Mexican archæology : $b an introduction to the archæology of the Mexican and Mayan civilizations of pre-Spanish AmericaJoyce, Thomas Athol
History
Mexican archæology : $b an introduction to the archæology of the Mexican and Mayan civilizations of pre-Spanish America
Joyce, Thomas Athol
Mayas -- Antiquities; Mexico -- Antiquities
As stated before, the material is not sufficient to furnish support to
important theories, but the close connection of the Vera Paz pottery
with that of Sacrificios appears obvious, a connection which extends
through to the Chacula region. But too much stress must not be laid
upon this, because many forms and details of ornament connect the Vera
Paz area with the Copan district, notably the engraved, mould-made
and painted pots which bear glyphs. The practice of cutting away the
background extends from the Totonac country, through Vera Paz and
the Chacula district up into Oaxaca, but no trace is found of the
champ-levé work discovered at Sacrificios, Teotihuacan and in the
Tarascan country. The turquoise-blue colour occurring on pots in the
last style is rare in the Maya area, and is limited to the pottery
of British Honduras and certain figurines which seem to bear a close
relation to the early culture to which the ruins belong. The ware of
the Uloa valley, which has been investigated with some care by Gordon,
displays technical qualities which are identical with that of Copan,
but is distinguished by a number of features, principally relating
to ornament, which give it a character of its own. Many features
suggestive of Totonac influence appear in the pottery of British
Honduras, and though the ware is, to speak technically, of inferior
quality, considerable artistic skill is shown in the modelling of
the human face (e.g. Pl. X, 3; p. 108). The attribution of forms,
as given above, to different districts can however only be regarded
as tentative, and will probably have to be modified in the light
of subsequent discoveries. The most pressing need is an accurate
classification of Maya pottery, together with a careful investigation
of the various qualities of paste employed in different districts.
The latter is particularly important, since it would afford far more
valuable evidence regarding centres of pottery manufacture than a
mere study of the forms. Community of form after all only implies
connection, and often merely trade-connection which may be second,
third, or fourth hand; but a careful investigation of the material will
often reveal the actual locality of manufacture, and when this has been
fixed for a number of centres, the main lines of trade and the artistic
influence exerted by one locality upon another can be estimated with
some degree of accuracy.
CHAPTER XIII--THE MAYA: ARCHITECTURAL REMAINS
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