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.]