TENENEPANCO AND NAHUALAC CEMETERIES.
The Rancho of Tlamacas—A Funeral Station—Great
Excitement—Ascent—Search—Tenenepanco—Camping—Tlacualero—Excavations
—Bodily Remains—Toys—A Beautiful Cup—A Well-preserved
Skull—Mispayantla Grotto—Amecameca—A Tumulus
Explored—Expedition to Iztaccihuatl—Nahualac—A Second Cemetery.
With a good horse and a comfortable saddle, the ascent of Popocatepetl
is a delightful ride. The road rises so rapidly that the view, which
was confined to the charming valley of Amecameca, becomes finer and
more extensive at every turn of the road, embracing at last the entire
plateau.
The air is crisp, the sun, though hot, is bearable, and when, after
three hours’ march, we reach the high mountain ridge, we pause to
admire in silence the finest panorama in the world: the two great
volcanoes to our right and left, the plain of Puebla on our rear,
whilst before us stretches the marvellous plain of Mexico, every detail
of which is distinctly visible in this clear atmosphere.
We are so lost in contemplation that the guide has at last to remind
us that, unless we resume our march, we shall be late for luncheon,
which awaits us at Tlamacas; but when we did reach it we found that the
only accommodation to be had was a shed, open to rain, wind, and cold.
There was fortunately a table and a chimney, and with our camp-beds we
managed pretty well.
As soon as we had seen to our luggage we sallied forth in search of the
cemetery under the escort of the chief guide, and began the ascent of
Monte del Fraile, 782 feet high, over a distance of three miles. This
may appear a small matter—but a short walk; yet a climb performed at an
altitude of 13,000 feet on moving sand, every step of which is painful,
is no joke: the head aches, the pulse throbs, every breath drawn is
a gasp, the throat is dry, every attempt to stoop makes one dizzy,
rest becomes necessary every few minutes; and on reaching the crest of
Tenenepanco rock we were thoroughly exhausted.
[Illustration: POPOCATEPETL AND PICO DEL FRAILE.]
My impatience to find the cemetery was so great, that I could not stop
long to contemplate the fine view to be seen here; we immediately
began our search. But though I seemed to recognise the plateau, it
looked somewhat different—strewn with flat stones I had not observed
before—consequently I climbed higher, followed by an old Indian who
had been with me in my first expedition, and who opened the ground in
several places. It was found very hard, compact, gravelly, without
any appearance of ever having been disturbed; so after many fruitless
attempts, I returned to the first place, when the old Indian, who had
not breathed a word hitherto, said:
“Señor, this is the place where you found some vases the last time you
were here.”
“But how do these flags come here?”
“Oh, from subsequent excavations.”
“Then I am sold, robbed, done out of my find,” I cried in my
disappointment, as though the cemetery were my property.
“But,” objected the old volcanero softly, “only a few loads of detritus
were taken away; there must be more to come out.”
Acting on advice which seemed so reasonable, I soon discovered numerous
_tepalcates_, fragments of vases, cups, and various potteries; we had
lost so much time, however, in looking about, that we were soon obliged
to abandon the mountain, trusting in what the morrow would bring forth.
A few words about our encampment may not be out of place here. The men
occupied an open shed, with a huge chimney in the centre, where twice
a day they prepared their own food, consisting of a small quantity
of meat and the indispensable tortilla, the whole washed down with a
good drop of mezcal. They slept on trusses of dry grass and mats. We
were not better housed than the men, whilst our cooking was a great
deal worse; if our shed was not quite so open, it was sufficiently
so to admit the bitter night cold; the wind came in at all the
windows unprotected by any shutters, through the thousand cracks of
the ill-jointed enclosure, searing our faces and causing incessant
sneezing. Although whole trees were burnt in the huge chimney, it
made no appreciable difference in the atmosphere of the room, and as
there was no tunnel we were nearly suffocated by the smoke, which,
hovering about us, only escaped through the roof. At this altitude,
with six or seven degrees below zero (Centigrade) at night, our bed
of guttapercha felt like icicles, and every time I came in direct
contact with it, I instantly awoke.
