Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 31.djvu/93

Rh extreme pain being evident both in his face and from his attitude. A cast of what is believed to be a statue of Chalchiuhtlicue, Goddess of Water, was also shown us. The statue came from a mountain near Tlalmenalco. This divinity was sister to the gods of water, Tlaloques. A yoke from Orizaba is in the collection. This is made of stone and is of a green color. At the top of the yoke is a head, like that of a snake, and the entire yoke is polished. These were used on the occasion of human sacrifices, and were placed over the heads of the victims whose hearts were to be taken out. Next in order is the cast of a statue of a woman who, by her costume, appears to have belonged to the Aztec nobility. Around her waist is a rattlesnake, and this fact leads to the supposition that the statue is that of the "snake-woman"—the goddess Cihuacoatl, from whom the Aztecs believe the entire human race has descended. There are also in the collection casts of two feathered serpents and other mythological animals; of a



humpback, who is supposed to have been a son of King Tizoc, to whom reference has been made; of the water-goddess, etc. Conspicuous, too, are two funeral urns, beautifully carved inside, and with skulls upon the convex surface. A great vase or tub is in this series. From various water-animals sculptured on the base it is supposed to be commemorative of the deluge, but little is known of its meaning. A large grasshopper (Chapolin) stands near the "tub," and is supposed to be commemorative of the end of the wanderings of the Aztec tribe which terminated at Chapultepec (hill of the grasshopper).

Neither time nor space will allow a detailed description of some of the smaller casts in the collection. It is, however, safe to say that every piece has connected with it an interesting history.