular placement of buildings that are

of

this area (plate 228). In the

middle of the complex,

we

some high bases, among them the so-called Pyramid of the Magician, which looms large on a rectangular base rounded at the sides find

(plate 231). Careful

exploration reveals that

its

present aspect

is

the

result

of five stages of building that probably took place between the

sixth

and tenth century a.d.

phases belongs a stairway

(plate 229).

To one of the

whose lowest portion

last

of these

partially cleared the

facade of the older building (plate 232). Impressive in

its

the stairway ascends steeply, subtly divided into three

simplicity, flights.

A

stepped series of masks of Chac flanks the sides of the level that constitutes

the

deepest recess, establishing an interesting play of

radiating lines and adding a dramatic touch to an already strong

upward thrust. This stairway leads to Temple IV, whose facade, in the form of monster jaws, shows a marked influence from Chenes, in contrast to the facade of Temple V, which stands on the top level and reflects the purest style of Puuc (plate 235). Let us turn now to the Nunnery one of the typical quadrangles located near the Pyramid of the Magician. This architectural complex

—

much

of the central geographic areas. The elongated buildings are arranged around a spacious patio, with the corners left open; and they rise from different levels, perhaps for hierarchical reasons. From the level of the buildings

is

198

less

compact than

the acropolis-type groupings

227-

Kabdh

:

Codz-Poop. Detail of masks

at a

doorway

199

228.

1. North Group Uxmal, Yucatan plan of the city. 3. Platform of the Stelae 2. Northeast Group 5. Pyramid of the Magician 4. Nunnery Quadrangle 8. Ball 7. Cemetery Group 6. Group of the Columns 10. Governor's Palace Court 9. House of the Turtles 12. West Group IJ. House of the Doves (Dovecote) 14. Great Pyramid 13. South Group :

229.

Uxmal: Pyramid of the Magician.

Section showing the various phases

of construction 230. 231.

U.xmal: Pyraniid of the Magician. Lateral view

Uxmal: Pyrantid of the Magician. Facade

in front of the

Nunnery

Quadrangle 232.

Uxmal: Pyramid of

the Magician. Detail of the under in the

stairway of the south facade

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Pyramid

Magician. Rear stairway

233-

Uxiiial :

234.

Uxnial: Pyramid of the Magician. Front view

235.

U.xmal: Pyramid of the Magician. Temples

of the

IV and V

f

,

i 'riy

203

<

"1

..

--TV

rrip'-wn'--wz-£:»^-^

WIK^.

'"•

T-

f.

<1

236.

Uxinal: Nunnery Quadrangle. Facade of the east building

237.

Uxnial : Nunnery Quadrangle. Details of the cornices of the east and south buildings

238.

Uxmal: Nunnery Quadrangle. Detail masks of the rain god Chac above the

of the east building

central

showing

doorway

205

<

239-

Uxmal: Ntnmery Quadrangle. The the building's south

240.

tiorth building seen

through

archway

Uxmal: Nunnery Quadrangle. Facade of the

north building

Ti-'i

.-p

f^^* ""îTM'

'

y

if

J

-»«i.iai!B?jr.Z!:rL'-':.^\

ywTW^''

r-|i^'

'51W wv

207

241.

242. 243.

Uxmal: Nunnery Quadrangle. A lower room of the north building, showing the corbel vault typical of Maya building technique Uxmal: Nunnery Quadrangle. Corner of the Uxmal: House of the Doves (Dovecote) \>

north building

%k^'

244-

Uxmal: House of the

245.

Uxmal: House of the

Turtles. Lateral facade Turtles. Half-ruined facade

showing stonework

technique

246.

Uxmal: House of the Doves (Dovecote). One of the doorways shape of a

Maya

arch

l>

in the

—

•

--i.

*?*• t-

^^

-5j« •^-

^

K

JhÎ

-

w*fmtmkr^yv^^^mi¥^nz<:Jf^ms^ m-^ 1

v.^

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?•'

•

•

'"

«

-»•"

i-aCr^

•••^îCfiMt

i^ .v*A^

r^. *

ri^ fM -«<«i

.,

/-H '

*

.y,*i*,

.

247-

Uxinal: Governor's Palace. Interior of the central chamber

248

Uxmal Governor's Palace. Plan and elevation

249.

Uxmal: Governor's Palace. Main facade

250.

Uxmal: Governor's Palace. Detail of the main facade \> Uxmal Governor's Palace. Doorway with a Maya arch

251.

:

:

shape of an arrowhead 252.

Uxmal: Governor's rain god Chac D>

..--

in the

U

Palace. Detail of a corner

^'J^^zx:^^£%:3^f:r -e-a

.

showing masks of the

—

::

'

-

-^.---

r i

^w-

vr-ijifift«ciy3/f -.v^v^^qg

«*-^

;...•

VJ^J>>-a:..^'

.*t

->-

212

;•

s^§ i.^1

.1^

:^> ^••*-iv%L

-^ Û V ,3rtV

^-

vl

Mr^

m

m '^S.'^ ,^

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^-,. \-^'*N^

5>.j;

->w.

^^M, 'W V^;--

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i':-!

'îr^/^.

^.

253-

Sabacche, Yucatan

:

remains of a frieze framed with small ataduras

•«>'*^.-*.T*--N^v.

216

254-

Chichen Itzd, Yucatan : Nunnery Annex.

Main facade

217

.

Annex (left) and

Chichai Itzd : corner details of the Nunnery

255-

the so-called

Church

(right)

located toward the south (the Governor's Palace, for example), the south building of the

Nunnery Quadrangle

we

256.

Chichen Itzd : main facade of the Church (reconstruction)

257.

Chichen Itzd : Temple of the Three Lintels

see

in the foreground,

with one of the region's typical great open archways leading to the Our line of sight ends with the front of the north building in

outside.

the background.

Some

elements of Puuc's architecture are apparent in

an especially pure form. The east building of the

Uxmal

Nunnery Quad-

rangle (plates 236, 238) has a facade clearly divided into vertical

There

is

in

strips.

adorned with rows of

a slightly projecting socle, soberly

whose lower part has smooth s and wide openings subtly outlined by a set-in frame that adds a note of lightness. Enclosed between two moldings with ataduras, the upper section of the facade stands uncompromisingly vertical, being adorned, in this case, with vertical rows of masks o( Chac in its center and on its corners (plate 231). Over the secondary doorways, we find an elegant trapezoidal design formed by stylized double-headed serpents, out of which emerges the head of an owl god of Tcotihuacan inspiration. The same double-headed serpent motif embellishes the central part of the cornice, on top of the main doorway, while on the rest of the facade it appears against a latticework background (plate 236). The two cornices outlining this upper strip arc entirely in the style of Puuc they are composed of two beveled moldings, seemingly almost short jutiquillos, and a wall

:

crushed beneath the pressure of a central shields

and terminating

at

each corner

listcl

in

a

adorned with small

mythological animal's

head.

The

clarity

of the elements composing the facade and the

particularly clean silhouette created

by

these impeccably executed

cornices are outstanding qualities always evident in the architecture of this region.

At the foot of the

cast building

ceived with such surprising complexity

we

as to

find a stairway con-

suggest a role in cere-

monies involving elaborate and pompous protocol.

The north building of

Nunnery Quadrangle, in contrast to Uxmal, is conspicuous for its high placement and for its more elaborate appearance (plates 239, 240). Its broad access stairway is flanked by two small, impressively simple buildings whose delicate friezes are ed by heavy monolithic pillars, subtly lightened by a wide central groove tracing the

the massive sobriety that predominates in

thin vertical lines of shadow.

On

its

main

facade,

above

offering alternating motifs of stepped frets, latticework,

Maya

huts,

we

see various types

culmination of a style

we

of

finials rising

encountered

m

and

a frieze

stylized

above the roof

such

sites

as

— the

Sayil

and

Xlabpak.

219

258.

Seibal,

Guatemala: Temple A-3 and Stele 8

palm

roof; this tone of naive reahsm departs

from

And

geometric rigidity of Uxmal's ornamentation.

the customary

at this

point

we

should mention the so-called House of the Doves, or Dovecote, located to the south of the city,

important quadrangle structure

—featuring

(plate

where

243).

formed part of another

it

From

a

distance,

this

elegant

an interesting example of the long roof-combs

frequent in the region

—indeed

deserves

appellation.

its

It

stands,

on top of a building whose facades lie in total ruins and whose center is penetrated by the usual ageway in the form of a Maya arch. Composed largely of openwork, this cresteria consists of a series of stepped elements in the same style as its counterpart on the famous Arch at Labna (plate 218). These elements rise above a section of wall similarly perforated, from which protrude stones that almost

intact,

originally ed a rich sculptural decoration (plate 246).

Among

Uxmal's

—named for listel

and

the large turtles, carved in the round, that adorn the

of its upper cornice

classic

House of the Turtles

architectural diversity, the

—

is

by

distinguished

its

sober ornamentation

purity of proportions, exemplifying in

highest

its

form

that

cleanness of line so characteristic of the style of Puuc (plates 244, 245). Its

simple

frieze,

composed

of smooth

entirely

subtle contrast to the horizontal lines

cornices with ataduras (plate 244).

emerge from the

turtles that

jiitiqiiillos,

provides a

of shadow that outline

Unadorned save

its

typical

for the sculptured

centers of the generally wider upper

segments, these beveled cornices clearly were copied from the

used to fasten

Maya ture

architecture, these interesting

cresterias

roof-combs emerge on the Nunnery's

exuberant facade in three different aspects smallest, rising

frequent in Yucatan

(plates 239, 240, 242).

continuity of the upper cornice with an elaborate just

above the

The

over four of the intermediate doorways, breaks the

level

of the roof. The other two

more prominent, ascend from

mask

silhouetted

variants, larger

and

the middle cornice and consist of verti-

rows of masks, including four of Chac, on the corner combs. On we find the same four masks, this time crowned with a fifth. The latter represents Tlaloc, Teotihuacan's

roofs

leling in

the importance to

Maya culture of that metropolis on the Mexican plateau. Not far from the Nunnery Quadrangle we find

hut. If the corbel vault

vanced ruins of

220

a small building

decorated with doves perched on a

ties

many

in a

(plates 241,

its

junqiiillos

as

left

all

seem like stone versions of such perishable materials as wood, palm, and braided fiber cord or ropes. We should bear in mind the impor-

We will conclude

Maya

huts as a decorative motif in Yucatan's

this discussion

of Uxmal's architecture with a

by many authors fact one of the most

brief analysis of the Governor's Palace, considered to

the well-ad-

see used in

—represented here highly developed character to the interior — indeed owes form 241) — either plain the contours of the hut, elements such or decorated with ataduras— the cornices, and even latticework, Maya

architecture.

more

still

found ni the Maya area, it is the architecgraphically expresses the practice of paralmost that stone the traditional building elements of the time-honored

tance of stylizations of

underscores once

we

technique

the styles to be

the seven remaining wider cornices

it

a

of Uxmal

cal

counterpart of Chac;

—

peasant houses.

Of all Probably derivations of the "flying"

palm

have been the

finest in this region

outstanding structures of

all

and

Mesoamcnca

in

(plates

247-252). This

building, about 328 feet (100 m.) long and standing

on immense

a

platforms, appears divided into three principal bodies

artificial

two

inner ageways roofed

by high archways

that, as

we

management of

can

by see,

were covered over in later times. In the masses and in the balancing of their proportions we detect a sure hand at work; the many elements comprising this composition were modulated and disposed with a precision that gave to the whole a nobilirv' and equilibrium rarely achieved in Mesoamerican architecture. As in other buildings at Uxmal, visual interest is drawn to the central part by the presence there of a wider door and by the modification

of the

outlined

by

the central door

relief,

is

of the

ments flow from

latter are

an enormous trapezoidal motif in

more elaborate than Nunnery Quadrangle. All

similar to but

east building

interplay

between the ading doors. The

frames that add a feeling of lightness to the walls.

set-in

Above strong

intervals

structural

this central vaotii (plate

of the

different planes in

those

we saw

the ornamental ele-

249), underlined by a

the relief:

To

(plate 250).

interwoven

lattice-

monotony of this long border there an uninterrupted string of masks of Chac

break the

in the design

form

skillful

great step-and-fret

elements alternate at forty-five-degree angles with planes of

work

in the

is

—

between the central motif and the upper cornice and descends diagonally, forming steps, to run along the middle of the cornice. From there, it climbs serpentine

that crosses the long stretch

again to embellish a stretch under the upper cornice, and descends to

terminate just before the corner, sharply outlined by a vertical

masks

row of

(plate 252).

Except for the upper cornice, which girds the entire building and

whose

listel is

adorned with an undulating serpentine motif, the orna-

mentation of the three principal bodies of the Governor's Palace stops abruptly at these corners, establishing a dramatic contrast to the

immense cut-out arches, which originally were open from end to end but which today are partially obstructed by later additions (plate 251).

We must ire the elegance of these daring arches, not only among the loftiest in

Maya

architecture, but unique in their mildly

convex

note some ataduras,

new

which,

features, such as the stone imitations as

we

of wooden

see at Sabacche, replaced the typical beveled

cornices (plate 253).

Chicken Itza Puuc's architecture owes

some of

its

traits

neighboring Chenes and Rio Bee areas; but

roque exuberance of these

to the influence it

toned

down

of the the ba-

emmore geometric in

styles, creating clean-lined structures

bellishcd with a rich but balanced ornamentation,

and so intimately a part of the walls of the buildings that, as Marta Foncerrada de Molina observes, it cannot be considered a

nature,

superimposed

The

element.^''

Puuc seems to have spread to cities as distant as Chichen Itza, located much more toward the northeast of the Yucatan peninsula, where an architectural style developed that is similar in many aspects. Let us take the Nunnery Annex and the so-called Church (plates 254, 255), two buildings whose complicated moldings (either very wide or broken above the doorways) seem to represent early phases of the local style. The Church has a "flying" cresteria a relatively common type of roof decoration in the Puuc and neighboring areas that rises up over the principal facade. We should also mention the Chichanchob, or Red House; it is the only structure known to date that bears two parallel combs one "flying," the other resting on the central wall. In the buildings just mentioned, we find certain local characteristics; others, such as the Temple of the Three Lintels (plate 257), could easily as the purest examples of the Puuc style. As we noted at the beginning of this chapter, the years between the ninth and tenth century a.d. saw the almost total collapse of Classic Maya culture. Soon Chichen Itza would be dominated by an important Toltec group coming from the Mexican plateau. And, as we shall see, a new Maya-Toltec phase would begin, with its seat in a new Chichen Itza. As successive migratory bands ed over various Maya regions hastening the eclipse of this lively world and the abandonment of almost all of its cities they left their traces in areas such as the Pasion River, in the southern part of El Peten. The last stelae carved toward the end of the Classic period in Seibal (plate 258) reflect a gradual metamorphosis probably brought about by the presence of new dominant groups from other regions of Mesoamerica who, after more or less successful attempts at acculturation, ultimately provoked a total rupture of the already precarious Classic influence of the style of

—

—

—

—

configuration.

—

Sabacche

The above

analysis

of Classic Puuc architecture allows us to appreciate

the impressive range of workable solutions that elicit

from

a relatively

its

creators could

limited repertory of ornamental elements,

Notable are those innovations

in technique and style introduced by of columns on the facade, and a broader utilization of the Maya arch in both "flying" stairways and archways. We might also

the use

balance.

221

Chapter Six

THE POST-CLASSIC PERIOD IN CENTRAL MEXICO

At Teotihuacan, every mural or decorated

vessel

is

exalting the elements of nature, unlike El Tajin, pictorial

system centers upon the

ball

prayer

a

where the

game, or Monte Alban,

where public sculpture commemorates conquests and great captains, as do Late Classic Maya art and Post-Classic art throughout Mesoamerica.

.

.

.

Teotihuacan

is

perhaps

the

terminal

expression of an old theocratic system represented also

Olmec

art

and by Early Classic

with Late Classic

Maya

huacan IV. Personal

Maya

art.

of the centuries

by

late

traits it shares

dynastic art belong mainly to Teoti-

glorification,

the cult

appearance of dynastic lineages are the society

The few

after

500

traits

of war, and the

of the new, emerging

a.d.^

Thus George Kubler indicates the characteristics and changes in Mesoamerican cultures from the point of view of artistic expression toward the end of the Classic period. Society in general was changing from a theocratic to a militaristic base, although the seeds of the latter were to be found early in the former, and vice versa. Economic factors probably influenced the development of these varied types of society, making them not so different from one another after all. But change there was especially in the great Classic centers, many of which almost completely ceased to function, while the rural areas around them continued to prosper. As we have mentioned before, this is clearly seen in Teotihuacan the population of the valley continued to be dense, but the ceremonial and political center was reduced to minimum activity. It would seem that while the elite lost its former power, the general populace gained in strength. Nevertheless, when one great center suffered an upheaval and abandonment, another came into prominence in its place, usually nearby. In the case of Teotihuacan, its power gave way to that of Xochicalco, Cholula, El Tajin, and later Tula. Thus one ehte perished and another came into being. Some centers were never abandoned, but continued either without change or with increased prestige and wealth. Among these were Cholula in the central Mexican highlands and Coba and

—

—

—

:

Dzibilchaltun in the

Maya

region.

Xochicalco

Just over the edge of Mexico's central plateau, to the south,

is

the

state of Morelos, and a little farther south, Guerrero. These two states are lower in altitude and warmer in climate than Teotihuacan or

259.

Xochicalco, Morelos,

260.

Xochicalco

from

222

:

Mexico plan and section of the

view of the

the northeast

:

hall court

hall court

and base of La Malinche

Cholula. Duran, the sixteenth-century chronicler, said of the Morelos region, called the

Marquesado

most beautiful lands

in the

in his day,

world, and

"This

if it

is

certainly

were not

one of the

for the great heat

'^-

'Mn

44r

y^J^_

:

26i

.

262.

Xochicalco : plan and section of Building

C

Xochicalco : plan and section of the Temple of the Stelae

it

would be another Garden of Eden. There

wide

of fish, the

rivers full

kinds of fruits.

product

is

.

Morelos

is

.

This place

is

very rich in cotton

on here by people from

all

and trade

without architecture

—the Pre-Classic rock carvings its

share of exciting

remains from early cultures in the form of cave paintings

two

huaca, Oxtotitlan, Colotlipa, and Acatlan.^ These little

being

1 I

I

I

I

I

in this

over the country."^

Chalcatzingo, for example. Guerrero, too, has

been

many

of woods, and orchards of

important archaeologically, although some of its most

striking ruins are at

.

carried

freshest

are delightful springs,

at Juxtla-

states

have

explored, although at the present time great strides are

made

in unearthing

more of

the secrets in this south-central

Mexican region. Chimalacatlan, on the Morelos-Guerrero border, whose architecture is of large worked stone, probably was an important trade center during the Pre-Classic and Early Classic periods.'* hi Guerrero, Xochipala has produced beautiful clay sculpture and displays Maya influence in the form of corbeled arches.^ The main site in this area is that of the House of Flowers in Xochicalco, just southwest of the capital of Morelos, in Cuernavaca. Xochicalco was a great trading city and a center of calendricalmathematical knowledge, which grew prominent as Teotihuacan declined, probably at the expense of the City of the Gods. Xochicalco was situated in a rich cotton-growing region (cotton was the luxury cloth of pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica), strategically located on the trade route that connected the basin of Mexico and the Balsas River to the west and south. Along this route came and went cacao, cotton, fine, green stones, feathers, and obsidian. This Mexican highlands-Maya route prospered before the surge of Teotihuacan, and after the latter's decline Xochicalco assumed command of trade and made its influence felt south to Oaxaca and the Maya lands, east to the Gulf Coast, and north to the rich obsidian mines near Huapalcalco and Tula. About Xochicalco's rise toward the end of the Classic period

n6 n

Litvak reports

.

it

.

.

many features that connect Maya area, Oaxaca, and the

since Xochicalco does not have

to Teotihuacan, but rather to the

Gulf Coast, instead

of a

effective

its

role could very well

satellite,

power

of the great

in the

have been that of

Classic

site,

reducing

south by stopping, or

its

at least

a rival,

zone of

slowing,

between the Valley of Mexico and a region that corresponds somewhat to the states of Morelos, Guerrero, and the Balsas River basin, traditional suppliers of cotton, cacao and the flow

n.

5 I

224

I

I

I

L

I

10 '

p..

20 '

green stones in pre-Hispanic Mexico. m

existence along with that of a

The

effect

of Xochicalco

s

powerful Classic Cholula, El

263

.

Xochicalco

:

Building

D

™^

22c

264.

Xochicaico

:

Stele i. Frontal view.

Mexico City, National Museum

of Anthropology 265.

Xochicaico

:

Stele

1.

Rear view. Mexico City, National Museum of

Anthropology 266.

226

Xochicaico

:

Temple of the Plumed

Serpents. Detail of a lateralfacade

>

Xochicako : Temple of the Plumed Serpents. Corner of the rear

267.

facade

Taj in, and a nascent Tula,

would have been

the reduction of

Teotihuacan's domain, from a pan-Mcsoamerican power, to the control of, roughly, the Valley of Mexico.

... As

a conse-

power would be drastically reduced and its decline would ensue. ... Its decline would produce a release, at the regional level, of its components, that would then be realigned to cope with the new situation. The effect would be a strengthening of regional networks and some shifts within them to different pattern centers that could explain some of the phenomena in the Classic-Post-Classic transition.^ quence,

its

and fmal

fall

The Maya-influenced to that

of Copan,

site

a small

carvings of serpents,

Maya

of Xochicalco has

a ball court similar

pyramid covered with elaborate

relief

personages and glyphs, and stelae showing

multiple outside influences. These stelae arc carved with hieroglyphs

and numerals from the Nahuatl, Maya, and Zapotec cultures. Objects from Veracruz found at the site show Gulf Coast influence.

The monuments

at

Xochicalco were dedicated essentially to

Around 650 a.d., a congress, attended by repMesoamerican groups, evidently was convened here for the purpose of adopting a new calendar.^ When the data carved on the stelae was no longer considered useful, these monuments were painted red the color of death and then broken calendar corrections. resentatives

of

all

—

—

(ceremonially "killed" in order to avoid their continuing to exert influence),

Lying

and were in the

finally buried.

midst of a semiarid region, Xochicalco's imposing

number of hills of varying size, some of which seem to have been connected by broad causeways. The principal complex,

ruins cover a

organized in the fashion of an enormous acropolis, consists of a

of stepped terraces that span some 3,900

feet (1,200

series

m.) from north to

south and 2,280 feet (700 m.) from east to west. It includes the hill of La Malinche, which rises to the west with its voluminous truncated base and wide causeway, bordered on one side by a row of strange round platforms that this pyramid to the ball-court complex (plate 260). At the foot of the acropolis we fmd the remains of roadways that must have led to other cities; the center's main access routes, to the south and east, seem to have been fortified.

Leading up into Xochicalco from the south after

wending

its

way

over various

road

that,

levels, reaches a small plaza,

"the

'antechamber' of the main plaza, which

complex,"

in the

basic role this

a straight

the final

words of Hardoy, who goes on

to

element of the

emphasize the

element played in the composition, "since

directed pedestrian

228

is

is

traffic

.

.

.

it

not only

but gave a sense of access, drawing

268

Xochicaico

.

facade

;

Temple of the Plumed Serpents. Detail of the main

[>

attention to the principal complex."* Unlike the enclosed vistas created

Toltec architecture of the early Post-Classic period (plates 266, 267).

of Monte A\hin(plates 80,82), Xochicalco's builders "utilized the hillsides to introduce changing views, as well as a series of sequences leading to the main plaza. Almost all the structures were

ground of diverse cultures that is Xochicalco, a prominent position is occupied by the stelae (plates 264, 265) a common element among the Maya, one frequently found in Oaxaca,

by

the architects

set

back toward the interiors of the

artificial

esplanades

.

.

leaving

.

what amounted to balconies, from which one could enjoy the expanorama of the other sectors of the city and the valleys "^ below. Such is the view we get of La Malinche and of the monumental ball court from the northeast (plate 260). Along with Manzanilla, Xochicaico seems to have been one of ceptional

thefirst cities (plate 259).

of the central plateau to have

This was a

in other regions

common

shape from Pre-Classic times

of Mesoamerica but courts of ;

yet been found in Teotihuacan, the polis.

built an I-shaped ball court

Mexican

Xochicaico, which maintained

plateau's Classic

cultural

zonc from the end of the Pre-Classic period, inspired to build similar courts but

Picdras Negras and

Copan.

We

of

with the

ties

may

as

metro-

might as

also

note that although

opposed

to the beautifully

macaw heads that served as markers in Copan, an equally macaw head found in Xochicaico might signify a relationship

masterly

Copan. Aside from a simple astronomical observatory and some palaces around La Malinche's enormous base (one of which contains interest-

with those

—

yet practically nonexistent in Teotihuacan. Three stelae that figure

among

most

the

the Stelae.

between the

link

the

They

one hand,

we

were found buried in of the building thereafter called the Temple of

richly carved in Xochicaico

a trench in the floor

Xochicalco's probable role

illustrate

inscriptions;

as

the cultural

and the early Post-Classic worlds.

late Classic

On

find masks of gods and other symbols that recur in

the Classic iconography of Teotihuacan or in

on the

we see

other,

Maya and Zapotec

glyphs and signs already clearly part

of the Post-Classic repertory of the peoples of the Mexican plateau, of Oaxaca, and of the lands along the Gulf of Mexico.'"