The food was plentiful, for the Tlacualero, our “errand-man,” went
twice a day to Amecameca to fetch what was required for the whole
party; and although the distance was fifteen leagues over a mountain
path, I never knew him late. But if provisions were abundant, Julian’s
cooking was so extraordinarily bad, that the only one who seemed to
enjoy and thrive on it was the dog d’Artagnan; to him it was a matter
of indifference if cutlets and beefsteaks were burnt to a cinder, if
beans were transformed into sticks—nothing came amiss. As for us, not
wishing to starve, we were obliged at last to do the cooking ourselves
and confine our Calino to “washing up.” Not that he was a bad fellow,
far from it; he deserved in every respect the excellent character I had
received with him for honesty, but a man may have given satisfaction as
a sacristan, as no doubt he had, and yet be a sorry cook.
The chill nights were certainly trying, but they were made up to us by
the glorious mornings; we rose with the first light of day; the sun,
still invisible to us, was already greeting the summit of the great
volcano, from which rose a light vapour. We watched the snow changing
from a delicate pink to dazzling white; the crest of El Fraile, as yet
wrapped in nocturnal mists, showed gray against a transparent blue sky,
whilst its base, shrouded by a deep fringe of funeral pines, gradually
emerged from their gloom at the sun’s magic touch. To the east the
plain of Puebla, and far away on the horizon the imposing cone of
Orizaba, whilst in the middle distance the severe outline of Malinche
seemed to divide the sky. The city de los Angeles, with her square
massive buildings, her steeples, cupolas, the towers of the cathedral,
the stately pyramid of Cholula rose at our feet bathed in a flood of
morning light.
[Illustration: VASES FOUND AT TENENEPANCO.]
The old Indian proved a true prophet; my predecessors had not removed
everything; trenches branching off in every direction so as to embrace
the whole plateau were at once made and brought to light wholly
undisturbed tombs. The first was that of a woman whose head I was
able to preserve intact: the bones of all the rest were unfortunately
reduced to a gelatinous paste. The dead were buried at a depth varying
from some two feet to four feet eight inches; the bodies doubled up,
both chin and arms resting on their knees; hands and feet were gone.
Within the tomb, over the head, was a _sebile_, or hollow terra-cotta
plate, two small black earthen horns, besides several vases. The whole
was damp and moist, the vases filled with earth and water, and the
utmost care was required in taking up such fragile objects. They soon,
however, hardened by exposure, when they could be easily and safely
cleaned and packed. As far as could be judged from the bones and
pottery, one of the tombs contained the bodies of a man and a woman.
Another, probably that of a chief, had no human remains left, but I
found a great variety of precious objects, made of _chalchihuitl_,
a hard green stone, which takes a fine polish, a kind of jade or
serpentine, much valued by the Indians; besides these were numerous
arrows of obsidian, beads for necklaces, some of hard stone, some of
terra-cotta, and a few small figures. A singular circumstance marked
this tomb; not a single bead, not a single ornament but was broken,
presumably at the time of the burial, as a token of grief. It is at
least the only plausible solution which can be given for so many hard
and resisting objects having been systematically destroyed.
Moreover, by far the largest proportion of these granite or porphyry
beads, whether owing to their great antiquity or their having lain in
a very destructive soil, crumbled away at our touch. Broadly speaking,
the tombs which had not been disturbed were two to one; the dead had
been buried without any regard to their position.
We are not yet inured to our life at an altitude of 13,000 feet, and
our daily ascensions are painful in the extreme; our faces literally
peel in this sharp wind and hot sun, whilst our hands are frightfully
chapped, and almost paralysed. It would be difficult to bear up long
against our hardships were it not for the stupendous result of our
excavations: kitchen utensils, every variety of vases representing
the Toltec god Tlaloc, fruit cups, jewel cups, with feet shaped like
a duck’s bill or a boar’s head; chocolate cups with porpoise-like
handles; beads, jewels, a whole civilisation emerges from these tombs,
and carries us back to the life of this long-forgotten people. Here
we have caricatures of ancient warriors; further on a water-carrier
bearing his jars like the modern “aguadores;” next are toys and tiny
terra-cotta chariots, some are broken, some still preserve their four
wheels; they were, presumably, a fond mother’s memento who, ages gone
by, buried them with her beloved child. These chariots are shaped like
a flattened _cayote_ (a kind of long-bodied fox) with its straight ears
and pointed face, and the wheels fit into four terra-cotta stumps; on
my renewing the wood axle-tree, which had been destroyed long since,
the chariots began to move.
