(British Museum)
Hard stone from which adze- and axe-blades and chisels could be manufactured occurred in quantities in Mexico, and various volcanic rocks were quarried for the purpose of making implements. Chalcedony and other flinty materials were used in the manufacture of knife-blades, and the workmanship of these, especially of some of the specimens from the Mixtec country, are surpassed only by the finest examples of ripple-flaking from ancient Egypt (see Fig. [19, 8]). Knife-blades of this form were usually thrust into a simple ball of resin to form a handle, though for ceremonial use elaborately carved wooden hafts covered with turquoise and shell mosaic (Pl. [XVIII, 1]) were fitted to them. But the material which perhaps was of the greatest use to the Mexicans was obsidian. From blocks of this natural glass long flakes could be detached by pressure, each of which came away from the core with a razor-edge. Such flakes were used as knives without further preparation, or were inset along the borders of wooden swords to form a cutting edge. The flaking-implement was a pointed stick with a cross-piece at one end; the artisan rested the point on a suitable spot on the obsidian block, which he held between his feet, and applied the necessary pressure by leaning his chest against the cross-piece. The nature of the long thin flakes which were detached, and of the core from which they were struck, is shown in Fig. [19, 3–5 and 9]. Broader flakes were worked up by secondary flaking to form delicate arrow-heads and graceful spear-heads, while large slabs were polished to form mirrors, the surface being carefully finished by continuous rubbing with a handful of reeds. Masks were also made from this material, and details such as teeth and eyes were inlaid with shell and other substances. Stone axes (Fig. [20]) were carefully ground by rubbing on a block of hard-stone, probably with sand or emery and water, the surface in the more highly-polished specimens being finished with bamboo. The shapes show some variation, but the implement usually tapers slightly towards the butt, which is rounded off more or less abruptly; some specimens are long-oval in transverse section, while others are quadrangular. They were hafted by being simply thrust into a wooden handle, as shown in Fig. [4, f]; p. 35. The finest specimens are made of some kind of jadeite, and are often beautifully polished, especially those from the Mixtec country. In the Tarascan country, and northward to La Quemada in Zacatecas, are found types closely akin to those of Arizona and California, viz. heavy axes, coarsely ground, with one or two grooves partially or entirely encircling the butt (Fig. [20, 4, 7 and 8]). These must have been attached to the haft by thongs, or a stout twig must have been bent round the implement and secured by a lashing below. Such forms as these are not found in the Mexican valley or further south, until Ecuador is reached, but are in reality characteristic of the northern portion of the continent. In the same area are found peculiar blades in animal form, as shown in Fig. [20, 5]. Great masses of stone were handled with considerable facility, and it is only necessary to call attention to the objects shown in Pls. [III] and [VI-VIII], as evidence of the skill of the Mexico mason. The large coping-stone with a figure of a fire-snake in high relief illustrated on Pl. [V, 2], being an especially fine specimen from a technical point of view.
Fig. 20.—Stone axe-blades.
1. Etla, Oaxaca.
2, 3, 6. Valley of Mexico.
4, 5, 7, 8. Michoacan (Tarascan.)
(British Museum)
To speak generally, Aztec sculpture often shows a slight stiffness in style, due in part to its conventional nature, but many specimens exist which exhibit considerable freedom of treatment, notably the figure of Xochipilli on Pl. [V, 1] (of which the characteristic crest rising from the head-dress is unfortunately missing), and the magnificent rattle-snake on Pl. [XI, A]. Characteristic of the stone art of Tulan are caryatid figures (similar to Fig. [84], p. 348) and serpent columns, both of which will be met again when we come to consider the art of Yucatan; and related to the same culture are figures representing a reclining god, probably one of the octli-gods, holding a vase. One of these, of colossal proportions, has also been found in Yucatan. This type of statue seems to have been copied in Aztec times, and the specimen on Pl. [VIII, 2], probably belongs to this later period. Caryatid figures are also found in Tlaxcala. A particular class of sculpture is constituted by the peculiar stone figures found in the Panuco valley, of which a fine series may be seen in the British Museum (Pl. [X, 1]). These are distinguished by the pointed head-dress associated with the Huaxtec, sometimes combined with the jaws of a monster, or a semicircular crest with engraved snake-design. Most are otherwise nude, and all exhibit a somewhat crude and archaic character. Belonging to the Totonac culture are certain enigmatical stone objects, beautifully carved, of which the principal are the so-called “yokes” and “paddle-shaped stones.” The shape of the former is best seen from the illustration, Fig. [21]; viewed from the side or rounded end (a), the carving in nearly all cases represents a monster or grotesque human being crouching upon the ground, while from above (b), the rounded end represents the upper jaw of a gaping mouth furnished with teeth. The use of these has been much disputed, but I would suggest the following explanation as the simplest. The attitude of the crouching figure shows that the normal position of the object is flat upon the ground, as in Fig. [21, a], while the fact that the yokes are found in graves suggests that they have a funerary significance. It is possible that they were meant to support the corpse in an upright position, and as such the crouching figure typifies the earth-monster, while the gaping mouth represents the jaws of the same creature open to receive the dead, just as the earth-monster is shown in manuscripts supporting a mummy-pack in its open maw (Fig. [14, b]; p. 104). These carved yokes, many of which suggest Mayan rather than Mexican art, seem to have been carried by trade or otherwise over a large area, since examples have been found in Tlaxcala, Tabasco, Guatemala and San Salvador. The paddle-shaped stones often exhibit great skill in stone-carving, but at present no explanation of their use is forthcoming. These again are Mayan in type rather than Mexican.
