Narrative and Critical History of America, Vol. 1 (of 8): Aboriginal America
History
Narrative and Critical History of America, Vol. 1 (of 8): Aboriginal America
America -- Discovery and exploration; America -- History; United States -- History
These slabs, six feet high, were taken from Palenqué, and when Stephens
saw them they were in private hands at San Domingo, near by, but later
they were placed in the church front in the same town, and here Charnay
took impressions of them, from which they were engraved in _The Ancient
Cities_, etc., p. 217, and copied thence in the above cuts. This same
type of head is considered by Rosny the Aztec head of Palenqué (_Doc.
écrits de la Antiq. Amer._, 73), and as belonging to the superior
classes. In order to secure the convex curve of the nose and forehead
an ornament was sometimes added, as shown in a head of the second
tablet at Palenqué, and in the photograph of a bas-relief, preserved
in the Museo Archeologico at Madrid, given by Rosny (vol. 3), and
hypothetically called by him a statue of Cuculkan. This ornament is not
infrequently seen in other images of this region.
Bandelier (_Peabody Mus. Repts._, ii. 126), speaking of the tablet of
the Cross of Palenqué, says: “These tablets and figures show in dress
such a striking analogy of what we know of the military accoutrements
of the Mexicans, that it is a strong approach to identity.”]
Fréderic de Waldeck, the artist who some years before had familiarized
himself with the character of the ruins in the preparation of the
engravings for Rio’s work, was employed in 1832-34. He was now
considerably over sixty years of age, and under the pay of a committee,
which had raised a subscription, in which the Mexican government
shared. He made the most thorough examination of Palenqué which has
yet been made. Waldeck was a skilful artist, and his drawings are
exquisite; but he was not free from a tendency to improve or restore,
where the conditions gave a hint, and so as we have them in the final
publication they have not been accepted as wholly trustworthy. He made
more than 200 drawings, and either the originals or copies—Stephens
says “copies,” the originals being confiscated—were taken to Europe.
Waldeck announced his book in Paris, and the public had already had a
taste of his not very sober views in some communications which he had
sent in Aug. and Nov., 1832, to the Société de Géographie de Paris.
Long years of delay followed, and Waldeck had lived to be over ninety,
when the French government bought his collection[1057] (in 1860), and
made preparations for its publication. Out of the 188 drawings thus
secured, 56 were selected and were admirably engraved, and only that
portion of Waldeck’s text was preserved which was purely descriptive,
and not all of that. Selection was made of Brasseur de Bourbourg,
who at that time had never visited the ruins,[1058] to furnish
some introductory matter. This he prepared in an _Avant-propos_,
recapitulating the progress of such studies; and this was followed
by an _Introduction aux Ruines de Palenqué_, narrating the course of
explorations up to that time; a section also published separately
as _Recherches sur les Ruines de Palenqué et sur les origines de
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