[Illustration: CARICATURE OF TECUHTLI-KNIGHT (KNIGHT OF THE EAGLE).]
Many more objects were brought to light from these tombs—richly
ornamented “fusaïoles,” marbles, necklaces, baby-tables, which, like
the toy chariots, represented some quadruped—resembling Greek toys.
This coincidence between people so different and so far removed from
each other is not surprising, for elementary ideas generally find
a common expression. It should also be observed that these toys,
however rude, do not necessarily mark a very ancient epoch. Early
manifestations live on through ages and are found side by side with the
highest civilisations, and are still to be met among the people long
after the well-to-do possess objects of art.
The 9th of July was one of our best days. Out of ten tombs five were
found intact and yielded sixty remarkable pieces, one of which is
unique and of peculiar interest. It is a three-footed terra-cotta cup
some six inches by three by one and a half at the bottom inside;
wonderful to relate, it emerged without a blot from its gloomy abode.
Both the inside and outside are covered with pretty devices painted
white, yellow, blue, green, and red, fused into a harmonious whole. The
colours are in relief and like enamels. Next, one almost as beautiful
but smaller, and covered with dirt, was found. These two lovely cups
were put out to dry in the sun, when, to my horror, I saw that one was
fast scaling off, whilst the brilliant colours of the other were fading
visibly. To remove them into the shade was the work of an instant, but,
alas! it did not arrest the work of destruction, which continued at an
alarming pace. A photograph of the finest cup, as well as the colours
of the paintings, was immediately obtained, but it only gives a faint
idea of the beauty of this charming work of art.
From these tombs were likewise unearthed a number of diminutive brass
bells, which were used both as ornaments and currency; besides large
fat vases with a hand painted red over a black ground. This was a
Toltec memento, either symbolic of Hueman or of Quetzalcoatl, so often
seen on the walls of Yucatec palaces, and likewise on the monuments of
some North American tribes. But our most curious “find” was a perfectly
well-preserved human brain, the skull of which was gone. This cerebral
mass had been protected from the pressure of its surroundings by a
stout cup into which it was wedged. No doubt was possible: the two
lobes, the circumvolution of the brain to the minute red lines of the
blood-vessels, all was there.
[Illustration: BOTTOM OF ENAMELLED CUP FOUND IN THE BURIAL-GROUND.]
The fact that a human brain could have been found in good preservation
when the skull had disappeared, was received with Homeric laughter;
all I can say is that it is so, that the finding of it was witnessed
by my associates; that in every tomb where the skull should have
been, was invariably observed a whitish substance, which at first was
mistaken for lime, but which subsequently whenever it was met with,
the men instantly cried out: “_Aqui està uno_—here is one” (body),
and near it vases and fragments clearly indicating the presence of a
tomb. These brains, however, not having been protected like the first,
were all flattened into a white cake of some five inches by two in
thickness. The only explanation I can offer is that at an elevation
of 13,000 feet, close to the volcanic cone of Popocatepetl, in a soil
saturated with sulphureous vapours (a film of sulphide always extended
over my nitrate of silver washes), the same chemical combinations which
destroyed the bones, may have acted as a preservative on cerebral
matter. But it will be asked, why not have borne away that wonderful
brain? I ought to have done so, no doubt, but without alcohol the
thing was impossible; besides, had I done so, should I have a better
chance of convincing people at a distance?
The toy chariots found no better favour with the public. Our
illustrations, however, will settle once for all this vexed question.
