Ancient Civilizations Of Mexico And Central America - free ebook by Herbert Joseph Spinden

Ancient Civilizations of Mexico and Central America

By HERBERT J. SPINDEN FORMERLY ASSISTANT CURATOR, DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY HANDBOOK SERIES No. 3 THIRD AND REVISED EDITION NEW YORK 1928 Publication of the Anthropological Handbook Fund...

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PREFACE

This little book is intended as a general commentary and explanation of the more important phases of the ancient life and arts of the Indians of Mexico and Central America, and especially of their history. The substance of it is drawn from many sources, for the anthropologist must mould together and harmonize the gross results of several sciences. Archæology, ethnology, somatology, and linguistics all make their special contributions and we are only on the threshold of our subject. In the Mexica

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Geography and Natural Environment.

Unfortunately the terms “Mexico and Central America” are not mutually exclusive. Central America is a natural division comprised between the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the Isthmus of Panama. Mexico is a political division that includes several states in Central America, namely, Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan, and the territory of Quintana Roo. The ancient high cultures of Mexico hardly extended as far north as the Tropic of Cancer and the region beyond this is of slight interest to us. Posi

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Plate I.

( a ) Village Scene in Arid Mexico. Cactus and other thorny shrubs are ever present. The houses of the natives are of adobe with thatched roofs. ( b ) In the Humid Lowlands. The view shows part of the plaza at Quirigua with one of the monuments almost concealed in vegetation of a few months’ growth. Fig. 2. The Smoke reaches the Stars, a Mexican Picture of a Volcanic Eruption in the Codex Telleriano Remensis. In southern Mexico the plateau area enclosed between the principal sierras narrows perc

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History of European Contact.

The great area with which we are concerned has been in touch with Europe since the beginning of the sixteenth century. Columbus, on his last voyage in 1502, landed on the northern coast of Honduras and rounded the stormy cape called Gracias à Dios. Later he skirted the shore of Costa Rica and Panama and entered the body of water which was named in his honor Bahia del Almirante—Bay of the Admiral. He brought back sensational news of the gold in possession of the natives, which they had told him c

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Plate II.

( a ) Site of Pueblo Viejo, the First Capital of Guatemala. ( b ) A Spanish Church at the Village of Camotan on the Road to Copan. Let us now direct our attention to the conquest of Mexico. Perhaps the Portuguese were the first to sight the mainland of Yucatan in 1493. There is little to prove this except one or two charts or maps made in the first decade of the sixteenth century that show the peninsula in its proper location. In 1511 or 1512 a ship from Darien was wrecked and some of the sailor

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Plate III.

( a ) View of the Island Town of Flores in Lake Peten where the Last Capital of the Itzas was located. ( b ) The Sacred Cenote at Chichen Itza into which Human Beings were thrown as Sacrifices, along with Objects of Jade and Gold. The brave defense of Cuauhtemoc availed for naught against cannon and steel armor. On the 13th of August, 1521, the conquest of Tenochtitlan was achieved and the spirit of a warlike people forever broken. The Valley of Mexico having been taken, numerous expeditions wer

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Languages.

The twenty distinct stocks of related languages formerly recognized in Mexico and Central America have now been greatly reduced. Of those that remain, some occupied small areas and had little in the way of dialectic variation, while others stretched over wide territories and were divided into many mutually unintelligible tongues, which, in turn, were subdivided into well-defined dialects. Several stocks are now approaching extinction through the substitution of Spanish. A number of languages, ho

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Ethnology.

To a less extent than the native languages the old-time customs still hold out against the tide of European influence. In regions not easily accessible on account of deserts, mountains, or tropical jungles, there are a number of Indian tribes that preserve in a large measure their ancient arts and ideas. But the study of these remnant peoples has not been very thorough. Fig. 8. Design on Modern Huichol Ribbon. Fig. 9. Woven Pouch of the Huichol Indians showing Two-Headed Austrian Eagle. The Pima

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Plate IV.