We

Maya

well have been

different dimensions, as did

Xochicalco's ball court has a pair of rings

carved

onward

type have not

this

In the strange meeting

come

Temple of

finally to the

the

Plumed

Serpents, un-

questionably the most interesting sanctuary in Xochicaico and one of the finest jewels of pre-Columbian architecture

only

entire

Mexican

The

stands

on one of the higher elevations. Converging on it are not of sight on these levels but, in subtle ways, some of the

plateau.

which

on the

structure occupies a key position in the principal plaza,

all

lines

elements of the urban layout in general,

Unique

in

in

Xochicaico

— and

in

Mesoamerica

—the temple com-

bines an especially high tahid with a heavy tahlero-\\\.e molding,

number of

crowned by an elegant beveled cornice. As in other temples in this city, its outer walls are sloped. While this particular play of volumes

Xochicalco's temples have been explored and partially restored. Like

gives the building an unmistakable silhouette, the important remains

ing remains of a pubhc steam bath, or temazcalli), a

Building

C

(plate 261),

they generally present

a

simple truncated

pyramidal base, sloping on the lower part and nearly vertical on the

where the stairway of the base interD has a wide portico that opens to the outside through great spaces interrupted by masonry pillars. Though only the lower part of the facade remains, we see that top, beginning near that point sects (plate 263).

its

The temple

designated Building

sloping walls echo those of the base. Stylized representations of

some of Xochicalco's monuments, permit us to re-create the appearance of the city's temples more fully. Larger, more complex in the disposition of its elements, and temples, carved on

built

on

around

a raised patio that opens out

through

a portico

ed

the Temple of the Stelae (plate 262) has a sanctuary set on a whose moldings apparently derived from forms frequent in Monte Alban (plate 92). These moldings seem to be transitions between the "scapulary" tahlero of Classic Zapotec architecture and a variant that as we shall see would prevail in Toltec and Mayapillars,

base

—

230

of sculptural ornamentation in high relief (once polychromed) enliven the outer walls with the rhythm of great plumed serpents, their bodies undulating along the taludes in the

company of priest-astron-

omers, glyphic inscriptions, and symbols of the

New

Fire

(plates

266-269). It

seems probable that

commemorate

the

New

fifty-two-year cycles that

american calendars

— the

this fascinating

Fire

ceremony,

marked

building was erected to

at the close

of one of the

the coincidence of the

solar version,

two Mcso-

with 365 days, and the

calendar of 260 days. This jubilant occasion ushered in a

new

life

ritual

cycle

which the community's exhausting task keep the gods happy and fed with an endless round of penances

in that difficult universe in

was

to

and

sacrifices

—

all

designed to avert an ever-possible

Indications are that to

honor

this

new

final

cataclysm.

cycle, Xochicalco's rulers

may

have organized an important congress of astronomers attended by

many prominent Maya.

We

see,

on

the one hand, the conspicuous

— Xochicako

269.

Temple of the Plumed Serpents. Detail of a

:

south facade showing a priest-astronomer

position these personages occupied in the composition

On

an apparent calendric rectification this

of the

s.

the other hand, one of the s of the principal facade displays

—

a suggestion that in the

congress a significant revision was

made

wake of

in the calendars used in

this region.

The

'

Toltecs

Before the year 900 a.d. a group of seminomadic Toltecs, led by Mixcoatl the cloud serpent swept into the Valley of Mexico and

—

—

helped destroy the already dying Classic cultures. In his incursions into the central area, legend

us,

tells

Mixcoatl penetrated into the

Morelos Valley, where one day he came upon a young woman. He shot arrows at her, but she turned them aside with her hand, therefore earning the

name Chimalma,

"Shield Hand." Struck by her magic

powers, Mixcoatl married Chimalma, but she died

months

Ce

childbirth

in

Mixcoatl too died, killed by a usurper. Their son

later.

(One Reed date of his birth) Topiltzin (Our Prince) Quetzalcoatl (as high priest in the cult of the god Quetzalcoatl, which he later became) was brought up by his grandparents in Tepoztlan, but studied with the priests in nearby Xochicako. As a young man Topiltzin avenged his father's death by killing Ihuitimal the usurper, and by re-burying Mixcoatl's remains on the sacred hill at Culhuacan. Thus deified, Mixcoatl became a hunting god. Topiltzin, then leader of the Toltecs, changed the capital of his people from Culhuacan to

called

Acatl

;

—

Again, legend

and led

came

into the Valley

of Mexico

us that Quetzalcoatl prohibited

important

position

architecturally

Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, lord of the

last

(the story

is

Around

and then famine

hit the region.

side

by

the decadence of this great city.

Artisan

—

side

They acquired

having absorbed the

after

term which describes

skills

with the Teotihuacanos during

arts

became

of

the

the

name

their neighbors.

name of an

in the great

pyramid dedi-

the

little

Huemac, or "Big Hand"

measured

four hands

at least

the middle of the twelfth century drought

rain gods, played ball

The with

chronicles say that the Tlaloques,

Huemac and

the ruler

won, but

jades and precious feathers instead

he insisted on being given

Thus

of the green corn and ripe corn leaves the Tlaloques offered him. The Toltecs, it would seem, received rich tribute but were forced to go

the

entire ethnic

as prize

hungry.

them a knowledge of metals, a warrior caste, and a militaristic society. They worshiped the god Tezcatlipoca, a war god, who "brought vice and sin [and] all evils which ."" But Topiltzin, educated in the advanced Valley came to men of Morelos, was the living representative of Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent, a god of peace and creation (who legend says had given maize to mankind and had taught people arts and agriculture), the god of the region where he was reared.

Some of the

Toltecs brought with

.

.

.

.

.

This difference of ideals caused the expulsion of Topiltzin-

Quctzakoad from Tula and

232

Tula (under the name of

Toltec

group.

The

dawn)

women who

that he liked

across the hips).

and they probably lived

in

great Toltec leader in Tula was

They were then

at Xochicako. which means "nomads,"

sacrifice

cated to this deity.

about the time the astronomers held their congress the Toltecs-Chichimecs,

human

people in an industrious, religious-oriented existence. But

enemy, Tezcatlipoca, one day came to the palace disguised as a merchant and showed Quetzalcoatl a mirror. Topiltzin, like Nanahuatzin in Teotihuacan, was covered with sores. He was shocked when he saw his likeness and accepted a cup o£ pulque, a centuryplant liquor, which Tezcatlipoca claimed would cure him. But the "cure" was drunkenness, and when Topiltzin-Quetzalcoatl awoke the next morning he discovered that he had broken his celibate vows by having called a priestess to his chambers and ignoring his sacred duties, Feeling he should no longer be Tula's leader, Quetzalcoatl left Tula with a group of followers in 987 a.d., going to Tlillan Tlapallan ("Place of Black and Red," or "Place of Writing"), identified with Cholula or with the Maya region. He promised to return from the east, a prophecy which was in part responsible for the downfall of the later Aztecs, inasmuch as the Spanish came from the east and by chance arrived in Mexico in a Ce Acatl year, the precise day and year of Quetzalcoatl's birth and also the year of his supposed return. Thus Cortes was thought to be the long-awaited god. Another source tells us that Quetzalcoatl went east, sacrificed himself in the fire, and became the morning star. As this star Quetzalcoatl occupies the most

The

called the Toltecs

tells

l>

his

Tulancingo and then to Tula.

The group

his

relief on the

the triumph

of the

militaristic faction,

population deserted and went south and

mac himself was ousted

in

1168 a.d. and

where he died not

fled to

much

east.

Chapultepec,

Hue-

now

Meanwhile,

part of

Mexico

Tula

prey to groups of barbarians, called Chichimecs because the equivalent to nomads. One of these groups was the Mexica

fell

name

is

or Aztecs,

who

City,

arrived around 1200 a.d.

Kirchhoff'^ believes that Quetzalcoatl and

temporaneous, Quetzalcoatl the religious leader

and

left

the

Huemac were conof Tula and Huemac

two disagreed on both political and metropolis at the same time, in the twelfth

the secular ruler. Eventually the religious points

later.

fmt '^1

1. Ball Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico : plan of the ceremonial center. 4. Colonnade 2. Burnt Palace 3. Building B 1

Court

5. Ball

Court 2

6.

Central Altar

7.

Building

C

Tula: atlantes and pillars of the Temple of Tlahuizcalpantccuhtli

\>

V 234 .^:

"

:-<-_«5»»

r-fe.r'-'-

-nw^*-

*-^' ..

-»^, *;

•**

—

•

r--^

.

•»«<.

272.

Tula : one of the four

atlatites

of the Temple of

Tlahuizcalpatiteaihtli

Tula partial view of the Burnt Palace and Colonnade :

Tula: aerial view of Ball Court 1, seen from the northwest Tula: partial aerial view of the Great Plaza. In the foreground, the Burnt Palace and the Colonnade; in the center, the Temple of Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli ; to the right, the Temple of the

276.

l>

Tula : Temple of Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli as seen from the Temple of the Sun

236

Stm

[>

^Jil

iJLJLx

:

Weaver points out," Quetzalcoatl's abandonment of is more logical, inasmuch as a Toltec or Putiin-Maya (Mexicanized) group reached Tabasco or Campeche around this time, led by Kulkulkan, which means Quetzalcoatl or Plumed Serpent in the Maya tongue. century. As

until after the Spanish

Tula in 978 a.d.

up

of about 6 square miles (10 sq. km.) was unfortified, Themulti-family residences common at Teotihuacan were also popular in Tula, and constituted a type of defense in themselves. ristic,

their city

Much of Tula

must have come from the numerous the region, especially since the volcanic glass mined

Tula's wealth

obsidian mines in

"

Conquest and, indeed, continuously after that Although the Toltccs were frankly milita-

to the present time.^^

Scholars have long pointed to similarities between Tula and Chichen

here was the fine translucent green obsidian so popular in the pre-

migration of Quetzalcoatl and

Hispanic world. This obsidian was a source of local taxes and long-

Yucatan)

Itza (in

his followers feels that

as

as

evidence of

this

well as a later Toltec migration. Kubler, however,

the current ran the opposite

way

distance trade.'^

many

A

question concerning the direction of these influences

evant.

.

.

.

The north pyramid and colonnade

is

rel-

Tula resemble

at

Temple of the Warriors another building encloses a colonnaded courtyard like the Mercado. Chacmool as well as serpent the

;

figures

and Atlantean columns have

nothing at

at

also

Tula corresponding to the

been found, but there

first

periods of Toltec art

The conventional view today artisans

still

is

at

art

from

Maya

their

at

Itza.

Chichen. At Chichen, alien rulers brought

and

artisans

subjects.

and eventually acquired an

Thus Mexican

clothed in

ideas,

forms, were eventually implanted at Tula.

In the at

Maya

was However, the Tula. They are fully

that an alien art

of Chichen

formative stages of that art are lacking

ideas rather than objects

.

.

Teotihuacan long before their Toltec revival. The inter-

penetration of Mexican ideas and

Maya forms

the Early Classic art of Kaminaljuyii.

is

at least as old as

At Xochicalco,

the Late

of Mexican symbols with Maya figural forms was another forerunner of the Toltec-Maya union of highland Classic investiture

view of Maya influence in Guerrero and Morelos during the it would seem plausible that this influence continued north to Tula when this center became dominant at the beginning of In

the Post-Classic, thus introducing

Toltecs

site

new

architectural forms to the

not only through trade but perhaps through groups of

who

lived in the

and perhaps

tribute.

Tula

from commerce some of their

well have learned

A

temazcalli or public steam

bath of Aztec manufacture, placed directly in an earlier Toltec ball court,

is

one evidence of their occupation of Tula. '^

The

Architecture of Tula

There are many chronicles

that link the beginning

the Classic splendor of Teotihuacan and

Maya zone and

all

the Pre-Classic period buried in oblivion.

of great

then returned north. Re-

by Richard A. Dichl have shown was probably occupied from the Early Post-Classic

cultural

—leaving

the formative phases

And

yet, the heart

of

of the

Toltec ceremonial center, today partially reconstructed, seems a rather

modest

architectural

grouping

had existed two or three centuries [plate 39).

(plate

210) compared to what

earlier in the

Except for some important innovations

displays a certain poverty

barbarian origin of that

was provoked

its

City of the Gods in building tech-

new

Toltec empire

of execution, explained perhaps

by the recent

founders and by the marked cultural slump

in these regions

by

the crumbling of what Jimenez

Moreno calls the Pax Teotihuacaim}^ The first thing we notice when studying

Tula's

main plaza

is

first time in Mesoamerica, of great colonnades As we saw in previous chapters, the independent 215 216). (column or pillar) existed in the area of Oaxaca from PreClassic times, and had been in common use during the Classic era in Oaxaca itself, in Teotihuacan, in the Gulf Coast area, and even in many Maya cities on the Yucatan peninsula. Except for such special cases as the monumental porticoes that marked the access to Monte Alban s

the importance, for the ,

northplatformor to the Building of the Columns tectural

at El Tajin, this archi-

element was used primarily to dramatize

cent excavations in Tula carried out

Yucatan) or placed

that this center

pairs

238

The Aztecs may

trading customs while living in Tula.

(plates 273,

art.^"*

Classic period,

Toltec

in

corners of Mesoamerica indicates great activity in

niques and design, the legendary capital of the

.

Mexican highlands, feathered serpent forms appeared

symbol and lowland

found

advances on the Mexican plateau with the founding of Tula

chen rather than the reverse.

ed for only

large quantity of spindle whorls

is

Chichen. Tula therefore suggests a colonial outpost of Chi-

imposed upon the Maya

Tha

suggests an active textile industry, while evidence of trade goods

in pairs

deep— to

—

a facade (as in the

and in formations of one, two, or three

the roof of a portico or of a broad interior

— 277-

space (frequent, for example, in Teotihuacan). Here in Tula,

on

Tula : base of El Corral

the

compact rows of columns and masonry pillars: starting from one side of the Temple of the Sun, they round a corner of the plaza and continue along the foot of the Temple of Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli to cover one whole end of the plaza, blending in with the other interior colonnades that, separated by walls and banquettes, make up the various sections of the Burnt Palace. The latter was named for the charred remains of the calcined wooden beams that had once ed a flat roof over its semiopen spaces. These remains are confirmation of the fire that occurred around 1168 a.d. the work, perhaps, of Toltec dissidents, or of the Chichimec invaders

we

contrary,

see

—

headed by Xolotl. In their time

of glory, these great

halls

of the Burnt Palace

boiuided only by walls with banquettes against them, and open in the

middle to form

a

kind of

(Vn^/;/f /;/;/;

— must have seemed novel indeed.

great colonnaded exterior, connecting the halls and the adjacent

The

temples, provided open views of the rest of the plaza and of the other

buildings surrounding

it.

In addition to

these elements, the broad covered space

purposes and various civic functions the pyramidal base of the

Atop

its

role as a link

between

all

must have served ceremonial

as well.

Temple of Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli

stand the pillars and columns that once ed the temple roof

Among with

these

loom

the four

famed atlantes of Tula (plates 271 272), and warriors' gear. Arrayed and armed ,

their heroic proportions

imposing figures clearly embody the

in Toltec style, these

indeed prevailed from then on in Mesoamerica. Each

that

spirit

15 feet (4.60 m.) high,

atlas,

militaristic

is

made up of four

great blocks

of hard,

well-carved stone, perfectly engaged by means of dowel holes and tenons

—a

sculpture. that

principle

We find

that in

it

once ed the door

base, there

Teotihuacan appears only

lintel.

Of the decorations on

remain only some fragments toward the

new and complex

can appreciate the

fold

on two

contains

of

levels

smaller

tablcro rises

and on

above

the temple's

rear,

where we

Toltec version of the tabhro,

perhaps derived from certain forms found in calco. This style

in

here in the ruins of the serpent-shaped columns

Monte Alban and Xochi-

a simple,

smooth

different planes (plate 276); the

talud to

upper

un-

level

an uninterrupted frieze portraying walking jaguars and

on the middle level we see pairs of eagles devouring human and alternating with the effigy of the god Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli (god of the planet Venus or the Morning Star), whose mask

coyotes

;

hearts

emerges from the fangs of a crouched jaguar adorned with feathers and equipped with a forked serpent's tongue.

Completing the complex of the Temple of Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli is the Coatepantli, or "Serpent Wall," which partially sur239

-

—

'

278.

Tenayiica, Mexico: model of the pyramid in its penultimate phase of construction. Mexico City, National Museum of Anthropology

279.

Tenayuca pyramid. Detail showing :

the various phases of

construction

rounds the pyramidal base on the

of the pyramid. This wall

and back,

sides

set off from the

body

may

have

symbolic cordon,

(like a

it

served to isolate the sacred area from the rest of the city) was

by conch-shaped merlons

—stone imitations of a

symbol of Quetzalcoatl in his theme, set between two rows of serpents pursuing and devouring memorable danse macabre. the

To

role as the

half-flayed

seashell,

wind god. shows

motifs,

step

Its

central

group of

a

human

we may add many

these carved structures,

crowned which was

beings in a

other sculptural

elements that here are often found out of their original context

far-away Chichen surroundings,

we

as

Toltec

typically

columns of

Itza

Among

shall see later).

them,

we might mention

repertory,

(in

more appropriate

they can usually be seen in

as part

of the

monolithic

the

than their gigantic counterparts in the

atlantes, smaller

principal temple; the small statues of atlantes with upraised arms that

must have been topped the

sometimes

altar s; the standard-bearers that

and the curious chac-mool, a personage invariably reclining on his back with his head turned to one

alfardas;

depicted partially side.

Our

study of Tula's main plaza ends with an examination of the

central platform

—provided with four stairways and bordered by the — and of the immense Ball Court

remains of the local style of

tablero

whose 380-foot (116-m.) length earns it second place in importance in Mesoamerica, after the main court at Chichen Itza (with which it shares a number of characteristics). A smaller ball court, behind the Temple of Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, presents many affmities 1 (plate

274),

both

its

in

proportions and in the placement of almost

—with the court we saw role

of the

latter city as a "cultural

we

the Post-Classic era. Finally,

base located

some

now called El

Corral

-«—

.

-

V-

-

'f »-

^>H?!3^ "-jWfe- y^

\.^X - '--r^ ^g«"'^5««-^

-«

:vl^

frieze

of skulls alternating with crossed

,

or

a sector altar

tibias

of

its

base,

During the

""

on

a site

of Tula. Apart from skulls,

adorned by a

and found to one

stairway, the architectural importance of this structure

lies

side

of

in the

which combines both truncated-pyramidal (plate 211).

Classic period, the

round "pyramids" such

as the

one

Cuicuilco (plate 18) yielded to forms based almost entirely on right angles. It is interesting to note that a new tendency involving comat

•k.

,

A-

•^

posite

This

%ir 240

the heart of the ancient city,

— undoubtedly once

and truncated-conical elements

W" •

from

bridge" during the beginnings of

some

unusual shape of

elements

wish to point out the semicircular

remains of a small Tzompantli

its

-

distance

all its

Xochicalco. This tends to confirm the

at

forms emerged

at the

beginning of the Post-Classic period.

may have originated in Tula

ment

in a variety

of regional

;

at

any

rate,

it

continued

styles until the arrival

its

develop-

of the Spaniards.

28o.

Teiiaytica : pyramid. Detail

showing the twin stairways

in the

pentihintate phase of construction

241

28 1

242

.

Tenayuca : pyramid.

A detail

— 282. 283.

Teiiaytica: pyramid. Lateral facade

showing sculptures of serpents

Tcnayuca pyramid. Detail of the base :

to the rear,

with

sculptures of serpents

LATE POST-CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE OF THE CENTRAL PLATEAU OF MEXICO Tenayuca After the Chichimec hordes

from

the north destroyed Tula around

1168 A.D., the Post-Classic world's fragile equilibrium was shattered

once again. For some time, the scene was dominated by the Chichimecs, who, having absorbed the culture of the conquered, established their first capital at

kingdom was

later

Tenayuca around 1224. The seat of the Chichimec moved to Texcoco, the birthplace of the sage and

poet-king Nezahualcoyotl.

Tenayuca's principal temple seems to have been the kind to show, even style that

in

its

earliest

building phases, a

new

first

of

its

architectural

involved placing two temples, instead of a single structure,

on a pyramidal base provided with twin stairways (plates 278-281). It was a style that would soon be adopted by the Aztecs and other peoples, spreading during these last centuries of pre-Hispanic life to regions as distant as Guatemala (where it illustrates the degree of "mexicanization" reflected by the last Maya cities of the Guatemala highlands).

Like Teotihuacan's Pyrainid of the Sun, the pyramid at Tenayuca is

where

oriented toward the point

horizon, on the day the

reaches

it

its

the setting sun last touches the

zenith over the city.

On

pyramid stand two sculptures of Xiuhcoatl, the

(plate 284),

each side of

Fire

each endowed with a nose crest covered with

sculptures confirm the distinct solar character

of

this

Serpent

The pyramid by stars.

at which the sun sets during the solstices. There are numerous sculptures of serpents surrounding three sides of the pyramid (plates 282, 283). In addition and this is the only really proven case to date it seems that each of the six or seven stages of amplification and superpositioning undergone by this building coincides with the end of a fifty-two-year cycle and its corresponding

marking the point also

—

—

New

Fire celebration.

We have no

of what the twin sanctuaries built in may have looked like, but the small pyramid

clear evidence

each of these stages

—in Santa Cecilia Acatitlan, an —suggests a sanctuary with slightly — inclined

standing on the outskirts of Tenayuca ancient quarter of this city walls, skulls,

style

its

elevated roof adorned with relief sculptures

or vertical

strips

—and

crowned with

"nailheads,"

the typical

Mexican-

roo{ (plate 285). The overall reconstruction of the small sanctuary

of Santa Cecilia Acatitlan was including a temple tains a

good

in fact

from Quauhtochco

based on different sources in Veracruz,

which

still

re-

part of its roof; descriptions and plans found in chronicles

143

284.

Tcnayuca : sculpture of Xiuhcoatl ,

the fire serpent

285.

Santa Cecilia Acatitlan, near Tenayuca: small pyramid with reconstructed sanctuary

244

[>

its

.

:

-^^

LA A. •

':*'?Tr--'

1

*

Mexico:

286.

CalixtJahtiaca,

287.

Maliiiako, Mexico

semicircular base

(Temple of Qtietzakoatl-

Ehecatl) :

sculpture of an ocelot inside the monolithic temple

from

the time of the Spanish Conquest; and, above

representations of contemporary sanctuaries that clay, often

The

much

with

were modeled

in

attention to realistic detail (plates 296-301).

Architecture oj the Matlatziuca Region

Relatively

few buildings of

iconoclastic fury shall

many

the

all,

this

period escaped, even in part, the

Among the survivors, we

of the Spanish conquerors.

mention some that seem

to us

of particular documentary

interest;

they belong to the Matlatzinca region in the vicinity of Toluca. There

which was traditionally dedicated to the wind god Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl and whose architectural origin may, as we saw, lie in Tula. Then there are the majestic bases of Teotenango, graded on artificial terraces from which they overlook a wide valley and there are the buildings at the semicircular base at Calixtlahuaca (plate 286),

is first

Malinalco, partially or totally; carved into the flank of an imposing

escarpment

—

a peculiarity that

makes them, and the baths

Nezahualcoyotl ordered cut into the Tezcutzinco

hills,

that

King

unique in

Mesoamerica. Carved,

in

its

best

embodies

this

rock of the mountain, the

entirety, into the living

small monolithic temple of Malinalco

new

without doubt the one that

is

breed of architecture, with

sculptures (plates 287, 288). Flanked

by two

its

fully

rounded

large figures of felines,

its

base emerges from the front of the rocky wall. The plateau's typical aljardas

border

a stairway that displays the

remains of a central sculp-

The sanctuary door, surrounded by other

ture.

sculptures,

is

in the

shape of open jaws of

a distinctly regional style totally unlike those

we saw

in the

Yucatan.

We can see that the aperture, mutilated today,

was cut

in the

form of a semicircular arch

—

a shape

not used in Meso-

america, and explained here only by the unusual construction method.

round sanctuary itself, we find some zoomorphic sculptures (three eagles and a feline creature perhaps an ocelot or a jaguar) placed symmetrically around the axis of the doorway, on Finally, inside the

—

the temple floor,

The Mexica

and on

a

horseshoe bench built into the wall.

or Aztecs

In the thirteenth century the Mexicas arrived in the Valley

They

left their

an island

homeland, Azdan ("White Place," or "Place of Herons"), in a lake, possibly in the present-day state of Nayarit. The

name Aztec means people of themselves

as the

"Navel of the

Aztlan.

However, they

referred

Mexica, People of Mexico. The word Mexico

poses a problem, since

246

of Mexico.

had been wandering for about a century and a half after having

Moon"

it

could

—

to

itself

mean many things among them Maguey Plant," signifying

or "Center of the

i88.

Maliiialco: monolithic temple

247

289.

Hiicxotla,

Mexico: remains of fortifications

that encircled

the ceremonial center

i

248

290.

Tenochtitlan,

Mexico Aztec altar showing a carved stone skull :

andfragments of mural painting 291. 292.

Tlatelolco,

Mexico:

Tenochtitlan

:

altar

reconstruction of the

Aztec ceremonial precinct. In the and

center background, the twin temple dedicated to Tldloc

Huitzilopochtli. Injront of it, the semicircular base of the

Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl and a small ball court

Temple of

\>

of the world. The Mexica were also the People of the Sun, sun was their main deity. These Nahuatl-speaking Aztec-Mexica went from humble

the center

inasmuch

as the

beginnings to the leading

political,

economic, and military position

in ancient Mexico. Their capital, Tenochtitlan,

was

a splendid

metrop-

of about 200,000 inhabitants when the Spaniards reached it in 1519 A.D. But almost three hundred years earlier the Aztecs were

olis

nearing the end of their long pilgrimage, guided by Huitzilopochtli,

had been a tribal leader but who had died on the way from Aztlan and was deified, his ashes carried in a bundle. Supposedly he communicated with the people through his priests.

who

When custom

it

they settled in the Valley of Mexico the Aztecs, whose

was

to steal their neighbors' wives, attracted the

antagonism

of other groups. After awhile these people routed the Aztecs, who ended up in Colhuacan but who eventually were given lands in Tizapan, a barren hill overrun with poisonous snakes. After the Aztecs had lived there for saries to see if

some

time, the Colhuacan ruler sent emis-

any had survived. The Colhuacanos were amazed

see that the snakes

had not

killed the Aztecs

to

but rather had been killed

and eaten by them. of where an eagle stood upon a prickly

In 1325 Huitzilopochtli led the chosen people (as they thought

themselves) to their promised land an island in the lake :

—symbol

of the sun and of Huitzilopochtli

—

—

The prickly pear, or tenochtli Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan grew from

pear cactus, with a serpent in his talons.

—

which gave its name to the the heart of Copil, Huitzilopochtli's nephew, who had

tried to kill

god but who had himself been murdered by Aztec priests. Actually, the litde island was wanted by no one. Azcapotzalco, the most powerful city-state in the valley at that time, owned most of the land, the

including the

muddy

potzalco demanded

had not even fresh water. Azca-

island that

tribute

from

the Mexica,

which was rigorously

paid until these people overthrew the stronger city and assumed priority in the region.

From

maximum

here on (1428) the Aztec empire expanded and reached

its

splendor by 1502. Certain pockets in the great territorial

expansion, which reached north to the limits of Mesoamerica and

south to Guatemala and El Salvador, were intentionally quered.

The

left

uncon-

on the so-called War of the Aztec iconography symbolizes the heart and

object of this was to carry

Flowers (the flower

in

blood, and therefore

is

food for the sun), so that both

Aztecs and the Tlaxcalans, for example

sides

—the

—would always have prisoners

to sacrifice to the sun.

