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NEWS FROM THE ‘HILLS OF THE DEAD’
Ancient Ruins Throw Light Upon Mayan Indian Civilizaton; Old
Sculpture Reveals Rare Sense of Humor.
, -m mm
Ruins of Buildings in the Nunnery Quadrangle at Uxmal, Yucatan.
By WILLIAM C. UTLEY
"T N THE “Hills of the Dead,” long-forgotten slopes of the back
country in Guatemala, the picks and shovels of archeologists from
JL the Carnegie Institution of Washington, D. C., are discovering
new answers to many mysteries of one of the most brilliant of
early American civilizations. Under the direction of Dr. V. A. Kid¬
der, these explorers into the past have come upon important new relics
left hundreds of years ago by the Maya Indians.
The
minds of science. The civilization
they achieved received no assist¬
ance from the Old World. It is—
or was—America’s own.
The Mayas were proficient astron¬
omers. They perfected writing,
sculpture and architecture to a high
degree. They conducted their af¬
fairs under an efficiently organized
government. Science is still at a
loss to explain how they reached
the high cultural achievements
which they did, but the patient re¬
searches of archeological groups
may some day find the answer to
the riddle.
“Of first importance,” according
to the Carnegie archeologists, are
the findings in Guatemalan hills,
although they have not yet been
completely analyzed. It is hoped
that they may eventually reveal the
whole fascinating story.
Find Four Tombs.
The area now being explored is
no more than a mile and a half long,
but it contains 100 mounds, beneath
which are the ruins of a large May¬
an community. Farmers of the re¬
gion call the site Milaflores, but the
Carnegie people intend to name it
Kaminaljuyu, the Queche Indian for
“Hills of the Dead.”
Three important tombs, of ancient
American rulers have already been
opened here, and a fourth is to be
opened soon. From the evidences
revealed concerning the burial prac¬
tices of the Jjlayas, much about their
civilization is learned.
“It will take months to get the collec¬
tion in shape,” says Doctor Kidder , “hut
it will prove a tremendous addition to
our knowledge of May a life, ceremony,
dress and art.”
Opening one tomb, the archeolo¬
gists found in its center the figure
of a middle-aged priest or noble,
who had been left sitting cross
legged there many centuries ago.
Jade beads and pendants, hand¬
somely carved, ear plugs and orna¬
ments of crystal and shell, together
with a pile of pottery found be¬
side the remains, gave evidence of
pompous burial.
Pile Up Pyramids.
At the feet of the skeleton was
found another.—a slave girl en¬
tombed to wait upon her master in
the world beyond. Even the dead
man’s small dog was sent on the
long journey with him, for in a cor¬
ner of the room its skeleton was
also found. There were vessels for
serving food and millstones to grind
the heavenly corn.
The Mayas had a peculiar prac¬
tice in building their tombs. One
pyramid was built upon another,
like a nest of jars or boxes. It is be¬
lieved from the location and forma¬
tion of the tombs that when one of
these priests or rulers died, he was
placed in a tomb covered by a pyra¬
mid which had been associated with
him, indeed one which in all proba¬
bility he had built himself. When
the next in line died, it appears,
another pyramid was built, over the
first. In the recent Carnegie find¬
ings there are four tombs and four
layers of pyramids.
Guatemala’s lowland jungles, where
most of the preceding Mayan discoveries
have been made, have already been pretty
thoroughly explored, But the new dis¬
coveries are in the highlands, and for that
reason it is believed they may open up
entire new fields of discovers., Though
the pyramids were more dr less common
in the lowlands, this is the first to be
found in the hills.
Progressive periods of the Mayan
civilization, which may help to trace
it back to its mysterious beginnings,
are revealed in the new findings.
Dr. Kidder has already discovered
stratification of buildings. From the
various levels of the earth have
come generous quantities of pot¬
tery which definitely represents a
sequence te ling something of the
of the people over succes¬
eras.
The pyramids belong to a period
as the Old Empire, which is
somewhat later date, flourishing
the early centuries of the
Christian era. This empire includ¬
ed many cities in Guatemala,* Hon¬
duras and southern Yucatan.
