Mexican Archæology/Chapter 6
CHAPTER VI—MEXICO: CRAFTS, DRESS, AND DAILY LIFE
FOR most practical purposes the Mexicans at the date of the Spanish conquest were living in an age of stone. It is true that they both knew and worked two metals with great facility, namely, gold and copper, especially the former; but gold is useless as a material from which to make implements, and copper was not sufficiently plentiful to be employed very freely. Both these metals were therefore utilized principally in the manufacture of ornaments, though copper tools were employed in wood-carving and a few minor arts.
Hard stone from which adze-and axe-blades and chisels could be manufactured occurred in quantities in Mexico, and various volcanic rocks were quarried for the purpose of making implements. Chalcedony and other flinty materials were used in the manufacture of knife-blades, and the workmanship of these, especially of some of the specimens from the Mixtec country, are surpassed only by the finest examples of ripple-flaking from ancient Egypt (see Fig. 19,8). Knifeblades of this form were usually thrust into a simple ball of resin to form a handle, though for ceremonial use elaborately carved wooden hafts covered with turquoise and shell mosaic (PL XVIII, i) were fitted to them. But the material which perhaps was of the greatest use to the Mexicans was obsidian. From blocks of this natural glass long flakes could be detached by pressure, each of which came away from the core with a razor-edge. Such flakes were used as knives without further preparation, or were inset along the borders of wooden swords to form a cutting edge. The flaking-implement was a pointed stick with a cross-piece at one end; the
| 1, 2. | Obsidian scrapers. |
| 3-5. | "flakes. |
| 6, 7. | ""perhaps for inlay. |
| 8. | Chert knife-blade. |
| 9. | Obsidian core, from which flakes have been struck. |
| (British Museum} | |
artisan rested the point on a suitable spot on the obsidian block, which he held between his feet, and applied the necessary pressure by leaning his chest against the cross-piece. The nature of the long thin flakes which were detached, and of the core from which they were struck, is shown in Fig. 19, 3-5 and 9. Broader flakes were worked up by secondary flaking to form delicate arrow-heads and graceful spear-heads, while large slabs were polished to form mirrors, the surface being carefully finished by continuous rubbing with a handful of reeds. Masks were also made from this material, and details such as teeth and eyes were inlaid with shell and other substances. Stone axes (Fig. 20) were carefully ground by rubbing on a block of hardstone, probably with sand or emery and water, the surface in the more highly-polished specimens being finished with bamboo. The shapes show some variation, but the implement usually tapers slightly towards the butt, which is rounded off more or less abruptly; some specimens are long-oval in transverse section, while others are quadrangular. They were hafted by being simply thrust into a wooden handle, as shown in Fig. 4,f; p. 35. The finest specimens are made of some kind of jadeite, and are often beautifully polished, especially those from the Mixtec country. In the Tarascan country, and northward to La Quemada in Zacatecas, are found types closely akin to those of Arizona and California, viz. heavy axes, coarsely ground, with one or two grooves partially or entirely encircling the butt (Fig. 20, 4,7 and 8). These must have been attached to the haft by thongs, or a stout twig must have been bent round the implement and secured by a lashing below. Such forms as these are not found in the Mexican valley or further south, until Ecuador is reached, but are in reality characteristic of the northern portion of the continent. In the same area are found peculiar blades in animal form, as shown in Fig. 20, 5. Great masses of stone were handled with considerable facility, and it is only necessary to call attention to the objects shown in Pls. III and VI-VIII, as evidence of the skill of the
Mexico mason. The large coping-stone with a figure of a fire-snake in high relief illustrated on Pl. V, 2, being an especially fine specimen from a technical point of view.
To speak generally, Aztec sculpture often shows a slight stiffness in style, due in part to its conventional
| 1. | Etla, Oaxaca. |
| 2, 3, 6. | Valley of Mexico. |
| 4, 5, 7, 8. | Michoacan (Tarascan.) |
| (British Museum) | |
nature, but many specimens exist which exhibit considerable freedom of treatment, notably the figure of Xochipilli on Pl. V, I (of which the characteristic crest rising from the head-dress is unfortunately missing), and the magnificent rattlesnake on Pl. XI, A. Characteristic of the stone art of Tulan are caryatid figures (similar to Fig. 84, p. 348) and serpent columns, both of which will be met again when we come to consider the art of Yucatan; and related to the same culture are figures representing a reclining god, probably one of the octli-gods, holding a vase. One of these, of colossal proportions, has also been found in Yucatan. This type of statue seems to have been copied in Aztec times, and the specimen on PI. VIII, 2, probably belongs to this later period. Caryatid figures are also found in Tlaxcala. A particular class of sculpture is constituted by the peculiar stone figures found in the Panuco valley, of which a fine series may be seen in the British Museum (Pl. X, 1). These are distinguished by the pointed head-dress associated with the Huaxtec, sometimes combined with the jaws of a monster, or a semicircular crest with engraved snake-design. Most are otherwise nude, and all exhibit a somewhat crude and archaic character. Belonging to the Totonac culture are certain enigmatical stone objects, beautifully carved, of which the principal are the 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
(British Museum)
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.
