Page:Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol 2.djvu/231

Rh

About fifteen leagues west from Papantla, in a small plain at the feet of the eastern Cordillera of Mexico, are the remains of Tusapan, which is supposed to have been a city of the Totonacs. The vestiges of this little Indian city are almost obliterated, and the only very significant relics are the pyramidal edifice exhibited in the annexetl plate, and a singular fountain, a drawing of which is given in the work of M. Nebel.

The pyramid, built of stones of unequal size, extends thirty feet on each of its sides at the base, and the summit of its single story is reached by a flight of stairs. Upon the platform of this base a square tower is erected, which is entered by a door whose posts and lintel, as well as the friezes of the edifice, have been elaborately carved. In front of the door, within the tower, stands the pedestal of the ancient divinity, but the idol itself has been destroyed. The interior of this apartment is twelve feet square, and its ceiling, like the external roof, terminates in a point.

Around the pyramid are scattered masses of stones, sculptured into the images of men and various animals; and from the inferior manner in which the carving on these objects is executed, we may judge that this religious temple was not the most celebrated architectural or artistic work of the ancient inhabitants.