The Tennis-court is at once the largest and the best preserved of any structure of this description; it consists of two perpendicular parallel walls from north to south, 34 by 325 feet, 32 feet high, and 113 feet apart. Both ends are occupied by two small temples always seen in structures of this kind. The southern edifice has no ornamentation of any interest; the northern, which is shown in our cut, contains a single apartment, with a portico to the south supported by columns, forming a balcony whence the grandees witnessed the game sheltered from the fierce rays of the sun.
The ruinous condition of this building will not allow us to judge of its external decoration; but the columns and the walls in the interior are covered with rows of human figures in bas-relief, so damaged, however, that the subjects represented cannot be recognised. The inner walls facing each other, have in the centre of each, some 15 feet from the ground, two stone rings with a hole through the centre, similar to the one we dug up at Tula. The vast proportions of this tlachtli indicate that the national Nahua game was as eagerly played in Yucatan as on the table-land.
From the remaining sculptured fragments, whether bases, shafts of columns, or reliefs, representing Quetzalcoatl, we are induced to believe that this stately building was dedicated to this god; all the more that the south end of the eastern wall is occupied by a monument where his symbolical image is everywhere seen. It consists of two apartments of different size, richly decorated; a portico gave access to the main chamber (our cut shows its dimensions), where the bases of the columns are covered with finely sculptured serpents’ heads with protruding tongues, over 9 feet long, bearing the characteristics of those on the great temple at Mexico which date 1484-1486.
The southern façade of this monument has a beautiful interlaced frieze, with a procession of tigers, divided by richly fringed shields, bearing a strong resemblance to those of the various tribes, published by Lorenzana with Cortez’ letters, and similar to those generally seen in the Mexican manuscripts. We think we recognise in this a monument of Quetzalcoatl commemorating his victory over Tezcatlipoca in his foot-ball match which took place at Tula, and that this is so seems highly probable.
BAS-RELIEF IN HALL OF TENNIS-COURT OF CHICHEN-ITZA.
In the chamber which stood over the ruined portico there was, twenty years ago, a series of paintings descriptive of domestic and public life among the Mayas, now entirely destroyed by barbarous explorers, or by the inhabitants of Pisté. Stephens, who saw them, says that they were painted in bright colours of blue, red, yellow, and green. Fortunately for us, three sides of the pillars at the entrance are still covered with sculptures, as also the lintels, and all are in better preservation than any at Chichen-Itza, as may be seen in our drawing. Here also we find numerous analogies with Mexican monuments, which, it should be recollected, were the result of Toltec teaching.
TIGERS’ BAS-RELIEFS ON PORTION OF TENNIS-COURT OF CHICHEN-ITZA.
All the human figures seen on these monuments have the usual type of the Toltecs of the high plateaux. Their gala dress, like that of the reliefs at page 362, is identical with the dress of the figures on Tizoc’s stone. It is always a headdress