nation. The plain on which they are built was called Micoatl, or "Path of the Dead." Arrow-heads and fragments of blades of itztli or obsidian are still abundant at these mounds. They attest the warlike character of the aborigines. (Vide p. 174.)
Papantla.
This village lies in the State of Vera Cruz, about fifty miles north of Jalapa. (Vide p. 155.) The pyramid is situated in a dense forest about two leagues from Papantla. It was unknown to the first conquerors, as the Indians for centuries concealed this monument from them. It possesses great antiquity, and was only discovered accidentally by some hunters in 1780. This pyramid was not built of bricks or clay mixed with whinstones, like those already described, but was made of immense stones of porphyry, in the seams of which mortar is distinguishable. Many of these stones are covered with hieroglyphics. Among other figures are carvings of serpents and crocodiles. This edifice is remarkable, not so much for its size, as for its symmetry, the polish of the stones, and the great regularity of their cut. The base of the pyramid is an exact square, each side being 83 feet long. The perpendicular height is about 60 feet. Like all Mexican teocallis, this mound is composed of several stages. A huge stairway of fifty-seven steps leads to the platform or top of the pyramid, where the human victims were sacrificed. (The manner of sacrifice is described on p. 186.)
Humboldt, in his great work on New Spain, refers to the analogy of the brick monuments of Anahuac to the temple of Belus at Babylon, and to the pyramids near Sakhara in Egypt. On page 195 of vol. ii he says: “There are in Mexico pyramids of several stages, in the forests of Papantla, at a small elevation above the level of the sea, and in the plains of Cholula and Teotihuacan, at elevations
