Page:Mexican Archæology.djvu/193

Rh lower border were equally deep. 'These women danced with their hair down, confined by plaited bands which ran from forehead to neck. 'Their faces were without ornament, smooth and clean. The men were equally richly clad; they wore a cotton cloak of so wide a mesh that it might almost be called a net. In the case of men who were distinguished by great valour and who had the right to wear a plug in the lower lip, these cloaks were fringed with small white shells. . . those who were not so distinguished wore black cloaks with (plain) fringes. All wore ear-plugs of mixed metals, but those of the higher ranks were of copper with gold pendants, their lip-plugs corresponding. In some cases these lipplugs represented lizards, in others, small dogs, or two small squares of metal. The youngest who had already distinguished themselves in action wore in the lower lip a large disc, containing four others arranged crosswise. The youngest of all had a plain disc without ornament. All the 'braves' wore hide collars with pendants terminating in numbers of small white shells. . . and at the same time lip-plugs of oyster-shell in the form of an eagle; while others who considered themselves of still greater valour, bought small white spheres found in certain molluscs. Ordinary folk decked themselves in a sort of chaplet, yellow in colour, made of other marine products, and of small value. Among this class, those who had captured prisoners in war bore an ornament of plumes on their heads as an indication that they had taken a captive in battle. The captains were distinguished by feather insignia attached to their backs, as a sign of valour. . . . There were some who carried on the left foot the hooves of deer attached with strips of hide of the same animal. All had their faces painted in various designs; some painted circles on their cheeks and stripes on the forehead from temple to temple with black pigment covered with iron pyrites, others prolonged the stripe to the ears, and others again painted