One of the “Temples of the Cross” at Palenque is flanked at the entrance by two well-constructed figures, one on either side, supposed to represent the Mayan war and rain gods.[166] These figures are in low relief, covered with the customary Amerind trappings and head-dresses of this region. On each tablet there are some calculiform characters. Many of the ruined buildings still exhibit a wealth of ornamentation either carved in stone, modelled in stucco, or constructed out of rubble and stucco. Some of the carvings, notably certain heads at Uxmal, have formed the basis for much discussion. The latter were supposed by Waldeck to be representations of elephants’ trunks, but there is no foundation for this supposition. They more likely represent ceremonial masks with long noses. Something similar, though lacking the curve, is seen in some of the remarkable funeral urns found in the Zapotecan tombs. The statue of Chac-Mool, found at Chichen Itza by Le Plongeon, is an example of what was accomplished when the figure was attempted without any of the accessories of masks, draperies, etc.[167] It is a large reclining figure, crude and primitive. Some of the work at other places is more symmetrical, as, for instance, the Lacandon idol described by Charnay. “This idol is very beautiful and unique of its kind, for nothing like it has been found either in Tabasco or Yucatan. It represents a figure sitting cross-legged, the hands resting on the knees ... the face now mutilated is crowned by an enormous head-dress of a peculiar style, presenting a fantastic head with a diadem and medallions, topped by huge feathers, like those on the columns at Tula and Chichen-Itza.”[168] This idol was found at Menché, where there is a lot of excellent work in the line of carving, some of the wooden lintels being particularly interesting. It is impossible in a brief chapter to convey more than a slight impression of all this elaborate carving. The reader who desires to obtain a full comprehension of the work should study Maudsley’s text and illustrations in the _Biologia Centrali Americana_. Where modelling was accomplished by the building-up process with stones and mortar the results were sometimes gigantic. Stephens found an enormous head made in this way at Izamal at the base of the palace of Hunpictok. He described it as being seven feet eight inches high. “The features,” he says, “were first rudely formed by small rough stones, fixed in the side of the mound by means of mortar, and afterwards perfected with stucco so hard that it has resisted the action of air and water for centuries.” The stone composing the chin alone measures one foot and six inches. The face had an extremely large mustache. This singular specimen of the Yucatan Amerinds’ modelling skill has, since the visit of Stephens, completely disappeared. At the same place is another, however, still intact. [Illustration: LARGE BUILT-UP HEAD AT IZAMAL From Stephens ]