For most practical purposes the Mexicans at the date of the Spanish
conquest were living in an age of stone. It is true that they both
knew and worked two metals with great facility, namely, gold and
copper, especially the former; but gold is useless as a material from
which to make implements, and copper was not sufficiently plentiful
to be employed very freely. Both these metals were therefore utilized
principally in the manufacture of ornaments, though copper tools were
employed in wood-carving and a few minor arts.
[Illustration: FIG. 19.--Stone and obsidian implements.
1, 2. Obsidian scrapers.
3–5. „ flakes.
6, 7. „ „ perhaps for inlay.
8. Chert knife-blade.
9. Obsidian core, from which flakes have been struck.
(_British Museum_)]
Hard stone from which adze- and axe-blades and chisels could
be manufactured occurred in quantities in Mexico, and various
volcanic rocks were quarried for the purpose of making implements.
Chalcedony and other flinty materials were used in the manufacture
of knife-blades, and the workmanship of these, especially of some
of the specimens from the Mixtec country, are surpassed only by the
finest examples of ripple-flaking from ancient Egypt (see Fig. 19,
8). Knife-blades of this form were usually thrust into a simple ball
of resin to form a handle, though for ceremonial use elaborately
carved wooden hafts covered with turquoise and shell mosaic (Pl.
XVIII, 1) were fitted to them. But the material which perhaps was of
the greatest use to the Mexicans was obsidian. From blocks of this
natural glass long flakes could be detached by pressure, each of which
came away from the core with a razor-edge. Such flakes were used as
knives without further preparation, or were inset along the borders
of wooden swords to form a cutting edge. The flaking-implement was a
pointed stick with a cross-piece at one end; the artisan rested the
point on a suitable spot on the obsidian block, which he held between
his feet, and applied the necessary pressure by leaning his chest
against the cross-piece. The nature of the long thin flakes which were
detached, and of the core from which they were struck, is shown in Fig.
19, 3–5 and 9. Broader flakes were worked up by secondary flaking to
form delicate arrow-heads and graceful spear-heads, while large slabs
were polished to form mirrors, the surface being carefully finished
by continuous rubbing with a handful of reeds. Masks were also made
from this material, and details such as teeth and eyes were inlaid
with shell and other substances. Stone axes (Fig. 20) were carefully
ground by rubbing on a block of hard-stone, probably with sand or
emery and water, the surface in the more highly-polished specimens
being finished with bamboo. The shapes show some variation, but the
implement usually tapers slightly towards the butt, which is rounded
off more or less abruptly; some specimens are long-oval in transverse
section, while others are quadrangular. They were hafted by being
simply thrust into a wooden handle, as shown in Fig. 4, _f_; p.
35. The finest specimens are made of some kind of jadeite, and are
often beautifully polished, especially those from the Mixtec country.
In the Tarascan country, and northward to La Quemada in Zacatecas, are
found types closely akin to those of Arizona and California, viz. heavy
axes, coarsely ground, with one or two grooves partially or entirely
encircling the butt (Fig. 20, 4, 7 and 8). These must have been
attached to the haft by thongs, or a stout twig must have been bent
round the implement and secured by a lashing below. Such forms as these
are not found in the Mexican valley or further south, until Ecuador is
reached, but are in reality characteristic of the northern portion of
the continent. In the same area are found peculiar blades in animal
form, as shown in Fig. 20, 5. Great masses of stone were handled with
considerable facility, and it is only necessary to call attention to
the objects shown in Pls. III and VI-VIII, as evidence of the skill of
the Mexico mason. The large coping-stone with a figure of a fire-snake
in high relief illustrated on Pl. V, 2, being an especially fine
specimen from a technical point of view.
[Illustration: FIG. 20.--Stone axe-blades.
1. Etla, Oaxaca.
2, 3, 6. Valley of Mexico.
4, 5, 7, 8. Michoacan (Tarascan.)
(_British Museum_)]
To speak generally, Aztec sculpture often shows a slight stiffness in
style, due in part to its conventional nature, but many specimens exist
which exhibit considerable freedom of treatment, notably the figure
of Xochipilli on Pl. V, 1 (of which the characteristic crest rising
from the head-dress is unfortunately missing), and the magnificent
rattle-snake on Pl. XI, A. Characteristic of the stone art of Tulan
are caryatid figures (similar to Fig. 84, p. 348) and serpent columns,
both of which will be met again when we come to consider the art of
Yucatan; and related to the same culture are figures representing a
reclining god, probably one of the octli-gods, holding a vase. One
of these, of colossal proportions, has also been found in Yucatan.
This type of statue seems to have been copied in Aztec times, and
the specimen on Pl. VIII, 2, probably belongs to this later period.
Caryatid figures are also found in Tlaxcala. A particular class of
sculpture is constituted by the peculiar stone figures found in the
Panuco valley, of which a fine series may be seen in the British
Museum (Pl. X, 1). These are distinguished by the pointed head-dress
associated with the Huaxtec, sometimes combined with the jaws of a
monster, or a semicircular crest with engraved snake-design. Most
are otherwise nude, and all exhibit a somewhat crude and archaic
character. Belonging to the Totonac culture are certain enigmatical
stone objects, beautifully carved, of which the principal are the
so-called “yokes” and “paddle-shaped stones.” The shape of the former
is best seen from the illustration, Fig. 21; viewed from the side or
rounded end (_a_), the carving in nearly all cases represents a
monster or grotesque human being crouching upon the ground, while from
above (_b_), the rounded end represents the upper jaw of a gaping
mouth furnished with teeth. The use of these has been much disputed,
but I would suggest the following explanation as the simplest. The
attitude of the crouching figure shows that the normal position of
the object is flat upon the ground, as in Fig. 21, _a_, while
the fact that the yokes are found in graves suggests that they have
a funerary significance. It is possible that they were meant to
support the corpse in an upright position, and as such the crouching
figure typifies the earth-monster, while the gaping mouth represents
the jaws of the same creature open to receive the dead, just as the
earth-monster is shown in manuscripts supporting a mummy-pack in its
open maw (Fig. 14, _b_; p. 104). These carved yokes, many of which
suggest Mayan rather than Mexican art, seem to have been carried by
trade or otherwise over a large area, since examples have been found
in Tlaxcala, Tabasco, Guatemala and San Salvador. The paddle-shaped
stones often exhibit great skill in stone-carving, but at present no
explanation of their use is forthcoming. These again are Mayan in type
rather than Mexican.