The new discoveries bear out the
prediction made by Dr. Kidder a
year ago, when he said:
"Apparently the highland region uias
much more of a highway for trade and
migration than the. densely jungled low¬
land country. Consequently intensive
work on the sites of the region can be
expected to provide extremely valuable
information as to the chronological inter¬
relations of the various ancient cultures,
particularly as it is probable that strati¬
fied remains will be discovered.”
Stone Art Reveals Humor.
The art of the ancient Mayas is
notable not only for its skillful exe¬
cution, but for the evidence it gives
of a sophisticated understanding of
human nature—and above all, a de¬
lightful sense of humor.
What some critics declare to be'
the finest specimen of Mayan art in
stone was recently discovered by an
expedition sponsored by the Univer¬
sity museum of the University of
Pennsylvania. The stone lintel was
the work of an unknown sculptor.
lilte
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na
y, v?
pPl
Hoof Comb of the “House of Pigeons,” an Ancient Mayan Ruin at
Uxmal, Yucatan.
In Mayan hieroglyphics were
dates, none of them later than Dec.
757 A. D., according to Dr. J.
Alden Mason, of the expedition.
Particularly amusing is the old sculp¬
ture in this, a political year. For
scene which it treats is apparently some
sort of meeting in the council
of a governmental body, and the charac¬
ters are listening to one of their number
as he delivers a speech. 7 hat political
oratory, then us now. was flavored with
a generous helping of plain 'hooey is evi¬
dent from the antics and postures of the
listeners while the speaker is “waving the
flag” in traditional enthusiasm and gusto.
Expert Reconstructs Original.
Now it has long been the custom
to present such occasions
full of dignity and always work¬
smoothly. But here was a chis¬
wag who knew better
dM not hesitate to interpret
characters as he knew them,
though his work was to decorate
doorway of a beautiful and dig¬
temple.
When it was found, the sculpture
CLEVELAND COURIER
was badly worn and damaged, but
attempts have been made to re¬
construct it. Broken lines have been
extended with the aid of the many
remaining cues to poses and cos¬
tumes, by Miss M. Louise Baker,
expert on archeological art, who
is able to visualize the complete
scene in its original state.
In the bulletin of the university
museum, Miss Baker directs atten¬
tion to some of the amusing points
of the work.
“Two of the trio," she writes, indicat¬
ing a little group in the picture, absorbed “forget¬
ful of the occasion, are entirely
in their own argument, while the third,
indignantly bracing himself upon out¬
spread feet, gives a vicious bump with his
hip (breaking his own obsequious pose
for the moment), demanding attention.
“The seated figures are very hu¬
man in manner and detail. One dig¬
nitary gently pokes the friend in
front to ask what it is all about.
The friend, willing to accommodate,
vainly tries to peer over the inter¬
vening mass of feathers (the head¬
dress of the man in front of him),
bracing himself on his foot, in his
effort to see—a taut neckline giving
the cue.”
From Miss Baker’s description it
seems that even the old Mayan In¬
dians were acquainted with our own
present-day problem of the woman
who wears a large hat in the moving
picture theater.
“The last man, and the only one whose
fare was not completely destroyed, has
lost interest after a fruitless attempt to
hear and his hand has probably with dropped Iris
from cupping his ear to toying
ear plugs," Miss Baker writes.
The priceless lintel was chiseled
from buff-colored limestonh. It is
two feet high and a little over four
feet long. Modern knowledge of
the ancient Mayan civilization prof¬
its not only from the demonstrated
mannerisms of the characters, but
from the clothing and the objects
held by the Indians.
Replica of Nunnery.
“The original must be seen to be
appreciated,” Miss Baker writes.
It shows in perfect detail even the
fingernails on the hand of the chief.
According to Dr. Mason, the
clothing is “Greek in quality.” The
clothes, also, are praised by Miss
Baker.
American interest in the ancient
Mayan civilization was greatly
stimulated in 1953 and 1934, when
millions of persons who visited A
Century of Progress .exposition in
Chicago inspected exhibits prepared
by Tulane university. Reproduced
in exact detail, and beautiful in its
brilliant coloring, was an ancient
nunnery, remains of which were
discovered at Uxmal, in the Mayan
country.
•© Western Newspaper Union.
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