RUINS OF PALENQUE. 71 of neatly cut stone, but the cement with which they were once joined has almost entirely disappeared. In these sepulchres several bodies were found, parts of which were in tolerable preservation. "Two stones, a foot and a half long by half a foot wide, were discovered, bearing hieroglyphics, which are described, in general terms, as 'resembling the usual hieroglyphics of the Indians.' Another figure was found, representing a man standing; and another, cut out of a firm but porous stone, which was intended to portray a person sitting cross-legged, with the arms also crossed, resting on his knees. This, however, was executed in a very inferior style. Near it, were discovered many domestic utensils, which were carried to Vera Cruz, whence they have been dispersed, perhaps to the four quarters of the globe. "It is thus, in the neglect of all antiquities in Mexico, in the midst of her political distractions and bloody revolutions, that every vestige of her former history will gradually pass to foreign countries, instead of enriching the cabinets of her university, and stimulating the inquisitiveness of her scientific students." In the year 1841 the liveliest interest was excited in the public mind of our country, by the appearance of Mr. Stephens's eloquent work entitled, "Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan." "He visited," says a cotemporary writer,* "the cities of Copan and Palenque, besides several other localities, abounding in ancient ruins, of which his narrative contains a vivid description. "These cities of a forgotten empire are situated in or near Southern Mexico and Yucatan, in a region of very luxuriant vegetation; and it is owing to this circumstance that Palenque and Copan have been hidden in a dense forest, which is exceedingly difficult to penetrate. It is an astonishing fact, that the Spaniards living near are not fully acquainted with the ruins. They can throw but little light on the subject. "Mr. Stephens was informed that the remains of Palenque were discovered by a party of Spaniards, in 1750. He thinks their existence must have been known to the Indians from time immemorial. There is no mention of such a city in any known history, and we have no tradition relating to it. It has received the name of Palcque from a neighbouring village. No exploration was made before the year 1787, when Captain Antonio del Rio visited the ruins; but his report was locked up in the archives of Guatimala until the revolution. It then came into the hands of an English gentleman, who published a translation in 1822. Dupaix's work appeared in France * G. Harding, Esq., in Young People's Book. in 1834. Shortly afterwards, Lord Kingsborough produced an "AcCount of Palenque, and other Mexican Antiquities," which sold for the sum of eight hundred dollars per copy. "It will hardly be deemed necessary to enter into a diffuse and elaborate description of the remains of houses, palaces, altars, statues, pyramids, and temples. It is impossible to contemplate such monuments of ancient art, without wondering at the skill, taste, and mechanical power of a people, who, we have every reason to believe, used tools of wood and stone, instead of instruments of iron. "Among the ruins, we are struck with the features delineated in the sculptured images. At first sight, we might conclude that such were the mere results of fancy; but a glance at the Indians found by the Spaniards in this portion of the world, tends to show that the ancient people of Mexico bore some resemblance to these statues. The flat head, which is the prominent point of notice, can be explained from the custom which many American Indians have of compressing the cranium in infancy. All the antiquities of Central America abound in hieroglyphics, which doubtless record the history of ancient nations. The remains of idols appear in many places. These are adorned with head ornaments, and in some instances are not unlike those of the Egyptians. The palaces and temples are mostly in a ruinous condition, and consist of a number of apartments, opening into courts and quadrangles. Many of the handsome edifices stand on pyramidal elevations. The entrance to most of these palaces is by a staircase, with a doorway at the upper part, but no doors have as yet been discovered. The only stone statue found at Palenque was ten feet six inches high. Mr. Stephens thinks that it bears a strong resemblance to the Egyptian statues. It is ornamented with earrings, and other representations of jewels. Several of the altars are in a nearly perfect state, and display an evident regard to architectural embellishment; and it is somewhat singular, that on one of the tablets there is sculptured a cross, before which two suppliants appear to be kneeling. This circumstance has given rise to many learned speculations with regard to Palenque. Dupaix accounts for the appearance of the cross, from the fact that it had a symbolical meaning among ancient nations before the time of our Saviour. The hieroglyphics seem to be almost Egyptian in their style and character; at any rate, it is probable that they are constructed on a similar system to those that have been discovered near the banks of the Nile. "As ocular demonstration, when practicable, is in all cases to be preferred to mere description, it will not, probably, be deemed inappropriate, by way of illustrating this portion of our subject, to pre RUINS OF PALENQUE. 75 sent the reader with an engraving of one of the most remarkable of the idolatrous monuments of Central America. The sketch from which this engraving is taken was drawn for Mr. Stephens, the celebrated traveller. He states that it forms a prominent object in the ruins of Copan, and that it is situated at the foot of a wall which rises in steps to an elevation of thirty or forty feet. The height of this singula: monument is eleven feet nine inches; its breadth about three feet on each side, and it stands on a pedestal which must have been seven feet square. A little above the centre of the north side, which is here represented, is a sculptured face, presumed to be a portrait of some king or hero, who had probably been deified after his death. King Solomon said, 'there is nothing new under the sun;' and here we see an instance in point; for the image on this monument is that of a person who wore moustaches, as do men of fashion of the present day. Beneath the portrait are seen the hands of the image placed upon the breast, and they are apparently very well formed. The other parts of the front of the monument, as well as the three remaining sides, are richly sculptured with strange figures, kingly crowns, and what appear to be symbolical representations of ancient customs, fables, or events. Within twelve feet stands an altar of colossal size, formed, like the monument itself, of a soft gritty stone, which had once been painted red, as some few vestiges of the pigment are now to be seen. This altar is ornamented with a death's head, and other gloomy symbols, and its top is cut into grooves or channels, supposed to have been intended to carry off the blood of human or animal victims immolated in sacrifice. The proximity of such a structure to the monument we have described, must surely strengthen the impression that the sculptured portrait is that of some object of worship. "It is remarkable, also, that in many parts of the South American continent, pyramids remain to this day that are well and uniformly built of solid stone. In this particular, an identity of taste is presented between the unknown people of Palenque and those of early Asia. "Some idea of the remote antiquity of Palenque may be formed from the fact, that its ruins are absolutely concealed by the thickness of the surrounding forests, while the very roofs of its houses, palaces, and temples, have been covered by the action of the elements and the falling of leaves, with a sufficient depth of mould to bear a thick wood of trees. Some of the largest, too, having been cut down and examined, indicated, by the concentric circles in their trunks, that they were several centuries old. And yet these trees must have commenced their growth when the city was as deserted and as desolate as it is at the present day. |