[Illustration: FIG. 21, A, B. Stone “Yoke”; Totonac district.
(_British Museum_)]
[Illustration: FIG. 22.--Stone figurines; Mixtec.]
In working stone, stone tools were alone employed, copper being quite
unsuitable for the purpose. Of smaller works of art attention may be
called to the specimens shown in Pl. XI, 3 and 4, which are carved in
jadeite or some analogous material. The small seated figures in Fig.
22, and the carved plate in Pl. XI, 4, are particularly characteristic
of Oaxaca. Fine alabaster vases were manufactured, especially in the
Totonac country around Vera Cruz, the interiors being laboriously
drilled out by means of a tubular drill, probably of bone or bamboo, a
practice also followed by ancient Egyptian lapidaries. Small mirrors,
with a convex surface to reduce the image, were made from nodules
of pyrites, and beads and pendants of all descriptions manufactured
from jadeite and other translucent stones. Fine green jadeite, called
chalchiuitl, was highly prized, and its use was allowed only to persons
of high rank. Ornaments of this material were given by Montecuzoma
to Cortés for transmission to the Emperor, and Diaz quotes his words
as follows: “I will also give you some very valuable stones ...
chalchihuites ... not to be given to anyone else, but only to him,
your great Prince.” Bead necklaces of this stone formed an important
item of tribute from certain subject cities (Fig. 18, _c_; p.
118). In producing the smaller works of art from crystal, jadeite
and amethyst, flint, and sometimes copper, points were used for
engraving and drilling, emery was employed in rubbing down, and small
articles were set in wood for polishing. Heliotrope, being very hard,
was set in stone. The stone-workers of Xochimilco and Tenayocan
enjoyed a particularly high reputation. The most gorgeous works of
the lapidary’s art were the mosaics, of which two are shown on Pls.
=I= and =XVIII=, 1. In the first, fragments of turquoise
and jet are laid in a resinous matrix on a human skull; the eyes are
pyrites encircled with shell rings, and the nose is inlaid with plates
of pink shell (pink shells also formed an article of tribute, see Fig.
18, _e_; p. 118). Some of the teeth have been reset in their
wrong places. The knife-handle is similarly incrusted with turquoise,
malachite and shell. Masks of the gods, head-pieces and ornaments
were made in the same materials on wood foundations, and the masks of
Quetzalcoatl, Tlaloc and Tezcatlipoca were among the articles sent by
Cortés to the Emperor Charles. The Tarascans were especially famed as
mosaic workers, and the art extended right up into Arizona, though not
in such perfection. It is thought that the turquoise itself passed in
trade southwards from the deposits at Los Cerrillos in New Mexico. The
Toltec were reputed to have been particularly skilful lapidaries, and
to have possessed peculiar powers in the way of discovering deposits
of precious stones. For this purpose, so it was said, they would take
up their position on some elevated spot just before dawn, and at the
moment when the sun appeared above the horizon, would note any small
cloud of vapour rising from the earth, a manifestation which was
supposed to indicate where they might be found.
[Illustration:
_PLATE XI_
MEXICO
STONE RATTLE-SNAKE
(Scale: ⅙th)]
[Illustration:
_British Museum_
MAYA
1. JADEITE RELIEF
2. „ „ FROM TIKAI.
MEXICO
3. JADEITE HEAD
MIXTEC
4. JADEITE RELIEF FROM OAXACA
ZAPOTEC
5. GOLD LIP-PENDANT FROM TEHUANTEPEC
(Scale: 1–5, ⅔rds)]
Copper was used occasionally for axe- and adze-blades, and constituted
an article of tribute. Analysis has shown that it was hammered out,
and the edge hardened by this means alone. Some of the blades contain
a percentage of tin, but the presence of the latter metal may be
regarded as purely accidental. The forms are usually similar to
those of the stone implements, and they were hafted by lashing, with
wedges, to a handle, as shown in Fig. 27, _a_; p. 148. “Eared”
varieties however occur, though they are rare, and a peculiar T-shaped
type is found in some quantity, extending into Oaxaca and Guatemala.
Most of the last-named are so thin that it is difficult to see what
useful purpose they could have served, and it is probable that they
constituted a form of currency, though the suggestion has been made
that they were used as knives for cutting feathers in the preparation
of feather mosaic. Bells of copper are common throughout the whole
of Mexico, some in a peculiar technique which look as if they were
made of soldered wire, and animal forms in the same style have been
found in Tarascan territory. Close examination would seem to show that
these are really cast by the _cire perdue_ process, as described
below. Great difficulties however attend the casting of copper, and it
is possible that such articles contain a percentage of tin. Analyses
however are lacking, and it seems certain that the presence of tin must
be regarded as accidental, for though deposits of tin were found in
Guerrero by Cortés, yet the inhabitants had never deliberately mixed it
with copper until shown how to do so by the Spaniards. Of the mining of
copper, little is known, but ancient workings have been discovered at
Cerro del Aguilar in Guerrero. Abundant traces of fire are to be seen,
and no less than 140 stone wedges have been collected there. Probably
the process consisted in heating the blocks of ore, and driving the
wedges into the resultant cracks so as to split them up into more
manageable fragments. The Zapotec country was famed in old times for
its copper.
[Illustration: FIG. 23.--Mexican artisans.