The luxury and

rich markets

found

in

Tenochtitlan and Tlate-

249

•A\V

uiuuuw

^^;^:::::-...„

ij

'»'i

iiTi»!i!

293-

Tenochtitlan: Stone of the Sun.

of Anthropology

252

Mexico City, National Museum

294.

Tenochtitlan

:

colossal statue

of Coatlicue , the earth goddess.

Mexico City, National Museum of Anthropology

[>

'

f '•t*

^

(^•'>,

*

^f

,(V

ft

r-^ »

'A

lS:

/VJ/

t

%

m '^ IK

^^^^^^^^^^K

>

'<

L-;

i

'9^^ 3'ff J

Hiifif 3K'/Jl

>v

§î

IjtV .s-

'ut

/-'4>^

J'

x^ '^.

'Sro

'Wf

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J

V'M'^^^

:l,

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'^

295-

Tetiochtitlaii

:

hypothetical reconstruction of the ancient Aztec capital.


254

296.

lolco (the latter a subordinate Aztec sister-city) tribute paid

by conquered

Model of an Aztec temple dedicated to Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl, wind god. Mexico City, National Museum of Anthropology

the

were the resuk of

peoples. According to tribute

lists

in the ^

lit

^Q .•»^-i^^

Mendoza Codex, each year Tenochtitlan received in tribute 7,000 tons of corn, more than 4,000 tons of beans, 4,000 tons of chia (a type of sage used for

and for making

oil

of of cacao, more than

a refreshing drink), 4,000 tons

more than 21,000

huauhtli (amaranth seed),

kilos

36,000 kilos of dried chile, 4,000 jars of honey, large quantities of salt, 2,079,200 lengths of cotton cloth, 296,000 lengths of vegetable fiber

and blouses, 144,000 breech

cloth, 240,000 skirts

and over

clouts,

The providing of this enormous tribute probably occupied one third of the total work time of the towns 100,000 kilos of raw cotton.

subject to Tenochtitlan.^^

The pochteca, or traveling merchants, were a powerful cog in the economic wheel. They traveled all over Mesoamerica, on special roads or by waterway, staying in special houses, taking with them human carriers loaded with fme wares that were exchanged for others. The pochteca became wealthy and often were awarded titles of nobility

—

if

duty

they lived to enjoy these privileges, for they served double

as spies, since

they could see the lay of foreign lands and observe

They

military installations.

robbed or murdered,

as

often served a casus

belli: if a

merchant was

often happened, this served as an irable

excuse to avenge them and invade a territory.^"

The

religion

every phase of

of the Aztecs was polytheistic. Gods patronized

life,

were

associated with the heavenly bodies, with

the earth, with planting and sowing, and even with steam baths,

gambling, haircutting, and bathing;

deities

themselves were seen in

weaving instruments, cooking vessels, artisans' tools, agricultural implements that were carved in the image of "monkeys, dogs, or devils

who

...

it is

such a

does not use these

The portraits

common custom effigies

that there

.

their

not an Indian

.

Olmccs, the Aztecs

greatest stone carvers since the

of

is

."^^

gods that both amaze and

terrify us,

left

not only be-

cause of their masterful sculpture but because of their symbolic concepts is

*

—such

a pair

serpents,

as Coatlicue, the earth mother-sky goddess, whose head of snakes symbolizing blood, whose skirt is a net of twisted

whose

feet

and hands are claws, whose necklace

who adorns herself with and cosmos, the generous mother

and open hands, and

skulls.

death, earth

who

terrible force that takes

it

back

Here

gives

of hearts

is life

life

and

and the

(plate 294). In contrast to these spectac-

ular pieces, the Aztecs also carved figures traits

of

cacti,

coyotes, dogs, jaguars, crickets,

their rulers, and,

is

of ordinary people, por-

with an evident love of nature, pumpkins, fleas,

and

serpents.

255

— 297-

Model of an Aztec temple dedicated to Xipe, deity of the fertility of the earth. Mexico City, National Miisciiiii of Anthropology

Tenochtitlan and Aztec Architecture

Tenochtitlan was divided into four large quarters, probably symbolic

of the four directions of the world, with the ceremonial center as the heart or fifth direction (in ancient Mesoamcrica it was beheved that and earth "must have been immense, for

the center held sky

in a circle. "^^

From

to the north, west,

eastern this

causeway

The ceremonial precinct accommodated 8,600 men dancing

together). it

this gigantic

courtyard led four causeways, those

and south leading to suburbs or smaller

to the docks

cities,

the

and lake (today dry). The reason for

orientation can be traced back, according to one sixteenth-

century chronicler, to the creation of the Fifth Sun in Teotihuacan,

when different gods faced the new sun would rise.^-*

different directions in order to see

where

Each quarter was subdivided into barrios or neighborhoods. Although each barrio had its own shrine and deity, as well as istrative buildings, the

major temples were within the ceremonial precinct,

which included not only pyramid-sanctuaries gods but

to the

a ball court, gladiatorial stone, skull rack,

and residences for

ablutions, schools, libraries,

precinct was surrounded to that at

by

a Coatepantli , or

most revered

ponds for

priests.^

ritual

The whole

"Serpent Wall," similar

Tenayuca. The sovereign's palace, however, outranked in

authority this sacred enclosure in political, economic, and even ecclesiastical affairs. ^^

As Calnek

points out, although large

ous residential quarters ad religious structures

at

and luxuri-

Teotihuacan,

they are subordinated to an architectural design that emphasizes the

dominant component ;^^ while in Tenochtitlan, there is greater independence and architectural prominence of the palace with respect to ceremonial structures. The palace of Moctezuma II occupied an estimated 2.4 hectares "approximately double the combined areas of three closely related mass of the temple-pyramid

as

its

complexes that ad the Temple of Quetzalcoatl

in the

Ciudadela

at Teotihuacan."^^

too,

One of

the reasons that Tenochtitlan (and probably Tlatelolco

with

great market)

istrative

its

system

is

demanded a strong and complex from its approximately 200,000 inhab-

that, aside

immigrant population and also a floating population of merchants and pilgrims who were constantly pouring into the city. People arrived by land and by water, since many of Tenochtitlan's streets were actually canals. The land itself was comitants,

there

was

a large

munally owned, except for property used to the royal household, the temples and priests, or government offices. Each man had a plot

of land which he could use during

the rights to his heirs. If a

years he

256

man

was onished, and

if

his lifetime

and then leave

failed to cultivate his land for

two

he ignored the warning, a year

later

,

298

.

Small model of a round temple dedicated to Qtietzalcoatl-Ehecatl Mexico City, National Museum of Anthropology

the u'iiidiôd.

was returned to the communal property, then assigned

his plot

more

to a

industrious farmer.

we

tecture,

than by

when we want

unfortunate that

It is

its

of Aztec archi-

to speak

must be guided by the old Spanish chronicles rather

Not

material remains.

a

temple or palace

—not even those

—

of Cortes' Indian allies escaped brutal and systematic destruction at the hands of the proud conquistadors or sacrifice to the missionaries' rehgious zeal. Fragments of the walls at Huexotla (plate 289), near Texcoco, are still standing, and we find a few remains of other buildings from that era, such as part of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan

and some bases from Tlatelolco

majorit)'

of the

cities

(plate

291); but the great

then flourishing had their buildings virtually

razed and others substituted according to the dictates of their

new

Spanish masters.

This was particularly true of the ancient Aztec capital, which

Cortes reduced to a heap of rubble in the course of overcoming native resistance, thus laying the

foundation for a

new

capital several years

process of evangelization and acculturation, the terrible of persons and things has generally left us with only whatever architectural evidence happened to be protected by its own debris some small altars (plate 290) and statues (plate 294), or simple later. In tliis

annihilation

—

remains of much larger buildings,

among which we

occasionally find

rare painted sections.

And

so,

mentioned

except for the small clay representations that

(plates

296-301),

we arc forced

of the conquerors themselves, with enthusiasm.

From

to rely

we have

on the commentaries

the attendant irony of their

all

the pen of Bernal Diaz del Castillo comes an ac-

somewhat wide-eyed, of the marvelous sight Spanish on approaching the city of Iztapalapa, a vas-

count, occasionally

beheld by the salage

from

of the Aztec empire that controlled access to Tenochtitlan the south:

"And when we saw

villages built in the water,

so

many

cities

and populous

and other great towns on sohd ground,

went toward Mexico, we were amazed and some of our soldiers asked themselves if they were dreaming ... by seeing so many things unheard-of, and

that

causeway that was so .

nor even dreamt of!

And

.

straight

and

level as

it

.

after

we

entered that city of Iztapalapa,

which they lodged us! How large and wellbuilt they were, of excellent stonework, and the wood of cedars and other good sweet-smelling trees, with great courts and rooms the sight of the palaces in

.

all

tented in cotton. After having looked well at

the gardens, that I

were

a

never tired of looking

all that,

.

we went

thing wonderful to see and to walk

in,

.

to

so that

of trees and colors in each one, and other flowers, and many fruit trees at the diversity

and beds full of roses and a pond full of sweet water.

.

And another remarkable

thing

.

.

we saw 257

299-

Model of an Aztec temple. Mexico

City, National

Museum

of

Model of an Aztec temple decorated in

300.

Anthropology

City, National

Museum

andfrescoes. Mexico

stucco

>

of Anthropology

were the large canoes that could enter the garden from the lake through an opening they had cut, without landing aground; and everything all very whitewashed and shining, with so many kinds of stones and paintings on them that one would never tire of gazing at them; and the different kinds and breeds of birds that came to the pond.

.

Or,

.

Now all

.

razed, lost, nothing remains!"^

is

listen to Cortes,

Spain, the splendor of

attempting to convey to Charles V, King of

Moctezuma's

"As

palaces:

Moctezuma's

to

surroundings, the irable things he had, their grandeur and condition, there

where

is

much

so

to begin

.

.

.

to write that

because

as I

I

assure

have

said,

Your Majesty

know

not

any magnificence

there

is

I

greater than that a barbarian gentleman like this one has had copied in

gold and

silver

and stone and feathers

all

the things under the heavens

his domain So natural is the work in gold and silver no smith in the world who could do it better. And reason cannot comprehend with what tools they make the stonework so perfect, and the featherwork, so that it could not be done more

to

be found in

that there

!

is

marvelously

in

wax nor

lodging inside the

me

in

city, so

any embroidery.

many and

He

has his houses for

so marvelous, that

almost impossible to describe the excellence and

especially since their like does not exist in Spain.

size

it

seemed

of them

.

to .

.

"^^

Fray Juan de Torquemada helps us to imagine what the inside of

room looked

of it, every corner, very clean, pohshed, carpeted and tapestried with walls of cotton and feathers in many colors ..." He notes with iration that in the care of their palaces a

like:

"all

them very well whitebuilding, or some wall, lost

"these idolators were very solicitous to keep

washed and white. And when part of the its coating or became dull, it was immediately whitewashed and plastered again by officials in charge of this, who did nothing else nor served in any other capacity ..." The good friar waxes ecstatic in describing the roofs of the sanctuaries, which "were of diverse and varied shapes some of wood, and others of a straw like rye beautifully worked, some being pyramidal, some square, some round, and some of other forms. And they made them so well that they did not seem made of actual material, but of very fine and delicate .

.

.

.

.

.

brushwork."^"

There are of course many chronicles, and even some simple maps, describing such elements as the sacred precinct of Tenochtitlan. These documents, plus data from what excavations have been possible in the heart of Mexico City, have served as the basis of Ignacio Marquina's

attempt to construct a model

illustrate those ancient

s (plate 292).

that

could

Here we

somehow many

see the

buildings that constituted the principal Aztec ceremonial center. are surrounded

258

by

a Coatepantli, or

They

"Serpent Wall," inspired not only

îttip^-

—

,

301.

Model of an Aztec temple dedicated to Qtietzalcoatl-Ehecatl the n'iiidgod. Mexico City, National Museum of Anthropology

by Tenayuca but perhaps also by the fortifications of Huexotla (plate 289). As in Tenayuca, Tcnochtitlan's Great Temple stands out in the center, displaying a twin stairway and two sanctuaries. One is dedicated to the god Tlaloc, the major deity of the agricultural peoples of the Mexican plateau throughout fifteen centuries, the other to Huitzilopochtli, the young and bellicose god of sun and war and the Aztec

tribal deity.

In front

of

Ehecatl, with

and

twin temple

this

its

another

rises

customary semicircular

base.

two

sacred precinct stand the tion in the Aztec

world, the Calmecac and the

—although

Telpochcalli

—one

pursuits.

Bernal Diaz del Castillo laments,

nothing remains!"

altars,

of the

either side

principal institutions of higher educa-

devoted to religion and the other to military razed, lost,

Other temples,

On

platforms complete the complex.

ritual

And

—that of Quetzalcoatl-

"Now

—some imposing examples of

all

is

a vigor-

ous and monumental sculpture have survived to echo the magnificence of Aztec culture, a society that not without reason considered

chosen people. The- culmination and formi-

itself Huitzilopochtli's

dable synthesis of a large and fruitful cultural tradition on the Mexican plateau, Aztec sculpture ranks high in the artistic

Mesoamerica. irably worked reflected

the tenacious,

fearless,

in

panorama of

very hard stone (which

all

in itself

and proud Aztec temperament),

broadened and enriched the Indian artistic repertory into what ."^^ Miguel Covarrubias called "the last and most spectacular flash

it

.

.

As one among many first-class examples of art combined with architecture, we might cite the Stone of the Sun a masterly synthesis of

—

the particular cosmological ideas of the ancient Mexicans (plate 293).

map fragment

which one can see the extraordinary urban arrangement of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan a unique lake city. This city plan has, in fact, been the object of many studies and hypothetical reconstructions. Let us examine an eyewitness by the conquistadors of their first view of Tlatclolco, Tcnochtitlan's ancient twin city, which the Aztecs had absorbed in their There

exists a small

territorial

expansion.

enormous

tianguis,

Salamanca,

all

appears to the

(It

it

is

sold in this

own

its

way

and

selling.

with

its

as

twice the size of

top of the great

cu,

.

.

Each kind of

they maintain good order. "^^

the great cu, or temple, of Tlatelolco

on the

Moctezuma came out of

.

without itting any other

street,

moving of climbing

Bernal Diaz del Castillo leaves us his

260

,

surrounded by entrances, where daily there are over

commodity, and

>>-Vi,'V^,7^:.i

295

in plate

much

as a plaza "as

thousand creatures buying

merchandise

left

or open-air market, adjacent to the ceremonial

center.) Cortes describes

sixty

in

little

:

"And

plaza that

a sanctuary

.

.

after

we

climbed to the

was higher up there and with him came two .

.

.

.

!

who

priests

homage

paid great

to Cortes.

took him by the hand and bade him look other land

cities that all

were

there in the

would be

looked it

at

because that great

it,

.

and

at his great city

many

said that if

able to

Then [Moctezuma]

.

water and the

around the same lake; and

great plaza properly he

.

do

so

the

all

other towns on

he had not seen the

from

here.

And

we

so

and accursed temple was so high that

And so we saw the three causeways that And we saw the sweet water coming from the city. And on those three causeways [we

towered over everything.

enter into Mexico.

.

.

Chapultepcc to supply

.

saw] bridges that they had

made

through which the

at intervals,

And we saw in of canoes, some coming with provisions and others returning with cargoes and merchandise. And we saw that to leave any house of that great city, or those of any of these cities

grass

and

and above

thickets, "^^ it

an eagle

where sat,

devouring

system

o£chitiai}ipas

securing

them with

those

cities

temples and chapels built like towers and fortresses,

and on the causeways other

little

fortress-like

flat

a skillfully

conceived urban plan, so that by the

of an empire.

guarded by a

Its

series

location

us

were

in

would come an abrupt

all

nothing could hold back:

a lake

other peoples

And among

Whence Whence

and

grew according

to

decade before the

last

— the three access causeways —assured of a it

riches, the Aztecs

—unaware that

halt to the rising

at

of a

all

hurled their

too soon there

star that

it

had seemed

the eagles alight,

the jaguars stalk,

There the Sun

invoked.

is

Like a sinking shield Is

In

the setting Sun.

Mexico night

War

This glowing continues with a description of each of the

War

of people.

filling

roofs,

order, and so

good

on

of power and

to

who had been in many parts of the world — in ConRome and in all of Italy — and they said they had never

seen a plaza so well laid out, so large and in such

By

Confident of the glorious destiny awaiting the People of the Sun, crest

soldiers

stantinople, in

full

away.

and

impregnable position under the conditions prevailing

at

towers and temples.

a league

the city

mud

laden with

of bastions and drawbridges

and riding on the

after we looked long, and considered all we had seen, we turned view the huge plaza and the multitude of people that were there, to some buying and others selling, so that just the sound, the buzzing of

more than

little

Spanish Conquest the city had become the magnificent chief metropolis

challenging chant

And

the voices there could be heard

by

cypresses planted for the purpose.

that time in the Indian world.

whitened, and things of beauty; and [we saw] houses with

rafts

consolidating these floating islands, Tenochtitlan

practically

upon the water, one could not from one abode that another save by wooden drawbridges or in canoes. And we saw

a serpent. Little

formed by sinking great

that great lake a vast array

built

bush grew on the rocks

encroached on the shallow waters of the lake by an ingenious regional

waters of the lake ed from one part to another.

were

a prickly pear

strikes

is

falling.

everywhere.

Oh, Giver of Life

"^•^

is

coming.

three causeways leading to dry land being "as

two

lances

ride across as

wide as the length of and very well made, so that eight horsemen abreast can

it.

. .

.

" Cortes described the principal streets of the city

"very wide and straight; some of

these,

and

all

those of lesser im-

portance, are half of land and the other half of water, and the natives

them in their canoes; all the streets are open at intervals, through which the water es back and forth; and over all these openings, some of which are very wide, there are their bridges, of broad beams frequently tied together, strong and well made, so that traverse

ten

horsemen abreast might ."^

The immense the year 1519 a.d.

saw toward the end of than two centuries before,

lake city that the Spaniards

had been founded

less

under the most precarious conditions and following

a long,

hazardous

nomadic existence on the part of what was then merely a tribe of obscure origins. The city rose around some rocky islands that had constituted the original nucleus,

"among

rushes and cane-breaks, reed

Proud of itself Stands the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan.

Here no one fears death This is our glory. This is your command. Oh, Giver of Life!

in war.

Bear witness, oh princes. Lest ye forget

Who Who

it.

can lay siege to Tenochtitlan? can shake the foundations of Heaven?

With our arrows, With our shields, The city lives. Mexico-Tenochtitlan endures !^*

261

:

Chapter Seven

THE POST-CLASSIC PERIOD IN OTHER REGIONS

Cholula

With

the decHne of Teotihuacan, Cholula surged upward and in time became one of the greatest market and pilgrimage centers of Meso-

america. In the Late Classic period (700-800 A. d.) the acropolis-pyramid

ceremonial center was definitely abandoned and religious and civic structures

moved

to the site

As we have said before, on the site where the St.

Many

now

occupied by the town of Cholula.

god Quetzalcoatl stood

the sanctuary of the

now stands.

Francis monastery

changes can be seen through archaeological remains in

the Early Post-Classic.^

Through ceramics we

see

two new

traditions

penetrating the Puebla-Tlaxcala area: one the Xicotencatl tradition

coming from northwestern Mexico, and another the XicalancaOlmec, from Tabasco and the Gulf Coast, undoubtedly associated with the rich cacao trade. Changes are seen also in skeletal remains and

in

funerary customs

mated remains

by was

;

the latter include a predominance of cre-

in jars. All these

in turn displaced

by

changes indicate a conquest of Cholula

The

the Xicalanca-Olmecs.

control of the area

a Toltec invasion after the

by

fall

these people

of Tula,

in the

twelfth century.

By

the time of the Late Post-Classic (1325-1500 a.d.) the earlier

traditions

had been absorbed and formed

strong Mixtec and Gulf influences.

Many

a unity, with,

however,

remains of human

sacrifice,

including group massacres and mutilations of cadavers, correspond to this period. Ritual burial

fmd

this also in Tlatelolco)

:

of

parts

young

common (we

of the were buried separately; they

the cranium, hands or feet, portions

vertebrae, or segments of the trunk usually belonged to

of the body was

adults

between eighteen and

thirty years

of age.^

When

Cortes and

his

men

reached Cholula in 1519, en route to

were received in a contemptuous manner. Nevertheless, the Spanish captain was finally invited into the city but was requested to leave the bulk of his troops outside. The Europeans were soon advised by the Tlaxcalans who were by then their allies that the invitation to Cholula was an ambush, prepared by the city fathers by order of Moctezuma. Cortes then attacked, favored by an element of surprise, and slaughtered thousands of Cholulans. Bernal Diaz del Castillo, one of Cortes' soldiers who wrote about the Tenochtitlan,

they

—

—

conquest, describes Cholula as the Spanish

first

saw

it,

before this

massacre

302.

Ccinpoala, Veracruz: plan of the main ceremonial precinct.

Temple

2.

4, 5. Buildings

262

Temple of the "Chimneys" annexed to the Great Pyramid

3.

1.

Great

Great Pyramid

The

city

of Cholula

much

resembled Valladolid,

bemg

m

a

very thickly inhabited; it is surrounded by fields of maize, pepper, and maguey. They had an excellent manufac-

fertile plain,

303

.

view of the main plaza showing the Temple of the "Chimneys," an altar, and one of the tanksfor ritual ablutions Cciiipoala

:

263

:

Cciiipoala:

304.

Temple

oj

Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl

ture of earthenware, of three colors, red,

and white,

black,

painted in different patterns, with which Mexico and

neighboring countries were supplied, Talavera and Plasencia.

The

had

city

the

by those of time above a hun-

as Castille

at that

all

is

dred lofty white towers, which were the temples of their

was placed

J

idols,

one of which was held in peculiar veneration. The principal temple was higher than that of Mexico, and each of these buildings

'•

,''

7v"

" /.

>

-

'

in a spacious court.^

by the Toltecs, was would seem, was revered as Duran wrote in the sixteenth

Quetzalcoatl, probably brought to Cholula the city's patron deity, and only here,

the

god of merchants. About

this,

it

century

[Quetzalcoatl]

.

.

.

was the god and patron of the Cholultecs,

highly exalted and celebrated to the extent that on the day of his

were merchants and wealthy people, they celebrated a superb, a costly feast for the god called Quetzalcoatl, the deity of the merchants. They spent all they had earned during the year to sur the other cities and to show and make evident the grandeur and opulence of Cholula. celebration, since the Cholultecs

Today [c. 1576] the and commerce with

.

.

trade

.

natives of Cholula continue their different

merchandise,

traveling

through the most remote and distant parts of the land, such

Cuauhtcmallan [Guatemala] and Xoconochco, and mines, with

coasts

their loads

of peddlers'

all

.1

.

vv

as

along those

trinkets, just as

--^-f^B^^

they did in ancient times.

This god Quetzalcoatl was adored in

all

the villages

of the

where he stood in a lofty and prominent temple, in whose courtyard the Marques del Valle, Don Hernando Cortes, ordered a massacre of five hundred natives. He had asked them to bring food, and in its place they had brought firewood. This went on for three days, and on the third day all were slaughtered. After this [the hidians] brought food land, especially in Cholula,

not only to the

human

beings but to the horses, so that

they brought a turkey for a horse

man

when

they brought another for his

.'* .

.

There were so many ancient shrines

in

Cholula that the Spanish,

building a church in place of each, supposedly constructed 365,

one for every day

in the year. This tale

is

more fancy than

fact,

how-

ever, for there are far fewer, although the church to Nuestra Sefiora

de

los

264

Remedios, atop the ancient pyramid,

attracts pilgrims

from

all

iA^'Âl

Ife I.'

^

*'

vf^

.J.-i y-^

-y -

%"U ^2li'

mi.

'V'dC'

»JvS.»'^

305.

Cetnpoala: detail of another semicircular temple Qiietzalcoatl-Eliecatl

266

to

3o6.

over the country on her

Quiahiiiztlaii, Veracruz: small temple-shaped tombs

feast day, just as Quetzalcoatl did centuries

ago.

Gulf of Mexico During the Post-Classic period (900-1500 a.d.) the Gulf region became dotted with many rich cities the largest was Cempoala. When the Spaniards reached Veracruz, a scout saw the clean whitewashed Cempoala and Post-Classic Architecture

in the

;

of the city and rushed back to Cortes to tell him that Cempoala was made of silver.^ It was in Cempoala that Cortes met the Totonac chieftain who complained about tribute exacted by Moctezuma, and who became the Spaniards' ally. It was also in Cempoala that Narwalls

vaez, having been sent

by the governor of Cuba, Velazquez, Mexico (Cortes' glory was dimming

prisoner the invaders of

to take that

of

Velazquez), fought with Cortes in a battle that ended in Narvaez losing

one eye and

Some

all

his troops,

ancient religious rites

Dance

who went

over to the other

from

Veracruz region

this

side. still

sur-

which was adopted by many regions in Mexico. This dance is executed on a tiny platform at the summit of an extremely high pole made from the finest tree in the forest. Five "flyers" represent the four cardinal directions and the center of the earth. The person in the center dances and plays a drum on the little platform while the other four, dressed as macaws, symbolic of the sun, secured to the top by ropes, hurl themselves in the air, face down. As they fly round and round, they play on flutes. Each flyer makes thirteen turns around the pole as he descends, to-

vive, mainly the Flyers'

(El Volador),

taling fifty-two, equivalent to the 52-year ancient time cycle.

The

revered as if it were sacred, is given offerings and is deferred to were a live deity. It is called Tota, "Our Father." That this has deep magic significance is shown by an accident in 1966 when two of pole

is

as if

it

the flyers in a Volador performance

fell

and were

killed.

of the group blamed the accident on the absence of

The

captain

a sacrificed hen,

whose blood should be sprinkled on the tree's base, together with A hen was not available and was eliminated from the

mezcal liquor. rite,

with tragic

results.^

In the Post-Classic, the

Huaxtecs of the northern Gulf area con-

tinued to build round structures.

The

people, dressed in brilliantly

colored clothing, wore spectacular jewelry and painted their hair red

or yellow.

The Aztecs regarded

the Huaxtecs as sensual, immoral,

given to sexual excesses, but

at the same time called their rich land of Foods. "Tlazolteod, one of the Aztec goddesses of love and childbirth, originally came from the Huaxtec region. And since the Huaxtecs kept developing an architecture of simple rec-

Tonacatlalpan , "Place

267

307.

