Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/882

* YUCATAN. 746 YtrccA. astronomical knowledge, attest their superiority over the other civilized tribes of ancient Mexico, although, owing to environment, their advance- ment along certain other lines was not so marked. Among the most important and best known ruins in Yucatan are Uxmal, Chich^n- Itza (q.v.), Labna, Kabah, Mayapan, and Ake. The ancient temples and palaces were massive structures, but this had no reference to defense; they were so built to insure strength and permanency. None of the buildings had win- dows; their interior construction was character- ized by the triangular arch, which is known as the Jlaj-a arch, in which the inclined surfaces in eacii apartment or covered space slope in- ward from the sides, and sometimes also from the ends, at an angle of from fifteen to forty de- grees from the vertical, either meeting at the top in a sharp angle as seen in a few cases at CliicliGn and elsewhere, or approaching to within a foot or tw-o the narrow way, when they are connected by horizontal slabs and firmly held together by the superincumbent roof masonry. Flat ceilings, siipported by modern beams, occur in a very few cases, as at El IMeco and Tuloom on the east shore, but many of the buildings now roofless were probably originally constructed without roofs. Stone beams were used for short spans, as in miniature apartments, narrow open- ings, and passageways. The facades in many instances were composed of geometric designs and representations of huge grotesque masks. The material used in the edifices was the common . limestone of the country, which was cut and carved with stone tools. Mortar, made of lime and sand, was extensively iised ; the floors and roofs were made of stucco, and all of the stone- work in the edifices was covered with a thin coating of the same material, which in many in- stances was painted red. In many of the build- ings the white surface was covered with mural paintings in various colors, the most famous being the frescoes in one of the temples of Chichen-Itz.l. Many of the lintels of the doors were of wood, which were sometimes carved with symbolic hieroglyphic designs. These woodeTi lintels have been, in themselves, an element of weakness in the structures, for, had they not decayed, most of the great facades now in ruins would liave been preserved. There is a certain lack of unity in the general assemblage of the structures ; the common system is seen in the grouping of four edifices about a central court. Some of the ancient buildings were very exten- sive, notably the so-called palace of Labna, which shows four periods of construction. The total length of this building is 375 feet, and it for- merly contained about fifty rooms. The tombs are usually found beneath the cement floors of the buildings and are so small that the body must have licen doubled up in order to jdace it in the ossuary. On the outskirts of the main group of build- ings in these ancient cities were scattered the house sites of the common people who lived then, as the Mayas of the present day, in thatched- roofed huts of adobe. Excavations among the house sites reveal the presence of the three-stone fireplace or koben, which is still used by the Mayas. There are traces of ancient cement road- ways, raised a few feet above the surface, lead- ing frriii one fnwn to another. The Mayas ranked among the first in ancient ceramic art; the most interesting specimens which have been exhumed bear incised hieroglyphic inscriptions. The calendar of the Mayas was similar to that of the Nahuas and Zapotecs (q.v.), but their system of hieroglyphic writing, approaching pho- neticism, bears no resemblance to that of the other Mexican tribes. The nearest affinity is in the recently discovered hieroglyphic writing of the Zapotecs in the valley- of Oaxaca. The mod- ern Mayas of Yucatan retain no knowledge of the ancient lore of their ancestors. l)ut among the Lacandones of the remote southern frontier of the peninsula it is probable that ceremonies to their ancient gods are still performed. Consult: Bandelier, Xotes on the Bibliography of Yttca- lan and Central America (Worcester, 1880) ; Charnay, Les anciennes villes du noiiveau monde (Paris, 1884) ; and the writings of Daniel G. Brinton (q.v.). YUCCA (Sp., from the Korth American In- dian name). A genus of plants of the natural order Liliaceae, natives of the southern part of the United States and Mexico, but now Yucca filamcnlosa. widely distributed. Yucca filamentosa is often cultivated in gardens on account of the sin- gularity and splendor of its aponranee. r«eco yloriosa is a native of Virginia and of more southern parts of North America, but is hardy in the Northern States. Its stem, which is 2 or 3 feet high, bears on the upper part a great tuft or crown of large sword-shaped evergreen leaves, each terminating in a sliarp black spine. From the centre of this crown of leaves arises the flower stalk, of 3 feet or upward in height, branching out on every side so as to form a