A. Feather-worker.
B. Goldsmith.
C. Stone-bead maker.
(_Mendoza MS., Oxford_)]
In the working of gold the Mexicans exhibited particular skill,
and though great quantities of the wrought metal were found by the
conquerors, yet a very small percentage of the enormous amount
exported since the conquest has found its way into museums. The
greatest treasure discovered at one time by Cortés was that amassed by
Axayacatl, father of Montecuzoma. Of this Diaz writes: “Cortés and some
of the captains went in first (into the treasury), and they saw such
a number of jewels and slabs and plates of gold and chalchihuites and
other great riches that they were quite carried away, and did not know
what to say about such wealth.... When I saw it I marvelled, and, as at
that time I was a youth, and had never seen such riches as those in my
life before, I took it for certain that there could not be another such
store of wealth in the whole world.” This treasure was subsequently
found to be of the value approximately of one and a half million
sterling. Another of the conquerors relates the finding of 480 oz. of
gold in one grave. But the accounts of the workmanship of the various
articles surpass even their number. We read of “a very rich necklace of
golden crabs, a marvellous piece of work”; of “two birds made of thread
and feather-work, having the quills of their wings and tails, their
feet, eyes and the ends of their beaks, of gold, standing upon two
reeds covered with gold, which are raised on balls of feather-work and
gold embroidery, one white and the other yellow, with seven tassels of
feather-work hanging from each of them”; and of a fish with alternate
scales of gold and silver. Unhappily no such works of art as the two
latter have survived. Grijalva describes the getting of gold by picking
out the grains from river-sand; the collector storing them in his mouth
and later melting them down on the spot in a pottery vessel, blowing up
the fire by means of tubes of reed, as in Fig. 23, _b_. Gold was
also washed from river-sand in small troughs, the water being poured
on from gourds. This method was employed both on the east coast and in
the Zapotec region, but regular mining was practised by the Zapotec and
Chinantec, and gold formed a very important article of tribute, both in
dust and plates. The goldsmiths of Azcapotzalco were the most famed in
the valley; and gold-workers in general were divided into two classes,
beaters and casters. In beating, stone hammers were used for the most
part, and the workmen were very skilful at overlaying with gold-foil
(the spear-thrower shown on Pl. XVII, 1, has been ornamented in this
way). Wooden beads overlaid with gold have been found in the Totonac
country. Casting was carried out as follows: pounded charcoal was mixed
with fine clay, and kneaded out into thin discs, on which the details
of the desired ornament were engraved with a copper tool. Wax was then
prepared by boiling, mixed with copal to give it firmness, and, after
clarifying by means of a filter, was rolled out on a polished stone and
applied in small strips to the details of the design. Pounded charcoal
in solution was added as a covering, and, over all, a coating of clay,
also mixed with charcoal. A rod of wax, coated with clay, was added,
to form a connection with the wax model within. The whole was baked,
the wax run out and the molten gold poured in. Finally the mould was
broken, and the casting rubbed with earth mixed with salt, to give it
a good colour, and then polished. Objects so prepared often have the
appearance of soldered wire, but, in such specimens as the ring shown
in Fig. 24, the reverse side plainly shows that the greater portion
has been cast solid. In the case of the gold ear- or lip-ornament
from Tehuantepec (Pl. XI, 5), some of the details appear to have been
soldered on after casting. We are told that the designs applied to
beaten gold by engraving were usually traced for the goldsmiths by the
feather-workers.
[Illustration: Fig. 24. Gold finger-ring (_scale ²⁄₁_).]
[Illustration: FIG. 25.--Feather-work mantle
(_Berlin_). (_After Seler_)]
Of this feather-work (Fig. 25) very few specimens remain, but the
description of the methods employed in its manufacture have been
preserved in the nahuatl text of Sahagun and translated by Seler. Diaz
writes of fine fabrics covered with feather-work made by women, and
brought daily “from some towns of the province on the north coast near
Vera Cruz called Cotaxtla, close by San Juan de Ulua.” In the valley
the most renowned feather-workers were the inhabitants of the Amantlan
quarter of Mexico, who worshipped gods of their own, and prided
themselves on their descent from early immigrants into the valley from
the north. The implements used in the craft were a brush and colour-box
for sketching designs, a copper knife and wooden cutting-board, and
a bone spatula for attaching the feathers when cut into the required
shapes. In some cases the feathers were simply sewn to cloth, but the
more elaborate mosaics required a lengthier process. Cotton was applied
to a strip of maguey by means of paste, and a coating of paste was
painted over it; after drying, the cotton was peeled from the maguey
and pasted to a backing of bark-paper: the design was carefully drawn
upon it, and then cut out after the manner of a stencil, through which
the design was traced upon a sheet of maguey, backed with cotton, or
cotton backed with maguey. To the last a layer of the cheaper kind of
feathers of the requisite shapes and colours was applied by means of
the spatula, first the outlines in black, and then the body-colours and
details. The foundation was then detached and fastened to a board, and
the final layer, this time in precious feathers of similar colours,
was added. The stencil was used as a check throughout the whole of
the process. Every kind of feather ornament was made by these artists,
including the elaborate back-devices worn by different ranks of
warriors. For many of the latter cane frames were constructed, to which
the feathers, carefully marshalled, were attached by threads, layer
upon layer being added, each covering the bare quills of the last,
the final row consisting of down. In the earlier days obsidian knives
were used to cut the feathers, and in reality the art only became of
importance after the conquest of various coastal towns brought the
plumes of the more gorgeous birds to Mexico in great quantities as
tribute. Those workers engaged upon the feather ornaments and mantles
used to deck the figure and representatives of the god Uitzilopochtli,
lived in a special house, and many of the more important lords
maintained artists who worked especially for them.
[Illustration: FIG. 26.--Pottery spindle-whorls
(the top right-hand specimen is of bone), from the Island of
Sacrificios.
(_British Museum_)]
[Illustration: FIG. 27.
A. Wood-carver.
B. Woman weaving.
(_Mendoza MS., Oxford_)]
The textile arts flourished throughout Mexico, though owing to
the unfavourable nature of the climate, specimens are practically
non-existent. Thread was spun by the women from nequen, the fibre of
the maguey or cotton, and the fur of rabbits was also utilized. Girls
learnt the art at a tender age, and the ornamented spindle-whorls,
usually of pottery, but sometimes of bone, are common in museums (Fig.