Yagul, Oaxaca : plan of the city

tangular or semicircular bases and generally rounded corners,

Taj in continued

its

El

evolution up to the twelfth or thirteenth century,

finally diminishing in

importance and yielding

its

place to such cities

Cempoala, which would witness the Spanish Conquest. The last capital of the Totonac kingdom (and at the time a vassalage of the Aztec empire), Cempoala reveals in its architecture as

the profound changes, both political and cultural, that occurred in this

region during the second half of the Post-Classic period. Far from

perpetuating the tahlero with beveled cornices and niches or

frets,

new Tomarked regional tendencies seems a departure from the mainstream. The buildings in the ceremonial center (plate 302) are arranged around large esplanades surrounded by walls, erected for defensive purposes and for protection from the which had

lent such a lively note to El Tajin's buildings, the

tonac architecture

rising river

formed

—despite

—

its

during the rainy season.

in general

by

a stepped series

Its

bases are simple volumes,

We note

of sloping bodies.

presence of semicircular buildings (plates 304, 305)

—

the

a style origi-

nating perhaps with the natives of Tula and subsequently developed

by other peoples who,

We

also

fmd

like the Aztecs, contributed to

wide diffusion.

its

strange circular constructions in different sizes in front

of some of the temples

(plate

303)

ablutions. These, like the majority

—

altars

and ponds for ceremonial

of Cempoala's buildings (including

the walls girding each ceremonial complex), are delineated at the top

by a series of stepped merlons that help give unity to the complex. Augmenting this is the texture provided by the use of boulders as a building material (plate 305). In speaking

of regional

characteristics,

the cemeteries, where, as in Quiahuiztlan

where Cortes landed ture temples,

all

—we fmd

for the

clusters

most part

wc must

—located

of tombs

in the

not overlook

near the beach

shape of minia-

scarcely over 39 inches

(1

m.) high

(plate 306).

Oaxaca

in the Post-Classic

Period

Monte Alban, like other great Classic centers, went into a decline. The Zapotec capital was moved to Zaachila and continued there until the Conquest in 1521. The valley is still inhabited Around 800

a.d.

by Zapotec-speaking people. As in other parts of Mesoamerica, militarism was on the rise. The Mixtecs came down from their mountains, eventually conquering the Zapotecs or allying themselves with them by marriage. Between 1000 and 1200 a.d. a Toltec penetration left its mark upon the Mixtecs and perhaps was responsible for a stimulus in the

When

268

the Aztecs conquered parts of Oaxaca

arts.

toward the middle of the

— 308. 309.

Mitia, Oaxaca : plan of the Palace of the

Columns

MitIa: Palace of the Cohimns. Sections of the north building of the second quadrangle and of the antechamber of the Place of the

fifteenth century they state

Coixtlahuaca,

The Mixtecs

found

still

that Atonal, ruler

thought of himself as

left their

Toltec

a

mark on Zapotec

of the powerful

cities

Columns

city-

ruler.'^

such

as

Mitla in

form of facades of stone mosaic. Other Mixtec markers arc highly polished polychrome pottery with codex-type decoration, bone the

carving

—

with codex-type themes-

also

—alabaster

and rock

crystal

Qd

making of codices mainly with genealogical subjects, and exquisite metallurgy done mostly by the cire perdue technique. In the latter, a sun-dried mold made of clay and charcoal was covered lapidary, the

000000

with a thin layer of beeswax, then with another coating of clay with a small opening, in which molten gold or silver was poured. The metal melted, replaced the wax, and thus formed the piece ofjewelry.

The magnificent Mixtec craftsmen not only influenced the Aztecs but probably were taken to Tenochtitlan to work there as artisans. The social organization of the Mixtecs differed in some aspects from that of other Mesoamerican groups. Women were more powerful and at times ruled the city-states. They also went to war, either in actual fact or as military directors, as we see in representations from

I

20

10 I

I

I

D

I

1

I

m

Sometimes transmission of rules was matrilineal, at other times the eldest son inherited from the father and the second son was heir to his mother's territory. In the state of Oaxaca matriarchies still exist. The Mixtecs today inhabit some parts of the state (in the area called Nuiiie by Paddock, for -example), and descendants of the rulers of the Yanhuitlan seignory related to those of Zaachila, Tilantongo, Tamazula, Cuilapan, and the Nuttall, Selden, and Bodley codices.

Chachuapan

—

still

live in the

Yanhuitlan

Mitla and Post-Classic Architecture

The

brilliant cultural trajectory

centuries. This majestic

the

power of

for a time

in

Oaxaca

of Monte Alban spanned over

Zapotec metropolis was

the highland Mixtecs,

and even buried

The famous Tomb jewels wrought in

area.^

their

own

who dead

fifteen

finally to fall before

continued to occupy

in ancient

it

Zapotec tombs.

7 has bequeathed us an inestimable treasury

of fine

gold, silver, rock crystal, and other precious and

semiprecious materials.

The

Oaxaca region, starting with the Early Post-Classic era, begins to take on a more residential, civic, and courtly character. In cities such as Yagul, numerous palaces are grouped around plazas and patios, often in a dense, closed pattern of quadrangles (plate 307). architecture that developed in the

Mitla, the

mountaintop of the

new

new like

valley rather — built Alban — represents the ultimate

sacred city

Monte

architectural ideas, in

in a

both

its

than on a expression

characteristic distribution

269

310.

270

Mitla : Palace of the Columns. Detail of the main facade

311.

Mitla ; Palace of the Columns. Antechamber

^

•;'*!•.

271

312.

Mitla: Palace of the Columns. Detail of the

313.

Mitla : Palace of the Columns. Detail of the steppedfret wall decoration

272

ulterior patio t>

4

—

.

m-V\s^ t, J.,^

.

•

314-

Chicken Itzd, Yucatan : plan of the northern part of the city. J. Well of Sacrifices 2. Ball Court 3. Tzompantli 4. 6.

Platform of the faguars and Eagles 5. Platform of Venus Temple of the Warriors 7. Castillo 8. Group of the

Thousand Columns Tomb of the High 13. Municipal Well 11.

Painted Reliefs

9.

Priest

16.

Market 12.

14. Caracol

W. Ball Court Red House 15.

Temple of the

Nunnery Quadrangle

of buildings

in quadrangles and in its extraordinary ornamentation of facades, found even on tombs hidden beneath some of the galleries. The best-preserved structure, and the one most clearly embodying

the spirit

of

this architecture,

308-313).

Its

layout gives primary importance to a broad, elongated

antechamber that leads directly to the chambers are disposed around a patio (plates 309, 311).

From

of

a constructional point

enormous monolithic

lintels

Columns

the Palace of the

is

view^,

it is

(plates

which

in the rear,

surprising to see the

of the doors and the elegant columns

monolithic) that help the roof of the antechamber.

(also

Yet even more astonishing

is

way

made: we fmd almost unbelievable, inasmuch as

the

here a degree of precision that

is

the walls are

Mesoamerican technology knew nothing of the harder metals, having in this era just begun to work with gold, silver, and copper according to techniques possibly imported from the south. Cut and assembled with the delicate care of a goldsmith as became the artisans of a region so outstanding in the working of ceramics and precious metals, and the cutting of fme stones building stone was transformed at Mitla into a kind of lacework, resulting in elongated s in which we can see as many as fourteen versions of the stepped fret design so common in pre-Hispanic art and one of the

—

—

favorite motifs in the ceramics

of the region

These rich s, worked

Maya

in soft limestone,

of the

influence. In the interiors

horizontal bands

(plate

(plate 313).

312); on

halls

we

seem

see

to reflect a

them

in simple

the exterior facades they create an

undulating rhythm, their smooth surfaces and characteristic breaks underlined by frames clearly derived from the Classic Zapotec in

its

fmal phase (plate 310).

corners, similar

which imparts to that found in

completely different

We

tablero

note a slight incline in the outer

a certain illusion

of curvature somewhat

several buildings at

Tulum, although

in a

spirit.

—

But what Mitla gained in sumptuousness an ornamental richin monumentality it lost ness only appreciated from a distance and in the kind of grandeur that for so many centuries had made Monte Alban one of the loftiest spiritual sites in Mesoamerica.

—

Finally,

numerous

we

can include in

this region's architectural

repertory

representations of buildings that appear in the Mixtec

codices; despite their unique style and their clearly conventional character, these reproductions give us

some

idea of the vast spectrum

of forms employed.

The Post-Classic Maya

Toward

274

the

end of the

Classic period, the Putiin (Chontal

Maya),

315-

Chichai Itzd : astronomical observatory (the Caracal)

^x

«

y,-^^maBts^ttM^'-

275

3 1 6.

317.

Chichai Itzd :

section

Chicheii Itzd

Caracol. Plan of the observation chamber showing

:

the spiral stairway

of the Caracal

and the

Chichen Itzd: Castillo, or Temple of Ktilkulkdn seen from summit of the Temple of the Warriors [>

318.

three apertures oriented

,

the

toward precise

astronomical directions

an aggressive trading group and

brought

a

new

element to

Maya

the

of Mesoamerica,

seafarers

The

culture.

Putiin culture and

people were hybrid Maya-Nahuat, having received some Mexican

blood and

many

bold habits from Nahuat-speaking (an early form of

the Nahuatl language) neighbors near their original

Campeche and

the delta of the

home

in

southern

Usumacinta and Grijalva

rivers in

Tabasco. These people were traveling merchants and seem to have

been

little

interested in art, architecture, or astronomy, in contrast to

Maya east and northeast of them.

the

The following

data on the Putiin and their tremendous impact

on the Late Classic and Post-Classic Maya world was gathered by Thompson.^ The Putiin controlled the sea routes around the Yucatan peninsula. Called the Itza in Yucatan, a branch of these people es-

of Cozumel. From here they crossed the mainland and conquered many centers, including Chichen (in

tablished themselves to

918

A.D.).

on the

island

When, according

to

sources,

Quetzalcoatl (called Kulkulkan in the

with

his followers in either the tenth

the Toltec culture hero

Maya

tongue) fled from Tula

or the twelfth century, these

Toltecs found a central Mexican-type culture in Chichen Itza, and

brought Putiin (c.

still

more Toltec-Mexican

groups had

earlier

influence

won temporary

Yucatan.

Other

control of Yaxchilan

de

Sacrificios,

of the Pasion and Chixoy on the Pasion, was conquered around 850, and other

rivers. Sei-

730 A.D.) and had established a trading base

at Altar

a strategic point at the ing bal,

to

Belize River drainage followed. In Seibal

we

see

sites in

non-Maya

the

features

of chieftains portrayed on the stelae. With the end of the Classic period and the overthrow of the

newer Putiin leaders also lost their power in this region. Some of the Putiin went south of the Pasion River and gave their new land the same name as that of their homeland Acalan, "Land of the Canoe People." There they continued, independent, until 1695, and were called the Lacandon. The Itza, after abandoning Chichen in the twelfth century, went to Peten-Itza in Guatemala, where they were not subdued until 1697, by the Spaniards. A good deal of the Maya region was controlled partially or absolutely by the Putiin between 850 and 950 a.d., from Tabasco and Campeche in the west, to the east coast of the Yucatan peninsula, from the northern tip of this peninsula, south to below the Pasion drainage in Guatemala. The most marked Putiin influence is found

Maya

nobility the

:

/

y

y

at

Chichen

Itza.

Central Mexican influence

is

also clearly seen at

Puuc sites such as Uxmal and Kabah. The Xiuh, rulers of Uxmal, were conscious of their Toltec ancestry. The three principal Maya cities Chichen Itza, Uxmal, and

—

276

« V

319-

Chicken Itzd : Castillo

320.

Chicken Itzd : the

278

Castillo. Detail

main stairway

>

of a plumed serpent's head at the foot of

321.

chicken Itzd: Redjaguar Throne

Mayapan

—formed

the so-called Triple Alliance in 1194 a.d.

alliance offered protection not

other, since

three

all

were

central highland influence

The

only against outsiders but from each

bellicose.

Only

a

century or so earlier the

had brought about an

artistic

and com-

mercial renaissance, with a diffusion of Toltec culture, metallurgy

(probably introduced from Central America), thin orange pottery

from Veracruz and Tabasco, lead-colored pottery from Guatemala, alabaster vessels from Honduras, Mixtec-inspired turquoise mosaics and codex-style murals at Tulum and Santa Rita.^" But after the Triple Alliance Maya civilization went into a decline. Mayapan eventually assumed political control, which it retained with the help of Aztec mercenaries. Cities were fortified, human sacrifice became more and more common, the arts stagnated. Mayapan fell in 1460 A.D. With the Conquest of 1541, Montejo took T'ho (modern Merida) for the Spaniards.

Maya-Tokec

The

Architecture of Chicken Itzd

architecture that developed in

Chichen

under Toltec rule

Itza

the impact on their surroundings of this group from the Mexican plateau. In scene after

dramatically illustrates

young and scene

bellicose

—carved

gold repousse

and armed

in relief

work

on

—we

see these

new and

in Toltec style, in the act

or, transported in boats

hammered

stone, painted in murals, or

in

zealous masters, garbed

of conquering

Maya

a

village

by Maya oarsmen, preening themselves

as

they patrol the Yucatan coast. It

would, however, be incorrect to regard the

the Toltecs at

Chichen

Itza

merely

at that time in far-away Tula.

in

many of the hybrid

arts

On

when

as a replica

as a

under

of what was being done

the contrary

—and

as

often happens

the conquered peoples have a richer

cultural tradition than their conquerors

simply

art created

— Chichen

Itza

emerges not

"bigger and better" version of Tula, for that metropolis

of the Mexican plateau seems too modest and provincial to have been able to inspire all the things that made the new Chichen Itza such a fascinating city.

To

a large extent, the elements

of the

new

city reflect a total

break with the Yucatan peninsula's Classic traditions and suggest the sudden imposition of a cultural vocabulary undeniably

Mexican

But we find here such a sure hand and such creativity in the handling of these elements that we are led to suspect an active local participation in the development of what is known as Toltec art. In of this hypothesis, some authors including George Kubler and Roman Pina Chan state that in certain buildings at Chichen Itza we sometimes find the evolutionary phases of elements that in origin.

—

—

280

322, 323- chicken Itzd: Castillo. Section and plan

Chicken Itzd: plan of the main buildings in the ceremonial precinct. 2. Temple of the Warriors 1. Ball Court

324.

3. Castillo

I

10

15

I

I

10 .T

I

I

I

I

oj the

the

Thousand Columns

5.

Market

Temple of the Warriors

DOODDOD aaDDDDDD

T]

5

Group of

Chichen Itzd : plan

325.

I

4.

I

20

30

I

281

3

Chichen Itzd : plan of the Market

26.

Chichen Itzd : columns of the patio

327.

appear in Tula only in the

Maya

touch of the

Market

[>

And beneath this undeniable we can detect the master

final stage."

young and vigorous

influence of a

inside the

tradition

craftsman.

An

outstanding example of this cultural hybridization is found famous astronomical observatory known as the Caracol (plates 315-317). The product of several construction phases, this building has an interesting circular shape a form practically nonexistent in in the

—

Maya

Classic

architecture

Rio Bee area). During this era, comeback on the Mexican plateau.

recently in the

made

a

Like

of Chichen

all

elements of

tower found

(except for a cylindrical

form seems

the

have

Caracol retains the

Itza's architecture, the

regional stamp

to

—

an excellence in the cutting and of the corbel vault; and the Maya decorative features of beveled moldings and masks of Chac. But we find its

fitting of stone; the use

5 1

I

10 I

IS 1

many

as well: the plumed serpents that adorn of the access stairway; the heads of Toltcc warriors

Toltec contributions

T

the

alfardas

border the upper platform; and the sculptural merlons that

that

once crowned the observation tower. Surrounded by two circular, concentric corridors, the central body of this tower suggests a huge, thick

mushroom

(plate 315), perforated at a

stairway (whence the (plate

name

point by a narrow spiral

Caracol, meaning "snail").

The

stairway

chamber whose windows, still visible, complex sequence of astronomical references, confirming

317) leads to a semiruined

embody

a

former function

fully the building's

The break with old layout

as

an observatory.

regional traditions

is

seen even in the urban

with buildings departing from

itself,

placement (acropolis-type or

their

in a quadrangle) to stand squarely in

the middle of large esplanades. Their orientation

—that

accordance with the rules laid

in

is,

compact

usual

is

usually

down

in

"Mexican" the central

plateau centuries before (plate 314).

of Chichen

In the center

esplanade fusion

rises

— the

relatively

the

Itza's

most glorious

Castillo, or

immense and

fruit

this

Temple of Kulkulkan

Maya-Toltec

beyond

and daring

(plates 318, 319).

in

its

its

cities, this

it sits

apart

mentality

is

building

Chichen

lines, inspired

282

impres-

Spectacular structure in

Much of its monu-

due to the majestic proportions of the stepped

ascent

is

by

at

Itza.

base,

subtly underlined by a succession of protruding

moldings that become gradually smaller toward the top version.

is

Of

from any other

status as the largest in

placement,

the center of the gigantic esplanade (plate 324).

whose

cultural

moderate dimensions compared with some of the bases

Teotihuacan, Cholula, Tikal, and other sive well

of

irregular principal

the Toltec tahlero, appear

here in

— and whose

an infinitely softer

We note the rounded corners and a general delicacy of shape

(>:'*:

ry/£

^r1^^*

m v*'*s

y?-^^

f^^'^n

>*-

^^H-ii^H 4

"^T?^

^

^ r^* ••\;

j i

,

^

^^^^^^^Ô^^^B

; fl^^^H

,

t^l^^^Kj

-Vt%«ii

<^^

-fi '-C-

41 HP'

1

1

^^K

^.

M^Vi

^-.H .

>

328.

Temple of the Warriors. Plan indicating the superimposed structures and part of the colonnade of the Group of the Thousand Columns

329.

Chichen Itzd: Temple of the Warriors and part of the Group of the Thousand Columns seen from the summit of the Castillo [>

Chicliai Itzd:

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330.

Chichai Itza chac-mool statue :

at the entrance to the

Temple

of

Chichai Itza

331.

:

Temple of the Warriors. Detail showing

and the chac-mool

the Warriors

that

is

statue

usually alien to Toltec sensibilities.

building origins,

the pillars

\>

—

Yet many elements of the accurately, Mexican tradition. There are the

show Toltec or perhaps more springing from the central plateau

heads at the foot of the principal stairway (plate 320); the serpent-shaped columns that the lintel of the entrance

serpents'

on

same side; the talud, or inclined plane, that of the temple walls; and the stone sculptures in the form of cross-sectioned snails or crossed arrows, crowning the edge of the roof in the Mexican manner and definitively replacing to the sanctuary

this

reinforces the lower part

Maya roof-comb. One element that adds

the old

inclusion

a particular

stamp

to the Castillo

is

the

of a stairway on each of the four sides of its base (plates 322, Mesoamerican architecture, and here seemingly as-

323), unusual in

some important cosmological symbolism. In fact, the on each stairway) amounts to 365 if we include sum the running stair that, like a socle, girds the base where it meets the esplanade floor. We should also mention an earlier building, although sociated with

of all the steps (91

still

within the Maya-Toltec period, that

lies

buried under the mass

of the Castillo. Accessible today through a subterranean gallery, it shows the well-preserved remains of a sanctuary, including the impressive Red Jaguar Throne. More in the Maya than the Toltec style, this

sculpture

beautifully highlighted with incrustations of

is

stone and shell (plate 321).

A

preoccupation with interior space and with

its

integration into

make itself felt in Yucatan architecture at the end of the Classic period, two or three centuries before Toltec domination. It takes on new life, with a more generalized utilization vast exterior spaces

of columns, and only door

Maya

began

we

lintels,

to

find groups of

columns

now

ing not

but also the roofs of buildings, whether with

corbel vaults or

the

flat as in

Mexican

style.

The

walls

became

—

rows of columns or pillars alternating frequently between groups of one and then the other. These formed colonnades with proportions never before seen in Mesoamerica, and gave the new Chichen Itza a truly revolutionary look. The immense architectural complex known today as the Group of the Thousand Columns (plates 328, 329), which was built in various stages, shows a surprising bounded flexibility in the handling of spaces. Its great colonnades could form a at times by the front of a building, or by thin walls thin, or yielded to

—

—

spacious covered portico; provide a transitional clement connecting

wide impluvium, as in the case of the interior patio of what we call the Market, whose columns have a slimness unique in Mesoamerican architecture (plates 326, 321). At the opposite end from the Market, looking toward the central

two

286

plazas; or

even open over

a

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332.

Chichcti Itza

:

Group of the Thousand Cohunns. Detail

showing cohimus with 333.

has-reliefs

Chicheii Itza: detail showing columns with bas-reliefs at the foot

of the Temple of the Warriors

288

[>

Chicheii Itzd

334-

Temple of the Warriors. Detail of the entrance

:

with serpent-shaped columns

part of the esplanade, stands the

whose general

329),

silhouette

Temple of the Warriors is

reminiscent of Tula's

(plates 328,

Temple of

Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli. This includes the pyramid-colonnade relationship, which reveals the same pillars that rise from the lower part of the stairway (plates 216, 325).

The

mon

to

sloping bodies of the base have tahleros of a type

more com-

Teotihuacan buildings than to Toltec ones, but they are

adorned with motifs from the Toltec repertory, such as eagles and jaguars devouring human hearts. Running along the foot of the base are typical attached benches, jutting out in

some

places like altars

and

of plumed serpents and groups of richly dressed The theme of the Toltec warrior is repeated again and 332, 333), along with representations of the god Tlahuiz-

enhanced by

reliefs

Toltec warriors. again [plates

calpantecuhtli,

on

the four faces

portico to the temple.

of the

pillars that constitute the access

Many of the sculptures

that in

Tula were found

mutilated or scattered can be seen here in their original context, in-

cluding the typical dadoes or alfardas fmials from the Mexican plateau

—

their heads

334)

—and

a

of plumed serpents projecting forth menacingly (plate statue of a standard-bearer on the upper platform

(plate 335).

In front

fmd

of the entrance to the sanctuary

a chac-mool statue in

its

(plates

habitual reclining pose.

330, 331),

The

we

exterior walls

Mexican talud, masks of Chac and fragof ments of beveled moldings springing from the Maya tradition. These last elements clearly illustrate the eclectic character of Maya-Toltec art, which in buildings such as the Caracol and the Castillo could achieve an intimate fusion an authentic synthesis of two very divergent heritages but which here, in the Temple of the Warriors, shows the elements of each of these traditions separately and in bold the facade display,

—

over

a

—

juxtaposition. Perhaps in this case

it

reflects a

simple concession to

comprise the interior of the sanctuary are also of Toltec origin tall pillars covered in basrehef, and the altar against the rear wall, adorned with plumed serpents and held aloft by small sculptures of atlantes. local tradition, since all the other elements that

—

Were it not for the technique and quality of their execution, many of Chichen Itza's buildings would seem exclusively Toltec. Situated to the north of the Castillo,

Platform of the Jaguars and Eagles

on

the principal esplanade, are the

(plates 336,

337) and the Platform

of Venus. With bas-reliefs alfardas in

their large tahleros of contrasting planes covered with of Toltec themes, and with their four stairways flanked by the form of plumed serpents, these two ceremonial plat-

forms

—which,

were

stages for theatrical representations "for the

290

according to the chronicler Fray Diego de Landa,

enjoyment of the

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335336.

Temple of the Warriors Chicheti Itzd Platform of the Jaguars and Eagles Chiclicn Itzd

:

337.

Chicheti Itzd

:

Platform of the Jaguars and Eagles. Detail of an

alfarda in the form of a plumed serpent

:

338.

Chichen Itzd : the

ball court seen from the

summit of the

Castillo.

In the foreground, right, the Platform of the Jaguars and Eagles

(and behind

it,

the

Tzompantli)

^93

and plan of the

339-

Chichai Itzd :

340.

Chichai Itzd : view of the

section

hall court

ball court

people" ^^

—bear

a

noticeable similarity to the half-ruined altar oc-

cupying the center of the main plaza

The same can be skulls

on

—that

rises

illustrate

human

in massive

of the immense Tzompantli

—the

of

altar

near the Platform of the Jaguars and Eagles, displaying

rows of human

sides hallucinatory

its

These images

last

said

in distant Tula.

with dramatic impact the

sacrifice

on stakes. macabre role

skulls strung altar's

—an increasingly common practice

in the

centuries before the Spanish Conquest. Finally, there

tures, at

respects ball

the outsized ball court located near these struc-

is

one end of the principal esplanade

court

—

its

Itza's

monumental

550-foot (168-m.) length eclipsing that of the other

500 or more courts

in

Mesoamerica

acoustical properties,

and

of the court

the

side

many

338-340); in

(plates

Chichen

similar to Tula's larger court.

it is

rises

sculptural integration in

in other

—astonishes

ways

us

as well.

with

curious

its

Directly over one

Temple of the Jaguars, the fruit of a skillful which Toltec elements predominate. Its

heavy serpent-shaped columns

(plates 347,

to the universal architectural repertory

348) add a disquieting note

of the independent , and

enable us to imagine how the columns of Tula's Temple of Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli probably looked before they lost the fanged head and the feathered ratdesnake rise

above the

From

lintel

tail

that here protrude

from

the facade

and

of the entrance.

main

the elevated vertical walls that border the

the ball court (plate 342),

two

section

of

rings jut out, decorated with the in-

tertwined bodies of plumed serpents (plate 343).

The

center and ends

of the banquette running along the foot of these walls display fmely carved bas-relief scenes depicting the tion

We

—

the grand finale of one

see

both teams,

equipment.

sacrifice

of a player by decapita-

of these highly

encounters.

ritualistic

and other one hand and the head

their flashy outfits including protectors

One of the

of his kneeling victim

players holds a knife in

in the other,

while six serpents and a plant with

and graceful flowers spring symbolically from the victim's neck. Over a disc in the center of the scene we find the mask of the god of death, from whose jaws float the elegant scrolls that symbolize large stalks

speech (plate 341).

Thus,

art in the

reflecting the

Itza

motley warrior apparatus and bloody

space of

some two

perhaps with the finale

its

motifs

ritual that the

Maya

foundations.

or three centuries witnessed the unbridled

splendor of what Pollock describes

294

continued to flourish,

Toltec masters had grafted onto the old

city's

The

new Chichen

effects

of

"a

as

cultural

last flicker

hybridization

of the great architectural tradition

in the

Maya

of

life,

[and] area.

'13

.

tinged .

.

the

341

.

Chichai Itza

:

hall court.

