Identifier: ancientcitiesofn00char (find matches)
Title: The ancient cities of the New World : being travels and explorations in Mexico and Central America from 1857-1882
Year: 1887 (1880s)
Authors: Charnay, Désiré, 1828-1915
Subjects: Indians of Mexico Indians of Central America
Publisher: London : Chapman and Hall
Contributing Library: Getty Research Institute
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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CentralAmerica. Nevertheless, there are details which recall Toltecinfluence, as we shall show later. The second palace is the most dilapidated of those whichare still standing. The door, the sculptured lintel, and two innercolumns, are the only remains which serve to show that thesame arrangement was observed here, as in the great hall alreadydescribed. The fourth palace is occupied on its southern facade,which we reproduce, by much more oblong panels, having threehuman figures or caryatides. Four other palaces, to the south,are almost level with the ground, the walls only rising 3 or 4 feetabove it ; but the enormous blocks of stone forming the base-ment, give them a massive appearance which is not observablein the palaces that are still standing. The natives make use of them as dwelling-places. Subter-raneous passages, which were o(;ened some years ago, extendunder these ruins ; but the hostile attitude of the Indians causedthem to be closed up again Ijefore they could be properly
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TuMBALA. S. Cristobal. Mitla. 507 explored. The ruins arc fast falling into decay, hastened by thenatives who resort hither from all parts, and in their ignorancetake awav the small stones formincf the mosaic work, with theidea that they will turn into gold. The local government couldeasily stop such Vandalism, but it does not seem to care. We do not know the precise date of these monuments, exceptthat they had long been in a state of ruin at the time of theConquest, and Orozco y Berra thinks that they were de-stroyed some time between 1490-1500, in the fierce contestsbetween the Zapotecs and the invading Aztecs, a fact whichwould make them but little older than those we have describedin the course of this work. If there seems but little resemblance in the general outlinebetween these monuments and those of the Toltecs or Mexicans,it must be evident to any one that some of the details, such asthe masks and the small terra-cotta figures, are exactly like thoseat Teotihuacan ; whilst th

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