[V-82] 'Had the Spaniards selected this for the site of their city of Valladolid, a few leagues distant, it is highly probable that not a vestige of the ancient edifices would now be seen.' Gallatin, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., p. 174. 'Lieu qui offre beaucoup l'apparence d'une ville sainte.' Friederichsthal, loc. cit., p. 300. Dr Arthur Schott discourses, in the Smithsonian Rept., 1871, pp. 423-5, on a face, or mask, of 'semiagatized xyolite, still bearing the marks of silicified coniferous wood, a fossil probably foreign to the soil of the peninsula.' It was found at Chichen, and the Doctor thinks it may have some deep mythologic meaning, which he generously leaves to some other ethnologist to decipher. Norman, Rambles in Yuc., p. 127, states that the hewn blocks of stone at Chichen are uniformly 12 by 6 inches. M. Waldeck, Voy. Pitt., p. 47, speaks of a reported silver collar bearing an inscription in Greek, Hebrew, and Phœnician letters, found in the 'grottes cristallines de Chixhen.' But even this enthusiastic antiquarian looks at this report with much distrust.
[V-83] Wappäus, Geog. u. Stat., p. 144; Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 87; Stephens' Yucatan, vol. ii., pp. 340-4.
[V-84] Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., pp. 272-85; Norman's Rambles in Yuc., pp. 146-7; Waldeck, Voy. Pitt., pp. 22, 70, 73, 102-3, 111; Bradford's Amer. Antiq., p. 103; Wappäus, Geog. u. Stat., p. 144.
[V-85] Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., pp. 130-9, with cuts; Baldwin's Anc. Amer., pp. 127-9, with cuts. Near the village of Telchaquillo. Wappäus, Geog. u. Stat., p. 144. Surrounded by a ditch that can be traced for three miles. Morelet, Voyage, tom. i., pp. 194-5. 'Se dice que Mayapan ... estaba murada, pero fué demolida hasta sus cimientos, y únicamente los grandes montones de piedras indican que fué una gran poblacion.' Un Curioso, in Registro Yuc., tom. i., p. 206.
[V-86] 'Los españoles poblaron aqui una ciudad, y llamaronla Mérida, por la estrañeza y grandeza de los edificios.' As to the size of the pyramid mentioned it is 'mas de dos carreras de caballo'—that is twice as far as a horse can run without taking breath—in extent. The cement is made with the juice of the bark of a certain tree, 'El primero edificio de los quatro quartos nos dio el adelantado Montejo a nosotros hecho un monte aspero, limpiamosle y emos hecho en el con su propria piedra un razonable monesterio todo de piedra y una buena yglesia que llamamos la Madre de Dios.' Landa, Relacion, pp. 330-8, with cut. 'Entre aquel cerro, y otro como èl hecho à mano, que està à la parte Oriental de la Ciudad; se determinò fuesse fundada, y eran tan grandes, que con la piedra que auia en el que estaban, se obraron quantos edificios ay en la Ciudad, con que quedò todo el sitio llano, que es la Plaça mayor oy, y sus quadras en contorno, y con la del de la parte Oriental, se edifico nuestro Conuento por caerle cercano, despues se han hecho muchas casas, y todo el Conuento, y Iglesia de la Mejorada, que tambien es nuestro, y tiene material para otros muy muchos.' Cogolludo, Hist. Yuc., p. 138. 'Auia junto adonde està aora la Plaça entre otros cerros, vno que llamaban el grande de los Kues, adoratorio que era de Idolos lleno de arboleda.' Id., p. 149. Tihoo was built by the Tutul-Xius, and had a celebrated temple to Baklum-Chaam, the Maya Priapus. Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 8-9. 'En el pátio del convento de S. Francisco está una cruz.... En la huerta del mismo convento se ven aun algunas piedras curiosamente labradas con cotas y morreones á la antigua romana, y púnica.' Alegre, Hist. Comp. de Jesus, tom. ii., p. 112. The buildings were 'construits en pierres de taille fort grandes. On ignore qui les a bâtis; il paraît que ce fut avant la naissance de Jésus-Christ, car il y avait au-dessus des arbres aussi gros que ceux qui croissaient au pied. Ces bâtiments ont cinq toises de hauteur, et sont construits en pierres sèches; au sommet de ces édifices sont quatre appartements divisés en cellules comme celles des moines; ils ont vingt pieds de long et dix de large; les jambages des portes sont d'un seul morceau, et le haut est voûté.' Bienvenida, Lettre, in Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série i., tom. x., pp. 310-11. 'In different parts of the city are the remains of Indian buildings.' Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 398. Montanus, Nieuwe Weereld, p. 259, says that Mérida is built on the ruins of Mayapan. Malte-Brun, Précis de la Géog., tom. vi., p. 465, confounds Mérida with the ruins farther south, mentioned by Padre Soza. See mention in Norman's Rambles in Yuc., pp. 45-8; Waldeck, Voy. Pitt., pp. 23, 55-6; Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. xcvii., p. 37; Gallatin, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., p. 174; Sivers, Mittelamerika, pp. 243-4; Morelet, Voyage, tom. i., p. 269; Stephens' Yucatan, vol. i., pp. 94-8.