Detail of a bas-relief carved on an

interior banquette

295

.

342.

296

Chicken Itzd :

ball court.

Cower of a

banquette

Chicken Itzd :

ball court. Detail

344.

Chicken Itzd:

ball court.

345.

Chicken Itzd :

ball court. Detail

343

of a stone ring on a wall

Outer skrinefacing tke plaza

[> t>

of outer shrinefacing tke plaza

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346.

300

Chicheii Itza

:

detail

of a jaguar throne from outer shrine facing the plaza

347.

Chichen Itzd : Temple of the Jaguars hi the center background, the

(left) seen from the hall court, Temple of the Warriors; to the right,

the Castillo

348.

Chichen Itzd : partial view Jaguars above

349-

of the hall court u>ith the

Temple of the

it

i. Ceremonial Tulum, Qtiintana Roo, Mexico plan of the city. 4. Northeast center 2. Market 3. Principal street gateii'ay 5. Northwest gateway 6. West gateway 8. Southeast gateway 7. Southwest gateway :

Mayapdti

Exhausted by

a series

of wars

that

shook the peninsula, Chichen

Itza

ruhng position around the year 1200 to Mayapan, a city that the political panorama of the region for two centuries more, until the middle of the fifteenth century. Mayapan made a last attempt to revive some of the old Classic Maya traditions, erecting dated stelae and using quadrangular building layouts; but this city's ceremonial center never became, to any degree, but "a miniature copy of Chichen Itza."" Indeed, we can detect in its artistic output a ceded

its

would dominate

progressive deterioration that nothing could avert.

Even

we fmd

so,

in the city

apparent evolution "toward a

environment,"

a

way of

life

of Mayapan

way of

factors that indicate an

life in

in a sense

a progressively urban

much

like

our own.'^

We

quote A. Ledyard Smith's description of a group of houses that must

have belonged to a rich

member of the

local nobility: ".

.

.a main

house for the master; various smaller ones for the family of some relative,

and for the servants;

of small

altars for the favorite idols;

a kitchen; a .

.

.

family chapel and a group

a house for the

majordomo,

or caluac, and another in which to store the provisions that the latter

caused to be brought from regions under his master's dominion; cages to house birds and small animals; and, perhaps, an

garden

—for

as there

had to be brought

Tulum and

Among

in

the Cities

was no earth in this area, only limestone, earth and retained by stone borders."'*'

of the East Coast of the Yucatan

the last bulwarks

were the modest-sized

of Maya culture on the Yucatan peninsula

cities

— some

partially or totally fortified

along with small watchtowcrs situated

that,

artificial

at strategic distances,

dotted the east coast of the peninsula, and also islands such

as Isla

Mujeres and Cozumel (an important sanctuary existed during these

on the latter island). Many cities of this region were probably founded in an earlier era, but their appearance today suggests the difficulties of Post-Classic times during which an unstable political last

centuries

balance called for defensive measures. Such

and with Xclha, located on (410

feet,

is

the case with Ichpaatun,

a small peninsula

whose narrow neck

or 125 m.) was protected by a wall almost 10 feet

—described

high

jected over the

Of all

the

by Lothrop as having "a curious line of defense to protect the single

sites in this

of Tulum that stands out fortifications,

because in

it is,

as

region,

(plate

but also for

Hardoy

says,

its

it is

349)

stylistic

m.)

portal."'^

undoubtedly the walled

—not only for

marked

(3

bastion that pro-

its

city

well-preserved

characteristics

and

"the one that most closely approximates

form and layout our own image of a

city.

[Here]

.

.

.

perhaps for

301

350.

Ttihint: the Castillo (and the

Temple of the Descending God seen

from the north cUff) 351.

Tuhini: Castillo

352.

Tuhini: Temple oj the Descending

God >

353-

304

Tultiui:

Temple of the Frescoes

354.

Ttilum: Temple of the Frescoes. Detail of a comer

>

% i^

-s^

ti

/

Temple 5

355-

Tiiluni:

356.

Ttilum: Temple 35, probably dedicated

357.

Tulum: Temple 7 (Temple

to the

god oj water

of the Descending

God)

the

first

of two

time

among Maya

—and

perhaps three

cities,

—

we fmd

streets

clearly recognizable traces

with urban

characteristics,

dered by palaces, residences, and smaller buildings

tendency to attempt alignment along

.

.

.

bor-

reflecting a

a street that runs exactly the

length of the city in a north-south direction."'*

As in other shoreline cities, the serpent-shaped columns of Tulum's Castillo (plates 350, 351) and the colonnades that, along with slender walls, composed its buildings, all reveal the Maya-Toltec influence that Chichen Itza had exerted on this region for several centuries. But despite this influence, and despite a certain poverty of construction, the architecture of the east coast shows a style of its own, recognizable mainly in the strong concave slope of the exterior walls.

The building best illustrating this regional tendency is perhaps the small Temple of the Descending God (plate 352), in which the curvature of the walls is accentuated by a marked leaning that fmds its counterpart in the slightly trapezoidal doorway (plates 355-357). Another variant can be seen in the upper part of the Temple of the Frescoes (plates 353, 354), whose curved planes show a subtle break that further embellishes the structure. The frescoes, like other paintings

of the

east coast, are similar to the

Maya

codices,

and

at the

same

time reminiscent of Mixtec manuscripts. Let us note, fmally,

as a distinctive feature

of the

local style, the

on and the frequent representations of the Descending God

great profiles carved

the corners of the lower portico (plate 354) that usually

appear in niches over the doorways. Western and Northwestern Mexico

Western Mexico had a village culture from beginning to end, with no writing or numbering system that we know of, and with little monumental architecture of the type seen at Post-Classic Tzintzuntzan in

Michoacan.

At

this

writing, the term "western

that

A new

includes Michoacan,

ofJalisco, Nayarit, Colima, Sinaloa, and classification will soon be necessary, for it is obvious

Guanajuato, the coastal Guerrero.

Mexico"

Guerrero with

its

states

Olmec

cave paintings, abstract Mezcala stone

carvings, unique clay figurines, and Maya-influenced centers such as

Xochipala,

is

Michoacan has

from the rest. For that matter, from those farther west, suggesting

a culture different

traits that differ

yet a third division.

Continuing village Hfe s for the delightful clay figurines, found especially in Colima. At first glance they represent only every-

day

activities

—women combing

children playing with animals, fat

306

mothers coddling babies, cuddly dogs; but warriors and

their hair,

358.

Tzintzuntzari , Michoacdn, Mexico : general view of the Jive

yacatas on their immense

artificial platform.

To

the

left,

in the

background, Lake Patzcuaro

t^.:

r^.

;cJSi«<j*4Si8S!;^s^^«agii*^^

307

<]

3

Tzintziititzan

59-

shamans are

:

detail

also portrayed. Shaft

tombs typify architecture

and CoHma. El Ixtepete and Jalisco Ixtlan del

Rio

in

360, 361. Small terra-cotta models of hoiisesfrom Nayarit, western Mexico. Mexico City, National Museum of Anthropology

of a yacata

also reveal

Nayarit came

in JaHsco

Teotihuacan influences.

into existence at a later period, as

did the dramatic yacata complex in Michoacan.

The

Tarascans, great

warriors and great artisans, were the builders of these ydcatas, circular-

combined-with-rectangular-form pyramids, such Tzintzuntzan, their capital. said that

when

as

are

found

We call these people Tarascans because

the Spaniards

came

to

Michoacan the

at it is

lords there gave

themi their daughters in marriage and therefore called the Europeans

The Tarascans called themselves Uasusecha ("Eagles") and today use the name Ptirepecha, "People of the Land." Contemporaries of the Aztecs, the Tarascans some chroniclers say accompanied them on their pilgrimage from the Seven Caves in Aztlan, "since they were of the same band and all had come out of the seventh cave, all speaking the same language."^' But when they tarascue,

"sons-in-law."

—

—

reached Lake Patzcuaro

of the group went

(in

the prcscnt-day state

of Michoacan), part

in to bathe, leaving their clothes

others stole the garments and fled.

The

on the

shore.

The

bathers then learned to

go

about nude, for lack of clothing, and even changed their language so they would no longer be associated with the Aztecs. This legend shows that Nahuat groups, related to the people of Jalisco, Nayarit,

and Colima,

settled here early in the Post-Classic

period. Subsequent migrations brought different people

with the early

settlers.

Strong South American influence

is

who

fused

evident in

the Tarascan culture, visible in language similarities between Tarascan

and some Peruvian tongues, and in pottery forms. Metal probably came to Mexico from the south also, being introduced into Oaxaca's Pacific coast

and the western region,

Post-Classic times. sessed other

The Tarascans were

advanced Mesoamerican

also via the Pacific, early in

great metallurgists and pos-

traits

such

as a

calendar system,

mathematics, and hieroglyphic writing. As warriors they were so

who had conquered most of Mesoamcrwere not able to subdue them. These people worshiped the god of sun and fire, Curicaveri, above all other deities. Northwestern Mexico might well be called an extension of the southwestern United States cultures if it were not for influences received here from the central highlands of Mexico. Cultural manifestations of this type date from the Late Pre-Classic and from the outstanding that the Aztecs, ica,

Post-Classic. in

Durango,

in Zacatecas

These manifestations include temple bases and

ball courts

a canal system of irrigation in Chihuahua, fortifications and Durango, small ceremonial centers and polychrome

pottery in Guanajuato, paint cloisonne decoration in Sinaloa, and ball courts and architectural remains in San Luis Potosi.^" La

Quemada

in

309

362.

310

model of a temple built on a platform, from Mexico City, National Museum of Anthropology western Mexico.

Small

terra-cotta

363.

Ixtldn del Rio, Nayarit: round platform ing two altars

Zacatecas and Casas Grandes in Chihuahua are the most important the region.

sites in

between the southwestern United

In reviewing the relationship

and northwestern Mexico,

States

ago no maps existed and

lines

between

drawn. Between 7000 and 5000 designate after

we must cultural areas

B.C.

area

this

complex

B.C. did the agricultural

were not sharply

— which

—reflected the Desert pre-ceramic cultural

5000

that millennia

we

and only

tradition,

characteristic

will so

of Meso-

america (bottle gourd, squash, corn, cotton, and beans) mark the

of sedentary cultures Classic

100

(c.

B.C.) that the

Mesoamerica, maize.

to the south.

in the

Weaver

It

was not

until

rise

the Late Prc-

Southwest began to show influences from

form of pottery making and

believes that cultural traits

may

the use

of hybrid

have ed along the

of Nayarit and Sinaloa to Sonora, or through the of the Sierra Madre occidental range, occupied by

Pacific coastal plain

eastern slopes

farming communities.^^ Around 900

a.d., at the

time of the south-

western Anasazi expansion, the Aztatlan culture, reflecting Mixteca-

Puebla

traits,

Even

flourished in coastal Sinaloa.

northwestern Mexico and the

in the sixteenth century

southwestern United States formed an almost homogeneous region.

The European conquistadors region, with

its

seven

cities

believed

with

Coronado, with

a

decorated in precious

from Aztec

native land, with the Seven Caves

adise).

to correspond to the Cibola

silver palaces

stones (the legend probably arose

own

it

—

descriptions

of

their

a veritable terrestrial par-

band of 300 Spaniards, 1,000

Indians,

and

1,000 horses, launched an expedition to discover Cibola, but found

nothing except

deserts,

mountains, and groups of nomads.

POST-CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE IN WESTERN

AND

NORTHWESTERN MEXICO Nayarit

from Nayarit, we fmd miniature representations of buildings (plates 360-362) and happy group scenes that reflect a thousand facets of life as it was lived in the tropical villages of that region up to the end of the Classic period and the beginning of the Post-Classic era. As Von Winning recently demonIn the rich output of ceramic products

and varied documentation of the simple Nayarit

strated, there

is

architecture

houses, often

:

a vast

of two

floors

ishable materials, their graceful roofs

and invariably

;

later time.

Among

altars.

architecture of Ixdan del these buildings

of per-

wearing a polychrome geometric

decoration and small temples, platforms, or

The masonry

built

we

^^

Rio may date from

a

find a large elevated platform

3"

on which two akars stand. It is round in shape, with sloping walls, and has a heavy parapet perforated with cruciform motifs (plate 363).

Lands inhabited by nomadic hunters whose incursions constituted perpetual

menace

to agricultural

a

communities, these regions had been

touched by civilizing currents on more than one occasion, particularly in the north.

Michoacdn

was

It

in

the Toltecs, in the centuries just preceding the

Michoacan,

the lake region,

its

people became

known

and

finally the Aztecs, all

this

was the

case

with La Quemada, a

for their elegant far north. Its existence

splendor, but

with abrupt angles, frequently inspired by such Toltec motifs as the chac-mool. Their great ceremonial complexes were dominated by

seen in the south.

whose unmistakable regional

elongated

rectangular

masses

style

with

of stepped bases combined

truncated-conical

elements.

Examples can be seen at Tzintzuntzan (plates 358, 359) and Ihuatzio, the last capitals of the Tarascan kingdom, built on the shores of Lake Patzcuaro.

it

with the great

Not

far

may

from

date

Quemada and

lie

There are

a

the

To

the north

we fmd

312

sites

called Shroeder

Chalchihuites have ball courts.

To

we

have

and Alta sites,

but

the north,

ties

with the

southwestern United States than with Mesoamerica, although since

sacrifices

regions of semidesert that generally remained

pyramid, along

Casas Grandes, in the state of Chihuahua, shows closer

1300 A.D.

outside the mainstream of Mesoamerican architectural developments.

Its

shape from those

multitude of other small

many Mesoamerican

traits

—I-shaped

truncated pyramids, motifs showing Northern Mexico

the time of Teotihuacan's

ball court, has a different

from La Quemada

in strategic

partially fortified city situated

tends to reflect a Toltec influence.

Vista de Chalchihuites.

only La

maintained garrisons

of the nomadic hordes. Perhaps

places in order to control the thrust

work in gold, silver, and copper, and for the delicacy of their ceramics. The Tarascans were creators of a vigorous hard-stone sculpture

ydcatas,

probable that the citizens of Teotihuacan, then

Spanish

Conquest, that the powerful Tarascan kingdom emerged. Estabhshing itself in

also

It is

period,

—indicate

we

a late

expansion of

this

see northern influences in the

houses and ceremonial kivas.

ball courts, platforms,

plumed

serpents

and human

center. ^^ Prior to this

form of semisubterranean

NOTES SYNOPTIC TABLES SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX LIST OF PLATES / PHOTOGRAPHIC CREDITS /

/

/

NOTES

Chapter

One

ipray Geronimo de Mendieta, Historia Eclcsiastica Indiana, edited by Salvador Chavez

Hayhoe, Mexico,

n.d., Vol.

I,

i^See the chapter

on

the

Maya

for an explanation of the

"Long Count."

New York, of Primitive Art, 1965. i^Matthew Stirling, quoted in Peter T. Furst, "The Olmec Were-Jaguar Motif in the Light of Ethnographic Reality," Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the Olmec, 1967, ^'Michael D. Coe, The Jaguar's Children: Pre-Classic Central Mexico,

pp. 83-84.

2Paul Kirchhoff,

"Mesoamerica. Sus limites geograficos, composicion etnica y caracteres culturales," supplement of TIatoani, 1960. Ê.R. Wolf, Sons of the Shaking Earth, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1959,

Museum

pp. 15-16.

Washington, D.C., 1968, p. 144. i^Michael D. Coe, America's First Civilization: Discovering the Olmec, New York, American Heritage Publishing Company and The Smithsonian Institution, 1968,

^Wigberto Jimenez Moreno, Historia Antigua de Mexico, Mexico, Ediciones S.A.E. N.A.H., 1956, p. 13. 5E.R. Wolf, op. cit., p. 37. ^Muriel Porter Weaver, The Aztecs, Maya, and Their Predecessors, New York-London, Seminar

Press, 1972, p. 23.

'Michael D. Coe, America's

Civilization: Discovering the Ohnec,

First

American Heritage Publishing Company and The Smithsonian

New

York,

Institution, 1968, p.

32.

^Fray Diego Duran, Book of the Gods and Rites and the Ancient Calendar, translated and edited by Fernando Horcasitas and Doris Heyden, preface by Miguel LeonPortilla, Norman, University of Oklahoma Press, 1971, p. 317.

p. 110.

20Not only do the relief carvings representing Aztec heads still exist in Mexico City's Chapultepec Park, but Fray Diego Duran, in his sixteenth-century chronicle, says that the Aztecs made stone statues of great men to perpetuate their memory. See D. Duran, Historia de las Indias de Nueva Espai'ia e Islas de la Tierra Firme, edited by Angel M. Garibay, Mexico City, Porriia, 1967, Vol. II, pp. 99, 122. See also Paul Gendrop, El Mexico Antiguo: Ancient Mexico, Mexico, Trillas, 1972, p. 27. 2iMichael D. Coe, America's First Civilization: Discovering the Olmec, pp. 111-13. 22Ibid., p. 188.

23Charles R. Wicke, Olmec:

An

Early Art Style of Precolimibian Mexico, Tucson,

University of Arizona Press, 1971.

Chapter

Two

24Jorge Angulo, "Seiialando america,

^Muriel Porter Weaver, The Aztecs, Maya, and Their Predecessors,

Seminar

Press, 1972, p. 35.

2Roman

Piiia

Chan,

Mexicana, 1971,

A

New York-London,

to

Mexican Archaeology, Mexico, Ediciones Minutiae

p. 42.

^Muriel Porter Weaver, op.

cit., pp. 64-65. '^Miguel Covarrubias, Indian Art of Mexico and Central America,

New

York, Knopf,

1957, p. 28. sibid., p. 83. First

Civilization: Discovering the Olmec,

New

York,

American Heritage Publishing Company and The Smithsonian Institution, 1968. 'Isabel Kelly, "Vasijas de Colima con boca de estribo," Boletin del Institnto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, No. 42, December 1970. ^Personal communication from Arturo Oliveros. ^Muriel Porter Weaver, op. cit., p. 76. i°K.V. Flannery, A.V. Kirkby, M.J. Kirkby, A.W. Williams, "Farming Systems and Political Growth in Ancient Oaxaca, Mexico," Science, No. 158, 1967. i^Muriel Porter Weaver, op. cit., p. 58. i^Roman Piiia Chan, Una vision del Mexico prehispdnico, Mexico, Universidad Nacional

Aut6noma de Mexico,

el

concepto olmeca

XII, Mexico, Sociedad

como

religion" in Religion en

Meso-

Mexicana de Antropologia, 1972.

25These subterranean rooms have a primitive vaulted roof. In another center in the

we find the beginnings of urban planning (with probable of roads) and early stepped bases in stone in which the stairways are already flanked with alfardas, or lateral protections. In this center, too, between 300 and 100 B.C., we find the first examples known in Mesoamerica of the tahid-tablero combination, an architectural element that reached its apogee later in Teotihuacan. 26Doris Heyden, "What is the Meaning of the Mexican Pyramid?," paper presented at the XL International Congress of Americanists, Rome, September 1972.

Puebla Valley, Tlalancaleca,

Guide

^Michael D. Coe, America's

Round Table

1967, p. 131.

traces

Maya

2'William Holland, Medicina

en los Altos de Chiapas, translated

by Daniel Cazes,

Mexico, Institute Nacional Indigenista, 1963, pp. 68-110.

Chapter Three

iRene Millon, "Teotihuacan: Completion of Valley of Mexico," Science,

December

4,

Map

of Giant Ancient City

in the

1970, Vol. 170, pp. 1077-82.

William T. Sanders and Barbara J. Price, Mesoamerica: The Evolution of a CivilizaNew York, Random House, 1968, p. 141. 3Rene Millon, op. cit. 2

tion,

i^Michael D. Coe, "La Victoria, an Early Site on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala,"

4Ibid.

Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., 1961. See also B.J. Meggers, C. Evans, E. Estrada, "Early Formative Period of Coastal Ecuador: The Valdivia and Machalilla Phases," Smithsonian Con-

^Fray Bernardino de Sahagiin, Florentine Codex. General History of the Things of New Spain, translated into English from the Nahuatl by Arthur J. O. Anderson and Charles

Peabody

Museum

tributions to

Archaeological and Ethnological Papers,

Anthropology,

No.

1,

Washington, D.C., 1965.

E.

Dibble, Santa Fe,

New

Mexico, The School of American Research and The

University of Utah, 1950-69,

Book

7, p. 4.

Weaver, op. cit., p. 285. iÎgnacio Bernal, The Olmec World, Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of Califor-

^Rene Millon,

nia Press, 1969, p. 112.

^Rene Millon, Bruce Drewitt, and James A. BennyhofT, "The Pyramid of the Sun

^''Muriel Porter

314

op.

cit.

'Bernardino de Sahagiin,

op.

cit.,

Book

10, p. 192. at

Teotihuacan: 1959 Investigations," Transactions of n.s..

Vol. 55, Part

the

American Philosophical Society,

^George Kubler, "The Iconography of the Art of Teotihuacan," Studies in Pre-Cohimhian Art and Archaeology, No. 4, Washington, D.C., Dumbarton Oaks, 1967, p. 10. i^Laurette Sejourne, "Pensamiento y Religion en el Mexico Antiguo," Breuiarios, No. 128, Mexico, Fondo de Cultura Economica, 1964, p. 158. i^This is a hypothetical picture of the old Classic society at a time in which few peripheral centers possessed their

own temples

^•iBruce Drewitt, "Planeacion en

la

Antigua Ciudad de Teotihuacan," Teotihuacan,

Round Table

6, Philadelphia, 1965, p. 10.

or public buildings.

XI, Mexico, Sociedad Mexicana de Antropologia, 1966, pp. 86-87. 35Rene Millon, Scientific American, June 1967, Vol. 216, No. 6, p. 41. 36Jorge R. Acosta, El palacio de Quetzalpapdlotl, Mexico, Institute Nacional de

An-

tropologia e Historia, 1964.

Un Palacio en la Ciudad de los Dioses, Mexico, Fondo de Cultura Economica, 1959; Arquiteclura y Pintura en Teotihuacan, Mexico, Siglo XXI Editores, ^^Laurette Sejourne,

1966.

i^Rene Millon, "Teotihuacan," Scientific American, June 1967, Vol. 216, No. i3Rene Millon, Science, December 4, 1970, Vol. 170, pp. 1077-82.

6, p. 43.

38Fray Juan de Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, edited by Salvador Chavez Hayhoe,

Mexico, 1943, Vol.

I,

p. 252.

39George Kubler, "La iconografia

14Ibid.

i^William T. Sanders, "Life in a Classic Village," Teotihuacan,

Round Table

XI,

del arte de Teotihuacan," Teotihuacan, Table XI, Mexico, Sociedad Mexicana de Antropologia, 1972, pp. 69-85.

Round

Mexico, Sociedad Mexicana de Antropologia, 1966, pp. 123-32. i^William T. Sanders, op. cil., p. 132.

No. 6, p. 46. made by A. Caso, C. Millon, Rattray, R. Chadwick, L. Sejourne,

i''Rene Millon, Scientific American, June 1967, Vol. 216,

iÂttempts

E. Pasztory, G. Kubler,

G.H. von Winning,

E.

^Personal communication from Norberto Gonzalez and Rodolfo Velazquez Cano.

and D. Heyden.

New York-London,

^Florencia Miiller, "El Origen de los barrios de Cholula," Proyecto Puebla-Tlaxcala,

Karl K. Turekian, Dinkar

Îgnacio Marquina, Arquiteclura Prehispdnica, Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e

i*Muriel Porter Weaver, The Aztecs, Maya, and Their Predecessors,

Seminar

Mexico, Institute Nacional de Antropologia

Press, 1972, p. 139.

ÔRobert H. Cobean, Michael D. Coe, Edward A. Perry,

A. Kharkar, "Obsidian Trade 174,

No. 4010, November

at

Jr.,

San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan, Mexico,"

Science, Vol.

at the

Mexicana, 1971,

arqueologia en

la

el

Estado de Morelos " paper

conference of the Sociedad Mexicana de Antropologia, Mexico,

November 11, 1972. 23Roman Pifia Chan,

Guide

to


25So called because the Aztecs that the altars they

who came

A

Preliminary

along after Teotihuacan's decline believed

found were tombs. la

ciudad de Teotihuacan en sus diferentes

calculo provisional," Teotihuacan,

Round Table

XI, Mexico, Sociedad

Mexicana de Antropologia, 1966, p. 5. 2'The construction technique of the small pyramidal bases that run along the quadrangular platform of the Citadel consists of a fill of earth, covered with stone, upon which of adobes was op.

cit.,

laid (personal

communication from Evelyn Rattray).

pp. 75-76.

29Matthew Wallrath, "The Calle de

Varieties

Press, 1971, pp. 91-92.

of Classic Central

Veracruz Sculpture,

Washington, D.C., 1954, pp. 63-100. 'Miguel Covarrubias, Indian Art of Mexico and Central America,

Carnegie

New

York, Knopf,

1957, p. 173.

^Michael D. Coe, "The Archaeological Sequence

at

San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan,"

Contributions of the University of California, Archaeological Research Facility,

^Fray Diego Duran, op. loibid., pp.

No.

8,

Muertos Complex:

a Possible

Macrocomplex

Hardoy, Ciudades Precolombinas, Buenos Aires, Ediciones Infmito, 1964, p. 91. ^Ôtto Schondube, "Teotihuacan, Ciudad de los Dioses," Imagen de Mexico, No. 3, Mexico, 1971, p. 18. 32Rene Millon, Science, December 4, 1970, Vol. 170, pp. 1077-82. 33Jorge Hardoy, op. cit., p. 89.

cit.,

1971, p. 316.

312-19.

iiOctavio Paz, "Risa y penitencia," Magia de

la

Risa, Veracruz University, 1962, p.

12.

i^Jorge Hardoy, Ciudades Precolombinas, Buenos Aires, Ediciones Infinito, 1964, pp. 134-35.

iÔctavio Paz, los

of Structures near the Center of Teotihuacan," Teotihuacan, Round Table XI, Mexico, Sociedad Mexicana de Antropologia, 1966, p. 115. ^''Jorge

*Tatiana Proskouriakoff,

1970, pp. 27-29.

26Rene Millon, "Extensi6n y poblacion de

28Rene Millon,

Diego Duran, Historia de las Indias de Nueva Espaiia e Islas de la Tierra Firme, by Angel M. Garibay, Mexico, Porriia, 1967, Vol. II, p. 243. ^Fray Diego Duran, Book of the Gods and Rites and the Ancient Calendar, translated and edited by Fernando Horcasitas and Doris Heyden, preface by Miguel Leon-Portilla,

Institution,

p. 57.