In working stone, stone tools were alone employed, copper being quite unsuitable for the purpose. Of smaller works of art attention may be called to the specimens shown in Pl. XI, 3 and 4, which are carved in jadeite or some analogous material. The small seated figures in Fig. 22, and the carved plate in Pl. XI, 4, are particularly characteristic of Oaxaca. Fine alabaster vases were manufactured, especially in the Totonac country around Vera Cruz, the interiors being laboriously drilled out by means of a tubular drill, probably of bone or bamboo,
Fig. 22.—Stone figurines; Mixtec. a practice also followed by ancient Egyptian lapidaries. Small mirrors, with a convex surface to reduce the image, were made from nodules of pyrites, and beads and pendants of all descriptions manufactured from jadeite and other translucent stones. Fine green jadeite, called chalchiuitl, was highly prized, and its use was allowed only to persons of high rank. Ornaments of this material were given by Montecuzoma to Cortés for transmission to the Emperor, and Diaz quotes his words as follows: "I will also give you some very valuable stones. . . chalchihuites. . . not to be given to anyone else, but only to him, your great Prince." Bead necklaces of this stone formed an important item of tribute from certain subject cities (Fig. 18, c; p. 118). In producing the smaller works of art from crystal, jadeite and amethyst, flint, and sometimes copper', points were 
| MEXICO |
| Stone rattle-snake |
| (Scale : 1/6th) |
| MAYA | MIXTEC |
| 1. Jadeite relief | 4. Jadeite relief from Oaxaca |
| 2."from Tikai. | |
| MEXICO | ZAPOTEC |
| 3. Jadeite head | 5. Gold lip-pendant from Tehuantepec |
| (Scale : 1-5, 2/3rds) | |
Copper was used occasionally for axe- and adze-blades, and constituted an article of tribute. Analysis has shown that it was hammered out, and the edge hardened by this means alone. Some of the blades contain a percentage of tin, but the presence of the latter metal may be regarded as purely accidental. The forms are usually similar to those of the stone implements, and they were hafted by lashing, with wedges, to a handle, as shown in Fig. 27, a 4; p.148. "Eared" varieties however occur, though they are rare, and a peculiar T-shaped type 1s found in some quantity, extending into Oaxaca and Guatemala. Most of the last-named are so thin that it is difficult to see what useful purpose they could have served, and it is probable that they constituted a form of currency, though the suggestion has been made that they were used as knives for cutting feathers in the preparation of feather mosaic. Bells of copper are common throughout the whole of Mexico, some in a peculiar technique which look as if they were made of soldered wire, and animal forms in the same style have been found in Tarascan territory. Close examination would seem to show that these are really cast by the cire perdue process, as described below. Great difficulties however attend the casting of copper, and it is possible that such articles contain a percentage of tin. Analyses however are lacking, and it seems certain that the presence of tin must be regarded as accidental, for though deposits of tin were found in Guerrero by Cortés, yet the inhabitants had never deliberately mixed it with copper until shown how to do so by the Spaniards. Of the mining of copper, little is known, but ancient workings have been discovered at Cerro del Aguilar in Guerrero. Abundant traces of fire are to be seen, and no less than 140 stone wedges have been collected there. Probably the process consisted in heating the blocks of ore, and driving the wedges into the resultant cracks so as to split them up into more manageable fragments. The Zapotec country was famed in old times for its copper.
In the working of gold the Mexicans exhibited particular skill, and though great quantities of the wrought metal were found by the conquerors, yet a very small percentage of the enormous amount exported since the conquest has found its way into museums. The greatest treasure discovered at one time by Cortés was that amassed by Axayacatl, father of Montecuzoma. Of this Diaz writes : "Cortés and some of the captains went in first (into the treasury), and they saw such a number of jewels and slabs and plates of gold and chalchihuites and other great riches that they were quite carried away, and did not know what to say about such wealth. . . . When I saw it I marvelled, and, as at that time I was a youth, and had never seen such riches as those in my life before, I took it for certain that there
| A. | Feather-worker. |
| B. | Goldsmith. |
| C. | Stone-bead maker. |
| (Mendoza MS., Oxford) | |
could not be another such store of wealth in the whole world." This treasure was subsequently found to be of the value approximately of one and a half million sterling. Another of the conquerors relates the finding of 480 oz. of gold in one grave. But the accounts of the workmanship of the various articles surpass even their number. We read of "a very rich necklace of golden crabs, a marvellous piece of work" ; of "two birds made of thread and feather-work, having the quills of their wings and tails, their feet, eyes and the ends of their beaks, of gold, standing upon two reeds covered with gold, which are raised on balls of feather-work and gold embroidery, one white and the other yellow, with seven tassels of feather-work hanging from each of them"; and of a fish with alternate scales of gold and silver. Unhappily no such works of art as the two latter have survived. Grijalva describes the getting of gold by picking out the grains from river-sand; the collector storing them in his mouth and later melting them down on the spot in a pottery vessel, blowing up the fire by means of tubes of reed, as in Fig. 23, b. Gold was also washed from river-sand in small troughs, the water being poured on from gourds. This method was employed both on the east coast and in the Zapotec region, but regular mining was practised by the Zapotec and Chinantec, and gold formed a very important article of tribute, both in dust and plates. The goldsmiths of Azcapotzalco were the most famed in the valley; and gold-workers in general were divided into two classes, heaters and casters. In beating, stone hammers were used for the most part, and the workmen were very skilful at overlaying with gold-foil (the spear-thrower shown on Pl. XVII, 1, has been ornamented in this way). Wooden beads overlaid with gold have been found in the Totonac country. Casting was carried out as follows: pounded charcoal was mixed with fine clay, and kneaded out into thin discs, on which the details of the desired ornament were engraved with a copper tool. Wax was then prepared by boiling, mixed with copal to give it firmness, and, after clarifying by means of a filter, was rolled out on a polished stone and applied in small strips to the details of the design. Pounded charcoal in solution was added as a covering, and, over all, a coating of clay, also mixed with charcoal. A rod of wax, coated with clay, was added, to form a connection with the wax model within. The whole was baked, the wax run out and the molten gold poured in. Finally the mould was broken, and the casting rubbed with earth mixed with salt, to give it a good colour, and then polished. Objects so prepared often have the appearance of soldered wire, but, in such specimens as the ring shown in Fig. 24, the reverse side plainly shows that the greater portion has been cast solid. In the case of the gold ear-or lip-ornament from Tehuantepec (Pl. XI, 5), some of the details appear to have been soldered on after casting. We are told that the designs applied to beaten gold by engraving were usually traced for the goldsmiths by the feather-workers.
