Chapter I: Statues in Punta Del Sapote

Punta del Sapote forms a broad, rounded peninsula, the greatest length of which is in N.E. and S.W. Its middle part is a large plateau, about 150 m. high, sloping rapidly both towards the lake and the neck of the peninsula, and thus forming an isolated height of somewhat more than one kilometer in length by scarcely one kilometer in breadth. The central portion of this plateau is perfectly level and, judging by the numerous statues met with here, and the regular form of the stone-mounds, round which they were placed, appears to have been a sacred place during the Niquiran period. On the very isthmus between the peninsula and the island of _Zapatera_ rose a conical stone-structure, 30-40 m. high; it consisted of enormous, unhewn blocks, placed upon one another in pretty regular layers. Its diameter at the base might be estimated at about 40 m. The top of the cone was truncated, and appeared to form a plane of 6-8 m. in diameter. The steep sides were so densely covered by spinous bushes and lians, that I was soon obliged to desist from my attempts to mount the summit. The whole structure resembled a kind of beacon, and has possibly been a place of sacrifice, although its dimensions were so large, that it cannot well be regarded as such a «sacrificial pillar» as is mentioned by PETER MARTYR under the name of «_Tezarit_». Maybe a little «casita» has stood on the platform above. Something of the same kind is known from _Uxmal_.

Due north of this cone, on the top of the above mentioned plateau, were six stone-mounds of oval form, but of very different size. The largest (Pl. 41: 1) measured about fifty m. in length by thirty m. in breadth, the smallest (Pl. 41: 6) about fifteen m. in length by somewhat less than half in breadth. The greatest diameter of each mound was in N. and S. The stones of these mounds varied of course in size, but for the most part they were large, more or less cubical, from half a meter to one meter long and about half a meter broad. Their often regular shape and pretty plane sides, particularly in the mound 1, might lead one to infer that some of them have been hewn, and have formed the foundations and possibly also the walls of buildings, the ground plans of which are indicated by the form of the mounds and the situation of the statues, of which we are soon going to speak.

STONE-MOUND 1.

At the mound 1 (Pl. 41), the largest of all, and the one situated farthest to the north and west, several statues were found remaining in the same position, that they originally must have occupied, because the mound was still surrounded by six figures, standing in its circumference; and larger or smaller fragments of the pedestals of three others were found in the ground, although the statues themselves were thrown down beside them, and more or less broken. Judging by the regular distances between these statues, it is probable, that there have been twelve figures standing in the periphery of this building or temple. The fact that those remaining in the ground fronted outwards, and that their backs, which were turned towards the building, were not smooth, but only plane-cut, strengthens my hypothesis that the figures have formed part of a stone- or logwall enclosing the building. All those statues of the mound 1, of which the upper parts remained, with the exception of D, and another not delineated one, carried on their heads a more or less long and broad projection in the form of a tenon, and on this account I venture to propose the hypothesis, that they have served to support the wall-plate of a more or less circular building. All the statues were monoliths, cut from blocks of blackish basalt of a pretty considerable hardness. The roof itself has probably been covered with palm leaves, a supposition confirmed by certain indications in CEREZEDA and OVIEDO. That the temples should have been open, as SQUIER seems to think, I venture to doubt, on account of the above described form of the statues; this appears to show that they must have been united with one another by a wall, probably of cut stones.

A

Pl. 1.

Male, standing figure, in an easy posture, with the arms hanging straight down. It stood quite upright, but was buried in the earth to the elbows; by digging round it, it was laid bare to just below the knees. It was the finest and most nobly sculptured of all the Nicaraguan statues that I have had an opportunity of seeing. The face, neck, and chest were carefully elaborated, the mouth closed with full lips, the Adam’s apple marked out at the throat, the muscles of the chest, as well as of the arms, correctly rendered; the hands on the contrary were somewhat stiff, with the thumbs in the same plane with the other fingers. The shoulders, elbows, and hips were well formed (the arms were, however, not detached from the body), but passed gradually backwards into the plane-cut back of the stone. The head was covered with a large, rounded hood or cap, projecting above, and drawn out in rounded flaps at the sides of the neck. Upwards and backwards this hood passed into a kind of capital, ornamented at the sides with a semi-circular depression, bordered by a rounded rim, with globularly enlarged ends. The tenon-shaped projection above the head was unusually large, tapering upwards, surrounded in front by a double frame, at the sides by a simple, broad, sharply cut one. The statue was perfectly equilateral. It did not seem to have been exposed to any injury whatever, and was on the whole the best preserved of all in this locality. The whole length of the statue from the upper edge of the tenon to the knee was 225 cm., the breadth across the shoulders 58 cm., the length of the tenon 65 cm.

B

Pl. 2 and 3.

Female, standing figure, its head slightly bent forwards, and its arms hanging straight down. It was found erect, but imbedded in the earth to the navel; the head was broken off, but was found close to the statue. The statue was very well sculptured, but not so carefully finished as the preceding one. The forehead was adorned with a low turban or round band, upon which was placed the heavy capital, with carvings in relief on the sides. The capital was surmounted by the square-shaped tenon, the lower part of which was surrounded by twenty staves with rounded tips. These ornaments seem to indicate, that in this statue, as well as in the former one, which was adorned with a double frame, the lower part of the tenon has been visible, and only its uppermost portion inserted into the plate of the building. The face and chest were well preserved, although not so accurately rendered as in A. The mouth was half-open, the eyes were well marked, deep cut, the ears hidden by large, square, flat, and grooved pieces. The breasts were held up by a double, round band. The breadth across the shoulders was extraordinarily great. The shoulders were high and thin, the arms very short and feeble in proportion to the body, not entirely detached, but much more so than in A. The length of the statue from the upper edge of the tenon to the knee was 226 cm., the breadth across the shoulders 66 cm.; the length of the tenon 34 cm.