26). The spindle was made to revolve in a small pottery bowl, as is
shown in Fig. 29; p. 161, and the thread was woven on a loom of simple
construction. The warp was fastened to a convenient post, and kept taut
by means of a band passing round the back of the weaver, who beat down
the weft with a wooden “sword” (Fig. 27, _b_). The loom was in
fact almost certainly the same as that used right into modern times,
and it is probable that a number of heddles were employed for the more
elaborate designs. Cotton was of course grown in the hotter countries,
and both textiles and the raw material formed perhaps the most
important article of import into the valley. Strangely enough it is the
inhabitants of the cooler districts who bore the reputation of being
the most skilful weavers. Some idea of the designs which were employed
may be gathered from the manuscripts, but the patterns there figured
form only a very small proportion of the whole. Sahagun gives a long
list of names relating to particular types of mantle, unfortunately
without further description except in a very few cases. One of these
may be cited in illustration of their elaborate nature. “They also made
use of cloaks on which were figured beautiful and rich jars mounted on
three feet, and furnished with two ‘wings’ like those of butterflies
(octli-vases). The lower portion of the jar was rounded and coloured
red and black (the colours of the octli-gods), the wings were green
with a yellow border, and three small dots of the same colour on each.
The neck of this jar had the form of the _marquesota_ of a tunic,
crowned with four small rods embroidered in red and blue feathers.
These jar designs were scattered on a white field. This cloak had two
red stripes along its front border, passing over white bands grouped
two by two” (see the textile in Fig. 18, _s_; p. 118). Many of
the details in patterns such as the above were added in embroidery, at
which the Mexican women were equally expert. Good polychrome weaving
was performed by the Otomi in maguey fibre, and the Tarascan and
Huaxtec ranked high as textile artists. The Tarascan women were said
to prepare food for a couple of days before starting to weave, so that
they might not be disturbed at their task. Weaving and embroidery were
under the especial patronage of the goddess Xochiquetzal. Mat- and
basket-making was also an important industry, though of these arts also
specimens are lacking. However, the use of mat seats was a privilege
of rank, though perhaps less so than in the Maya region, and the
mat-makers paid reverence to a special patron-deity, Napatecutli, one
of the Tlaloque. The consideration of Mexican pottery will be deferred
until the architectural remains have been discussed.
[Illustration: FIG. 28.--Designs from pottery
stamps; Valley of Mexico.
(_British Museum_)]
A certain amount of information concerning the dress and ornaments of
the Mexicans can be gleaned from the foregoing pages, and repetition
will be unnecessary. The ordinary dress for a man, worn by nearly all
the peoples mentioned in this book, was a girdle, maxtlatl, the ends
of which hung down before and behind, and a shoulder-cloak (e.g. Fig.
23; p. 143). The woman’s dress, equally universal, consisted of a
skirt and a tunic, usually without sleeves (e.g. Fig. 27, _b_;
p. 148). The original costume of the Aztec was of skins, but after
their settlement in the valley, textiles were adopted, first of nequen
fibre, later of maguey and cotton. The last-named material however
was reserved for the upper classes, the women of which added to their
attire by wearing additional tunics and skirts. Exceptions to the
above rule were constituted by the Tarascans, among whom the men,
as among the Huaxtec, wore no maxtlatl, and the Chichimec who wore
skins. Skin-clothing prevailed to some extent among the Tarascans
also, though they were good weavers, and in this district the young
wore shorter skirts than their elders. The following garments were
considered more or less characteristic of certain peoples; white cloaks
with figures of scorpions in blue of the Toltec; striped textiles of
the Otomi; duck-feather cloaks of the Tarascans; net cloaks of the
Totonac; white cotton mantles of the Zapotec, and polychrome textiles
especially representing interlaced eddies (as the shield in Fig. 18,
_p_; p. 118) of the Huaxtec. Body-paint was employed by all the
tribes, especially on ceremonial occasions; Mexican women were in the
habit of painting their faces yellow and impressing patterns in red
upon their cheeks with pottery stamps (Fig. 28). Figures of monkeys
and coxcoxtli-birds were especially favourite designs. The Tarascans
of Tzintzuntzan used black body-paint, like the priestly orders in
Mexico, and the Tlalhuica red. The question of tatu is more difficult
to settle, certainly this form of adornment was not common. Sahagun
states that in the month of Toxcatl the priests “with a stone knife
made scars on children of both sexes, on the breast, the stomach, the
middle of the arms and the wrists,” and also that the Otomi women
“made on their breasts and arms designs in a blue colour, by means of
small instruments which fixed the colour in the flesh.” The latter
statement at any rate seems to point to the practice of tatu. Sahagun
states that the Huaxtec and Totonac tatued, and the slab illustrated
in Fig. 11; p. 83, shows a man whose limbs are apparently ornamented
in this manner. Otomi women stained the teeth black, a practice found
also among the Huaxtec, while tooth-filing was found among the latter
people, the Tarascans and the Mixtec. Pottery heads showing the Maya
form of tooth-filing have been found in the Totonac area. The actual
inlaying of teeth seems to have been confined to those peoples of
definite Maya affinities, such as the Huaxtec, though teeth ornamented
in this fashion have been found in the Mixtec area, at Xoxo. Mexican
women of rank filed the teeth and painted them red. This practice seems
to have been borrowed from the Huaxtec, and tooth-mutilation as a whole
does not seem to have been a characteristic of the Nahua-speaking
peoples. Methods of dressing the hair show slight variations, though
the ordinary method was to cut it short on the forehead and temples,
and allow it to grow at the back. The Tarascans however for the most
part cropped it close all over, while the Chichimec did not cut it
at all, but wore it in plaits. Among the Otomi the child’s head was
cropped close, men and young girls cut the locks on the forehead, and
women after becoming mothers allowed it to grow all over the head and
dressed it on the top. Zapotec chiefs and warriors wore long hair
gathered at the back in a pigtail. In Mexico men of rank, being
warriors, cut the hair, and brushed it up on the right side (Pl. IX,
4), while chiefs cropped most of the head, leaving a long lock on the
forehead which they kept erect by means of a fillet (Pl. IX, 5). Of
Montecuzoma we read, “He did not wear his hair long, but so as just
to cover his ears.” In Mexico women of rank sometimes wore the hair
plaited and crossed on the forehead in two “horns,” but ordinarily
it was allowed to grow and was worn loose. Ear-ornaments were almost
universal, in the form of plugs of stone, gold and turquoise; while
lip-plugs were found among the Mexicans, Otomi and Totonac (see Fig.
