File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (17972588688).jpg

Title: The American Museum journal
Identifier: americanmuseumjo17amer (find matches)
Year: c1900-(1918) (c190s)
Authors: American Museum of Natural History
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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DISCOVERIES AT TEE AZTEC RUIN 171 aid tlie ^^"omcn in placing them upon their heads, in which position they were carried, either full or empty. There were evidently occasional at- tempts to mold the forms of men or animals in clay, due perha))s to the in- dividual caprice of the potter, or to a desire to represent some deity. Exam- ples are rare, however, only one having been taken from the Aztec ruin. This is a seated human figure which had been broken. The marks of a keen- edged flake of stone upon the severed neck show that it was intentionally decapitated. The most beautiful variety of pot- tery shows a red ground ornamented with black on the interior of the vessel,
Text Appearing After Image:
These long chisel-like blades, commonly called skinning knives, are tlie most boautiful stone imple- ments found in the Aztec ruin. They are made from an extremely hard, finegrained material varying in color from black to creamy gray. Usually they are shaped so that the dark mottling and banding of the stone form a pleasing ornamentation. Such objects are called tcamaJiias by the Hopi Indians today, and in certain ceremonies tliey place them upon their altars to symbolize the spirits of departed warriors. No stone of the kind from wliich they are made is known to occur witliin one hundred and fifty miles of Aztec

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