Of this feather-work (Fig. 25) very few. specimens remain, but the description of the methods employed in its manufacture have been preserved in the nahuatl text of Sahagun and translated by Seler. Diaz writes of fine fabrics covered with feather-work made by women, and brought daily "from some towns of the province on the north coast near Vera Cruz called Cotaxtla, close by San Juan de Ulua." In the valley the most renowned feather-workers were the inhabitants of the Amantlan quarter of Mexico, who worshipped gods of their own, and prided themselves on their descent from early immigrants into the valley from the north. The implements used in the craft were a brush and colour-box for sketching designs, a copper knife and wooden cutting-board, and a bone spatula for attaching the feathers when cut into the required shapes. In some cases the feathers were simply sewn to cloth, but the more elaborate mosaics required a lengthier process. Cotton was applied to a strip of maguey by means of paste, and a coating of paste was painted over it; after drying, the cotton was peeled from the maguey and 
Fig. 25.—Feather-work mantle (Berlin}.
(After Seler) pasted to a backing of bark-paper: the design was carefully drawn upon it, and then cut out after the manner of a stencil, through which the design was traced upon a sheet of maguey, backed with cotton, or cotton backed with maguey. To the last a layer of the cheaper kind of feathers of the requisite shapes and colours was applied by means of the spatula, first the outlines in black, and then the body-colours and details. The foundation was then detached and fastened to a board, and the final layer, this time in precious feathers of similar colours, was added. The stencil was used as a check throughout the whole of the process. Every kind of feather ornament was made by these artists, including the elaborate back-devices worn by different ranks of warriors. For many of the latter cane frames were constructed, to which the feathers, carefully marshalled, were attached by threads, layer upon layer being added, each covering the bare quills of the last, the final row consisting of down. In the earlier days obsidian knives were used to cut the feathers, and in reality the art only became of importance after the conquest of various coastal towns brought the plumes of the more gorgeous birds to
(British Museum)
Mexico in great quantities as tribute. Those workers engaged upon the feather ornaments and mantles used to deck the figure and representatives of the god Uitzilopochtli, lived in a special house, and many of the more important lords maintained artists who worked especially for them.
The textile arts flourished throughout Mexico, though owing to the unfavourable nature of the climate, specimens are practically non-existent. Thread was spun by the women from nequen, the fibre of the maguey or cotton, and the fur of rabbits was also utilized. Girls learnt the art at a tender age, and the ornamented spindle-whorls, usually of pottery, but sometimes of bone, are common in museums (Fig. 26). The spindle was made to revolve in a small pottery bowl, as is shown in Fig. 29; p. 161, and the thread was woven on a loom of simple construction. The warp was fastened to a convenient post, and kept taut by means of a band passing round the back of the weaver, who beat down the weft with a wooden "sword" (Fig. 27, b). The loom was in fact almost certainly the same as that used right into modern times, and it is probable that a number of heddles were employed for the more elaborate designs. Cotton was of course grown in the hotter countries, and both textiles and the raw material formed perhaps the most
| A. | Wood-carver. |
| B. | Woman weaving. |
| (Mendoza MS., Oxford) | |
important article of import into the valley. Strangely enough it is the inhabitants of the cooler districts who bore the reputation of being the most skilful weavers. Some idea of the designs which were employed may be gathered from the manuscripts, but the patterns there figured form only a very small proportion of the whole. Sahagun gives a long list of names relating to particular types of mantle, unfortunately without further description except in a very few cases. One of these may be cited in illustration of their elaborate nature. "They also made use of cloaks on which were figured beautiful and rich jars mounted on three feet, and furnished with two 'wings' like those of butterflies (octli-vases). The lower portion of the jar was rounded and coloured red and black (the colours of the octli-gods), the wings were green with a yellow border, and three small dots of the same colour on each. The neck of this jar had the form of the marquesota of a tunic, crowned with four small rods embroidered in red and blue feathers. These jar designs were scattered on a white field. This cloak had two red stripes along its front border, passing over white bands grouped two by two" (see the textile in Fig. 18, s; p. 118). Many of the details in patterns such as the above were added in embroidery, at which the Mexican women were equally expert. Good polychrome weaving was performed by the Otomi in maguey fibre, and the Tarascan and Huaxtec ranked high as textile artists. "The Tarascan women were said to prepare food for a couple of days before starting to weave, so that they might not be disturbed at their task. Weaving and embroidery were under the especial patronage of the goddess Xochiquetzal. Mat-and basketmaking was also an important industry, though of these arts also specimens are lacking. However, the use of mat seats was a privilege of rank, though perhaps less so than in the Maya region, and the mat-makers paid reverence to a special patron-deity, Napatecutli, one of the Tlaloque. The consideration of Mexican pottery will be deferred until the architectural remains have been discussed.