18, _b_; p. 118). At Mexico the lips of children were pierced on
admission to the Calmecac, and the status of a man could be judged
by the quality of his lip-plug. Shell and obsidian marked the lower
ranks, while gold and gems were reserved for the higher orders of
nobility; most prized of all were those of chalchiuitl, or of crystal,
the latter being hollow and containing a blue feather. Nose-ornaments
were not so common, and were especially associated with the Huaxtec;
they are however frequently seen in the representations of Mexican
goddesses (especially those borrowed from the Huaxtec) and consisted
for the most part of gold plates, often in the form of a butterfly,
or of golden tubes. Of the tremendous variety of ornaments worn round
neck and arms and attached to the garments, it is impossible to write
in detail, but some idea of their variety may be gathered from the
following passage of Sahagun, describing the dance performed by men
and women of the warrior-class in the month Uei tecuilhuitl. “The
women were clad in rich and costly robes and skirts ornamented with
elaborate embroidery.... Of the robes ... some were white without
designs, and the upper opening of these was bordered with deep fringes
which covered the whole breast, and the fringes of the lower border
were equally deep. These women danced with their hair down, confined by
plaited bands which ran from forehead to neck. Their faces were without
ornament, smooth and clean. The men were equally richly clad; they wore
a cotton cloak of so wide a mesh that it might almost be called a net.
In the case of men who were distinguished by great valour and who had
the right to wear a plug in the lower lip, these cloaks were fringed
with small white shells ... those who were not so distinguished wore
black cloaks with (plain) fringes. All wore ear-plugs of mixed metals,
but those of the higher ranks were of copper with gold pendants, their
lip-plugs corresponding. In some cases these lip-plugs represented
lizards, in others, small dogs, or two small squares of metal. The
youngest who had already distinguished themselves in action wore in the
lower lip a large disc, containing four others arranged crosswise. The
youngest of all had a plain disc without ornament. All the ‘braves’
wore hide collars with pendants terminating in numbers of small white
shells ... and at the same time lip-plugs of oyster-shell in the form
of an eagle; while others who considered themselves of still greater
valour, bought small white spheres found in certain molluscs. Ordinary
folk decked themselves in a sort of chaplet, yellow in colour, made of
other marine products, and of small value. Among this class, those who
had captured prisoners in war bore an ornament of plumes on their heads
as an indication that they had taken a captive in battle. The captains
were distinguished by feather _insignia_ attached to their backs,
as a sign of valour.... There were some who carried on the left foot
the hooves of deer attached with strips of hide of the same animal.
All had their faces painted in various designs; some painted circles
on their cheeks and stripes on the forehead from temple to temple with
black pigment covered with iron pyrites, others prolonged the stripe to
the ears, and others again painted stripes from the base of the ear to
the mouth.” Feathers of course, whether applied to textiles or worn by
themselves, constituted an extremely important article of adornment,
and even the Otomi women wore them on their feet and legs during
dancing, a custom found also among the Toluca. Sandals of hide with
straps ornamented according to the rank of the wearer were in universal
use.
The Mexicans enjoyed considerable variety in food, and though famines
were not uncommon, yet the attention paid to agriculture in the
valley and the extensive trade-system made the supply plentiful under
normal circumstances. The Chichimec hunters lived on game, wild roots
and fruits, and honey, but most of the remaining tribes practised
cultivation, especially of maize, though the Otomi were said to have
been improvident in the use of the crop. To speak generally, maize
was the staple food, though free use was made of other grain, yams
and beans. From maize a large variety of “bread” was manufactured,
mostly in the form of thin cakes differing greatly in quality. The
grain was thrown into boiling water, into which a little lime had
been sprinkled, to remove the husk; when cool, it was washed, ground
on the grinding-stones, called metatl, and kneaded into dough which
was cooked in pots, or wrapped in leaves and steamed. Certain flowers
were often added to give it a flavour. Maize-meal was often boiled in
water, the liquor being strained and reboiled until it was reduced to a
kind of gruel, called atolli, which was consumed in large quantities.
Venison, rabbits, hares, quails, partridges, ducks, turkeys and geese,
provided the most common flesh-foods; the two latter birds were
domesticated and were bred almost as much for their feathers as for
their flesh, especially in Culiacan, Jalisco and Michoacan; eggs were
not eaten. The hairless Mexican dog was also bred as a food-animal
in some places, such as Jalisco. Meat was cooked wrapped in dough
or plainly roasted, and pepper was consumed in great quantities as
a condiment, just as in Peru. Fish too formed an important article
of diet, and the courier-system in the later days of the Empire was
so excellent that it could be brought fresh from the coast for the
use of the royal house. Certain marshflies which appear in veritable
clouds on the lake were pounded and made up into balls and boiled,
and their eggs were collected from the reeds and eaten as a kind of
caviare; frogs too were not despised, and the Otomi were credited
with eating snakes and rats. A peculiar food seen by the conquerors
consisted of “cakes made from a sort of ooze which they get out of the
great lake, which curdles, and from this they make a bread having a
flavour something like cheese.” Honey, both that of bees and that made
from the sap of the maguey, was used to sweeten atolli and in many
other ways, and salt was prepared by filtering water through certain
kinds of earth and evaporating the liquor. The constant hostilities
of the Tlaxcalans with the Mexicans had resulted in the almost total
destruction of the salt trade as far as the former were concerned;
in fact the inhabitants had practically lost the habit of taking it,
and some years elapsed after the conquest before it became common in
that district. It is said that neither salt nor pepper was used by
the Toluca and Matlatzinca. As regards beverages, two were of great
importance; the first of these was prepared from the cacao, imported
from the hotter regions near the coast, and was called chocolatl
(whence our own word chocolate). The nut was pounded and boiled in
water with a little maize-flour; the oil was skimmed off, and the
mixture strained and poured into another vessel so as to produce a
froth; sometimes honey and vanilla were added, and it was generally
taken after food with tortoise-shell spoons. The other national drink
was octli (often inaccurately termed pulque, an Argentine word for
the same beverage), prepared from the fermented sap of the maguey. The
heart of the plant was cut out (the day 1. tecpatl being considered
an appropriate date) and when the sap had collected it was drawn off
in long gourds by means of suction applied through a small hole at
the end, and stored in skins or calabashes. Fermentation was assisted
by the addition of a certain root. The legal restrictions placed upon
the use of this beverage in Mexico have already been mentioned. Other
fermented drinks were prepared from grain, and a certain mushroom was
employed as an intoxicant, especially at a feast organized by the guild
of merchants. The effects of the latter are described by Sahagun:
“Some sang, others wept because they were intoxicated; others remained
silent, seated in the hall as if absorbed in thought. Some thought
that they were dying, and sobbed in their hallucination, while others
imagined that they were being devoured by some savage beast. Others
again thought that they were capturing an enemy in fight, another that
he was rich, another that he possessed a large number of slaves. Some
thought that they were taken in adultery, and that their heads were
being crushed for this crime, others that they had been convicted of
theft and were being executed, and a thousand other illusions. When the
intoxication had passed, they entertained one another by relating their
hallucinations.” The discovery of the properties of this fungus seems
to have been made originally by the Chichimec, since its use was common
among this people. A kind of chewing-gum was prepared from resin or
bitumen, though its use, at any rate in public, was confined by custom
to unmarried girls. Allusion has already been made to the practice
of smoking; reeds were collected and after being carefully smoothed
were filled with pulverized charcoal mixed with tobacco and other
fragrant herbs. The exterior was often richly ornamented with paint
and gilding, in some cases in such a way that the design only appeared
under the influence of the heat produced by the act of smoking. Pottery
pipes are found in Mexico, though not in great numbers, and it is
uncertain to what extent they were used before the conquest. Pipes are
found more frequently in Michoacan, where tobacco-smoking was commoner
than among the Aztec, especially in the case of men of rank.