Report of the Results of the Teotihuacan Valley Project, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, September 1965, p. 129.

a covering

Historia, 1951, p. 115.

Norman, University of Oklahoma

A

^''William T. Sanders, The Cultural Ecology of the Teotihuacan Valley.

un

1972 (mimeographed copy).

edited

22Jaime Litvak, "La problematica de

periodos:

e Historia,

"•Fray

12, 1971, p. 666.

2ilbid., p. 670.

presented

Chapter Four

deciphering Teotihuacan's glyphs were

at

op.

I'Îgnacio Bernal,

cit.,

p. 12.

"La presencia olmecaen

Museo Nacional de Antropologia,

Odixzcs.," Culturas de Oaxaca,

No.

1,

Mexico,

1967, p. 2.

i^John Paddock, Ancient Oaxaca, Stanford, Stanford University Press, 1966, p. 99. Impersonal communication from John Paddock.

I'Rene Millon and Robert E. Longacre, "Proto-Mixtecan and Proto-AmuzgoMixtecan Vocabularies: a preliminary cultural analysis," Anthropological Linguistics, Vol. n. Part

4,

1961, pp. 1-44.

i^John Paddock, op.

cit.,

p. 120.

315

i9John Paddock, information from Ancient Oaxaca, op.

cit.;

"A

beginning in the

Museum

I'Jorge Hardoy, op.

20Jorge Hardoy, op.

El Peten, Guatemala, 1970,

;

cit.,

p. 138.

i^Nicholas

M. Hellmuth,

ÔBeatriz de

22Raul Florcs Guerrero, Arte Mexicano: Epoca Prehispdnica, Mexico, Hermes, 1962, p.

noma

133.

Fondo de Cultura Economica,

1950, p. 280.

la

Report on First Season Explorations and Excavations

New Haven,

Fuente, La escultura de Palenque, Mexico, Universidad Nacional Aut6-

p. 216.

D. Eaton, Chicannd, an

Center

Elite

23H.E.D. Pollock, "Architecture of the American Indians, vol.

in the

Rio Bee Region,

2,

part

I,

25Marta Foncerrada de Molina, La

Maya Lowlands," Handbook

26 Another similar case, in the


that of Culucbalom, in the

Brainerd,

Press, 1950.

The Maya

Civilization,

Los Angeles, Southwest Museum,

versidad Nacional

the

Maya

Tulane

of the Middle

Late Classic Period,

Uxmal, Mexico, Uni-

escultura arquitectonica de

Aut6noma de Mexico,

^Popol Vuh: The Sacred Book of the Ancient Quiche Maya, English translation by Delia Goetz and Sylvanus G. Morley, from the Spanish translation by Adrian Recinos,

W.

New Orleans,

Austin, University of Texas Press, 1965.

24David E. Potter, Architectural Style at Becdn during New Orleans, Tulane University Press, 1972.

Chapter Five

1954, p.

Yaxhd,

at

1971.

University Press, 1971.

cit.

25Ibid.

^George

1960, pp. 355-72.

de Mexico, 1965, p. 179. 2iRaul Flores Guerrero, Arte Mexicano: Epoca Prehispdnica, Mexico, Hermes, 1962, 22Jack

24Raul Floras Guerrero, op.

3,

p. 294.

cit.,

265-66.

isibid., pp.

2ilbid.

23Paul Westheim, Arte Antigua de Mexico, Mexico,

XXV, No.

mala," American Antiquity, Vol.

of Zapotec Art, No. 6, April 30, 1970, pp. 2-21 and from "El Esplendor de los Mixtecos," Culturas de Oaxaca, No. 4, Mexico, Museo Nacional de Antropologia, 1967.

Nuiiie," Bulletin of Oaxaca Studies, Mitla, Frissell

1965, p. 39.

conception of the volumes

if

not in the decoration,

is

Rio Bee region.

^^Marta Foncerrada de Molina,

op.

cit.

7.

^Miguel Covarrubias, Indian Art of Mexico and Central America,

New

York, Knopf,

Chapter Six

1957, p. 204.

London, Allen and Unwin, 1969, p. 193. Mexico Prehispdnico, Mexico, Universidad Nacional

''Frederick A. Peterson, Ancient Mexico,

^Roman Piiia Chan, Una vision del Autonoma de Mexico, 1967, p. 168. ^Miguel Covarrubias,

op.

cit.,

^George Kubler, "The Iconography of the Art of Teotihuacan," Studies in PreColumbian Art and Archaeology, No. 4, Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University, 1967, pp. 12-13.

p. 208.

Maya, by Syl-

2Fray Diego Duran, The Aztecs: The History of the Indies of New Spain, translated and annotated by Doris Hey den and Fernando Horcasitas, New York, Orion Press, 1964,

sibid., p. 437.

p. 11.

Ôn

October 1971 symposium of the School of American Research of the National Science Foundation at Santa Fe, New Mexico, which dealt with new interpretations of the decline of Maya civilization in the eighth century. See Gordon R. Willey and Demitri B. Shimkin, "Why did the Pre-Columbian Maya Civilization Collapse?," Science, Vol. 173, No. 3997, August 13, 1971, pp. 656-58. The five hypotheses on this subject were set forth in this symposium.

^David C. Grove, "The Olmec Paintings of Oxtotitlan Cave, Guerrero, Mexico," Studies in Pre-Cohnnbian Art and Archaeology, Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University, 1970. See also Emily Edwards, Painted Walls of Mexico: From Prehistoric Times until Today, photographs by M. Alvarez Bravo, Austin, University of Texas

''Betty Bell,

"An

Appraisal of the

Maya

Civilization," The Ancient

vanus G. Morley, Stanford, Stanford University Press, 1956,

i^J.

p. 427.

the occasion of the

Eric S.

Thompson, Maya

History and Religion,


Press, 1970, p. 43.

i^Muriel Porter Weaver, The Aztecs, Maya, and Their Predecessors,

Seminar

New York-London,

Press, 1966, p. 43.

^Florencia Muller, "Chimalacatlan," Acta Antropologica, Vol.

^Personal communication from

Don Juan Guadalupe

sjaime Litvak, "Xochicalco en

la

Buenos

Aires, Ediciones Infmito, 1964, p.

Part

1,

Mexico,

Martinez.

caida del Clasico," Anales de Antropologia, Institute

de Investigaciones Hist6ricas, Universidad Nacional

Press, 1972, p. 155.

i2Jorge Hardoy, Ciudades Prccolombinas,

Ill,

1948.

VII, 1970, pp.

131^M. Chan, A Guide

Autonoma de Mexico,

Vol.

252.

'Roman

i^W.A. Haviland, "Tikal, Guatemala, and Mesoamerican Urbanism," World Archaeology, Oxford, 1970, pp. 186-98; cited by Muriel Porter Weaver, op. cit., p. 155. ^''William R. Coe, "Tikal, Ten Years of Study of a Maya Ruin in the Lowlands of Guatemala," Expedition, Vol. 8, No. 1, 1965, p. 47. i^Paul Westheim, Arte Antiguo de Mexico, Mexico, Fondo de Cultura Economica,

Mexicana, 1971, p. 58. sjorge Hardoy, Ciudades Precolombinas, Buenos Aires, Ediciones Infmito, 1964, pp.

316

Jr.,

"Maya

Settlement Patterns in Northeastern Peten, Guate-


to

126-29. 9Ibid., p. 129.

if'Cesar

A. Saenz, "Exploraciones en Xochicalco," Boletin

Antropologia

1950, p. 308.

'^William R. Bollard,

Piiia

e Historia,

1966,

No.

iiFray Bernardino de Sahagiin,

del

Instituto

Nacional de

26, p. 27. Florentine Codex.

General History of the

Things of

New sity

from the Nahuatl by Arthur J.O. Anderson and School of American Research and The Univer-

Spain, translated into English

Charles E. Dibble,

of Utah, 1950-69,

Book I,

p. 2.

i^Paul Kirchhoff, "Quetzalcoatl,

Huemac

y

el

fm de Tula," Cuadernos

1955, pp. 163-96. i^Muriel Porter Weaver, The Aztecs, Maya, and Their Predecessors,

Seminar

Americanos,

New York-London,

Press, 1972, pp. 204-5.

^''George Kubler,

Tlie

Art and Architecture of Ancient America, Harmondsworth,

iSRichard A. Diehl, Preliminary Report, University of Missouri Archaeological Project Hidalgo, Mexico, 1970-71 Field Season,

i^Michael

W.

'Florencia Miiller, "El Origen de los barrios de Cholula," Proyecto Puebla-Tlaxcala, Mexico, Institute Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, 1972. Mimeographed copy. 2Sergio L6pez Alonso, Zaid Lagunas Rodriguez, and Carlos Serrano Sanchez, "Datos

Preliminares sobre los Enterramientos Proyecto Puebla-Tlaxcala,

Penguin Books, 1961, pp. 176-77. at Tula,

Chapter Seven

New Mexico, The

December

1,

1971.

Mexico,

1972, pp. 3-10.

&

Diego Duran, Book of the Gods and Rites and the Ancient Calendar, translated and edited by Fernando Horcasitas and Doris Heyden, preface by Miguel Le6n-Portilla, ''Fray

Spence and Jeffrey R. Parsons, "Prehispanic Obsidian Exploitation in in Mexican Prehistory,


Ann Arbor,

^Bernal Diaz del Castillo, op.

University of Michigan, 1972, No. 45, pp. 1-33. Impersonal communication from Eduardo Matos.

*Fray Diego Duran, op.

i^Wigberto Jimenez Moreno, "Sintesis de la historia pretolteca de Mesoamerica," Esplendor del Mexico Antiguo, Mexico, Center for Anthropological Studies of Mexico, II,

1959, pp. 1019-95.

cit.,

cit.,

Press, 1971, pp. 128-30.

p. 132.

p. 163.

7Ibid., p. 68.

Âlfonso Caso, Los Sefiorios de Yanhuitldn, proceedings and records of the International Congress of Americanists, Vol.

la Economia Azteca," Los Aztecas: Su Historia y Mexico, Museo Nacional de Antropologia, 1965, pp. 5-6. ôjacques Soustelle, The Daily Life of the Aztecs, Harmondsworth, Penguin Books,

^^Jaime Litvak, "Mesoamerica y

Su

Vida,

8J.

Thompson, Maya

Eric S.

lORoman

Piiia

Chan,

Mcxicana, 1971,

^^Fray Diego Duran, Book of the Gods and Rites and the Ancient Calendar, translated and edited by Fernando Horcasitas and Doris Heyden, preface by Miguel Leon-Portilla,

iiRoman

Press, 1971, p. 432.

Chan,

Piiia

A

Guide

to

Historia, Arqueologia y Arte

p.

erican Indians, edited

Press, 1965, p. 395.

i^Jorge Hardoy, Ciudades Precolombinas,

;

3iMiguel Covarrubias, "Las raices del arte de Tenochtitlan," Mexico en

el

Arte,

No.

8,

1949. 32Luis Nicolau

op.

cit.

36Miguel Leon-Portilla, Los Antiguos Mexicanos a traves Mexico, Fondo de Cultura Economica, 1961, pp. 76-77.

dc

I,

of Middle

Am-

Austin, University of Texas

Buenos

Aires, Ediciones Infmito, 1964, p.

Mayapdn, Yucatdn, Mexico, Washington,

D.C., Carnegie Institution, 1962, pp. 166-319. I'^S.K. Lothrop, Tulum: an Archaeological Study of the East Coast of Yucatdn, Washington, D.C., Carnegie Institution, 1924. isjorge Hardoy, op.

cit., pp. 282, 284. i^Fray Diego Duran, The Aztecs: The History of the Indies of New Spain, translated and annotated by Doris Heyden and Fernando Horcasitas, York, Orion Press, 1964,

New

pp. 14-16. 20J.C. Kelley, "Settlement Patterns in Patterns in the

New

Anthropology, No.

World, edited by

North-Central Mexico,"

Gordon

New York-London, cit.,

Prehistoric Settlement

Fund Publications in Muriel Porter Weaver, The Aztecs,

R. Willey, Viking

23, 1956, pp. 128-39. See also

Predecessors,

2iMuriel Porter Weaver, op.

33Bemal Diaz del Castillo, op. cit., pp. 160-61 34Luis Nicolau D'Owler, op. cit. 35Fray Diego Duran, Historia de las Indias de Nueva Espai'ia e Islas edited by Angel M. Garibay, Mexico, Porriia, 1967, Vol. II, p. 48.

Part

281.

Maya, and Their D'Owler,

2,

I41bid.

iÂ. Ledyard Smith, Residential Structures,

Rene Millon, personal communication from the author. 28Bemal Diaz del Castillo, Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de la Nueva Espaixa, Mexico, Pornia, 1967, pp. 147^8. 29Luis Nicolau D'Owler, "Cartas de Relaci6n de Heman Cortes al Emperador Carlos V: Segunda Relaci6n, 30 de octubre de 1520," Cronistas de las Culturas Precolombinas, Antologia, Mexico, Fondo de Cultura Economica, 1963, pp. 178-79. ÔFray Juan de Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, edited by Salvador Chavez Hayhoe, 2 vols., Mexico, 1943, Vol. I, p. 451 Vol. II, pp. 142, 146.

Mexico, Fondo de

Maya Lowlands," Handbook

by Gordon R. Willey, Vol.

tropologia e Historia, 1951, pp. 186-98.

2mibid., p. 8; cites

Prehispdnico,

218.

25Edward E. Calnek, The Internal Structure of Cities in America. Pre-columbian Cities The Case of Tenochtitldn, contribution to the XXXIX International Congress of Americanists at Lima, August 1970. Mimeographed copy. Department of Anthropol-

New York.


Cultura Economica, 1972, pp. 75-83. '2Fray Diego de Landa, Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatdn, edited by Pedro Robredo,

Mexico, 1938,

ogy of the University of Rochester,

XXXV

448.


i^H.E.D. Pollock, "Architecture of the

26Ibid.

p.

p. 109.

23Ibid.

An-

Mexico, 1964,

History and Religion,

22Ibid., p. 78.

^Îgnacio Marquina, Arquitectura Prehispanica, Mexico, Institute Nacional de

I,

Press, 1970.

1964, p. 208.


Prehispanicos de Cholula, Puebla,"

Nacional de Antropologia e Historia,

^Bernal Diaz del Castillo, The True History of the Conquest of Mexico, translated by Maurice Keating, New York, McBride Co., 1927, pp. 153-54.

Central Mexico: a Preliminary Synthesis," Miscellaneous Studies

Vol.

Humanos

Institute

Seminar

Press, 1972, pp. 218-19.

pp. 277-78.

22Hasso von Winning, "Keramische Hausmodelle aus Nayarit, Mexiko," BaesslerArchiv, de la Tierra Firme,

U.S.,

Vol. XIX, 197\.

23Muriel Porter Weaver, op.

cit.,

p. 280.

sus Cronicas y Cantares,

317

WESTERN MEXICO

PERIODS

CENTRAL PLATEAU OF MEXICO

VALLEY OF MEXICO AND NEIGHBORING REGIONS

MIDDLE

OAXACA

GULF OF MEXICO

PUEBLA AND

OLMEC HEARTLAND

MORELOS VALLEYS

SAN LORENZO B.C.

1200 Tlatilco

PRE-CLASSIC

Olmec

influences

planned ceremonial centers earliest

1100

Olmec

1000

in

LATE

influences

Olmec

influences

Olmec

influences

San Jose Mogote

LA VENTA

Guerrero

intense cultural diffusion

900

Guadalupe

into other areas

800

Montenegro

ritual ball

game

PRE-CLASSIC 700

isolated

Olmec

earliest use

of columns

influences in other

MONTE ALBAN

regions

600

TRES ZAPOTES

Cerro del Tepalcate Building of the

500

Danz antes Mezcala

400

CERRO DE LAS MESAS

CUICUILCO Dainzii

Mound J

•

PROTO-

300

Tlapacoya

200

TEOTIHUACAN

CLASSIC

Totomihuacan TLALANCALECA

glyphic inscriptions

and development of

Stairways with

100

underground tombs dug

Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon

alfardas

of the

funerary architecture

and beginnings

glyphic inscriptions

talud-tablero

Cholula first

A.D. 100

moldings on bases

development of the

CENTRAL VERACRUZ

talud-tablero

200

Chupicuaro

Quetzalc6atl

EARLY CLASSIC

Temple of

300

triple

Colima

complexes

EL TAJI'n

Teotihuacan influence

development of the "scapulary"

400

urban development

MIDDLE CLASSIC

500

isolated Teotih

influences

Teotihuacan and

period of greatest splendor partial destruction

600

tablero

Manzanilla

Maya

influences

Xochicalco

700

Nayarit

Maya?)

influences

tableros

with niches

or stepped

(A.D. 650)

gradual abandonment

Teotihuacan (and

Temple of

the

frets

Lambityeco

Plumed

Serpents

LATE CLASSIC

temporary

800

cultural decline in the

900

EARLY POST-CLASSIC

models of

Ixtlan del

Rio

1100

Pyramid of the Niches Building of the Columns Las Higueras frescoes

XOCHICALCO Mixtec occupation;

TULA

Tomb

colonnades, serpentEl Ixtetc

definitive aspect of the

Great Plaza

Valley of Mexico clay

buildings

1000

CHOLULA

7

Building 3

shaped columns, atlantes,

Building

combined

A

t abler OS

1200

TENAYUCA

LATE POST-CLASSIC

Yagul

twin temple 1300

Ihuatzio

foundation of the Aztec capital (a. D. 1325) Aztec empire expands

1400

1500

TENOCHTITLAN

Tzintzuntzan

predominance by Cholula religious

MITLA

'Misantla

Teayo

Cempoala

(A.D. 1428)

Aztec hegemony

3i8

from the Mexican plateau influences

Aztec hegemony

MAYA AREA SOUTHERN AREA

CENTRAL AREA

USUMACINTA

Olmec

EL PETEN

Olmec

influences

Olmec

NORTHERN AREA

MOTAGUA

Olmec

influences

Olmec

influences

PUUC

RIO BEC, CHENES

Olmec

influences

Olmec

influences

OTHER REGIONS

influences

influences

Dzibilchaltiin

Chiapa de Corzo moldings on bases

UAXACTUN stucco masks

"apron" moldings

Santa Rosa,

Xtampak

TIKAL Kaminaljuyii

masonry walls Dzibilchaltiiii

COPAN

vaults on tombs; development and diffusion of the first

KAMINALJUYU

Acancch

corbel vault, roof-

comb, and dated strong Teotihua-

PIEDRAS NEGRAS

monuments

YAXCHILAN

Temple 23

can influences

few corbel

earliest corbel vaults

in this area

vaults

PALENQUE earliest

perfection of the

vaulted

chambers

in this area

earliest

corbel vaults

Oxkintok:

earliest

corbel vaults in this area

earliest corbel vaults

in this area

DZIBILCHALTUN

in this area

calendar

Temple 22

Becan, Santa Rosa, Xtampak:

Temple of the Seven Dolls

first Pipil

migrations

Temples of the Sun, of the Cross, of the Foliated Cross, and of the Inscriptions PIEDRAS NEGRAS

Bonampak

successive

from the Mexican plateau

Teotihuacan influences

Temples

and Temple IV Temple of the I

Inscriptions

II

Teotihuacan

XPUHIL, RIO BEC

EDZNA

influences

HORMIGUERO

Teotihuacan in-

Hieroglyphic Stairway

Temples

1 1

Teotihuacan

fluences

influences

TABASQUENO

SAYIL

Kohunlich

BEGAN, CHICANNA

LABNA

DZIBILNOCAC

KABAH

HOCHOB

UXMAL

COBA

and 22

YAXCHILAN Tonina

QUIRIGUA

progressive abandonment of the

progressive

ceremonial centers

monial centers

CHICKEN ITZA Tuluni

influences

Zaculeu

aban-

donment of the Topoxte

cere-

progressive

aban-

donment of the

CHICHEN ITZA Toltcc occupation

cere-

monial centers

and Maya-Toltec

UXMAL

art

Cahyup

MAYAPAN

Chuitinamit

TULUM and of the

other

cities

east coast

Mixco Viejo Iximche

Tayasal

319

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323

INDEX

Acanceh, 95, 178

Calnek, 256

Acatlan, 224

Campeche,

City planning, 50, 52. See 92, 93, 189, 238, 276; Plates

also specific cities;

239^0,

256, 258-60

Capacha, 13

Coatepantli,

Ahuatditli, 12

Caracol, 282, 290; Plates 315-317

Coatlicue, 255; Plate 294

Alaska, 9

Casas Grandes, 56, 309, 312

Coba,

Alfardas, 20, 44, 59, 88, 90, 246, 282, 290; Plate 21

Caso, A., 15

Cocijo, 86

Alta Vista de Chalchihuites, 312

Castillo

Codz-Poop,

194, 198; Plates

Coe, M. D.,

12,

Acosta,

50

J.,

Chichen Itza, 282, 290; Plates 314, 318-320, 322-324 Tulum, 306; Plates 350, 351

Altar de Sacrificio, 276 Altar of the Astronomers, Plate 169

Bemal Diaz

Castillo,

Altar of Skulls, 240

Altun Ha. 92, 178

Catherwood,

Aniapa, Plate 60

Ce

F.,

de, 257-58, 260-61,

262-64

Arches, 74, 134, 194, 221. See also Corbel vault. umental, 26, 39, 192-94; Plates 217, 218, 220

Mon-

Ataduras, 219, 220, 221; Plate 253

Comalcalco, 155; Plate 168 Plates

Cook, C, 86 Copan, 92, 155-76,

Central Acropolis, Plate 112

Copil, 249

Atoan, 9 Atonal, 269

temples

teteo,

Cerro de

12

pyramids;

Mesas, 62

Coru, Plate

16

Cerro Gordo, 39

Azcapotzalco, 38, 249

Chac, 93, 180, 190, 194, 198, 220, 221, 282; Plates 190, 238,

Aztecs, 9, 11, 14, 26, 232, 238, 246-61, 268-69, 280, 309, 311, 312; See also Feast of the Sim; Tenochti-

252

Chan, R. Pma,

338-348

118, 119-32, 141, 143, 180, 186, 194, 220, 221; Plates 110, 208

Plate

211

Cuernavaca, 224 Cuicuilco, 20, 240; Plates 17, 18

Chenes, 179, 180, 186, 189

93

Strait,

Bemal,

I.,

94

Dainzii, 13, 20; Plates

Danzantes Diehl, R. A., 238

Chichen Itza, 92, 221, 238, 276-94, 301; 257, 314-348

9

15

8-10

Danzantes, 13, 17; Plate 11. See also Building of the

Chichanchob, 221

Viejo, 178

Bering

14,

Chicanna, 179, 180, 188, 189; Plates 200-201

Belize River, 276

Benque

Curicaveri, 309

Channa, 190

Chiapas, 15, 92

Behce, 92, 178-79

Bell, Betty,

Cuilapan, 269

280-82

38,

Chiapa de Corzo,

Becan, 179, 180-86

260

Cresterlas,

Chachuapan, 269

Chalchiuhtlicue, 53

Plates 78, 79, 86, 102. 175, 259, 260, 270, 274, 314,

13, 60, 92,

Coxcatlan, 12

Cozumel, 276, 301

Chalcatzingo, 224

Ball courts, 20, 53, 62, 76, 228, 230, 240, 294, 309, 312;

257, 258, 260-61, 267, 268

Covarrubias, M.,

Chac-mool, 240, 290, 312; Plates 330, 331

Chacmultun, 192;

tlan

Aztlan, 246

Heman,

1

Costa Rica, 9

Ayotla, 13

Aztatlan, 31

Coronada, 311 Cortes,

las

179, 180; Plates 169-191

Corbel vault, 96, 104, 186, 194, 282, 286; Plate 102

centers, 15-17. See also specific

Cerro del Tepalcate, 20;

36, 38

302-305

Centeotl, 86

Centzon

the Dead, 26, 39, 40, 47, 48; Plates 29, 30,

309

13, 306,

Colotlipa, 224

Cempoala, 267, 268;

Ceremonial

221-227

14-15

Coe, W., 96

Colima,

Acatl, 232

Atatl, 12

Avenue of

92, 114, 178; Plate 126

Colhuacan, 249

141, 192

Cebola, 311

Apan, 9

Urbani-

zation

199-208

Plates

254-

Diquiyu, 86

Dresden Codex, 93

Chichi mecs, 232, 243

Drewitt, B., 50

Chihuahua, 309, 312

Duran, Fray Diego, 60, 264

Blanton, R., 86

Chimalacatlan, 224

Dzibilchaltun, 14, 20, 31, 92, 31, 176-79; Plate 196

Bodley Codex, 269

Chimalma, 232

Bolontikii, 155

Chinampas, 9

Bonampak,

92, 93, 132

Coatlicue; Xipe

Cholula, 55-59, 232, 262-64; Plates 53-57, 61

Earth goddess, 255. See

Building of the Columns, 74; Plates 72, 76

Chontal Maja, 274-76

Eaton,;., 179-80

Building of the Danzantes, 87, 88; Plates 84, 89, 93

Chorera, 14

Ecuador, 14

Burnt Palace, 239;

Chupicuaro, 13

Edzna, 186-90; Plates 206-208

Plates 273,

275

Citadels, 47, 50; Plates

25-29

Calixtlahuaca, 246; Plates 61, 286

Citlalicue, 9

Caljnecac, 260

City of the Gods, 90. See

El Corral, 240; Plate

also

277

El Ixtepete, 59, 309 also

Teotihuacan

El Opeiio, 13

325

El Petcn, 14, 92, 93, 94, 103, 108, 112, 114, 179; Plates

122-125, 127-133. See El Salvador, 9,

also

Peten Itza

92 203

El Tabasquefio, 186-89,

Huaxtec,

267-68

11, 13, 59, 62,

Lintels

Huehueteol, 53, 86

monolithic, 274

Huemac, 232

Piedras Negras, 119 Yaxchilan, 132

Huexotla, 257; Plate 289

El Tajin, 56, 59, 60, 64-76, 86, 268; Plates 62, 64,

66-

69, 78, 79

Litvak.J., 224

Huitzilopochtli, 249, 260; Plate 292

Long Count, 64

Hunab Ku, 93

Lothrop,

Etla, 13

22-24

Feast of the Sun,

Fejervary-Mayer Codex, 48 Fire god,

;

Plate

35

McNeish, R.