( a ) A Guatemalan huipili decorated with Highly Conventionalized Animals in Embroidery. ( b ) Pouches of the Valiente Indians of the Chiriqui Lagoon, Panama. In southern Mexico there are many towns of Indians where the women still wear the finely embroidered huipili. This old-time garment varies considerably in different towns but as a rule it is a simple sack-like gown cut square at the neck and with short sleeves. Sometimes it is shortened to a blouse, and is worn with a skirt; at other times

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Plate V.

( a ) Zapotecan Girl from the State of Oaxaca, wearing a Turban-Like Headdress made of Yarn. ( b ) Lacandone Man from Southern Mexico. Wavy hair is sometimes seen among the few members of this Mayan tribe. The Caribs occupy the greater part of the north coast of Guatemala and Honduras, running east from the port of Livingston on the Gulf of Amatique. These people, originally of South America and later of the West Indies as well, were deported by the English from the Island of St. Vincent in 1796

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Physical Types.

Minor physical differences in stature, head form, and facial expression mark off pretty clearly the tribes of this area from each other. The stature is lowest among the Mayas and Mazatecs, the average being about 5 feet 1 inch, while among the Tarascans, Tlaxcalas, and Zapotecs, it averages about 5 feet 3 inches. The other tribes of Central America and of central Mexico fall between these extremes. In northern Mexico the stature increases considerably, average measurements for the Yaqui being in

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Stratification of Remains.

Atzcapotzalco was once an important center of the Tepanecan tribe situated on the shores of lake Texcoco. It was an early rival of Tenochtitlan, the Aztecan capital, and was conquered and partly destroyed in 1439. The principal modern industry of Atzcapotzalco is brick-making, and several mounds and much of the surface of the plain have been removed for this purpose. In the mounds are found many pottery objects of the late Toltecan period, while on the surface of the ground are encountered fragm

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The Cemetery under the Lava.

An ancient cemetery lying under lava has recently been explored in Copilco, a suburb of Mexico City. The lava swept down from Mount Ajusco in some cataclysm perhaps 3000 years ago, covering many square miles of territory to the depth of thirty or forty feet, and burying such villages as chanced to lie in its path. (See Pl. VI b ). The discovery of human remains was made several hundred feet back from the original front of the lava flow in a quarry where lava rock was being removed to build roads

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Plate VI.

( a ) Cuicuilco. A view showing cobblestone facing of mound and lava in contact with apron or causeway. ( b ) Archaic Site under Lava Flow near Mexico City. A local museum has been established at this site in electric-lighted tunnels....

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Invention of Agriculture.

Before examining in greater detail the art of the Archaic Horizon let us consider its real significance. It is generally admitted that America was originally populated from Asia, but on a culture level no higher than the Neolithic. The simple arts of stone chipping, basketry, fire-making, etc., were probably brought over by the earliest immigrants, but there is abundant evidence that pottery-making, weaving, and agriculture were independently invented long after the original settlement. The cult

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Plate VII.

Large Archaic Figures found in Graves and offering Evidence of Ancient Customs and Arts and also showing a Quality of Caricature or possibly Portraiture. These are probably late products since they come from Tepic and Jalisco, where archaic art maintained itself long after its disappearance from central Mexico. Fig. 13. Archaic Figurines from Central Mexico. The first three specimens are from under the lava at Copilco. Fig. 14. Archaic Figurines—Zapotlan, Jalisco; Tampico, Vera Cruz; and Cuesta

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Ancient Customs.

We may gather much of an ethnological nature from the study of these quaint figures. Articles of dress and adornment are shown as well as musical instruments, weapons, etc. Headdresses may consist of fillets, turbans, and objects perched on one side of the head. Noserings and earrings are abundantly represented and in considerable variety. We may be sure that weaving was rather highly developed because many garments such as shirts, skirts, and aprons are painted or incised with geometric designs

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Archaic Pottery.

The ordinary pottery of the Archaic Period from Mexico and Central America is heavy and simple in shape. The globular bowl with a constricted neck is a common form as well as wide-mouthed bowls with or without tripod supports. Lugs and handles are very common. When plain, tripods are large, hollow and rounded, with a perforation on the under side, but they are often modified into faces and feet. Many vessels are decorated by the addition of modeled faces enabling us to make a direct connection w

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Plate VIII. Two Stages in the Stone Sculptures of Costa Rica. Note that in the first series (a) the human body is adapted to the surface of a boulder with the arms, legs, and face in low relief and with eyes, nose, and mouth all protruding, while in the second series (b) the limbs are rounded and partly freed from the body. Both are of archaic type but probably not of great age.