As must appear to the most inexperienced eye, the character of these
toys is exceedingly archaic, nor am I aware that any museum or private
collection has anything to show at all approaching them. This was
conceded, but it was denied that they were chariots at all—the wheels
were only “malacates,” _i.e._ “fusaïoles”! Numerous spindles were
indeed found by us in the cemetery. Profuse collections may be seen
and compared in every museum, when the most ignorant must see that
these wheels are quite different to “fusaïoles” or whorls. It will be
said that this toy was but the copy of a chariot brought in by the
Spaniards; but a glance at the drawing will show how absurd is the
assumption, and carry conviction to the most incredulous.
Granted that is so, what inference do you draw from it? That the
Mexicans had chariots? Hardly, since all authorities are silent on
the subject, and when we know that the only means of transportation
was afforded by carriers. But if such chariots were not available in
distant expeditions across rivers, over mountain paths, through immense
forests, it was not so within the radius of a city having good roads;
and what is there against the possibility of a hand-cart corresponding
with ours having been in use?
I am far from affirming that it was so, although certain expressions
and quotations might be adduced which would show the supposition to
be not so far-fetched as it looks on the face of it. We read in the
Ramirez manuscript, for instance, that Montezuma II. set out for his
Huaxateca expedition with a numerous army and _carruages_.[79] Why
should the Indian writer have used an ambiguous word meaning both
_chariot_ and _transport_, when the former must already have been
extant when he wrote—that is, after the Conquest? Farther, Padre Duran
relates how this same Montezuma, wishing to erect a temalacatl, had a
huge block quarried at Aculco, near Amecameca; and Plate XXV. shows
this block raised by means of a rude chariot having clog-wheels, drawn
by a multitude of Indians.[80] The text, it is true, does not specify
a chariot; but if they were unknown, how do they come in his drawing?
It is unaccountable, too, that no mention is made of the stone having
been brought on rollers or wheels, seeing that it could not have come
so great a distance by any other means. It is altogether a mystery.
[Illustration: CARTS, CHILDREN’S TOYS.]
Lastly, Juarros, in describing the battle at Pinar, fought against
Alvarado, mentions war-engines, or what would now be called ammunition
carts, moving on _rodadillos_, which were drawn by armed men wherever
they were required. These carts were loaded with arrows, spears,
shields, stones, slings, etc., and men, chosen for the service,
distributed them as they were wanted.[81] Does “rodadillo” mean here
a clog-wheel or a roller? If these carts carried arms to combatants in
different parts of the field of battle, does it not follow that they
moved on wheels, since rollers would have made the diminutive “forts”
immovable, contrary to the end proposed?
Should, however, both quotations and arguments seem valueless, it
might be added that the toy chariots were perhaps of primeval Toltec
invention, the use of which had been lost after their expulsion from
the plateaux.
But to return to the cemetery. Whether it be considered Toltec or
otherwise, whether ancient or comparatively modern, we hold to its
antiquity, to its being essentially Nahua, dedicated to Tlaloc, the
god of rain and plenty, the fertiliser of the earth, the Lord of
Paradise, the protector of green harvests. We are in his dominions,
for he was believed to reside where the clouds gather, on the highest
mountain-tops.
The first plate shows the vases unearthed at Tenenepanco, five of which
portray this god, with his prominent eyes, the drops of water streaming
down his face, making up his teeth, his beard or moustachios; he holds
in his right hand a writhing serpent, thereby representing the flash
and the thunderbolt—his voice as heard in storms. In the Nahualac Plate
four vases also figure the same god.
The nations who succeeded the Toltecs on the plateaux adopted this
eminently Toltec deity, who was one of the most popular gods down to
the Conquest. The later tribes, however, discarding the mild practices
of the Toltecs, stained his cult with human sacrifices. We will add a
few quotations showing how great was the analogy between the places
consecrated to Tlaloc and the Tenenepanco cemetery.
[Illustration: VASES OF BURIAL-GROUND UNEARTHED AT NAHUALAC.]