Ihuatzio, 312

Maler Palace, 108

Institute

284 Itza,

9,

48-50

de Antropologia e Historia, 96

93

Marquina,

Frescoes

Fuente, B. de

Ixtlan del Rio, 309, 311 Izapa, 14, 20,

;

Plate

363

Masks,

94

258

I.,

13, 15-17, 178-79, 180, 186, 192; Plates 6, 170,

197, 204, 215, 227. See also specific deities

Matlatzinca, 246

Iztapalapa, 257

134

la,

12

Manzanilla, 53, 55, 230; Plate 52

Ixkun, 114; Plate 122

Monte Alban, 86 Teotihuacan, 53; Plates 49, 50

C,

Mangelsdorf, P.

Manos, 12

Florentine Codex, 34 Ixchel,

12

Maiiion, 14

276

Itzamna, 93, 179-80

Fonccrrada de Molina, M., 186, 221

S., 11,

Malinalco, 246; Plates 287, 288

Mujeres, 301

Isla

Five Suns (myth),

301

Ichpaatiin, 301

309

Fire serpent, 243; Plate

S. K.,

Maya,

Funerary architecture, 22, 91

11, 14, 62, 76, 238. See also specific regions,

cities

Classic,

Jaguar Stairway, 164; Plates 181, 182, 185

92-221 276-306

Post-Classic,

Glyphs,

13, 103, 158, 160; Plates 96, 156,

Jaina, 93

194

Governor's Palace (Uxmal), 220-21 Plates 228, 247-252 ;

Great

Compound,

47,

50

Jalisco, 306,

Maya-Toltec architecture, 280-94

309

Jwiqnillos con atadiiras, 190, 192, 194, 219, 220; Plate

Great Pyramid of Tepanapa. See Pyramid of Tanapa, Great

215

Juxtlahuaca, 224

;

Plates

328,

329, 332

Kabah,

92, 194-98, 276; Plates

219-227

Kaminaljuyii, 14, 58, 92, 94, 238; Plates 58, 59

Guanajuato, 13, 306, 309

Guatemala,

9,

Kichmool, 192;

14, 15, 92, 93, 94, 114-18, 280

Guerrero, 87, 90, 158

Kirchhoff, P.,

9,

Plate

232

Kohunlich, 178-79; Plate 197 Kubler, G., 53, 238, 280-82

Gulf Coast,

Kulkulkan, 86, 93-94, 238. See kulkan; Quetzalcoatl

59-62

Gulf of Nicoya, 9

Mexica, 246-61 "Mexicanization," 243

Mexico. See also specific regions, European conquest, 9 geography, 9 northwestern, 306 western, 306

212

Guerrero, R. Flores, 15, 222, 224, 238, 306 13,

Corbel vault

92, 276-80, 301

Merida, 280

Thousand Columns, 286

the

vault. See

Mendoza Codex, 255

Grijalva River, 92

Group of

Maya

Mayapan,

also

Temple of Kul-

Mexico

cities

City, 13, 55. Sec also Tenochtitlan

Mezcala carvings, 306 Mica, 13

Michoacan,

La Malinche, 228, 230

Haah, 92-93, Halacli

iiinic,

Hardoy, Heads,

J.,

47, 50, 74, 86, 87, 228,

La Venta,

301-6

LiVentilh, 53;

colossal, 14, 17, 44; Plate 4

Hochob, 186; Honduras,

14, 17, 309. See also

Plate 202,

9, 92,

Plates 38, 51

Glyphs

205

280

Lacandon,

Lake

58,

Flores,

276

Lake Patzcuaro,

Viejo, 92

Mixcoatl, 232

Mixteca, 13, 55, 56, 268-69

Mixteca-Pucbla, 311 12,

Lake Texcoco, 12

House of the Doves, 220; Plates 228, 243, 246 House of Flowers, 224 House of the Turtles, 220; Plates 228, 244, 245

Lambityeco, 91

312

Landa, Fray Diego de, 290-94 Las Higueras, 76

Mixco

Mixteca-Baja, 86

94

Hormiguero, 179

326

Mitla, 269-74; Plates 308-313

5-7

Labna, 92, 192-94, 220; Plates 213-218

Hieroglyphic Stairway, 160; Plate 178 Hieroglyphic writing,

15, 17, 39; Plates

312; Plate 358

Millon, R., 22, 35, 40, 47, 50

La Quemada, 309, 312

93

13, 306, 309,

Moctezuma, 258, 261 palace, 256

Monte Alban,

13, 14, 17, 20, 26, 56, 59, 64, 76, 86-91, 230, 268, 269; Plates 11-13, 80-98

Montenegro,

13, 20,

86

Morelos,

Moreno, Morley,

43

238

J.,

Palace of Sayil, 190

95

S.,

Motagua

Palace of the Quetzalbutterfly, 44, 50-52; Plates 39, 40-

222-24, 238, See also Xochicalco

15, 55,

River,

9,

F.,

Palace of Tepantitla, 53

55

;

39

Plate

Palace of Zacuala, 52; Plates 39, 44

El Tajin, 76

Palangana, 15

Mulric, 93 Teotihuacan, 46

Palenque,

17, 22, 92, 118, 119,

Panuco River,

9,

47,

48,

50,

58;

38

Plates 19, 36,

Palace of Tetitia, 52; Plates 39, 50

Murals, 26, 34 Cholula, 58

39,

Pyramid of the Niches, 64-68; Plates 66, 68 Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl, 44, 46, 48; Plates 20-23, 25 Pyramid of the Sun, 26, 34, 38, 39, 40, 46, 48, 50;

Palace of the Sun, Plate 39

Mulchic, 93 Muller,

38,

38

Plates 31-34, 36,

Palace of the Stuccoes, 178

155-76

Pyramid of the Masks, 178 Pyramid of the Moon, 26,

132-55; Plates 141-167

Pyramid of Tenayuca, 243; Plate 285 Pyramid of Tepanapa, Great, 55, 58; 57

Plates 53, 54, 56,

Pyramid of Venus, 290

13

Pasion River, 276 Patlachique, 48

Nahua, 309

Quadrangle of the Niches, 74

Pax Teotihuacana 238 ,

Nahuatl, 11, 249, 276

Nakum,

Payon, 114, 123

Nayarit, 59, 246, 306, 309, 311; Plates 360, 361, 363

Nebaj, 92

Peor

es

Peten

ceremony, 230, 243

Nada, 190

Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl, 246. See also

Itza, 92,

Pipil,

Nicaragua, 9

276

Quiahuiztlan, 268; Plate 306

Quintana Roo, also

93

Platform of the Jaguars and Eagles, 290-94;

204

92,

178-79; Plates 126, 197, 198.

See

Tulum

Quirigua, 92, 176; Plates 192-195

Pitao Cozobi, 86

Nine Lords of Night, 155

Temple of Quet-

zalcoatl-Ehecatl

Piedras Negras, 56, 114-19; Plates 127-133

Nezahualcoyotl, 243, 246

Plate

See also Palace of the Quetzal-

Quetzalcoatl, 14-15, 53, 64, 86, 232-38, 260, 264-67, 276. See also Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl

Peten. See El Peten

Nocuchich,

50.

butterfly

Pechal, 190

Narvacz, 267

Fire

Quetzalbutterfly,

Garcia, 68, 76

Paz, O., 68, 76

Nanahuatzin, 31

New

J.

Plates

336-338 Nopiloa, 59

North Acropolis,

Plaza of the Columns, AT; Plates 30, 38 96, 104, 106, 158, 160; Plates 103, 106,

Moon,

Plaza of the

108, 112, 113

Ram

48; Plates 32, 36, 38

Pleistocene age, 9, 55

Nuiiie, 86, 269

Nunnery Quadrangle,

192, 198-219; Plates 228,

236-

Plumed

serpent, 44, 93-94, 230, 282, 290, 312; Plate

337. See also Quetzalc6atl

242

Pochteca, 26,

Nuttall Codex, 269

13, 15, 17, 20, 26, 53, 55, 56, 76-86,

268-74,

Oaxaca quarter (Monte Alban), 90

12,

Remojadas,

Rio Bee, 179,

Pucbla-Tlaxcala area, 262

Roofcombs. See

Otomi

Puebla Valley,

Ruz-Lhuillier, A., 143, 155

Owl

region,

1

god, 219

Oxtotitlan, 224

Palace (Palenque), 132; Plates 141-156 Palace of Atetelco, 52-53; Plates 39, 46, 48, 49

Palace of the Columns, 308-13

specific

18,

58

62

13,

180, 189,

282

Cresterias

Purepecha, 309 Putun, 274-76

Puuc zone, Paddock,;., 84, 86, 269

See also

Pre-Hispanic, 104 Zapotcc, 86

Proto-Maya groups, 14

255

53.

Olmec, 14

Proskouriakoff, T., 60, 94-95, 118, 143, 158, 161, 179,

Puebla, 13, 15, 55

13, 14-15, 55,

22,

34

Ornamentation, 104, 134, 186, 190, 221, 269, 274, 282. See also Masks; Murals; Sculpture

Olmecs,

See also

Monte Alban, 86

26

190

Ohveros, 13

198, 232.

Maya, 93-94

Potter, D., 186 Price, B. J.,

180,

Red Jaguar Throne, 286; Plate 321 Red Temple of the Shore, 132; Plate 135

Classic,

Popol Viih, 92

164,

119,

Religious architecture, temples Aztec, 255

255

Pollock, H. E. D., 180, 294

Oaxaca, 309

god, 58, 93,

Chac; Tlaloc

92, 179, 186-221,

276

Sabacche, 221

;

Plate

253

Pyramid E-VII-sub, 95 Pyramid of the Columns, 274 Pyramid of the Eagles, 290-94

St.

Pyramid of Izamal, 178 Pyramid of the Magicians, 198;

San Luis Potosi, 62, 309

Francis Monastery, 262

San Jose Mogote, 13 San Lorenzo,

Plates

228-235

Sanders,

W.

15, 17; Plates 3,

T., 26,

4

38

327

;

Tepeapulco, 58

Santa Cecilia Acatitlan, 243; Plate 285

Tablet of the Scribes, 134

Santa Rita, 280

Tablet of the Slaves, 134, 152

Tequistec, 86

Tajin. See El Tajin

Tequixquiac sacrum, 11

Tajin Chico, 68-76; Plates 63, 65, 70-77

Tetitla,

Tabid

Texcoco, 243, 257

Saqqara, 22 Sayil, Plate

209

Schondubc, O., 48 Sculpture, 119. See also Heads, colossal; specific animals

Aztec, 14

Copan, 160-76 Gulf Coast, 59-60

Pipil, 93 Teotihuacan, 40, 44, 53

Tezcatlipoca, 232

T'ho, 280

Toltec, 239, 286, 290

•

Thompson,

Zapotec, 88, 230

Huaxtec, 64

Tahid-tablero

Olmec,

Teotihuacan, 48, 58, 59; Plates 27, 28

Palcnque, \M Quirigua, 176 relief, 194 Veracruz, 62 Yaxchilan, 132

94

Tikal, 20, 26, 31, 53, 56, 59, 92, 94, 96-114, 132, 141,

Monte Alban,

86

J.,

Tianguis, 260

Malinalco, Plate 287 14,

52

90; Plate 92

189; Plates 101-121

Tamaulipas, 11

Tilantongo, 269

Tamazula, 269

Tlacolula, 91

Tamoanchan, 50

Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, 232, 239, 290

Tarascans, 309, 312

Tlaloc, 34, 44, 86, 93, 220, 260; Plate 292

Tecamachalco, 55

Tlamimilolpa, 52

Tecuciztecatl, 31

Tlapacoya,

Sejourne, L., 52

Tchuacan Valley,

Tlatelolco, 257, 260-61; Plate 291

Selden Codex, 269

Tehuantepec, 14

zoomorphic, 246 Seibal,

221,276; P/<Jfe25«

Telpochcalli,

Serpent Wall, 239^0, 258-60

Shroeder, 312

Madre, 311 301

L.,

Sonora, 311

South Acropolis, Plate

U4

Spanish Conquest, 246, 276, 280. See also Castillo, B. Cortes Stairways, 20, 64, 74, 88, 286;

Plates 71, 170,

"Flying," 194; Plate 219 Stelae, 221,

228

Maya, 103 Olmec, 17 Piedras Negras, 119

Stephens,

J.,

141

Stone of the Sun, Plate 293

Sun god,

179,

Tlatilco, 13,

309

Tabasco, 14, 56, 92, 238, 276, 280 Tablero, 268 Cholula, 58, 59; Plates 55, 61 El Tajin, 64; Plates 61, 68

molding, 230 93 Pyramid of the Niches, 68 Pipij,

317;

55

260

Tlaxcala, 56 Tlazolteotl,

352,

267

Tlillan Tlapallan,

232

Tloque Nahuaque, 93

Temple of the Feathered Shells, 44, 46; Plate 24 Temple of the Foliated Cross, 132; Plates 141, 164 Temple of the Frescoes, 2>Q6\ Plates 353, 354 Temple of the Giant Jaguar, 106 Temple of the Hieroglyphic Stairway, 161 Plate 178 Temple of the Inscriptions, 132, 143; Plates 141, 142,

Toltecs, 36, 38, 221, 232-38, 262, 268, 276, 280, 282-86,

290, 312

Tomacatlalpan, 267

Tombs, 86. See also Funerary Olmec, 15-17

architecture

;

165-167

Temple of the Jaguars, 290; Plates 347, 348 Temple of Kulkulkan, 282; Plate 318 Temple of the Plumed Serpent, 230; Plates 266-269

Temple of

Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl, Plates 286, 292, 296,

shaft,

309 -'

Topiltzin, 232

Torquemada, Fray Juan

de, 53,

258

Torture oj the Captives, 132 Tota, 267

Totomihuacan, 20 Totonacs, 59, 64, 68, 76, 267, 268

298, 301, 304, 305

Temple of the Seven Dolls, 178; Plate 196 Temple of the Stelae, 230; Plate 2^2 Temple of the Sun, 132, \A\; Plates 141, 157-159 Temple of the Three Lintels, 221 Plate 257 Temple of Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, 239, 240, 294; Plates

Towers, 178 Caracol, 282 masonry, 179-86 Tres Zapotcs, 14, 17, 62

;

271, 272, 275, 276

Temple of the Warriors, 290;

Plates 328-331, 333-335,

Tribune of the Spectators, 160-64;

Tula, 238-40, 243, 268, 280; Plates 275-277

Tulum,

347 Tenayuca, 243, 260;

Plates

278-284

Plates 183,

Triple complexes, 40, 47

Tuxtla

92, 280, 301-6; Plates statuette,

350-357

14

Tenochtitlan, 249-61, 269; Plates 290, 292-295

Tzintzuntzan, 306, 309, 312, 358-59

Tcotihuacan, 40, 44, 46, 50, 53; Plates 27, 28

Teotenango, 246

Tzolkin, 92-93

Toltec, 239, 240, 282, 290

Teotihuacan,

scapulary, 90, 91

Zapotcc, 86, 274

328

15

Tlaxacans, 262

357

Sinaloa, 9, 306, 309, 311

Smith, A.

86

Temple of the Chimneys, Plates 302, 303 Temple of the Cross, 132, 143; Plates 141, 162, 163 Temple of the Descending Gods, 306; Plates 350,

Seven Caves, 309

Sierra

11, 12,

13, 22, 26, 55; Plates 14,

26-38, 55, 56, 59, 62, 64, 76, 86, 87, 88, 90, 179, 219, 222, 312; Plates 19-51 9, 22,

Tzompantli, 240, 257, 294

184

Uasusecha, 309

Uaxactun, 20, 56, 94-96;

Plates 99,

100

Urbanization, 20, 86, 301-6

Maya, 92 Mixteca, 86 Oaxaca, 76 Teotihuacan, 39-53 Usumacinta River,

Uxmal,

Xochitecatl, 56

Wattle-and-daub construction, 12

X61otl, 239

Weaver, M.,

Xonecuilli, 74

Westheim,

36, 238, 311

P.,

Xpuhil, 179, 180; Plate 199

88

Wind

god, 246. See

Wolf,

E. R., 9, 11

also

Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl

92, 114-55

linguistic family,

92, 198-221,

36

276-80; Plates 228-252

Xcalumkin-Holactun, 190

Yanhuitlan, 269

Xelha, 301

Yaxchilan, 92, 93, 119-32, 276; Plates 134-140

Xicalanca-Olmecs, 56-58, 262

Yaxha, 114, 189;

Xicalcoliuhqui, 74

Yucatan,

Xicotencatl, 56, 262 Valdivia, 14

Xipe, 14; Plate 297

Valley of Mexico, 86, 249

125 176-221, 276, 280, 301.

See also Chichen Itza; Tuluni

Yum

Kax, 86

Xiuh, 276

Vault. See Corbel vault 9, 13, 14, 59, 62, 64, 76, 267,

Plates 124,

14, 20, 64, 92, 94, 114,

Xipe T6tec, 86

Valley of Morelos, 232

Veracruz,

Ydcata, 309, 312; Plate 359

Yagul, Plate 307

Uto-Aztecan, 11

Utonahua

Watchtowers, 301

Xiuhcoatl, 243; Plate 284

280

Xiuhtecuhtli, 86

Zaachila, 86, 268, 269

Xlabpak, 192; Plate 210

Zaculeu, 92

Xochicalco, 59, 222-32, 238, 240; Plates 259-269

Zacatecas, 309

Wallrath, M., 47

Xochipala, 224, 306

Zapotecs, 14, 86, 268-69; Plates 94, 95, 97.

War

Xochipilli, 9, 86

Von Winning,

H., 311

of the Flowers, 249

See also

Monte Alban

329

OF PLATES

LIST

Plate

Plate Principal cultural centers of Mesoamerica.

plateau of Mexico

(Map

D.

C. Gulf Coast

A. western Mexico

Oaxaca

area

B. central

Maya

E.

Teotihuacdn : Building of the Altars

Detail of map of Mesoamerica showing the central plateau of Mexico. The area occupied by the lakes during pre-Hispanic times

is

The

outlined in the center (drawn

San Lorenzo, Veracruz general plan (Michael D. Coe, 1970)

3

:

colossal monolithic head.falapa, Anthropological

Museum

of the

La Venta:

mask

colossal

in

green serpentine mosaic.

6 monolithic altar. Villahermosa,

Park-Museum

7

Dainzu, Oaxaca, Mexico:

bas-relief

8

Dainzu, Oaxaca, Mexico:

bas-relief

9

Dainzu:

bas-relief on the base of a large truncated

Monte Alban, Oaxaca:

Moon

the

pyramid

10

34

35

summit of the Pyramid of the

Moon

Moon ;

and

the

Avenue of the Dead from

in the background, left, the

Pyramid of

Teotihuacdn

:

aerial

Teotihuacdn

:

archaeological

viewfrom

37 38

the northwest

and topographical map (Millon, 1970)

39

Teotihuacdn

40

Palace of the Quetzalbutterfiy. Detail of the pillars around the

:

patio

41

Teotihuacdn: Palace of the Quetzalbutterfiy. Detail of one of the pillars around

42

the central patio

Teotihuacdn: plan of the Palace of the Quetzalbutterfiy and ading buildings

43

11

Teotihuacdn plan of the Palace of Zacuala (Sejourne, 1966)

44

Teotihuacdn : plan of the Palace of Tlamimilolpa (Hardoy, 1964)

45

:

Monte Alban: partial view of the Great Plaza from

the southwest.

Mound J

is

in

the foreground

12

Monte Alban: Mound J Tlapacoya, Mexico the

13

:

Teotihuacdn

plan of the central section of the Palace of Atetelco (Marquina,

:

46

1964) stepped base during restoration

14 Teotihuacdn: temples represented on a vase found

Tlapacoya : the stepped base

15

after restoration

Cerro del Tepalcate, Mexico:

sniall artificial base

(drawn by faime Dduila

Cuicuiico,

Mexico: small truncated pyramidal stepped base

47

Teotihuacdn

17

Cuicuilco: aerial view of the great circular base

18

of Atetelco.

Teotihuacdn

Tetitla.

dispensing precious objects

20

Teotihuacdn:

Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl. Lateral

stele

21

thropology

22

Teotihuacdn: Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl. Detail of the facade

23

Manzanilla: map of 1973)

Teotihuacdn

Temple of the Feathered

:

detail

Shells. Detail

of one of the alfardas

of a corner of the facade

view of the Citadel. In the center, the remains of the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl, partially covered by a later construction Teotihuacdn

Teotihuacdn

24

26

bases leading to the interior plaza

Teotihuacdn

Citadel. Perspective reconstruction of the so-called Viking

:

section

Teotihuacdn: perspective

reconstruction

of several

triple

complexes

Temples;

in the center, the

Plaza of

the

Teotihuacdn

:

Pyramid of the

Moon seen from

the

Avenue of the Dead

Cholula: building

in the east

plaza, displaying a talud-tablero atop a concave

55

Cholula: Great Pyramid of Tepanapa. Reconstruction of one of the

detail

last

phases

56

:

57

of a base west of the Great Pyramid of Tepanapa

base of Building

B-4, showing a

clear

clear

Teotihuacdn

Sketch

:

58

Teotihuacdn infiuence

59

(Marquina, 1964)

Amapa, Nayarit

the

53

54

Great Pyramid of Tepanapa. Detail of the base

Kaminaljuyu

Columns (drawn by

Pedro Dozal after Millon, 1970)

:

28

northwest section of the Avenue of the Dead. In the foreground, the complex of Little

zone (Gonzdlez,

52

Cholula:

29 iti

eastern part of the archaeological

Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala: base of Building A-7, showing a influence (Marquina, 1964)

Group

of the Avenue of the Dead (drawn by Pedro Dozal)

51 the

27

Teotihuacdn: Citadel. Reconstruction of a talud-tablero combination (Acosta,

1964)

of An-

of superposition (reconstruction by Pedro Dozal)

Teotihuacdn: Citadel. Detail of a stepped base displaying the Teotihuacdn principle of the talud-tablero

50

Museum

talud

and of the stepped

Citadel. Detail of the platforms with stairs

:

25

(or high priests)

Fresco representing deities

Cholula, Puebla: Great Pyramid (or" Acropolis") ofTepanapaseenJrom the east

Chohila

aerial

:

plumed jaguar and a

from La Ventilla. Mexico City, National

Teotihuacdn: Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl. Detail of the facade

:

representing a

49 Palace oj

:

Teotihuacan: Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl. Elevation (Marquina, 1964)

Teotihuacdn

Fresco

plur)ied coyote

19

330

48

temple-like altar in the central patio of the Palace of Atetelco

:

Teotihuacdn, Mexico: aerial view of the Pyramid of the Sun

Four

Tikal (drawn by Paul

Gendrop)

Teotihuacdn: Palace

the

at

16

Arratia)

and of a

36

Sun

(Acosta, 1964)

of the Danzantes

bas-reliefs from the Building

33

Fejervary-Mayer Codex (drawn

Teotihuacdn: Palace of the Quetzalbutterfiy. Porticoed patio

Villahermosa, Park-

Museum La Venta:

the

of the Pyramid of the

Teotihuacdn : aerial view from the south

C

view of Complexes and A, occupying the main part of the ceremonial center (drawn by Gil Lopez Corella after Heizer, Drucker, and Graham, 1968) aerial

from

Teotihuacdn: view of the Plaza of the the

Uniiiersity of Veracruz

La Venta, Tabasco, Mexico:

"five regions of the world"

at thefoot

by Paul Gendrop)

2

by Paul Gendrop)

32

Teotihuacdn: Pyramid of the Moon. Detail of a corner of the additional base

area

by Paul Gendrop)

San Lorenzo:

Moon and Pyramid of the Moon

Teotihuacdn : Plaza of the

clay model of a

oj various profiles of

pumpkin-shaped temple

tableros found

in

60

Mesoamerica (drawn by Paul 61

Gendrop)

30

El Tajin, Veracruz

31

by Jose Garcia Pay on)

:

plan of the central nucleus of the archaeological zone (drawn

62

Plate

Taj'm Chico : base of Building

El Taj in

5 seen from

Building

:

D the top

Taj in Chico : rear corner of Building

of Building 3

C

El Taj in : Pyramid of the Niches

The Pyramid of the Niches

background

El Taj in

:

Building 3.

El Taj in

:

Pyramid of the Niches. Elevation and plan (Marquina, 1964)

El Taj in : Building

3.

Detail of a corner

Taj in Chico : Building

Chico

A

:

Building A. Detail of the access stairway

:

Buildings

Taj in Chico Taj in

in the

is

A, B, and

C seen from the Building of the Columns

Taj in Chico : Building A. Detail of the stucco decoration along the corridor Tajin Chico : plan of Building

A (Marquina,

Tikal : Building 5-D-sub-l-l ° (William Coe, 1965)

64

Sketch of various cross sections of corbel vauhs found

65

by Paul Gendrop)

102

66

Tikal : colossal mask inside Temple 33-sub

68

Tikal detail at the base of Tcniple

69

Tikal: plan indicating two phases of the development of the North Acropolis in

10

the years 1 a.d. (a)

:

103

105

and 800 a.d. (b) (William Coe, 1965)

Tikal : rear view of Temple I

12

Tikal: partial aerial view of the center of the

and the Great Plaza with Temples I and II Tikal: view from the summit of Temple

I.

11

in bas-relief

El Tajin

:

sacrificial scene,

on a wall of the ball court

18

bas-relief on a wall of the ball court

108 In the foreground.

Temple

II; in the

II.

IV

109

110

Detail of the roof-comb

16

19

Museo Etnografico

Tikal: partial reconstruction of the monuments. In the foreground Acropolis

:

bas-relief with a

showing the North Acropolis

city,

15

1964) Tajin Chico '.fragments of columns carved

106

101

Tikal: carved from Temple IV. Basel,

El Tajin

104

32

11

Tikal: Temple

Taj in Chico: plan of the Building of the Columns and Tajin Chico (Marquina,

area (drawn

Temple 23 of the North Acropolis

:

background, Temples III and :

Maya

61

14

Tajin Chico plan of Building Q. First phase of construction (Marquina, 1964)

101 in the

Tikal

13

1964)

Plate

63

;

Market

in the background, the

(drawn by Manuel Chin

(right)

111 ,

the Central

and the North Acropolis

(left)

Any on)

112

Tikal partial aerial view of the North Acropolis; in the background, Temple :

Monte Albdn :

view of the Great Plazafrom the south

80

I (lift) and Central Acropolis (center)

113

Monte Albdn plan of the Great Plaza (Marquina, 1964)

81

Tikal : plan of Building 51 of the South Acropolis (Maler, n.d.)

