(After Maudslay)
Fig. 81.—Stone altar (Q) at Copan.
(After Maudslay)
At present the attention of most archæologists has been confined to the ruins themselves, and little search has been made for the sources whence the building-material was obtained. Quarries however have been located in the neighbourhoods of Naranjo, Copan and Quirigua, and the presence at the last site of canal-like excavations suggests that the blocks were conveyed thither by water. A thorough investigation of such quarries as can be discovered would be most valuable in casting much light upon the process of working stone among the early Maya.
In the east of the central area the most important site is that of Tikal; the ruins are extensive, and suggest that the place was long an important centre. The dates attached to the monuments are of great interest (for the comparative dating of the monuments, see Appendix III), since they range from an early period, and the extreme solidity of the buildings as compared with those of other sites seems to hint that they were the work of more primitive architects than those of Palenque for instance. The pyramids are of interest, since they present a far steeper pitch than those of any other locality (Pl. [XXV, 2]; p. 332). Certain of the stelæ and inscriptions are of a rather rude and archaic character, but the wood-carvings (Fig. [48]; p. 225) are of particular merit, and are very similar in style to the stone lintels in low relief of Menché. The fact that the wooden lintels have been preserved here while they have for the most part decayed at other sites, is no argument against the antiquity of Tikal, for they are situated well within the buildings, which are, as remarked above, of very solid construction, and furnished with small single doors, besides being raised far above the ground on lofty foundation-mounds. On the whole I think that the architectural and artistic evidence supports the early dates which appear on the stelæ, and I should place Tikal as perhaps the earliest Maya site of which we have definite knowledge, though it is evident that it was inhabited well on into later times when the Maya had become far more expert in stone-carving than when the first buildings were erected there. The neighbouring site of Naranjo bears certain similarities in plan to that of Tikal, and the reliefs are in very similar style. The dating of the monuments falls into two well-defined periods, the western court being earlier than the eastern; both however are considerably later than the earlier buildings of Tikal, of which Naranjo was probably an offshoot, outlasting the mother city by more than half a century. Seibal, where the ruins are far less extensive, is evidently a related site, though the reliefs are comparatively clumsy in style, and probably represent a decadent and “provincial” form of art. It is interesting to note that the earliest date at this site falls about the same time as the last of Tikal, the latest recording the same katun as the latest at Naranjo.
Menché, like Copan, is built upon the bank of a river, and the physical character of the site prevented anything like symmetrical arrangement. The courts do not correspond one with another in position, and careful investigation would be necessary before it could be stated that any of the pyramids were so placed as to provide for the observation of the rising of a planet over the surrounding hills. The dates would make Menché later than Tikal as far as its foundation is concerned, and the less massive nature of its architecture and the high quality of its relief-carving would imply the same. But it is noticeable that the most numerous reliefs consist of sculptured lintels, and though these are of stone, and not of wood as at Tikal, the technique is that of wood-carving, and the style is very similar to that of Tikal. The artistic quality of the Menché sculptures is relatively very high, and the lintels, one of which is figured on Pl. [XXII, 2]; p. 294, are some of the finest examples of low-relief carving found in the Maya area, ranking with the bolder sculptures of Copan, and not far behind the stucco work and still lower reliefs of Palenque. Further features of this site will be mentioned in connection with Palenque.
Copan (Pl. [XXVI, 2]; p. 338) and Quirigua evidently bear a close relation one to the other, and are differentiated from all other sites by the size and workmanship of the stelæ. Unfortunately but few traces of buildings remain, and it is impossible to determine their exact type. All that can be said is that the walls were thick, and that both in this respect and in the ground-plan (see Fig. [76]; p. 327) the buildings probably represent a stage of development midway between Tikal and other sites. With this placing the dates on the Copan monuments agree, but Quirigua was a later site, almost certainly founded from Copan, though it flourished alongside of it until both records cease at the end of the ninth cycle. The monuments of Quirigua show a certain technical superiority over those of Copan, the stelæ are larger, and often ornamented with far greater wealth of detail. The broader treatment of the Copan carvings (Pl. [XXI] and Fig. [81]; pp. 236 and 339), however, gives a nobler effect to the stelæ of that site, though Quirigua cannot in any sense be regarded as decadent, as witness the magnificent monster with a human figure in its jaws shown on Pl. [XXVI, 1]; p. 338.
PLATE XXVII