Torquemada calls him the god of paradise and great delights; that his
statue on the highest mountain of Texcuco represented a man seated on
a square slab, having at the back a huge stone jar, into which _ulli_,
maize, beans, and other vegetables were placed by the devotees, and
that this offering was renewed every year. Ixtlilxochitl mentions,
_inter alia_, that five or six young children were yearly sacrificed
to this deity, their hearts torn out, and their bodies buried; and we
read in Father Duran that Montezuma and the allied princes repaired
on the hill on which a child seven or eight years old was sacrificed.
This festival was celebrated in the month of April, when the maize was
above the ground. The next quotation from Torquemada is by far the most
interesting, for it mentions Popocatepetl and the surrounding hills
where we are carrying on our explorations:
“Indians entertained a great respect for this mountain, whose climate
was mild, and the abundance of whose waters made the land around
unusually fertile, and here children and slaves were slain in honour of
Tlaloc. To the south is another mighty hill, Teocuinani, ‘the Divine
Singer,’ so called by the natives because whenever the clouds shroud
its summit the volcano bursts forth in flashes of lightning and claps
of thunder, spreading terror among the whole population, who hasten
to the hill to offer men, incense, paper-crowns, feathers, _plates_,
_urns_, _goblets_, _cups_, _toys_, _and vases_” (exactly what we have
found). “Close by was a well-constructed house, _Ayauchcalli_, ‘house
of rest,’ in which stood an idol of green stone, _chalchihuitl_, about
the size of a child eight years old. On the arrival of the Spaniards
this idol was carried away and buried _in the mountains_ by the
Indians, together with numerous objects of gold, silver, and precious
stones.”[82]
We have often seen clouds collected around the top of Teocuinani (El
Fraile), and many a time have we heard the dread voice of the Divine
Singer; if our Tenenepanco cemetery is not the one spoken of by Father
Duran, it is assuredly its nearest neighbour, and we are convinced that
this site was once sacred to Tlaloc, consequently ancient, and that
besides the victims sacrificed, both men and women were buried here as
in consecrated ground, with their utensils, arms, and ornaments.
The foregoing quotations prove, moreover, that the surrounding
mountains contain several funeral stations, which might be profitably
explored; Mount Tlaloc alone would enrich the most greedy. As for us,
we are satisfied with having discovered two and opened the way to
others; and when we add that our excavations yielded three hundred and
seventy pieces, our self-satisfaction will not appear out of place.
The greatest care was taken in packing our treasure in four large
_huacales_, “cases,” and the freight reached safely Amecameca and
Mexico, where the Government confiscated it.
In our two years’ explorations the Mexican Museum had deducted a third
from the best of our finds; now they illegally detained the whole,
refusing to give up any part of it. Let future explorers do their work
quietly, offering nothing to the Republic, which might adopt, as in our
case, a singular mode of testifying its gratitude.
The next day after our return to the village, we set out for the
Mispayantla grottoes, accompanied by a guide and three Indians
provided with tools. These grottoes are situated in the barranca known
as Mispayantla, at once the most picturesque and the most important in
the Mexican Valley, extending from El Fraile to the east and west as
far as the Amecan Valley. From rocks rising perpendicularly to some six
hundred and nine hundred feet, the eye travels down into its depths,
where the course of the river is lost in a glowing wilderness of
vegetation. The road was so bad and unsafe that we got off our horses
and walked up to the grottoes, where a great disappointment awaited
us, for they are nothing but pent-houses, produced by the projecting
rock; holes and notches, moreover, plainly testified that we had been
preceded long since by other seekers. Broken skulls and bones, of no
interest whatever, lay scattered about. We picked up, however, saucepan
handles of every size, red earthen vases striped with black, a much
injured idol of Tlaloc, a bit of an Indian flute. This had been, no
doubt, a funeral station completely rifled. We came away with feelings
the reverse of pleasant.