114

Monte Albdn

:

aerial

82

Tikal: interior of a gallery of a five-storied palace in the Central Acropolis

115

Monte Albdn

:

base of one of the buildings situated on the north platform

aerial

:

view of the Great Plazafrom the north

83

Monte Albdn: west side of the Great Plaza seen from the north platform. In the Complex IV ; in the background Complex M; toward the center.

foreground.

Tikal

Building of the Danzantes

84

Monte Albdn

85

Monte Albdn:

east side

of the Great Plaza seenfrom the ground

ball court

seenfrom the south. In the background, the north plat-

form

Monte Albdn plan of Mound X-sub (Marquina, 1964)

87

Monte Albdn plan of Buildings G, H, and I (Marquina, 1964)

88

Monte Albdn plan of the

89

:

:

:

Building of the Danzantes (Marquina, 1964)

Monte Albdn plan of the temple of Complex IV (Marquina, 1964)

90

:

:

aerial

view

oj

one of the twin complexes (reconstruction by Pedro Dozal)

Tikal : one of the two twin stepped bases of Complex

Monte Albdn

:

reconstruction of Complex

:

detail

Monte Albdn

:

partial

IV (Marquina,

Maya arch and a

1964)

91

92

view of the buildings along the southwest

Plaza. In the foreground. to the right, the

IV

Complex

M with

its

access platform

:

side

in the

of the Great

Tikal: Stele 16

121

Ixkun, El Peten, Guatemala: plan of the

Nakum,

El Peten

:

plan of the

Yaxhd, El Peten plan of the

Yaxhd plan of the

Monte Albdn

clay model of a Zapotec temple with a

Piedras Negras: plan of the

city.

'

:

section

of Building

plan of the

city

1

(Marquina, 1964)

126

127

(Marquina, 1964)

Detail of the northeast section (Marquina,

128

129

koff)

Piedras Negras: in

a corner

Throne

1

from

Building J-6.

Anthropological

Museum

of

Guatemala

130

Piedras Negras : Stelae 14, 40, and 12

131

Piedras Negras: Stele 12

132

96

Monte Albdn plans and sections of two Zapotec tombs (Marquina, 1964) Monte Albdn entrance to Tomb 104. Detail of the decoration over the doorway :

97

:

98

1

964)

Uaxnctun: schematic plan of Complex E. The angles of astronomical observamarked in broken lines (Marquina, 1964)

tion are

Cobd, Qiiintana Roo, Mexico: plan and

Piedras Negras: reconstruction of the Acropolis (drawn by Tatiana Proskouria'

of the south platform

:

125

Detail of the western section (Hellmuth, 1911)

city.

the

95

Uaxactun plan of Pyramid E- Vll-sub (Marquina,

123 124

(Hellmuth, 1911)

94

sun

embedded

122

1964)

macaw, symbolizing

stones carved with glyphic inscriptions,

city

(Marquina, 1964)

(Marquina, 1964)

Piedras Ncgras, El Peten, Guatemala

93

stone model of a Zapotec temple from the Classic period

Monte Albdn:

city

city

background

Building of the Danzantes

Monte Albdn : :

119

pair of carved monoliths (stele-altar)

120

:

of a talud-tablcro /ro/ii Complex

118

Tikal: Altar

:

Monte Albdn

Q

111

Tikal: precinct located north of the twin complexes, with an entrance in the form

of a

86

116

Acropolis

tral

,

:

Tikal: base showing the Teotihuacdn influence, situated at the foot of the Cen-

99

Piedras Negras

:

Lintel

3

Yaxchildn, Chiapas, Mexico : plan of the

100

133 city

(Marquina, 1964)

Yaxchildn : Building 6 (Red Temple of the Shore)

134

135

331

,

Plate

Yaxchildn : section and plan of Building 33 (Marquina, 1964)

and plan of Building 6 (Marquina, 1964)

Yaxchildn

:

section

Yaxchildn

:

Building 33

Yaxchildn

:

interior

Yaxchildn

:

Lintel

of Building 33

25from Building 23

Comalcalco : stucco mask on a temple stairway

1

137

:

1 71

138

Copdn plan of the city Copdn altar and Stele D :

172

139

Copdn:

140

Copdn: Altar

Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico: aerial view from the northeast. In the foreground

Temple of the Inscriptions ; to the left, Foliated Cross, and Temple of the Sun

the Palace; to the right, the the Cross,

Temple of the

the

Temple

Plate

136

of

141

Palenque: aerial view from the north. In the foreground, the Palace; in the

Stele

C G

173 174

Copdn

:

ball court

Copdn

:

a marker for the ball game in the form of a

Copdn

:

semi-destroyedfacade of one of the buildings bordering the ball court

1 75

macaw head

background, the Temple of the Inscriptions

142

Palenque: westernfacade of the Palace

143

Copdn Hieroglyphic Stairway Copdn: head of the young maize god, from Temple Dumbarton Oaks, Bliss Collection

Palenque: general plan of the Palace (Maudslay, 1902)

144

Copdn head of

176

Palenque: plan and longitudinal section of House

1902)

A

of the Palace (Maudslay,

Palenque: cross-section

oj

(Maudslay, 1902)

House

H and

oj the "cellar"

chambers

oj the Palace

C of the Palace and the tower of the base of House C

147

Palenque :

148

Palenque :

detail

interior

of House B. Detail of the decoration aroimd a T-shaped

Palenque

:

wall oj the Palace with a niche and T-shaped

Palenque archway :

Palenque central :

to

House

detail

window

150

A of the Palace

151

Museum

of the Tablet of the Slaves. Palenque

152

Palenque : stucco decoration on one of the piers of the western facade of the

Copdn Tribune of the

showing a grotesque figure with tim-

184

Copdn Jaguar Stairway. Detail showinga mask of the sun god (or planet Venus?)

185

Copdn: Temple

186

22. Plan

and section (Marquina, 1964)

Copdn: Temple 22. Detail of an

interior portal

Copdn

:

interior portal

Copdn

:

Temple 22. Detail of an detail

187 188

of outerfacade of Temple 22

Copdn Temple 22. Copdn:

of the piers

189

Detail of corner showing a mask of the rain god

Chac

190

Palace

154

155

:

Palenque stairway withglyphic inscriptions :

in

one of the four patios of the Palace

Palenque : section and plan of the Temple of the Sun (Marquina, 1964) :

Temple of the Sun

seen from the level of the

156

157

Temple of the Cross

Palenque : Temple of the Sun

158

159

Palenque : Temple

XIV.

Stone bas-relief with scene of an offering

160

Palenque : Temple

XIV.

Detail of bas-relief with scene of an offering

161

Palenque

:

Palenque

:

bust of a

young

Quirigud, Guatemala: Stele

162

Temple of the Cross. Detail of the May a' false" arch and interior shrine

163

Palenque: detail of one of the personages represented on a

tablet in the

Temple

of the Foliated Cross

Palenque: Temple of the Inscriptions. Interior of the

secret crypt

165 with sepulchral

U6

slab

193

Quirigud

:

Stele F. Detail ofaglyphic inscription

194

Quirigud

:

Zoonwrph B

195

Dzibilchaltun, Yucatdn, Mexico

Temple of the Seven Dolls

196

Kohunlich, Quintana Roo, Mexico : mask on a temple facade

197

:

Fragment of a facade in painted stucco, perhaps from the south of Quintana Roo or Campeche. Mexico City, National Museum of Anthropology

Chicannd, Campeche

Hochob, Campeche

ventilation galleries

(Marquina,

U7

1964) Comalcalco, Tabasco : detail of a structure constructed with fiat bricks

:

II, :

168

199 detail of the southeast corner of Building

169

XX

with main doorway in thej'orm of monster jaws

main

building. Detail of the central

body

200 201

202

El Tabasquefio , Campeche : side facade of Building I

203

Nocuchich, Campeche : tower with colossal mask

204

in stucco

building (Maler, n.d.)

205

Edznd, Campeche: five-storied building

206

Edznd

:

five-storied building. Detail of a column on the fourth story

207

Edznd

:

five-storied building. Detail of the top story with the remains of its temple

208

and roof-comb

(Altar of the Astronomers), with relief representing

198

building

(Proskouriakoff, 1946)

:

and the

191

192

Stele F. Detail

Hochob plan of the main

Palenque: plan and transverse section of the Temple of the Inscriptions, showing

Q

Museum

:

Chicannd Building

164

Palenque: Temple of the Inscriptions seen from the northeast

a gathering of astronomers

British

Quirigud

:

Copdn, Honduras: Altar

from Temple 22. London,

E

Xpuhil, Campeche, Mexico: plan and reconstruction of the main

Temple of the Cross

the secret crypt, the access stairway,

deity

the western facade oj the

oj

Palenque one of the four patios of the Palace

332

Spectators. Detail

brel

153

Palenque: stucco decoration on one

Palenque

182 183

Spectators

Copdn: Tribune of the

:

Palace

181 Detail showing a rampantfeline creature

:

149

wall opening

180

Bliss Collection

:

:

Palenque : House

179

Copdn faguar Stairway Copdn faguar Stairway.

146

D.C.,

,

:

'

26. Washington,

young maize god from Temple 26. Washington, D.C.,

the

Dumbarton Oaks, 145

'

'

177 178

:

:

70

Sayil, Yucatdn

:

three-storied building. Detail of a corner

209

Plate

Plate

XIabpak, Yucatan : main building

210

Uxmal: Governor's

Palace. Interior of the central chamber

Chacmultiin, Yucatan : plan and section of the Palace (Marquina, 1964)

211

Uxmal: Governor's

Palace. Plan

212

Uxmal: Governor's

Palace.

Uxmal: Governor's

Palace. Detail of the

Kichmool, Yucatan

:

building with frieze decorated by medallions

Labnd, Yucatan: facade of a semi-destroyed building adjacent the background, the so-called Mirador

to the

Arch. In

247

and elevation (Marquina, 1964)

248

Main facade

249 250

main facade

213

Uxmal

214

arrowhead

the Palace

215

Uxmal: Governor's Chac

Labnd .facade of a building of the Palace

216

Sabacche, Yucatan

21 7

Chichen Itzd, Yucatan: Nunnery Annex.

Labna southeastfacade of the Arch

218

Chichen Itzd

Kabah, Yucatan remains of a "flying" stairway

219

Church

220

Chichen Itzd: main facade of the Church (reconstruction)

256

221

Chichen Itzd: Temple of the Three Lintels

257

222

Seibal,

223

Xochicalco, Morelos,

Labna

:

detail

of the decorated wall of a semi-destroyed building of the Palace

Labnd

:

detail

of the ]\xa(\\x\\\os con atzduiss and fantastic mask

Labna

:

northwestfacade of the

at a corner

of

Arch

:

:

Kabdh monumental :

entrance arch to the city

Kabdh Codz-Poop. :

Detail of masks on the facade

Kabdh Codz-Poop. Detail of the facade :

Kabdh Codz-Poop. Detail of a :

corner of the facade

Kabdh: Codz-Poop. Detail showing

the protruding

Kabdh

ofChac on the base

:

Codz-Poop. Detail of masks

Kabah Codz-Poop. Detail of masks ofChac on :

Kabdh: Codz-Poop. Detail of masks Uxmal, Yucatan plan of the :

city

the base

a doorway

(Morley, 1963)

Uxmal: Pyramid of the Magician. struction

at

hooked noses

Uxmal: Pyramid of

the Magician. Facade in

front of the

251

:

Palace. Detail of a corner showing masks of the rain

252 253

remains of a friezeframed with small ataduras

:

corner details of the

Main facade

Nunnery Annex

254 (left)

and

the so-called

255

(right)

Guatemala

Temple A-3 and

:

258

8

Stele

Mexico plan and section of the :

ball court

(Marquina, 1964)

226

Xochicalco: plan and section of the Temple of the Stelae (Marquina, 1964)

221

Xochicalco: Building

D

228

Xochicalco: Stele

Frontal view. Mexico City, National

229

Xochicalco: Stele

1.

C (Marquina,

261

265

ogy Xochicalco

:

Temple of the Plumed Serpents. Detail of a

Plumed

Serpents. Corner of the rear facade

267

Xochicalco: Temple of the

Plumed

Serpents. Detail of the main facade

268

Xochicalco

facade showing a priest-astronomer

Uxmal: Pyramid of the Magician. Front view

234

Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico: plan of the ceremonial center (Acosta, Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, 1912)

235 236

231

buildings

Uxmal: Nunnery Quadrangle. Detail of the rain god Chac above the central doorway Uxmal: Nunnery Quadrangle. The

east building

238

Uxmal: Nunnery Quadrangle. the corbel vault typical of

A

Maya

north building

Uxmal: Nunnery Quadrangle. Corner of the

north building

Plumed

Serpents. Detail of a relief on the south

269

Tula

:

atlantes of the

Tula partial :

the

240

Tula

:

273

in the center, the

Temple of Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli ;


as seen from the

Temple of the Sun

241

Tenayuca, Mexico

242

tion.

:

model of the pyramid

in its

penultimate phase oj construc-

Turtles. Half-ruined facade

245

of construction

arch

279

:

Tenayuca: pyramid.

246

218


Uxmal: House of the

shape of

276

277

Tula : base of El Corral

Tenayuca: pyramid. Detail showing

Maya

the

215

Tenayuca pyramid. Detail showing the various phases of construction

a

to

Temple of the Sun

244

in the

274

from the northwest

243

of the doorways

272

view of the Great Plaza. In the foreground, the Burnt Palace

aerial

Colonnade;

239

1, seen

Turtles. Lateral facade

One

271

view of the Burnt Palace and Colonnade

partial

Uxmal: House of the Doves (Dovecote)

UiCmal: House of the Doves (Dovecote).

210


Uxmal: House of the

showing stonework technique

1912, and

:

right, the

lower room of the north building, showing

building technique

the

Tula atlantes and pillars of the Temple of Tlahuizcalpantccuhtli

and

north building seen through the building's


Temple of

Tula: aerial view of Ball Court

showing masks of the

south archway

:

Tula : one of thefour

Details of the cornices of the east and south

266

lateral facade

Xochicalco: Temple of the

233

Uxmal: Nunnery Quadrangle.

An264

232

east building

of

Rear view. Mexico City, National Museum of Anthropol-

1.

Uxmal: Pyramid of the Magician. Rear stairway


262 263

Museum

the south facade

V

259 260

1964)

thropology

the Magician. Detail of the under in the stairway of

Uxmal: Pyramid of the Magician. Temples IV and

god

Xochicaico: view of the ball court and base of La Malinchefrom the northeast

231

Uxmal: Pyramid of

arch in the shape of an

Xochicalco: plan and section of Building

Nunnery Quad-

rangle

Maya

225

230

Lateral view

a

224

Section showing the various phases of con-

(Morley, 1963)

Uxmal: Pyramid of the Magician.

Doorway with

Governor's Palace.

:

the twin stairways in the penultimate

phase

280

A

detail

Tenayuca: pyramid. Lateral facade showing sculptures of serpents

281

282

333

Plate

Plate

283

Chichen Itzd

284

Chichen Itzd:

285

stairway and the three apertures oriented toward precise astronomical directions

Calixtlahuaca, Mexico: semicircular base (Temple of Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl)

286

(Morley, 1963)

Malinako, Mexico: sculpture of an

287 288

Chichen Itzd: Castillo, or Temple of Kulkulkdn, seen from the summit of the Temple of the Warriors

318

289

Chichen Itzd: Castillo

319

:

Castillo. Detail of a

of mural painting

290

stairway

Tlateloko, Mexico: altar

291

Chichen Itzd:

Red Jaguar Throne

Chichen Itzd

:

Castillo. Section

Chichen Itzd

:

Castillo.

Tenayuca pyramid. Detail :

oj the base to the rear, ivith sculptures

of serpents

Tenayuca: sculpture of Xiuhcoatl , the fire serpent Santa Cecilia Acatitlan, near Tenayuca: small pyramid

ocelot inside the monolithic temple

Malinalco : monolithic temple Huexotla, Mexico : remains offortifications that encircled the ceremonial center

Mexico

Tenochtitlan,

:

Aztec

altar

Chichen Itzd

showing a carved stone skull and fragments

Tenochtitlan: reconstruction of the Aztec ceremonial precinct. In the center back-

ground, the twin temple dedicated semicircular base of the

to

Tldloc and Huitzilopochtli. In front of it, the

Temple of Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl and a small

ball court

section

of

the Caracol

292

Tenochtitlan: Stone of the Sim.

Mexico City, National Museum of Anthro-

293

Tenochtitlan

National

colossal statue

:

of Coailicue, the earth goddess. Mexico City,

Museum of Anthropology

294

Tenochtitlan: hypothetical reconstruction of the ancient Aztec capital. City, National

Museum

Mexico

of Anthropology

295

Model of an Aztec temple dedicated to Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl, Mexico City, National Museum of Anthropology

Model of an Aztec temple dedicated to Xipe, deity of earth. Mexico City, National Museum of Anthropology

wind god.

the

plumed serpent's head at

fertility

of the

291

Small model of a round temple dedicated to Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl the wind god. Mexico City, National Museum of Anthropology ,

Model of an Aztec

temple.

Model of an Aztec temple tional

Museum

Mexico City, National Museum of Anthropology decorated in stucco and frescoes.

299

321

,

the

wind god.

:

Cempoala: view of the main plaza showing the Temple of an altar, and one of the tanks for ritual ablutions

the

302

"Chimneys," 303

304

Cempoala:

305

Quiahuiztlan

,

of another

semicircular temple to Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl

Veracruz: small temple-shaped tombs

306

Yagul, Oaxaca: plan of the city (Marquina, 1964)

307

Mitla, Oaxaca: plan of the Palace of the Columns (Marquina, 1964)

308

Mitla

in the

ceremonial precinct (Ruppert,

1943)

324

Chichen Itzd: plan of the Temple of the Warriors (Marquina, 1964)

325

Chichen Itzd: plan of the Market (Marquina, 1964)

326

cohunns of the patio inside the Market

327

Chichen Itzd

:

Chichen Itzd: Temple of the Warriors. Plan indicating the superimposed structures and part of the colonnade of the Group of the Thousand Columns (Mar-

328

Chichen Itzd: Temple of the Warriors and part of the Group of the Thousand Columns seen from the summit of the Castillo Chichen Itzd : chac-mool statue

chac-mool

at the entrance to the

Temple of the Warriors pillars

and

330 331

Chichen Itzd: Group of the Thousand Cohmms. Detail showing columns with

332

Chichen Itzd:

detail

showing columns with

bas-reliefs at the foot

of the Temple

Chichen Itzd

333 Temple of

:

the Warriors. Detail of the entrance, with serpent-

334

shaped columns

Temple of the Warriors. Upper section of the stairway. Standardand serpent's head projecting from the dado

bearer

:

335

336

Chichen Itzd: Platform of the Jaguars and Eagles Chichen Itzd: Platform of the Jaguars and Eagles. Detail of an alfarda in the

337

form of a plumed serpent

Chichen Itzd

:

the ball court seen

from

the

summit of the

Castillo.

foreground, right, the Platform of the Jaguars and Eagles (and behind

In it,

the the

338

Tzompantli)

Palace of the Columns. Sections of the north building of the second quadrangle and of the antechamber of the Palace of the Columns (Marquina, "

329

the

statue

Chichen Itzd

Cempoala: Temple of Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl detail

323

Plan (Marquina, 1964)

Chichen Itzd : plan of the main buildings

of the Warriors

301

Cempoala, Veracruz plan of the main ceremonial precinct (Marquina, 1964)

322

(Marquina, 1964)

bas-reliefs

300

Model of an Aztec temple dedicated to Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl Mexico City, National Museum of Anthropology

main

320

Chichen Itzd: Temple of the Warriors. Detail showing the

298

Mexico City, Na-

of Anthropology

the foot of the

quina, 1964)

296 the

spiral

317

"

pology

316

(Marquina, 1964)

Chichen Itzd: Caracol. Plan of the observation chamber showing the

ivith its reconstructed

sanctuary

315

astronomical observatory (the Caracol)

:

:

Chichen Itzd:

section

and plan of the

ball court

(Marquina, 1964)

339

"

1964)

309

Mitla: Palace of the Columns. Detail of the main facade

310

Chichen Itzd

Mitla: Palace of the Columns. Antechamber

311

Chichen Itzd:

Mitla : Palace of the Columns. Detail of the

Chichen Itza: view of the :

ball court

ball court. Detail of a has-relief carved on an interior banquette ball court.

Corner of a banquette

312

Chichen Itzd:

ball court. Detail

Mitla: Palace of the Columns. Detail of the stepped fret wall decoration

313

Chichen Itzd

ball court.

Chichen Itza, Yucatan: plan of the northern part of the

314

Chichen Itzd:

334

interior patio

city

(Ruppert, 1943)

:

of a stone ring on a wall

Outer shrine facing the plaza

ball court. Detail

of outer shrine facing the plaza

340 341

342 343 344

345

Plate

Chichen Itza

:

detail

Chichen Itzd : Temple of the Jaguars center background, the

(left) seen

Temple of the Warriors;

Chichen Itza : partial view of the above

from

the hall court. In the

347

to the right, the Castillo

ball court with the

Temple of

the Jaguars

348

it

Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico: plan of the

Tulum north

346

of a jaguar throne from outer shrinefacing the plaza

:

the Castillo

city (Lothrop,

(and the Temple of the Descending

357 358

Tzintzuntzan :

359

from

the

Tulum:

Castillo

351

Tulum

:

Temple of the Descending God

352

Tulum

:

Temple of the Frescoes

353

:

Temple 5

Frescoes. Detail

of a corner

of a yacata

model of a house, from Nayarit, western Me.xico. Mexico of Anthropology

360

model of a house, from Nayarit. Mexico City, National of Anthropology

361

Museum

354

terra-cotta

Museum Small

Tulum

detail

terra-cotta

City, National

Small

Tulum: Temple of the

356

Tzintzuntzan, Michoacan, Mexico: general view of the five yacatas on their immense artificial platform. To the left, in the background, Lake Pdtzcuaro

350

cliff)

god of water

Tulum: Temple 7 (Temple of the Descending God)

Small seen

dedicated to the

349

1924)

God

Plate

Tulum: Temple 35, probably

terra-cotta

model of a temple

built

on a platform , from western Mexico.


362

Ixtldn del Rto, Nayarit: round platform ing two altars

363

355

335

.

PHOTOGRAPHIC CREDITS NOTE

:

The numbers

Acosta, Jorge R.,

listed refer to the plates.

Mexico City:

Allen, John, Chattanooga, Tenn.

Artes de Mexico,

Mexico City:

Instituto

24. 53, 55, 57.

:

Courtesy of the Carnegie

139, 202, 203, 204, 212, 253. 140, 169, 191. Institution,

Medina de

Washington, D.C.: 199.

Compaiiia Mexic'ana Aerofoto, Mexico City:

Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.: la,

Mexico City:

Gendrop, Paul, Mexico:

18, 19, 25, 37, 38, 80, 82.

Muiioz, Alfonso, Mexico City: 64, 217, 230, 233, 250, 313, 353.

Museo

Etnografico, Basel

:

1 11

National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C.: 196, 201.

152.

31, 32, 34, 36, 48, 63, 65, 69, 71, 72, 73, 77

92, 96, 147, 153, 154, 158, 159, 165, 177, 178, 190, 209, 210, 214, 218,

223 ,227, 235

236, 237, 240, 242, 243, 260, 263, 266, 267, 268, 269, 273, 276, 277, 284, 285, 291 310, 327, 329, 336, 338, 352, 354, 359, 363. 8, 9, 10, 13, 23, 33, 41, 42, 54,

66, 67, 79, 85, 105

,

Carmen, San Diego, Cal 274, 275.

Nissley,

:

Nonis, Louis,

Mexico City:

219.

Peabody Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.: 129 Piiia

Heyden, Doris, Mexico:

Museo Nacional de Antropologia de Mexico, Mexico

:

179, 180.

4, 17, 21, 26, 27,

los Reyes, Jose,

City 296, 297, 298, 299, 300, 301.

Cordry, Donald: 78, 282, 315, 344, 345, 346.

Fuente, Beatriz de

11, 12, 15, 22,

Maler, Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, Mexico City: 115, 135, 138,

:

British

6, 7,

234, 244, 249, 257, 264, 265, 278, 280, 283, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 292, 293, 294, 295, 311, 312, 321, 347, 360, 361, 362.

141.

Bonnavent, Jacques, Mexico City 247, 348.

Museum, London:

Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, Mexico City:

40, 49, 50, 51, 60, 70, 83, 84, 86, 93, 94, 95, 98, 142, 149, 164, 166, 198, 213, 215, 216,

Chan, Roman, Mexico City:

14, 170, 197, 207, 208, 358.

107, 109

116, 119, 120, 121, 143, 148, 150, 151, 155, 156, 160, 161, 162, 163, 168, 172, 173

Potter,

David

E.,

Boulder, Colo.

:

200.

,

174, 175, 176, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 187, 188, 189, 192, 193, 194, 195, 206,

220

Saenz, Cesar A.,

225, 231, 232, 238, 239, 246, 251, 252, 254, 255, 258, 271, 272, 276, 279, 281, 303 304, 305, 306, 318, 319, 320, 330, 331, 332, 333, 334, 335, 340, 341, 342, 343, 350

Stierlin,

351, 355, 356, 357.

University

336

Mexico City:

245.

»

Henri, Geneva: 221, 222, 224, 226, 241, 337.

Museum,

Philadelphia: 103, 104, 108, 110, 113, 118, 130, 131, 132, 133.

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f

History World Arddit

'\„'i

v.;

If

edited by Pier Luigi Nervi

The

series,

when complete,

comprise the following

will

titles:

I

ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Crete, Greece W. MUller,

S. Lloyd, H.

R. Martin

ROMAN ARCHITECTURE J.

B.

Ward-Perkins

BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE C. A.

Mango

ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE J.

D.

Hoag

ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE H. E.

Kubach'

GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE L.

Grodecki

^

RENAISS MCE ARCHITECTURE P.

Murray

i

BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE C. Norberg-Schuiz

LATE BAROQUE

AND ROCOCO ARCHITECTURE C. Norberg-SchuIz

MODERN ARCHITECTURE R.

Middletoh

CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE M. Tafuri, F Dal

Co

ORIENTAL ARCHITECTURE M. Bussagli

PRE-COLUMBIAN ARCHITECTURE OF MESOAMERICA P Gendrop

D Heyden

I

L

Write for a complete catalogue of

Abrams Artbooks

HARRY

ABRAMS.

N.

INC.

110 East 59th Street, , New York. N.Y. 10022* Printed

nfaumwutMMi

in

Jopon

8109- 1018-7

A

B R

A

M

S

:^=:^^ -!!L

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