Squier visited this locality in December 1849; it is a little plateau,
formed by an extension of the margin of the crater surrounding the
Bahia de Chiquero. To the west it slopes pretty abruptly towards the
Bahia; to the north it shelves gradually towards the low promontory,
_Punta de las Figuras_, which is separated from the south-eastern point
of the islet of Ceiba, _Punta de Pantheon_, by a sound, 50 m. broad; to
the east the plateau descends rapidly towards the lake of Nicaragua,
and to the south it falls steeply towards the little crater-lake
_Laguna de Apoyo_. It is densely covered by gigantic trees, and between
these by under-brush and lians, confusedly entangled. Here I found
five large stone-mounds, that may possibly be the remains of temples
or other large buildings. The relative situation of these mounds is
approximately shown by the plan Pl. 41. Besides these larger mounds,
which were more or less oval, with the longer diameter varying from
20 to 40 meters, several smaller, and more irregular ones, were met
with. These, however, are not indicated in the plan. The mound I was
that nearest to Bahia de Chiquero, the mound V the nearest to Laguna
de Apoyo. In this locality no statues were found that could with
any degree of certainty be regarded as remaining in their original
places, nor were any lying or standing in such a position that it
could be decided, whether they had been placed _in the peripheries_ of
the mounds, _within_ the buildings, or _in the open spaces_ between
the mounds. In this respect the former locality was by far more
interesting. The statues were less well preserved, and had evidently
been subjected to greater violence, probably also to attempts at
removal. Indeed we know through SQUIER, that such has been the case.
Some statues had been transported to Granada before his visit, and
SQUIER himself sent some to Washington.
α
Pl. 21 and 22.
It has been before figured by SQUIER, l.
c., vol. ii., in the plate facing p. 54, fig. 2, and
described pp. 53, 54, and 58. In SQUIER’s
list it has the no. 2. BANCROFT has
mentioned it in «The Native Races of the Pacific
shores of North America», vol. iv., p. 41, with a
copy of SQUIER’s figure p. 42, fig. 3.
It was a male figure, sitting on the ground, with the knees drawn high
up, and the head bent forwards. On the back of the head and the neck,
there rested a solid mass of stone, gradually passing into the outlines
of the neck and the back. This mass tapered upwards, and seemed to
have passed into a pyramidical tenon, which, however, was broken off.
The face was broad, with rounded retiring forehead, the nose long and
straight. The eyes were formed by circular cavities; the mouth was
half-open; the ears were large and prominent. By the shape of the
face, the figure recalled the image Q from _Punta del Sapote_. The
neck was much too thick to be a human neck. The chest was only little
elaborated, the shoulders much raised, the arms well cut, the left hand
pressed against the left foot, the right one drawn back somewhat more.
The legs were well molded, like the arms; the knees drawn up nearly
to the chin. The back was round-cut. The pedestal was carefully hewn,
forming a square pillar of considerable height, tapering downwards. Its
uppermost portion, on which the figure was seated, formed a kind of
_round_ capital, ornamented on the side by a triple engraved angular
wreath. The height of the statue from the crown of the head to the
upper margin of the pedestal was 80 cm.; the length of the face was 34
cm., its breadth 25 cm. The breadth across the shoulders was 44 cm. The
statue has probably stood insulated. It was entire, lying south-west of
the stone-mound I, nearest to the shore of the Bahia (except the figure
γ) and had probably been the object of endeavours to remove it.
β
Pl. 23.
It is figured by SQUIER, l. c., in the
plate facing p. 65, and described pp. 64 and 65.
BANCROFT, l. c., p. 40, fig. 2.