[V-87] Stephens' Yucatan, vol. ii., p. 440-4, vol. i., p. 127, with plate; Wappäus, Geog. u. Stat., p. 144. 'Les monuments les plus anciens, dont les restes sont composés d'énormes blocs de pierres brutes, posés quelquefois les uns sur les autres, sans aucun ciment qui les unisse. Tels sont les édifices d'un lieu voisin de l'hacienda d'Aké, située à 27 milles à l'est-sud-est de Mérida.' Friederichsthal, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., p. 300.
[V-88] Stephens speaks of the 'sternness and harshness of expression' of the cara gigantesca. 'A stone one foot six inches long protrudes from the chin, intended, perhaps, for burning copal on, as a sort of altar.' Yucatan, vol. ii., pp. 434-6, with plate. 'Les alentours sont parsemés de pyramides artificielles, et deux, entre autres, sont les plus considérables de la péninsule.' M. Charnay finds fault with Catherwood for representing the colossal head as in a desert with a raging tiger and savages armed with bows and arrows in the foreground. 'A force de vouloir faire de la couleur locale, on fausse l'histoire, et on déroute la science.' He pronounces the face 'd'un genre cyclopéen. Ce sont de vastes entailles, espèces de modelages en ciment.' Ruines Amér., pp. 319-22, phot. 23-5. 'C'est une sorte de gros blocage dont les moellons, posés avec art par le sculpteur au milieu d'un mortier très-dur, ont formé les joues, la bouche, le nez, les yeux. Cette tête colossale est réellement une bâtisse enduite.' 'Les traits sont beaux, la bouche est bien faite, les yeux grands sans être saillants, le front, couvert d'un ornement, ne semble point fuyant. Cette tête était peinte comme toute l'architecture mexicaine.' Viollet-le-Duc, in Id., pp. 46-7. Dr Schott pronounces Mr Stephens' description unsatisfactory, especially his calling the face harsh and stern in expression. The features are feminine in their cast, and of the narrow rather than of the broad type. 'The whole face exhibits a very remarkable regularity and conforms strictly to the universally accepted principles of beauty.' 'The head-dress in the shape of a mitre is encircled just above the forehead by a band, which is fastened in front by a triple locket or tassel.' This author identities the face as that of Itzamatul, the semi-divine founder of Izamal, and explains the signification of each particular feature. His treatise is perhaps as intelligible and rational as most speculation on such topics, but it is to be noted that the Dr founds his conclusions on Clavigero's description of the Toltecs! It would be hard to prove that the cara gigantesca does not represent this particular hero, and that the large ears are not emblems of wisdom. Dr Schott pronounces it 'hazardous' to attempt to connect this face with any other than Itzamatul, and I prefer to run no risks. Smithsonian Rept., 1869, pp. 389-93. Norman, Rambles in Yuc., p. 79, speaks of a well on the platform of one of the pyramids. 'Dans ses flancs, la colline sacrée recélait de vastes appartements, des galeries et un temple souterrain, destinés, dit-on, aux mystères de la religion et à servir de nécropole aux cadavres des prêtres et des princes.' The grave of Zamná was here, and his followers erected the pyramid. Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 79. History of the pyramids, see Id., tom. ii., pp. 47-8. 'On trouva dans un édifice en démolition une grande urne à trois anses, recouverte d'ornements argentés extérieurement, au fond duquel il y avait des cendres provenant d'un corps brûlé, parmi lesquelles nous trouvâmes des objets d'art en pierre.' 'Statues en demi-bosse, modelées en ciment que je dis se trouver dans les contreforts, et qui sont d'hommes de haute taille.' Landa, Relacion, pp. 326-30, with plan. 'Ay en este pueblo de Ytzamal cinco cuyos ó cerros muy altos, todos levantados de piedra seca, con sus fuerças y reparos, que ayudan á levantar la piedra en alto, y no se ven edificios enteros oy, mas los señales y vestigios están patentes en uno dellos de la parte de mediodia.' One altar was in honor of their king or false god Ytzmat-ul, and had on it the figure of a hand, being called Kab-ul, or 'working hand.' Another mound and temple in the northern part of the city, the highest now standing, was called Kinich-Kakmó, or 'sun with fiery rayed face.' Another, on which the convent is founded, is Ppapp-Hol-Chac, 'house of heads and lightnings.' Another in the south called Hunpictok, 'captain with an army of 8000 flints.' Lizana, Devocionario, 1663, in Landa, Relacion, pp. 348-64.
[V-89] Stephens' Yucatan, vol. ii., pp. 137-232, with plates and cuts; Wappäus, Geog. u. Stat., p. 144; Baldwin's Anc. Amer., pp. 101, 146-7; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 20-3.
[V-90] On these east coast buildings seen by Córdova, Grijalva, and Cortés, see Diaz, Itinéraire, in Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série i., tom. x., pp. 5-9; and in Icazbalceta, Col. de Doc., tom. i., pp. 282-6; Cortés, Vida, in Id., p. 339; Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. i., pp. 497, 505-7; Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 352; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. ii., lib. iii., cap. i.; Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 22-4; Id., Hist. Ind., fol. 60; Peter Martyr, dec. iv., lib. iii.; Cogolludo, Hist. Yuc., p. 4; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iv., p. 41; Morelet, Voyage, tom. i., p. 181; Sivers, Mittelamerika, pp. 241-4; Folsom, in Cortés, Despatches, p. 20.
[V-91] Voy. Pitt., p. 102.