A certain amount of information concerning the dress and ornaments of the Mexicans can be gleaned from the foregoing pages, and repetition will be unnecessary. The ordinary dress for a man, worn by nearly all the peoples mentioned in this book, was a girdle, maxtlatl, the ends of which hung down before and behind, and a shoulder-cloak (e.g. Fig. 23; p. 143). The woman's dress, equally universal, consisted of a skirt and a tunic, usually without sleeves (e.g. Fig. 27, b; p. 148). The original costume of the Aztec was of skins, but after their settlement in the valley, textiles were adopted, first of nequen fibre, later of maguey and cotton. The last-named material however was reserved for the upper classes, the women of which added to their attire by wearing additional tunics and skirts. Exceptions to the above rule were constituted by the Tarascans, among whom the men, as among the Huaxtec, wore no maxtlatl, and the Chichimec who wore skins. Skin-clothing prevailed to some extent among the Tarascans also, though they were good weavers, and in this district the young wore shorter
(British Museum)
skirts than their elders. The following garments were considered more or less characteristic of certain peoples; white cloaks with figures of scorpions in blue of the Toltec; striped textiles of the Otomi; duck-feather cloaks of the Tarascans; net cloaks of the Totonac; white cotton mantles of the Zapotec, and polychrome textiles especially representing interlaced eddies (as the shield in Fig. 18, p; p. 118) of the Huaxtec. Body-paint was employed by all the tribes, especially on ceremonial occasions; Mexican women were in the habit of painting their faces yellow and impressing patterns in red upon their cheeks with pottery stamps (Fig. 28). Figures of monkeys and coxcoxtli-birds were especially favourite designs. The Tarascans of Tzintzuntzan used black body-paint, like the priestly orders in Mexico, and the Tlalhuica red. The question of tatu is more difficult to settle, certainly this form of adornment was not common. Sahagun states that in the month of Toxcatl the priests "with a stone knife made scars on children of both sexes, on the breast, the stomach, the middle of the arms and the wrists," and also that the Otomi women "made on their breasts and arms designs in a blue colour, by means of small instruments which fixed the colour in the flesh." 'The latter statement at any rate seems to point to the practice of tatu. Sahagun states that the Huaxtec and Totonac tatued, and the slab illustrated in Fig. 11; p.83, shows a man whose limbs are apparently ornamented in this manner. Otomi women stained the teeth black, a practice found also among the Huaxtec, while tooth-filing was found among the latter people, the Tarascans and the Mixtec. Pottery heads showing the Maya form of tooth-filing have been found in the Totonac area. The actual inlaying of teeth seems to have been confined to those peoples of definite Maya affinities, such as the Huaxtec, though teeth ornamented in this fashion have been found in the Mixtec area, at Xoxo. Mexican women of rank filed the teeth and painted them red. This practice seems to have been borrowed from the Huaxtec, and tooth-mutilation as a whole does not seem to have been a characteristic of the Nahua-speaking peoples. Methods of dressing the hair show slight variations, though the ordinary method was to cut it short on the forehead and temples, and allow it to grow at the back. The Tarascans however for the most part cropped it close all over, while the Chichimec did not cut it at all, but wore it in plaits. Among the Otomi the child's head was cropped close, men and young girls cut the locks on the forehead, and women after becoming mothers allowed it to grow all over the head and dressed it on the top. Zapotec chiefs and warriors wore long hair gathered at the back in a pigtail. In Mexico men of rank, being warriors, cut the hair, and brushed it up on the right side (Pl. LX, 4), while chiefs cropped most of the head, leaving a long lock on the forehead which they kept erect by means of a fillet (Pl. IX, 5). Of Montecuzoma we read, "He did not wear his hair long, but so as just to cover his ears." In Mexico women of rank sometimes wore the hair plaited and crossed on the forehead in two "horns," but ordinarily it was allowed to grow and was worn loose. Ear-ornaments were almost universal, in the form of plugs of stone, gold and turquoise; while lip-plugs were found among the Mexicans, Otomi and Totonac (see Fig. 18, b; p. 118). At Mexico the lips of children were pierced on admission to the Calmecac, and the status of a man could be judged by the quality of his lip-plug. Shell and obsidian marked the lower ranks, while gold and gems were reserved for the higher orders of nobility; most prized of all were those of chalchiuitl, or of crystal, the latter being hollow and containing a blue feather. Nose ornaments were not so common, and were especially associated with the Huaxtec; they are however frequently seen in the representations of Mexican goddesses (especially those borrowed from the Huaxtec) and consisted for the most part of gold plates, often in the form of a butterfly, or of golden tubes. Of the tremendous variety of ornaments worn round neck and arms and attached to the garments, it is impossible to write in detail, but some idea of their variety may be gathered from the following passage of Sahagun, describing the dance performed by men and women of the warrior-class in the month Uei tecuilhuitl. "The women were clad in rich and costly robes and skirts ornamented with elaborate embroidery . . . Of the robes . . . some were white without designs, and the upper opening of these was bordered with deep fringes which covered the whole breast, and the fringes of the lower border were equally deep. 'These women danced with their hair down, confined by plaited bands which ran from forehead to neck. 'Their faces were without ornament, smooth and clean. The men were equally richly clad; they wore a cotton cloak of so wide a mesh that it might almost be called a net. In the case of men who were distinguished by great valour and who had the right to wear a plug in the lower lip, these cloaks were fringed with small white shells. . . those who were not so distinguished wore black cloaks with (plain) fringes. All wore ear-plugs of mixed metals, but those of the higher ranks were of copper with gold pendants, their lip-plugs corresponding. In some cases these lipplugs represented lizards, in others, small dogs, or two small squares of metal. The youngest who had already distinguished themselves in action wore in the lower lip a large disc, containing four others arranged crosswise. The youngest of all had a plain disc without ornament. All the 'braves' wore hide collars with pendants terminating in numbers of small white shells . . . and at the same time lip-plugs of oyster-shell in the form of an eagle; while others who considered themselves of still greater valour, bought small white spheres