Male figure, sitting on the ground. With regard to the posture it came
most near to the image α, but could not be said to possess a human
aspect. Indeed it deserved, if any, to be called a monster. SQUIER
thought that it represented a tiger, but if we compare the head of the
present statue with the head of the jaguar in the statue H, from _Punta
del Sapote_, this opinion does not seem very likely. The face exhibited
a low, arched forehead, small oval eyes, a broad, flat, long nose or
muzzle with small, round nostrils. The mouth was not open. The upper
lip was clearly to be distinguished, although it had been broken. The
chin was broad; the ears were oval, placed far up. The neck was very
thick and powerful, the body colossal, with large abdomen. The whole
back of the body was also elaborated. The shoulders were highly raised,
the upper arm was long, broad and thick, the lower arm short, at a
right angle to the upper arm, the paws resting on the abdomen. The legs
were very short, especially the small of the legs. The feet were pretty
like human feet, with distinct toes. The upper part of the pedestal was
enlarged in the shape of an Ω, ornamented at the sides with a garland,
like that of the image α. The height of the statue from the highest
point of the trunk to the upper edge of the pedestal was 150 cm. The
height of the face was 40 cm., its breadth 30 cm. When found, it stood
upright, immediately north of the mound III.
γ
Pl. 24 and 25.
It is not mentioned by SQUIER.
Male, sitting figure. The head was broken off. The figure itself was
much damaged; but the pedestal was well preserved, and exhibited fine
ornaments. The chest of the figure was strongly arched, the upper
arm short and broad, the lower arm and the fingers were long. On the
sides of the cornice of the pedestal, there was a symmetrical ornament
of round coils; the sides of the pedestal itself were decorated with
an oval coil twisted about quite symmetrically, in an excavated
rectangular field; in front there was an angular ornament. The back of
the figure and of the pedestal was not elaborated, but rather rough. It
may thus be reasonably inferred that the statue has stood in or against
a wall. The height of the statue from the upper edge of the shoulders
to the lower edge of the feet was 52 cm. The height of the pedestal
from the upper edge to the beginning of the lower, uncut part, which
was intended to be imbedded in the ground, was 110 cm. This statue was
not found on the plateau of Punta de las Figuras, but had been dragged
off and was now lying, half in the water, on the shore of Bahia de
Chiquero.
δ
Pl. 25.
Figured by SQUIER, l. c., on the plate
facing p. 58, signed no. 4, treated pp. 54 and 58.
BANCROFT, l. c., p. 40, fig. 1.
It was no more a statue, but only a pedestal. The little, sitting
figure described and designed by SQUIER was now entirely crushed and
moldered. The pedestal was, however, the most elaborately finished
of all found here. It was round, tapering gently downwards, adorned
upwards with the same kind of angular ornament, as that mentioned on
the front of the preceding pedestal; almost at the middle of its length
it was surrounded by a broad band, embellished in the same fashion. The
pedestal, lying on the ground, had quite the form of a canon. From the
upper edge to the lower broken end it measured 215 cm.; the diameter at
the upper end was 66 cm. It was found between the mounds I and II.
ε
Pl. 26.
Figured by SQUIER, l. c., in the plate
facing p. 58, signed no. 5, described p. 59.
Male, half-sitting figure, representing a very fat person with his
hands resting on his hips. The face was badly injured, but showed
that the forehead and the nose were straighter than those figured by
SQUIER. The ears were long, hanging, like the ears of a dog. The upper
arm was very short; the abdomen swollen. Legs and feet were thick and
clumsy. The back piece was very large in proportion to the figure, only
plane-cut, and seemed to indicate that the statue had formed part of
a wall or even served as a kind of coulisse or side-wall in a cella.
The lower part of the back piece was pierced with a circular hole;
another much larger hole perforates the pedestal, which was perfectly
unadorned. The statue measured 98 cm. from the crown of the head to the
sole of the foot. It was found lying near the preceding.
ζ
Pl. 27 and 28.
Figured by SQUIER, l. c., on the
plate facing p. 52, described p. 52 and 58.
BANCROFT, l. c., p. 42, fig. 3.