( a ) ( b ) In fact the decoration of pottery of this early period is predominantly in relief. Paint is sparingly used and then only in the simplest geometric fashion. There is a general lack of conventionalized motives presenting animals and other natural forms in highly modified ways. In later ages the painted decoration is much concerned with the serpent, but except for a few winding serpents in relief, this motive is not seen on the pottery of the Archaic Period. Fig. 19. Series showing the

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Stone Sculptures of the Archaic Period.

The earliest stone sculptures are recognized first by resemblance to the ceramic art just described and second by a quality which they possess of being archaic in an absolute sense. The greater difficulty of working stone as compared with clay and the longer time required in the process makes stone art less subject to caprice than ceramic art. Perhaps the most primitive examples of stone sculpture are boulders rudely carved in a semblance of the human form with features either sunken or in relie

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Plate IX.

( a ) Stone Sculptures of the Archaic Period. This resembles the pottery as regards style: the eyes protrude and the limbs are carved in low relief against the body. ( b ) Typical Site of the Archaic Period. The use of pyramids may have begun towards the end of this period. We know very little from actual excavations concerning houses of the Archaic Period. It is likely that they were small and impermanent, possibly resembling the modern huts. The pyramidal mound as a foundation for the temple m

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Extensions of the Archaic Horizon.

The curious objects of ceramic art that we have found deeply buried under the débris of higher civilizations in the Valley of Mexico can be traced far and wide. They are encountered, for the most part, in arid and open country, and since we have every reason to believe that the earliest agriculture was developed under irrigation, it is but natural to find the use of agriculture spreading first into other arid regions. And if there was an association between the fertility of Mother-Earth and litt

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Plate X. Widely Distributed Female Figurines:

( a ) Nicaragua. ( b ) Panama. ( c ) Venezuela. ( d ) Island of Marajo, Brazil. The ancient gold work of Costa Rica and Panama also reflects the technique of archaic art, although most of it, to judge by the religious significance of many of the subjects and designs, was made long after the Archaic Period. Just as the pottery figurines were built up by the addition of ribbons and buttons of clay to a generalized form so the patterns for gold castings were made by adding details in rolled wax or

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Summary.

In concluding this section let us sum up the general facts of ancient American history as these appear in relation to the archæological evidences of the Archaic Horizon. I. Pre-Archaic Horizon The peopling of the New World from Asia by tribes on the nomadic plane of culture. II. The Archaic Horizon Invention and primary dissemination of agriculture, together with pottery-making and loom-weaving. Homogeneous culture with undeveloped religion and unsymbolic art adjusted to arid tropics. III. Post-

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Plate XI.

Distribution of the Archaic Culture. The areas in solid black show the distribution of figurines of the archaic type; the areas in dots show the probable extension of pottery on the Archaic Horizon; the dotted lines give the ultimate extension of pottery....

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Plate XII.

Distribution of Agriculture in the New World. The dotted line gives the limits of pottery; solid black, agriculture in arid regions of considerable altitude, mostly with irrigation; dotted areas, agriculture under humid lowland conditions; lined area, agriculture under temperate conditions. We will now make an effort to analyze still further the historical levels in the Post-Archaic Horizon....

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Plate XIII.

A General View of the Ceremonial Center of Copan. After a model and drawing by Maudslay. The artificial acropolis with temples on pyramids and with sunken courts is in the foreground and beyond is seen the Great Plaza in which monuments are set up. The Copan River has cut into the side of the acropolis and made a natural cross-section. The wonderful culture of the Mayan Indians to which we will now turn our attention was developed in the humid lowlands of Central America and especially in the Yu

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Plate XIV. Photographs by Peabody Museum Expedition.