found in certain molluscs. Ordinary folk decked themselves in a sort of chaplet, yellow in colour, made of other marine products, and of small value. Among this class, those who had captured prisoners in war bore an ornament of plumes on their heads as an indication that they had taken a captive in battle. The captains were distinguished by feather insignia attached to their backs, as a sign of valour. . . . There were some who carried on the left foot the hooves of deer attached with strips of hide of the same animal. All had their faces painted in various designs; some painted circles on their cheeks and stripes on the forehead from temple to temple with black pigment covered with iron pyrites, others prolonged the stripe to the ears, and others again painted stripes from the base of the ear to the mouth." Feathers of course, whether applied to textiles or worn by themselves, constituted an extremely important article of adornment, and even the Otomi women wore them on their feet and legs during dancing, a custom found also among the,Toluca. Sandals of hide with straps ornamented according to the rank of the wearer were in universal use.;
The Mexicans enjoyed considerable variety in food, and though famines were not uncommon, yet the attention paid to agriculture in the valley and the extensive trade-system made the supply plentiful under normal circumstances. The Chichimec hunters lived on game, wild roots and fruits,and honey, but most of the remaining tribes practised cultivation, especially of maize, though the Otomi were said to have been improvident in the-use of the crop. To speak generally, maize was the staple food, though free use was made of other grain, yams and beans. From maize a large variety of "bread" was manufactured, mostly in the form of thin cakes differing greatly in quality. The grain was thrown into boiling water, into which a little lime had been sprinkled, to remove the husk; when cool, it was washed, ground on the grinding-stones, called metatl, and kneaded into dough which was cooked in pots, or wrapped in leaves and steamed. Certain flowers were often added to give it a flavour. Maize-meal was often boiled in water, the liquor being strained and reboiled until it was reduced to a kind of gruel, called atolli, which was consumed in large quantities. Venison, rabbits, hares, quails, partridges, ducks, turkeys and geese, provided the most common flesh-foods; the two latter birds were domesticated and were bred almost as much for their feathers as for their flesh, especially in Culiacan, Jalisco and Michoacan; eggs were not eaten. The hairless Mexican dog was also bred as a food-animal in some places, such as Jalisco. Meat was cooked wrapped in dough or plainly roasted, and pepper was consumed in great quantities as a condiment, just as in Peru. Fish too formed an important article of diet, and the courier-system in the later days of the Empire was so excellent that it could be brought fresh from the coast for the use of the royal house. Certain marsh-flies which appear in veritable clouds on the lake were pounded and made up into balls and boiled, and their eggs were collected from the reeds and eaten as a kind of caviare; frogs too were not despised, and the Otomi were credited with eating snakes and rats. A peculiar food seen by the conquerors consisted of "cakes made from a sort of ooze which they get out of the great lake, which curdles, and from this they make a bread having a flavour something like cheese." Honey, both that of bees and that made from the sap of the maguey, was used to sweeten atolli and in many other ways, and salt was prepared by filtering water through certain kinds of earth and evaporating the liquor. The constant hostilities of the Tlaxcalans with the Mexicans had resulted in the almost total destruction of the salt trade as far as the former were concerned; in fact the inhabitants had practically lost the habit of taking It, and some years elapsed after the conquest before it became common in that district. It is said that neither salt nor pepper was used by the Toluca and Matlatzinca. As regards beverages, two were of great importance; the first of these was prepared from the cacao, imported from the hotter regions near the coast, and was called chocolatl (whence our own word chocolate). The nut was pounded and boiled in water with a little maize-flour; the oil was skimmed off, and the mixture strained and poured into another vessel so as to produce a froth; sometimes honey and vanilla were added, and it was generally taken after food with tortoise-shell spoons. The other national drink was octli (often inaccurately termed pulque, an Argentine word for the same beverage), prepared from the fermented sap of the maguey. The heart of the plant was cut out (the day 1. tecpatl being considered an appropriate date) and when the sap had collected it was drawn off in long gourds by means of suction applied through a small hole at the end, and stored in skins or calabashes. Fermentation was assisted by the addition of a certain root. The legal restrictions placed upon the use of this beverage in Mexico have already been mentioned. Other fermented drinks were prepared from grain, and a certain mushroom was employed as an intoxicant, especially at a feast organized by the guild of merchants. The effects of the latter are described by Sahagun: "Some sang, others wept because they were intoxicated; others remained silent, seated in the hall as if absorbed in thought. Some thought that they were dying, and sobbed in their hallucination, while others imagined that they were being devoured by some savage beast. Others again thought that they were capturing an enemy in fight, another that he was rich, another that he possessed a large number of slaves. Some thought that they were taken in adultery, and that their heads were being crushed for this crime, others that they had been convicted of theft and were being executed, and a thousand other illusions. When the intoxication had passed, they entertained one another by relating their hallucinations." The discovery of the properties of this fungus seems to have been made originally by the Chichimec, since its use was common among this people. A kind of chewing-gum was prepared from resin or bitumen, though its use, at any rate in public, was confined by custom to unmarried girls. Allusion has already been made to the practice of smoking; reeds were collected.and after being carefully smoothed were filled with pulverized charcoal mixed with tobacco and other fragrant herbs. The exterior was often richly ornamented with paint and gilding, in some cases in such a way that the design only appeared under the influence of the heat produced by the act of smoking. Pottery pipes are found in Mexico, though not in great numbers, and it is uncertain to what extent they were used before the conquest. Pipes are found more frequently in Michoacan, where tobacco-smoking was commoner than among the Aztec, especially in the case of men of rank.