In general the first meal of the day, taken after a few hours’ work,
consisted in atolli-gruel, a more substantial repast following at
midday, after which the higher classes smoked and took a siesta. Food
was cooked in and eaten from pots, bowls and dishes of pottery, often
beautifully ornamented. Cups of the same material, and also of gold
or stone (such as alabaster), were used for beverages, and a peculiar
pattern with two butterfly-handles and three feet (as shown on the
textile in Fig. 18, _s_; p. 118) was especially associated with
octli, forming one of the devices of the octli-gods.
Maguey-fibre has already been mentioned as a material extensively
employed for textiles, and indeed the uses of this plant were manifold.
To quote again from one of the conquerors, “This tree is of the
greatest utility; from it is made wine, vinegar, honey, a syrup like
boiled grape-juice. They employ it in the manufacture of garments for
men and women, for footgear, ropes, the ties used in building houses,
the roofing of these houses, for sewing-needles (i.e. the spines),
for dressings for wounds, and other purposes. They also collected the
leaves ... and cooked them in subterranean ovens, with wood piled up,
in a fashion peculiar to this country. After roasting, the bark and
veins are removed, and an intoxicating drink is prepared.”
The consideration of Mexican architecture from a comparative standpoint
will be deferred until the remains scattered through the country are
discussed. But as all these remains consist of buildings devoted
to religious purposes, a few words may be said here concerning the
actual habitations of the people. Mexico city was utterly destroyed
by the Spanish, but from the accounts left by the first visitors a
good idea can be gathered of the nature of the buildings. The houses
of the chiefs were spacious, built on terraces, and constructed of
stone and lime. The buildings usually enclosed a court, and there
was often a garden attached where the girls of the household could
walk under the supervision of duennas. The women’s apartments were
separated from the rest; two storeys were sometimes seen, and in
the most important structures the roofs were flat and battlemented.
Nezahualcoyotl’s palace at Tezcoco, of which a native plan is shown in
Fig. 13, p. 89, was constructed on a terrace, and the roofbeams were
supported by wooden pillars on stone bases. The terrace formed a court
in front, approached by steps, and there were many small buildings for
guests, the women of the household, and the retainers. Diaz mentions
the palaces of Iztapalapa “how well-built they were, of beautiful
stone-work and cedar-wood and the wood of other sweet-scented trees;
with great rooms and courts, wonderful to behold, covered with awnings
of cotton cloth.” He also mentions the “great halls and chambers,
canopied with the cloth of the country,” of the palace of Axayacatl,
and the “beds of matting with canopies above” which were provided for
the Spaniards. Earth and unfired bricks (“adobes”) were also used for
the walls of buildings, and the houses of the poorer classes were of
reeds and mud roofed with thatch of straw or maguey-leaves. In Mexico
city, owing to the marshy nature of the ground, a large proportion of
the buildings rested on pile foundations, and, in consequence of the
growth of the town beyond the limit of land-accommodation, many were
built over the water, and could only be reached by boat or drawbridge.
The town itself was intersected by numerous canals, and the inhabitants
went about as much in boats as on land. Near the coast, pile-dwellings
were constructed so that the inhabitants might be out of the reach of
wild beasts, and protecting walls of adobes or wooden palisades were
also found. Beds in most cases were made of rushes, with cotton sheets,
those of the lords being woven with feathers, and for meals a mat was
simply spread upon the ground. The primitive hunting-tribes, such as
the wilder Chichimec, lived chiefly in caves, though some of the more
advanced constructed rude temporary huts. The Tarascans built the walls
of their dwellings of natural stones, and constructed the roof of
straw thatch, with, apparently, a clay ridge. Thatch was in fact the
principal roofing material throughout Mexico, and even the shrines were
usually so covered.
One of the chief features of Mexico city was the series of causeways
which connected the island with the mainland. The position of these,
according to the most recent ideas, can be seen in Fig. 1, p. 13. In
building them a double palisade was first constructed, and the space
between filled with stones and earth faced with rubble. The great dyke
which ran from Iztapalapa to Atzacualco, built by the first Montecuzoma
on the advice of Nezahualcoyotl, was no less than ten miles long, and
was perforated by sluices, by means of which an attempt was made to
control the inundations to which Mexico was subject. The effect of
this feat of engineering was to cause the portion of lake to the west,
called the Lake of Mexico, to become fresh, and to be filled with
wild-fowl and fish, for the springs which fed it contained no salt,
whereas the streams running into the eastern portion still continued
to carry into it the salt which they absorbed on their journey.
