File:The ancient cities of the New World - being travels and explorations in Mexico and Central America from 1857-1882 (1887) (14780626784).jpg

Identifier: ancientcitiesofn00char (find matches)
Title: The ancient cities of the New World : being travels and explorations in Mexico and Central America from 1857-1882
Year: 1887 (1880s)
Authors: Charnay, Désiré, 1828-1915
Subjects: Indians of Mexico Indians of Central America
Publisher: London : Chapman and Hall
Contributing Library: Getty Research Institute
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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after thespritual.t The temple in which these miracles were performed, wasmuch frequented; for this reason four good roads had beenconstructed, leading to Guatemala, Chiapas, and Tabasco.Traces of them can even now be seen in various places. J Wealso have found marks of a cemented road, from Izamal to thesea facing the island of Cozumel. Lastly the fourth pyramid to the west, which is shown inour cut of the market-place, had on its summit the palace ofHunpictok, the commander-in-chief of eight thousand flints.On its side near the basement, consisting of stones laid without * ICxtract from P. Lizanas Hist, de Nuestra Senora de Izamal, publishedby the Abbd Brasseur. t Diego Landa, chap. ix. p. 57. % T.izana, Hist, de Nuestra Schora de Izamal, published by the AbbdBrasseur. IZAMAL EN ROUTE FOR ClIICIIEN. 309 mortar, and rounded off at the corners like those of the Akepyramid, stood the gigantic face reproduced by Stephens, butwhich has since disappeared. This head is so interesting that
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SOUTH SIDE OF HUNPICTOK PYRAMID AT IZAMAL, AFTER STErilENS. I cannot deprive the reader of the description given by theAmerican traveller : It is 7 feet 8 inches high. The featureswere first rudely formed by small rough stones, fixed in the sideof the mound by means of mortar, and afterwards perfectedwith stucco so hard that it has successfully resisted the action 3IO The Ancient Cities of the New World. of air and water for centuries. The stone forming the chinalone measures i foot 6 inches; the figure has enormous mous-tachios, and a resemblance may be traced to the gigantic faces instone at Copan, where the plaster has crumbled away and left thestone bare. The resemblance to the Ake pyramids is remarkableand leads us to conclude that the latter were decorated in thesame manner. Here also on the east side is found the figureshown in our cut, from which may be traced the builders modeof working. This colossal head is 13 feet high ; the eyes, nose, andunder-lip were first formed by ro

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