( a ) View of the Plaza at Copan from the Northwestern Corner. This view shows the monuments in position and the steps which may have served as seats. ( b ) View Across the Artificial Acropolis at Copan. A sunken court is shown and the bases of two temple structures of the Sixth Century. The principal crops of the Mayas were probably much the same as on the highlands, with maize as the great staple. Varieties favorable to a humid environment had doubtless been developed from the highland stock b

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Plate XV.

( a ) Model of the Temple of the Cross, Palenque, designed to show the Construction. The building has three entrances separated by piers. The middle partition is thickened to support the weight of the roof comb which is a trellis for stucco decoration. The sanctuary is a miniature temple in the inner chamber. The walls are built of slabs of limestone set in lime cement. ( b ) Detail of Frieze on the Temple of the Cross. The upper band is the sky with stars and planets. A reptilian monster occupi

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Fig. 20. Groundplans of Yaxchilan Temples:

( a ) Structure 42. ( b ) Structure 23....

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Architecture.

The idea of a civic center is admirably illustrated in Mayan cities, particularly those of the first brilliant period. The principal structures are built around courts or plazas and there is usually an artificial acropolis which is a great terraced mound serving as a common base or platform from which the individual pyramidal bases of several temples rise. At some sites this acropolis is a natural hill which has been trimmed down or added to, but at other sites it is entirely artificial. At Copa

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Plate XVI.

A Temple at Hochob showing Elaborate Façade Decorations in Stucco. Probably ninth century. The design over the door represents a grotesque front view face of which the eyes can still be plainly made out. At either side of the door the design represents a serpent head in profile. Photograph by Maler. The first variation from the temple with one rectangular room was the two-roomed structure with one chamber directly behind the other. In this case there were two vaulted compartments separated from

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Plate XVII.

A Sealed Portal Vault in the House of the Governor at Uxmal, a Building of the Second Empire, probably Thirteenth Century. The veneer character of the cut stone comes out clearly. Peabody Museum photograph. So far we have given brief space to the question of elevations. Taken vertically there are three parts to the Mayan building: first, the substructure or pyramidal base; second, the structure proper; third, the superstructure. In the case of temples the structure proper is one story in height.

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Massive Sculptural Art.

The decoration of Mayan buildings may be considered under three heads: first, interior decoration; second, façade decoration; third, supplementary monuments. In many temples at Yaxchilan, Tikal, etc., are found splendidly sculptured lintels of stone or wood. At Copan we see wall sculptures that adorn the entrance to the sanctuary and at Palenque finely sculptured tablets let into the rear wall of the sanctuary. Elsewhere are occasional examples of mural paintings, sculptured door jambs, decorate

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Plate XVIII.

( a ) Realistic Designs on Vases from Chamá, Guatemala, representing the Best Mayan Period in Pottery. ( b ) The Quetzal as represented on a Painted Cylindrical Vase from Copan. Bands of hieroglyphs are commonly found on Mayan Pottery. Fig. 23. Design on Engraved Pot representing a Tiger seated in a Wreath of Water Lilies. Northern Yucatan. Fig. 24. Painted Design on Cylindrical Bowl showing Serpent issuing from a Shell. Salvador....

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Minor Arts.

While the richly ornamented temples and the great monoliths attract first attention as works of art, the humbler products of the potter, the weaver, and the lapidary also attained to grace and dignity. The Mayas were expert potters and employed a variety of technical processes in the decoration of their wares, such as painting, modeling, engraving, and stamping. We can only take time to examine a few examples of the best works, leaving the commoner products practically undescribed. Suffice it to

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The Serpent in Mayan Art.

Mayan art is strange and unintelligible at first sight, but after careful study many wonderful qualities appear in it. In the knowledge of foreshortening and composition, the Mayas were superior to the Egyptians and Assyrians. They could draw the human body in pure profile and in free and graceful attitudes and they could compose several figures in a rectangular panel so that the result satisfies the eye of a modern artist. But, unfortunately for our fuller understanding, the human form had only

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The Human Figure.

The human beings pictured on Mayan monuments are captives, rulers, and priests or worshippers. The captives are poor groveling creatures, bound by rope, held by the hair or crushed under foot to fill a rectangular space over which the conqueror stands. The rulers and priests are hard to distinguish from each other, perhaps because the government was largely theocratic and the ruler was looked upon as the spokesman of divinity. The spear and shield of war served to mark off certain human beings f

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Design, Composition, and Perspective.