Male, standing figure, with the hands resting on the abdomen. In this
statue also the back piece was very large, proportionately even larger
than in the preceding; on this account it may be conjectured to have
had a similar use. The face was rather large and round, the forehead
somewhat retiring, the eyes small, oval, the nose short, broad, and
straight, the mouth closed, with thick lips, the chin broad; the ears
were hidden by the projecting back piece which embraced, as it were,
and overlapped the face. The chest was well cut. The arms, when viewed
from the front, were very thin, pressed close to the sides of the
body and to the back piece; when seen from the side, they are, on the
contrary, broad and fleshy. The hands rested on the abdomen with the
fingers somewhat extended. The legs were rather clumsy. The broad back
piece projected above the head like a colossal mitre, ornamented in
front with bosses and scrolls, and surrounded by a broad frame. The
height of the entire statue from the top of the upper piece to the sole
of the figure’s foot, was 210 cm.; its greatest breadth from the chest
of the figure to the hinder margin of the back piece was 86 cm. The
height of the figure from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot
was 140 cm. The length of the face was 31 cm., its breadth across the
shoulders was 36 cm. It had been raised up at a recent date, and now
stood south of the mound Ι.
η
Pl. 29.
Not mentioned by SQUIER.
Male figure, sitting almost on the ground, bearing on the top of its
head another head with a large neck. It is by half statue, by half
high-relief. The body of the principal figure was cut out to the
shoulders; then followed a portion of the stone that was quite rude
on the sides and the back. On the front of this stone the neck and
head of the statue and the long-necked head of a man or an animal that
surmounts it, were sculptured in high-relief. The upper head had a low
forehead, small, round, excavated eyes, long nose or muzzle of equal
breadth, closed mouth, and long, prominent, hanging ears. The neck was
very long and was placed immediately upon the head of the principal
figure. The face of this figure presented a low forehead, large, oval,
excavated eyes, a short nose broadening downwards, thick cheeks, small
closed mouth, broad thick chin, and prominent, but not very long
ears. The neck was short and vigorous. The chest exhibited no sign of
muscles, being only a round-cut part of the original stone-pillar,
and passing directly into the abdomen, and then into the front of the
pedestal. The arms and legs were carved in a kind of relief. The hands
rested on the abdomen. The pedestal was cylindrical; its uppermost
portion, on which the figure was seated, was somewhat smaller than the
rest of it. The height of the statue from the top of the upper head to
the upper edge of the pedestal was 120 cm. The length of the upper face
was 14 cm. The face of the principal figure was 27 cm. long, 22 cm.
broad. The statue was found at the southern margin of the stone-mound
V, nearest of all the figures to Laguna de Apoyo.
θ
Pl. 30.
Not mentioned by SQUIER.
Fragment of a high-relief or one-sided statue with only the head cut
free. In comparison with the other high-reliefs found here, its size
was colossal. Contrary to all other Nicaraguan high-reliefs that I
have had an opportunity of seeing, it was wholly in profile. The slab
from which it was sculptured was very thin as compared to the size of
the figure, no more than 30 cm. in thickness. It was broken in more
than 20 pieces, only the head and part of the chest with the arm being
in such a state as allowed of their being delineated. The head was
slightly curved, carved on both sides, but having an eye, formed of two
concentric excavations, only on the left or upper side. The head was
truncated before, without any trace of a muzzle or mouth, and provided
backwards with a very well sculptured buck’s (?) horn, though only on
the upper side. The chest was indicated only by a slight curve. The
arm, on the contrary, was pretty well molded, and the fingers were
proportional. The lower part of the chest was quite unhewn, as was also
the hind portion of the lower part of the head. It carried on the head
a square crest or tenon, divided into three parts by transversal lines.
The length of the head was 53 cm., its height from the upper edge of
the tenon to the lower edge of the horn was 64 cm. The diameter of the
eye was 12 cm. The length of the arm from the shoulder to the tip of
the ringfinger was 102 cm. The statue was lying on the ground a little
west of the mound V.
ι
Pl. 31.
Figured by SQUIER, l. c., p. 61,
signed No. 9, described pp. 60, 61 and 62.
BANCROFT, l. c., p. 44, fig. 6.