In general the first meal of the day, taken after a few hours' work, consisted in atolli-gruel, a more substantial repast following at midday, after which the higher classes smoked and took a siesta. Food was cooked in and eaten from pots, bowls and dishes of pottery, often beautifully ornamented. Cups of the same material, and also of gold or stone (such as alabaster), were used for beverages, and a peculiar pattern with two butterfly-handles and three feet (as shown on the textile in Fig. 18, s; p. 118) was especially associated with octli, forming one of the devices of the octli-gods.
Maguey-fibre has already been mentioned as a material extensively employed for textiles, and indeed the uses of this plant were manifold. To quote again from one of the conquerors, "This tree is of the greatest utility; from it is made wine, vinegar, honey, a syrup like boiled grape-juice. They employ it in the manufacture of garments for men and women, for footgear, ropes, the ties used in building houses, the roofing of these houses, for sewing-needles (i.e. the spines), for dressings for wounds, and other purposes. They also collected the leaves . . . and cooked them in subterranean ovens, with wood piled up, in a fashion peculiar to this country. After roasting, the bark and veins are removed, and an intoxicating drink is prepared."
The consideration of Mexican architecture from a comparative standpoint will be deferred until the remains scattered through the country are discussed. But as all these remains consist of buildings devoted to religious purposes, a few words may be said here concerning the actual habitations of the people. Mexico city was utterly destroyed by the Spanish, but from the accounts left by the first visitors a good idea can be gathered of the,nature of the buildings. The houses of the chiefs were spacious, built on terraces, and constructed of stone and lime. The buildings usually enclosed a court, and there was often a garden attached where the girls of the household could walk under the supervision of duennas. The women's apartments were separated from the rest; two storeys were sometimes seen, and in the most important structures the roofs were flat and battlemented. Nezahualcoyotl's palace at Tezcoco, of which a native plan is shown in Fig. 13, p. 89, was constructed on a terrace, and the roofbeams were supported by wooden pillars on stone bases. The terrace formed a court in front, approached by steps, and there were many small buildings for guests, the women of the household, and the retainers. Diaz mentions the palaces of Iztapalapa "how well-built they were, of beautiful stone-work and cedar-wood and the wood of other sweet-scented trees; with great rooms and courts, wonderful to behold, covered with awnings of cotton cloth." He also mentions the "great halls and chambers, canopied with the cloth of the country," of the palace of Axayacatl, and the "beds of matting with canopies above" which were provided for the Spaniards. Earth and unfired bricks ("adobes") were also used for the walls of buildings, and the houses of the poorer classes were of reeds and mud roofed with thatch of straw or maguey-leaves. In Mexico city, owing to the marshy nature of the ground, a large proportion of the buildings rested on pile foundations, and, in consequence of the growth of the town beyond the limit of land-accommodation, many were built over the water, and could only be reached by boat or drawbridge. The town itself was intersected by numerous canals, and the inhabitants went about as much in boats as on land. Near the coast, pile-dwellings were constructed so that the inhabitants might be out of the reach of wild beasts, and protecting walls of adobes or wooden palisades were also found. Beds in most cases were made of rushes, with cotton sheets, those of the lords being woven with feathers, and for meals a mat was simply spread upon the ground. The primitive hunting-tribes, such as the wilder Chichimec, lived chiefly in caves, though some of the more advanced constructed rude temporary huts. The Tarascans built the walls of their dwellings of natural stones, and constructed the roof of straw thatch, with, apparently, a clay ridge. Thatch was in fact the principal roofing material throughout Mexico, and even the shrines were usually so covered.
One of the chief features of Mexico city was the series of causeways which connected the island with the mainland. The position of these, according to the most recent ideas, can be seen in Fig. i, p. 13. In building them a double palisade was first constructed, and the space between filled with stones and earth faced with rubble. The great dyke which ran from Iztapalapa to Atzacualco, built by the first Montecuzoma on the advice of Nezahualcoyotl, was no less than ten miles long, and was perforated by sluices, by means of which an attempt was made to control the inundations to which Mexico was subject. The effect of this feat of engineering was to cause the portion of lake to the west, called the Lake of Mexico, to become fresh, and to be filled with wild-fowl and fish, for the springs which fed it contained no salt, whereas the streams running into the eastern portion still continued to carry into it the salt which they absorbed on their journey. Another work of economical importance was the double stone aqueduct which brought water to the city from Chapultepec. The Mexicans also constructed roads in various directions throughout the country, for the use of merchants, couriers, and others who travelled on state business. Such roads were narrow, of well-beaten earth, and often had a watercourse running along the side. Like the Peruvian rulers, the Mexican kings maintained a system of trained runners established at definite posts along certain roads. Messages and light burdens could be transferred long distances in a short time by this method, and we hear of three hundred miles being covered in a day.