It is difficult to compare directly the graphic and plastic arts of different nations where the subject matter is diverse unless we compare them in accordance with absolute principles of design, composition, and perspective drawing. The Mayas produced one of the few really great and coherent expressions of beauty so far given to the world and their influence in America was historically as important as was that of the Greeks in Europe. Set as we are in the matrix of our own religious and artistic

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Plate XIX.

Stela 13, Piedras Negras. This shattered monument is one of the finest examples of Mayan sculpture, showing a fine sense of composition and a considerable knowledge of perspective. Dated March 27, 511 A. D. It is generally recognized that design to be successful must contain order of various sorts (in measurements, shapes, directions, tones, colors, etc.). In the simpler forms of decorative art the restrictions of technical process, as in basketry, may impose order, but in freehand sculpture it

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The Mayan Pantheon.

We have seen that during the earliest culture of Mexico and Central America there were no figurines of individualized gods, simply straightforward representations of human beings and animals. With the Mayan culture, however, we enter upon an epoch of rich religious symbolism. The serpent, highly conventionalized as we have just seen, and variously combined with elements taken from the quetzal, the jaguar, and even from man himself, appears as a general indication of divinity. The Ceremonial Bar,

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Plate XX.

( a ) Top of Stela 1 at Yaxchilan, dealing with the Heavens. The Sky God is seen in the center with the moon at the left and the sun at the right. Below these is the Two-Headed Dragon bearing planet signs and additional heads of the Sky God. ( b ) Analogous Detail of Stela 4, Yaxchilan. The moon is at the right and the sun at the left. The figure in the sun is male and that in the moon, female. The faces of the Sky God hang from the lower part of the Two-Headed Dragon, being attached to it by sy

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How Mayan History has been Recovered.

The arrangement of Mayan remains on a time scale is now an accomplished fact thanks to a correlation which permits us to read the dates on ancient monuments in terms of the Gregorian calendar and the Christian era. Early attempts to achieve this result met with widely varying results. Most of these attempts were made by developing a single line of evidence and some were based on assumptions that can now be disproved. But no single line of evidence should be deemed sufficient to decide this all i

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Sequences in Art.

The study of Mayan ceramics reveals developments as regard shapes, fabrics, and designs. Specimens recovered from sealed cysts under stelæ at Copan establish true associations with the higher forms of art and can be used far and wide in comparison with pottery finds in Salvador, Guatemala, etc. Vaillant has found stratigraphic sequences in a collection of funerary vessels obtained at Holmul, where graves occurred under the floors and within the filled-in chambers of a buried temple. As regards s

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Plate XXI. Development in Style of Carving at Copan.

Stela 9 (9.10.10.0.0, 383 A. D.). Stela 5 (9.13.15.0.0, 447 A. D.). Stela N (9.16.10.0.0, 502 A. D.). Stela H (9.17.12.0.0, 523 A. D.). Details of architecture showing analogous development. Fig. 37. Grotesque Face on the Back of Stela B, Copan. In making comparisons in art it is always necessary to consider similar things. At many other Mayan cities than the two named above it is possible to obtain satisfactory evidence of sequence in art forms by cutting out similar details from different mass

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Books of Chilam Balam.

We now turn to a very different kind of history, the digests of ancient chronicles in the Mayan language but in Spanish script which managed to survive in the so-called Books of Chilam Balam along with other texts, ceremonial and medical. There are five chronicles, the two longest covering 68 katuns before the coming of the Spaniards in 1517. We now know that these katuns were time units consisting of 7200 days, or nearly 20 years, and that they were designated by their final day which was alway

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The Mayan Time Counts.

The passage of time, seen in finer and finer degree in the course of human life, the succession of summer and winter, the waxing and waning moons, the alternation of day and night, the upward and downward sloping of the sun, and the swinging dial of the stars, are phenomena that no human group has failed to notice. Longer periods than those included within the memory of the oldest men (presenting an imperfect reflection of the memory of men still older) are found only in those favored centers wh

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Elements of the Day Count.