High-relief, male figure, on a slab about 40 cm. in thickness. It
represented a figure lying on its back, if the slab has been a
covercle, or standing, if it has been a part of a wall, with straight
arms, detached from the sides of the body. The face appeared to be
covered by a mask (compare the figure F of _Punta del Sapote_); this
seemed to be denoted by the large circular holes for the eyes, and the
broad, hanging breast-plate or beard; the ears were protected by two
flaps extending from the helmet or head-ornament. With the exception of
the stiff mask before the face, the figure was well elaborated, with
some hints of the muscles of the shoulders, abdomen, and legs. Above
the slab there was a projection, broadening upwards, which seemed
to be a repetition of the helmet of the head. The outer edges of the
slab formed a border five to six cm. broad and 3 cm. high. The slab
was broken in two pieces, the lower portion was found lying far from
the upper one. The entire slab measured 182 cm. from the upper edge of
the upper projection to the lower edge of the border below the feet;
its breadth across the body of the figure was 74 cm. The length of the
figure from the top of the head to the lower edge of the feet was 135
cm. The length of the face was 28 cm., its breadth 27 cm. The length
of the breast-plate from the chin was 30 cm. The breadth across the
shoulders 45 cm. The statue was found on the ground immediately north
of the mound I; the lower piece was found west of the mound III.
κ
Pl. 32.
Not mentioned by SQUIER.
Male figure in relief. Broken in several fragments and impossible to
reconstruct. Only the face could be delineated. The face was well
preserved and originally uncommonly well executed. It was quite
expressive; the forehead was broad, not low, covered with a round cap
or low turban; the eyes were narrow, elliptical, boldly cut; the nose
was straight, broadening downwards; the mouth half-open, with thin, but
well-formed lips; the cheeks were lean, but carefully sculptured; the
chin was broad and powerful. The ears were large, very prominent. The
length of the face from the lower edge of the turban to the lower edge
of the chin was 35 cm.; its breadth 26 cm. The thickness of the slab of
stone was about 30 cm. Most fragments of this relief were lying at the
western margin of the mound V.
λ
Pl. 32.
Not mentioned by SQUIER.
Relief representing a male figure with the face of a skull. It was of
much rougher workmanship than the reliefs before described. The face
was formed only by an evenly curved, broadly oval elevation, with two
circular cavities to mark the eyes, an irregularly triangular one for
the nose, and a linear one for the mouth. The chest was evenly rounded,
the arms only indicated by two round bands along the breast, ending
abruptly with five narrow, round staves, placed at right angles to the
arms, and designed to represent the fingers. The lower part of the
slab with the legs was lost. Above the head were two sugar-loaf-shaped
elevations, and above these a third one with parallel sides, downwards
rounded. The slab had square incisions at the same height with the neck
and the hands. The length of the figure from the crown of the head to
the beginning of the hip was 82 cm. The length of the face was 32 cm.;
its breadth 20 cm. The breadth across the shoulders was 24 cm.
* * * * *
Several fragments of broken statues were found on the plateau, but so
shattered, disfigured, and intermixed with one another, that it would
have taken much time and patience to reconstruct them. Several of the
statues, mentioned by SQUIER as being in comparatively good condition,
for inst. his nos. 3, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, and 18 were no more to be
found in the place. Some of these have possibly been destroyed by human
violence or by the effects of the climate during the thirty years
between our visits, others may have been carried off to be deposited in
museums or to form the hearth-stone of some Indian rancho.
In general, the statues of this locality chiefly remind of the last
described group of statues at _Punta del Sapote_. Perhaps, from an
artistic point of view, they must be considered as inferior even to
these. None of the statues at _Punta de las Figuras_ can be compared as
a work of art, to the figures of the mound 1 at Punta del Sapote.
The fact that in most of the statues, found in Zapatera, the organs of
generation were represented, and often more conspicuous than natural,
gives corroboration to the suggestion of SQUIER that a phallic worship
or a worship of the reciprocal principles existed among the Niquirans.
[Illustration]