We were not more successful in attempting a teocalli in the heart of
Amecameca, than we had been at Mispayantla; remembering, however, that
cemeteries abounded in the mountains, I flattered myself I should find
one towards Iztaccihuatl. “Tepalcates,” potteries, I had been told,
were to be met in various places, but small had been the result on my
visiting the sites indicated. From inquiries and the promise of a good
reward, I got an Indian to act as guide to Iztaccihuatl, which he knows
well, having often been there for the same purpose as ourselves; a few
preliminaries are soon settled, and taking some half-dozen men with me,
we set out on our mountain expedition. The ascent is performed with
great difficulty, for we are just in for the rainy season, and the path
is simply abominable. Our horses slip, rear, fall, and we frequently
risk breaking our necks; the mule, laden with our instruments and
luggage, refuses to move until he is relieved of half his burden.
Leaving Amecameca, we follow a very steep path overlooking frightful
precipices, and reach the summit after a forced march of six hours.
From this point may be seen the valley, some 3,900 feet long by 1,625
to 1,950 feet broad, bounded by the mountain range which to the west of
Mexico makes it impassable. To the east are the peaks of Iztaccihuatl,
covered with virgin snow, 650 feet below us; on the crest the barometer
marks 12,512 feet, and 12,318 in the valley, that is as near as
possible the altitude of Tlamacas.
This narrow valley is so completely closed in by perpendicular rocks,
that it would be next to impossible to spy it out without a guide; it
is fringed half-way up by gloomy pines, but above us the rock is quite
bare. Stray cattle graze peaceably at the bottom of the valley, which
owes its name to the nearest peak, “Nahualac.” The latter must have
been a far more important funeral station than Tenenepanco. Everything
favours this assumption, whilst stone foundations make it probable that
a temple or a sanctuary dedicated to Tlaloc once stood here, similar
to that mentioned by Father Duran, of which no trace has been found by
us. We descry, however, to the north-east of the valley, an artificial
pond 195 feet in circumference; in the centre rose a monument, the
foundations of which are still extant; and round the pond are similar
but smaller monuments, pedestals, altars, or chapels, bearing the
statue of Tlaloc.
In a few minutes my men unearthed no fewer than forty vases, several
plates, goblets, in the same style as those found at Tenenepanco, save
that the clay is coarser and the ornamentation more archaic. This
beginning was so promising, that notwithstanding the bitter cold at
night, only half-sheltered as we were, my dreams were golden; and
the next morning, after a hot cup of coffee mixed with a good dose
of mezcal, we were eager to set to work again, when our “finds” were
if anything more abundant, and similar to those of the previous day:
idols, cups, three-footed goblets, pottery with Tlaloc’s image; very
few jewels, however, and no precious stones, whilst the total absence
of human remains seems to indicate great antiquity for these remains.
It may be well to mention that a small cup, bearing the image of Tlaloc
and placed in the centre of the Tenenepanco Plate, belongs properly to
Nahualac. It forms a pendant to another cup also in my possession. Both
are quite unique in their way, for nothing in the Aztec antiquities
recalls either the material, the shape, the ornamentation, or the
workmanship. If this cemetery were Aztec, therefore, it must date back
to the early establishment of that tribe in the valley; but in all
probability it is either Chichemec or Toltec, for had it been Aztec,
human remains would have been found, whereas it is well known that the
Toltecs offered only birds, feathers, and flowers to their favourite
god, and this leads us to suppose that Nahualac was one among the
primeval Toltec stations.
Our four days’ explorations produced nearly eight hundred pieces of
all kinds. Our sanguine hopes had been more than realised, and with
jubilant feelings we bade the mountain adieu; but alas! our treasure,
like its predecessor, went to fill up the shelves of the Mexican Museum.
If the ascent had been painful, the descent was even more so. Leaving
the Indians to follow with our luggage, Colonel Castro and I went in
advance; but we soon lost our way, and rolled rather than walked down
the steep, precipitous slopes of the mountain, whilst our horses, which
we were leading, came upon us like avalanches, and often threatened our
destruction. We reached the plain at last, and a few minutes brought
us to Ameca.
Our excavations on the high plateaux are over; we leave for the warm
region, to follow the Toltecs in their great migration at the beginning
of the eleventh century.
[Illustration: POND OF NAHUALAC.]
[Illustration: QUAY OF S. JUAN BAUTISTA.]