Another work of economical importance was the double stone aqueduct
which brought water to the city from Chapultepec. The Mexicans also
constructed roads in various directions throughout the country, for
the use of merchants, couriers, and others who travelled on state
business. Such roads were narrow, of well-beaten earth, and often had
a watercourse running along the side. Like the Peruvian rulers, the
Mexican kings maintained a system of trained runners established at
definite posts along certain roads. Messages and light burdens could be
transferred long distances in a short time by this method, and we hear
of three hundred miles being covered in a day.
[Illustration: FIG. 29.--The education of children.
_Left._ Girl learning to spin, and boy being shown the use
of fishing-implements; age 7 years; daily ration a loaf and a
half.
_Right._ Girl being punished with aloe-spines (age 9 years,
omitted); boy being held over a fire of pepper (age 11 years,
omitted). Same daily ration.
(_Mendoza MS., Oxford_)]
The birth of a child was awaited with great expectancy, and the
prospective mother was carefully guarded from all material and
supernatural dangers. The steam-bath was an important institution in
promoting ease of delivery, and invocations were made to the gods
presiding over birth and creation. The child born, the midwife raised
the triumph-cry of the warriors, since the woman who bore a child
was regarded as the feminine counterpart of such, and congratulatory
visits were paid by friends and relations. A fire was lighted in the
house and kept burning for four days; great care was observed that
no light from this should be taken outside the house, since it was
believed that the luck of the household would follow it, and a number
of other precautions were observed. The horoscope of the infant, a
most important matter, was cast by a priest, and a day appointed for
the baptismal ceremony, a lucky date being carefully selected. This
ceremony consisted in sprinkling the infant with water, and giving
it a name. Although the water was supposed to have the effect of
purifying the child and fortifying it against the perils of life, yet
the Mexicans held no doctrine of “original sin,” in fact, the midwife
addressed the newly born in the terms, “When you were created and
sent into this world you were made without stain, and your father
and mother Quetzalcoatl formed you even as a precious stone and as a
jewel of gold of great price.” In the case of a boy, miniature weapons
were prepared for the ceremony, as an indication that he was born a
warrior, while for a girl a small set of weaving-utensils was made,
the symbols of her future status as a housewife. Sahagun states that
some ancestral name was given by the midwife, and other accounts
allege that the name was first pronounced by certain small children
invited for the purpose. Calendrical names, taken from the child’s
birthday, were very common, especially among the Mixtec, but names of
animals were often conferred upon boys, of flowers upon girls. Animal
names were especially common among the Tarascans. Children, no matter
what their rank, were usually nursed by the mother for three or four
years, but in cases of inability, a wet-nurse was carefully chosen.
Children were educated with great care and according to certain rules.
One manuscript shows the progress of children of both sexes, together
with the number of bread-cakes allowed for their diet, from the ages
of three to fifteen (Fig. 29). The punishments applicable to each year
are also shown, starting with a warning, and proceeding to pricking
with aloe-spines, beating, holding over a fire on which pepper had
been thrown, and tying hand and foot. Parents were in the habit of
preaching long homilies to their children, which, however interesting
they may be as illustrating the extremely high moral tone of Mexican
educational ideas, must have been excessively boring to the child. The
Mexicans were greatly addicted to moral discourses, as may be seen from
the work of Sahagun, whole pages of which are devoted to the quotation
in full of the orations appropriate to particular occasions of public
and private interest. Boys as a rule followed the profession of their
father, while girls received a thorough training in the domestic arts,
such as spinning and weaving and the preparation of food. The part
played by the institutions Calmecac and Telpochcalli in the education
of the young has already been mentioned.
Marriage took place at about the age of twenty in the case of men,
girls being a trifle younger. Inter-marriage was allowed between
cousins, but forbidden in the case of nearer relatives. The service
of female go-betweens was employed by the parents of the man, and it
was not considered consonant with a proper dignity for the woman’s
family to show too much haste in consenting to the match. On the
appointed day, selected owing to the auspicious nature of its sign, the
go-between carried the bride to the house of the bridegroom, where,
after offering incense, the two were seated side by side on a mat, and
their garments knotted by a priest. The inevitable homily followed, and
then a feast, and the couple observed a fast for four or more days, at
the end of which the marriage might be consummated. In some cases a
couple might live in concubinage by consent of their parents, and in
the event of a child being born, either a marriage was celebrated or
the woman returned to the house of her parents with the infant, which
was regarded as belonging to her family. Otherwise children belonged to
the man and inherited from him, those of the chief wife (for polygamy,
limited by the man’s means, was practised) having precedence. It was
usual for the eldest son in these cases to make some provision for his
brothers and their families. When a man married he left the educational
establishment where he formerly lived, after asking permission of
his superiors and making certain gifts. As a rule widows could not
remarry, except with a brother-in-law; divorce was possible with the
consent of a magistrate, and the couple could under no circumstances be
reunited. Among the Otomi divorce was allowed after the first night of
married life, but not later. The Chichimec practised monogamy, and no
intermarriage could take place between individuals who were related.
Among the Tarascans however, especially those of rank, different ideas
prevailed, and endogamy was the rule. Even among commoners, if a girl
had given herself to a man against the will of her parents, the union
was regarded as legal only if he belonged to the same ward as herself.
In normal cases the girl was simply handed over to her suitor by the
priest, together with the gift of a wood-cutting axe and the necessary
mats and cord for wood-carrying, and a feast followed. The difference
between the marriage rules of the Tarascans and Aztec seems accompanied
by another sociological divergence, in so far as there are indications
that among the former the children were regarded as belonging to
the mother’s family. The Mixtec ceremony was more like that of the
Aztec, but besides the tying together of the garments of the couple,
it included also the cutting of part of their hair. Polygamy was also
practised in this region.
