MISCELLANEOUS RELICS.
At the time of the Conquest statues of the sun and moon are reported to have been found on the summits of their respective pyramids. The gold plates which are said to have covered or decorated these idols were of course immediately appropriated by the Spanish soldiers, and the idols themselves broken by order of the priests. Gemelli Careri claims to have seen fragments of their arms and legs at the base of the pyramid, and Ramon del Moral assured Veytia that he had found the colossal head of the statue of the moon, and that the pedestal still remained in place; Veytia, however, could find no traces of such relics in 1757, although Ixtlilxochitl and Boturini both claim to have seen them.[IX-87] Mayer claims to have found well-defined traces of an ancient road covered with cement, between the ruins and the village. The whole surfaces of the pyramids, mounds, and much of the surrounding plain, are literally strewn with the fragments of pottery and obsidian; and small terra-cotta heads are offered to the visitor in great quantities for sale, by the natives, who pick them up among the ruins, or perhaps manufacture them when their search is not sufficiently fruitful. Many of these heads have been brought away and sketched, and they are very similar one to another. One of them, sketched by Mr Vetch, is shown in the cut.[IX-88]
Terra-Cotta Head—Teotihuacan.
The ruins of Teotihuacan, like the pyramid of Cholula, contain no internal evidences of their age. Its building is attributed in different records to the Toltecs, Olmecs, and Totonacs, in the very earliest period of Nahua supremacy. The name Teotihuacan is one of the very earliest preserved in Nahua annals, and there can be but little doubt that the pyramids are older than that of Cholula, or that they were built at least as early as the sixth century, the commencement of what is regarded as the Toltec era in Anáhuac. The pyramids themselves served, according to tradition, as places of sepulture, but not altogether for this purpose, for Teotihuacan is spoken of as a great centre of religious worship and priestly rites, a position it would not have held had it been simply a burial place. It is altogether probable that the houses of the Sun and Moon served the double purpose of tombs and shrines, although there is no proof that any temples proper ever stood on the summit as at Cholula. These structures are said to have served as models for the Aztec teocallis of later times. Don Lucas Alaman, a distinguished Mexican statesman and author, believed that the numerous terra-cotta heads already spoken of were relics distributed by the priests to the crowds of pilgrims that assembled at the shrines.[IX-89]
At Otumba few relics of antiquity seem to have been discovered; Mayer, however, gives a cut of a pillar ornamented with geometric sculptured figures, which is said to have been found by Mr Poinsett. At Tizayuca, a little north of the lake, a low hill is spoken of with a small hole in the top, whence issues continually a current of air; I know not whether there are evidences of anything artificial about this curious phenomenon of more than doubtful authenticity. The same authority also mentions some ruined buildings on the hacienda of San Miguel.[IX-90] Brasseur de Bourbourg tells us that the ruins of Quetzalcoatl's temple at Tulancingo were visible long after the Conquest, and also speaks of a subterranean palace called Mictlancalco, and a stone cross discovered on Mount Meztitlan. Veytia also speaks of the cross of Meztitlan, sculptured together with a moon on a lofty and almost inaccessible cliff; and Chaves barely mentions relics of antiquity not described very definitely.[IX-91]
OBSIDIAN MINES.