The birth of a child was awaited with great expectancy, and the prospective mother was carefully guarded from all material and supernatural dangers. The steam-bath was an important institution in promoting ease of delivery, and invocations were made to the gods presiding over birth and creation. The child born, the midwife raised the triumph-cry of the warriors, since the woman who bore a child was regarded as the feminine counterpart of such, and congratulatory visits were paid by friends and relations. A fire was lighted in the house and kept burning for four days; great care was observed that no light from this should be taken outside the house, since it was believed that the luck of the household would follow it, and a number of other precautions were observed. The horoscope of the infant, a most important matter, was cast by a priest, and a day appointed for the baptismal ceremony, a lucky date being carefully selected. This ceremony consisted in sprinkling the infant with water, and giving it a name. Although the water was supposed to have the effect of purifying the child and fortifying it against the perils of life, yet the Mexicans held no doctrine of "original sin," in fact, the midwife addressed the newly born in the terms, "When you were created and sent into this world you were made without stain, and your father and mother Quetzalcoatl formed you even as a precious stone and as a jewel of gold of great price." In the case of a boy, miniature weapons were prepared for the ceremony, as an indication that he was born a warrior, while for a girl a small set of weaving-utensils was made, the symbols of her
| Left. | Girl learning to spin, and boy being shown the use of fishing-implements; age 7 years; daily ration a loaf and a half. |
| Right. | Girl being punished with aloe-spines (age 9 years, omitted); boy being held over a fire of pepper (age n years, omitted). |
| Same daily ration. | |
| (Mendoza MS., Oxford) | |
future status as a housewife. Sahagun states that some ancestral name was given by the midwife, and other accounts allege that the name was first pronounced by certain small children invited for the purpose. Calendrical names, taken from the child's birthday, were very common, especially among the Mixtec, but names of animals were often conferred upon boys, of flowers upon girls. Animal names were especially common among the Tarascans. Children, no matter what their rank, were usually nursed by the mother for three or four years, but in cases of inability, a wet-nurse was carefully chosen. Children were educated with great care and according to certain rules. One manuscript shows the progress of children of both sexes, together with the number of bread-cakes allowed for their diet, from the ages of three to fifteen (Fig. 29). The punishments applicable to each year are also shown, starting with a warning, and proceeding to pricking with aloe spines, beating, holding over a fire on which pepper had been thrown, and tying hand and foot. Parents were in the habit of preaching long homilies to their children, which, however interesting they may be as illustrating the extremely high moral tone of Mexican educational ideas, must have been excessively boring to the child. The Mexicans were greatly addicted to moral discourses, as may be seen from the work of Sahagun, whole pages of which are devoted to the quotation in full of the orations appropriate to particular occasions of public and private interest. Boys as a rule followed the profession of their father, while girls received a thorough training in the domestic arts, such as spinning and weaving and the preparation of food. The part played by the institutions Calmecac and Telpochcalli in the education of the young has already been mentioned.
Marriage took place at about the age of twenty in the case of men, girls being a trifle younger. Intermarriage was allowed between cousins, but forbidden in the case of nearer relatives. The service of female go-betweens was employed by the parents of the man, and it was not considered consonant with a proper dignity for the woman's family to show too much haste in consenting to the match. On the appointed day, selected owing to the auspicious nature of its sign, the go-between carried the bride to the house of the bridegroom, where, after offering incense, the two were seated side by side on a mat, and their garments knotted by a priest. The inevitable homily followed, and then a feast, and the couple observed a fast for four or more days, at the end of which the marriage might be consummated. In some cases a couple might live in concubinage by consent of their parents, and in the event of a child being born, either a marriage was celebrated or the woman returned to the house of her parents with the infant, which was regarded as belonging to her family. Otherwise children belonged to the man and inherited from him, those of the chief wife (for polygamy, limited by the man's means, was practised) having precedence. It was usual for the eldest son in these cases to make some provision for his brothers and their families. When a man married he left the educational establishment where he formerly lived, after asking permission of his superiors and making certain gifts. As a rule widows could not remarry, except with a brother-in-law; divorce was possible with the consent of a magistrate, and the couple could under no circumstances be reunited. Among the Otomi divorce was allowed after the first night of married life, but not later. The Chichimec practised monogamy, and no intermarriage could take place between individuals who were related. Among the Tarascans however, especially those of rank, different ideas prevailed, and endogamy was the rule. Even among commoners, if a girl had given herself to a man against the will of her parents, the union was regarded as legal only if he belonged to the same ward as herself. In normal cases the girl was simply handed over to her suitor by the priest, together with the gift of a wood-cutting axe and the necessary mats and cord for wood-carrying, and a feast followed. The difference between the marriage rules of the Tarascans and Aztec seems accompanied by another sociological divergence, in so far as there are indications that among the former the children were regarded as belonging to the mother's family. The Mixtec ceremony was more like that of the Aztec, but besides the tying together of the garments of the couple, it included also the cutting of part of their hair. Polygamy was also practised in this region.