Much of the time of the more settled peoples of Mexico was devoted to
agriculture, and even a few of the Chichimec tribes, who had absorbed
something of the culture of their more advanced neighbours, reared
a little maize which was tended by serfs. The Otomi also practised
agriculture to some extent. Maize was the most important product of
cultivation, and the respect in which it was held is seen in the
superstition that if a man saw maize-grains lying on the ground and
failed to pick them up, they would cry to the gods for vengeance upon
him. Circumstances, chief of which must be reckoned the restriction
of territory when they first became settled, led to the development
of intensive cultivation among the Aztec, and the invention of the
celebrated “floating gardens.” These were osier rafts, piled with
earth and lake mud, which, so it is said, moved about the surface of
the lake until they were finally anchored by the roots of the trees
which sprang up on their surface. The properties of manure were
known to this people, and it was carefully collected for use in the
plantations. The implements of agriculture were simple, consisting
of a hoe or a spade and a basket. The heavy work, such as preparing
the fields, planting and reaping, was performed by the men, while the
women assisted in winnowing the crop and weeding. The fields on the
mainland were surrounded with adobe walls or aloe hedges, and the crop
was stored in wooden granaries. The Mixtec had the habit, when rain was
expected, of breaking the maize-stalks so that the heads hung downward;
in this position they were protected by the leaves from excessive
moisture, and were easily dried by the sun and wind. Next to maize,
cotton, cacao, aloe, pepper, and the grain called _chia_ were the
most important plants, though the first three could be grown only in
districts where the climate was hot. Hunting, both individually and
in communal drives, was practised by all the tribes, and the Mexicans
generally were expert trackers and huntsmen. We hear of one drive
organized for the Spaniards in which eleven thousand Otomi beaters took
part, embracing a circle of fifteen miles. The chief weapons employed
were bows, darts, blow-guns, nets and snares. Fishing was equally
important, in fact more so among the tribes in the neighbourhood
of lakes, nets and tridents being the principal appliances used.
The invention of these was attributed to the god Opochtli, one of
the Tlaloque. Fowling also gave employment to a large number of the
population and contributed greatly to the food-supply.
[Illustration: FIG. 30.--Tlaxtli-court and players.
(_Bodleian MS., Oxford_)]
With regard to the lighter side of life it would not be going too far
to state that nearly all of the amusements of the Mexicans possessed a
religious significance. It is true that the lords maintained jesters
and tumblers, and that the performances of conjurers, as mentioned
above, were much appreciated. But the national game, tlaxtli, was
closely connected with the worship of the gods, and the tlaxtli-courts
both at Mexico and in Michoacan were generally associated with
temples. The ground-plan of a tlaxtli-court resembled a double T,
as may be seen from Fig. 30, which is taken from a manuscript. The
game was played with a rubber ball, and the end walls constituted the
goals which were protected by opposing teams of players. At the centre
of each side wall, near its upper edge, was fixed a stone ring, the
aperture a little greater than the diameter of the ball, and if the
latter could be hit so as to pass through the ring, a victory was
claimed. The walls were forty or fifty feet long, and twenty or thirty
feet apart, and the whole court was carefully plastered. The area was
divided by a line, which the ball had to cross for the throw to count;
it is not stated whether this line was longitudinal or transverse, but
probability seems to favour the latter. The MSS. often show the two
ends of the court distinguished by different colours, though it is only
fair to state that they almost as often show it quartered. The players
wore special gauntlets, but the most esteemed variety of the game was
that in which they were not allowed the use of their hands at all, but
struck the ball with their hips, protected by means of a leather shield
attached to the girdle. A variety of gods are pictured in association
with the tlaxtli-court, principally Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl,
Xochiquetzal and Xochipilli, and in the court connected with the great
temple to Uitzilopochtli stood the statues of the gods Oappatzan and
Amapan to which sacrifices were made. Seler conjectures that the flight
of the ball in its esoteric significance referred to the movements
of the moon. The game was usually played for stakes, which often ran
very high, and it also served to settle disputed questions, as in the
case where Montecuzoma, differing from Nezahualpilli as regards the
interpretation of certain omens, challenged him to a game of tlaxtli
and was defeated. The origin of the game is discussed later (pp.
302–303).
Other amusements, of a more secular nature, were the game called
patolli, played with “men” on a board bearing a cruciform diagram, and
tololoque, a variety of dice. Both these were played for stakes.
[Illustration: FIG. 31.--Carved wooden gong
(_teponaztli_).
(_British Museum_)]
Music was not highly developed, and there was but little variety in the
musical instruments throughout the valley. Rattles of gourd or pottery
were common, but the principal instrument of percussion was the gong,
teponaztli, formed of a hollow cylinder of wood with two tongues, each
of a different note, which were struck with beaters, sometimes headed
with rubber. The teponaztli was often beautifully carved, and played
an important part in religious ceremonies and dances (Fig. 31). Drums,
ueuetl, with skin membranes were also in common use, while instruments
of a rather special nature consisted of tortoise carapaces (or their
facsimiles in gold), struck with a stick, and serrated bones rubbed
with short rods (see p. 103). Wind instruments appear to have been few
in variety; conches, provided apparently with a wooden mouthpiece, like
those of the New Zealanders, were sounded in most religious ceremonies,
and quantities of whistles and ocarinas have been discovered. The
finger-holes do not exceed four in number, and are frequently less
in the case of instruments of the flageolet type. Whistles were of
frequent use in war, for the purpose of giving signals. Whether the
Mexicans, like the tribes of the north-west coast of America, were
acquainted with reed instruments is uncertain, at any rate none are
known to exist; it is quite possible that they were known, but that the
reeds, constructed of perishable materials, have not survived until
our time. Singing was another important accompaniment of religious
ceremonies, and there were specially trained temple choirs under
the control of responsible officials. Many of the hymns have been
preserved, and illustrate well the poetical cast of Mexican thought.
A species of primitive drama was said to exist, recited on a terrace
in the market-place or temple-court. Dancing was highly developed, and
every feast had its ceremonial dance which was carried out with great
solemnity and decorum. In some cases the dancers formed large circles,
the members of each belonging to one sex and rank. In others, the sexes
mingled, and in others again the dancers performed in pairs, with their
arms round one another’s waists or necks. The last method seems to have
been the privilege of the upper classes. In combined figures a long
garlanded rope was held by the dancers, who moved their bodies and
limbs in unison, as in Peru, while occasionally they danced in threes,
two women and one man or two men and one woman.
[Illustration:
_PLATE XII_
_Photo. C. B. Waite_
MEXICO
MOUNDS AT SAN JUAN TEOTIHUACAN, SEEN FROM THE “PYRAMID OF
THE MOON”]