Much of the time of the more settled peoples of Mexico was devoted to agriculture, and even a few of the Chichimec tribes, who had absorbed something of the culture of their more advanced neighbours, reared a little maize which was tended by serfs. 'The Otomi also practised agriculture to some extent. Maize was the most important product of cultivation, and the respect in which it was held is seen in the superstition that if a man saw maize-grains lying on the ground and failed to pick them up, they would cry to the gods for vengeance upon him. Circumstances, chief of which must be reckoned the restriction of territory when they first became settled, led to the development of intensive cultivation among the Aztec, and the invention of the celebrated "floating gardens." These were osier rafts, piled with earth and lake mud, which, so it is said, moved about the surface of the lake until they were finally anchored by the roots of the trees which sprang up on their surface. The properties of manure were known to this people, and it was carefully collected for use in the plantations. The implements of agriculture were simple, consisting of a hoe or a spade and a basket. The heavy work, such as preparing the fields, planting and reaping, was performed by the men, while the women assisted in winnowing the crop and weeding. The fields on the mainland were surrounded with adobe walls or aloe hedges, and the crop was stored in wooden granaries. The Mixtec had the habit, when rain was expected, of breaking the maize-stalks so that the heads hung downward; in this position they were protected by the leaves from excessive moisture, and were easily dried by the sun and wind. Next to maize, cotton, cacao, aloe, pepper, and the grain called chia were the most important plants, though the first three could be grown only in districts where the climate was hot. Hunting, both individually and in communal drives, was practised by all the tribes, and the Mexicans generally were expert trackers and huntsmen. We hear of one drive organized for the Spaniards in which eleven thousand Otomi beaters took part, embracing a circle of fifteen miles. The chief weapons employed were bows, darts, blow-guns, nets and snares. Fishing
(Bodleian MS., Oxford)
was equally important, in fact more so among the tribes in the neighbourhood of lakes, nets and tridents being the principal appliances used. The invention of these was attributed to the god Opochtli, one of the Tlaloque. Fowling also gave employment to a large number of the population and contributed greatly to the food-supply.
With regard to the lighter side of life it would not be going too far to state that nearly all of the amusements of the Mexicans possessed a religious significance. It is true that the lords maintained jesters and tumblers, and that the performances of conjurers, as mentioned above, were much appreciated. But the national game, tlaxtli, was closely connected with the worship of the gods, and the tlaxtli-courts both at Mexico and in Michoacan were generally associated with temples. The ground-plan of a tlaxtli-court resembled a double T, as may be seen from Fig. 30, which is taken from a manuscript. The game was played with a rubber ball, and the end walls constituted the goals which were protected by opposing teams of players. At the centre of each side wall, near its upper edge, was fixed a stone ring, the aperture a little greater than the diameter of the ball, and if the latter could be hit so as to pass through the ring, a victory was claimed. The walls were forty or fifty feet long, and twenty or thirty feet apart, and the whole court was carefully plastered. The area was divided by a line, which the ball had to cross for the throw to count; it is not stated whether this line was longitudinal or transverse, but probability seems to favour the latter. The MSS. often show the two ends of the court distinguished by different colours, though it is only fair to state that they almost as often show it quartered. The players wore special gauntlets, but the most esteemed variety of the game was that in which they were not allowed the use of their hands at all, but struck the ball with their hips, protected by means of a leather shield attached to the girdle. A variety of gods are pictured in association with the tlaxtli-court, principally Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl, Xochiquetzal and Xochipilli, and in the court connected with the great temple to Uitzilopochtli stood the statues of the gods Oappatzan and Amapan to which sacrifices were made. Seler conjectures that the flight of the ball in its esoteric significance referred to the movements of the moon. 'The game was usually played for stakes, which often ran very high, and it also served to settle disputed questions, as in the case where Montecuzoma, differing from Nezahualpilli as regards the interpretation of certain omens, challenged him to a game of tlaxtli and was defeated. The origin of the game is discussed later (pp. 302-303). Other amusements, of a more secular nature, were the game called patolli, played with "men" on a board bearing a cruciform diagram, and tololoque, a variety of dice. Both these were played for stakes.
(British Museum)
Music was not highly developed, and there was but little variety in the musical instruments throughout the valley. Rattles of gourd or pottery were common, but the principal instrument of percussion was the gong, teponaztli, formed of a hollow cylinder of wood with two tongues, each of a different note, which were struck with beaters, sometimes headed with rubber. The teponaztli was of ten beautifully carved, and played an important part in religious ceremonies and dances (Fig. 31). Drums, ueuetl, with skin membranes were also in common use, while instruments of a rather special nature consisted of tortoise carapaces (or their facsimiles in gold), struck with a stick, and serrated bones rubbed with short rods (see p. 103). Wind instruments appear to have been few in variety; conches, provided apparently with a wooden mouthpiece, like those of the New Zealanders, were sounded in most religious ceremonies, and quantities of whistles and ocarinas have been discovered. 'The finger-holes do not exceed four in number, and are frequently less in the case of instruments of the flageolet type. Whistles were of frequent use in war, for the purpose of giving signals. Whether the Mexicans, like the tribes of the north-west coast of America, were acquainted with reed instruments is uncertain, at any rate none are known to exist; it is quite possible that they were known, but that the reeds, constructed of perishable materials, have not survived until our time. Singing was another important accompaniment of religious ceremonies, and there were specially trained temple choirs under the control of responsible officials. Many of the hymns have been preserved, and illustrate well the poetical cast of Mexican thought. A species of primitive drama was said to exist, recited on a terrace in the market-place or temple-court. Dancing was highly developed, and every feast had its ceremonial dance which was carried out with great solemnity and decorum. In some cases the dancers formed large circles, the members of each belonging to one sex and rank. In others, the sexes mingled, and in others again the dancers performed in pairs, with their arms round one another's waists or necks. The last method seems to have been the privilege of the upper classes. In combined figures a long garlanded rope was held by the dancers, who moved their bodies and limbs in unison, as in Peru, while occasionally they danced in threes, two women and one man or two men and one woman.