There is reason to believe that the Mayas had first a lunar-solar calendar of twelve months of thirty days each, making a year of 360 days, and that they reduced the number of days in the formal month to 20 and raised the number of months in the year from 12 to 18. These changes permitted a close adjustment of the units of time with their vigesimal system of counting. With a truer knowledge of the length of the year an extra five day month was added to make a year of 365 days. Beyond this the “l

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The Conventional Year.

It has been stated that the Mayas arrived at a conventional 365 day year made up of eighteen months of twenty days each plus a short period of five days that fell after the eighteen regular months had been counted. The Mayan month names are as follows:— Fig. 41. The Nineteen Month Signs of the Mayan Year. The first example in each case is taken from the inscriptions and the second from the codices. The last details are signs for zero. Since there are twenty days or positions in the month and lik

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Plate XXII.

Scheme of the Mayan Calendar as presented in the Codex Tro-Cortesianus. In the center is Itzamna, the God of the Sky, and his spouse, under what has been called the celestial tree. The band of hieroglyphs that frames in this picture contains the twenty day signs of the Mayan month. The figures on the outside are arranged in four groups, according to the four directions of the compass. At the top or east we again see Itzamna and his mate. In the north, or right hand quarter, human sacrifice is sh

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The Calendar Round.

But this assignment of particular day names to particular places in the month does not close the problem. Each day name is associated in the tzolkin , or permutation, with a day number. While it is true that each day can occupy only four month positions in as many years, it must be remembered that the day numbers associated with these names can run the whole gamut of 13 changes. Thus, although Ik must always occupy the fifth position in the months during a certain year, nevertheless it will have

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Mayan Numbers.

The three most common numerical systems in use in the world are all derived from man’s anatomy. The quinary system is based on counting the fingers of one hand, the decimal system on counting those of both hands and the vigesimal system, which prevailed in Central America, is based on counting all the fingers and all the toes. The vigesimal system is seen in imperfect form in our count of scores, where seventy years are three score and ten. The Mayan name for one was hun : they had simple names

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Plate XXIII.

Typical Mayan Inscription....

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The Long Count.

Many early monuments of the Mayas have inscriptions with an enlarged Introducing Glyph containing a variable element indicating the title or principal subject matter of the inscription. Next follows the number of elapsed days from the epoch of a Mundane Era. This starting point is uniformly the day 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu and the complete Initial Series date not only states the number of elapsed days, but also the name and number of the day reached and its position in a Mayan month. The Initial Series is

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Dates of Dedication.

Initial Series dates are especially common on stelæ at cities of the First Empire, mostly located in the southern part of the Mayan Area. While it is impossible to read much of the texts which accompany these dates nevertheless it is a remarkable fact that when we arrange the monuments in their artistic order we find that the inscribed dates in the great majority of cases fall in the same order. This leads us to conclude that the dates are practically contemporaneous with the carving and setting

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Hieroglyphs.

Mayan hieroglyphs resemble the Egyptian and Chinese hieroglyphs only in being “sacred writing” that is not based upon an alphabet. The styles and symbols are entirely different. No Rosetta Stone has yet been discovered to give us inscriptions in more than one system of writing in Central America. The great use of hieroglyphic inscriptions on monuments was characteristic of the earlier period of Mayan history and at a later time the writing was reduced to books. Bishop Landa obtained what he supp

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Codices.

Only three ancient Mayan books or codices are known to exist and these are more or less incomplete. They have all been reproduced in facsimile and are known by the following names: Dresden Codex, Peresianus Codex, Tro-Cortesianus Codex. These illuminated manuscripts are written on both sides of long strips of amatl paper, folded like Japanese screens. The paper was given a smooth surface by a coating of fine lime and the drawings were made in black and in various colors. From the early accounts

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Plate XXIV.

Page 24 Dresden Codex. Diagram showing partial reduction of Mayan numbers into Arabic numbers in the calculation shown on page 24 of the Dresden Codex ( Plate XXIV ). Diagram showing complete reduction into Arabic numbers of the calculation shown on page 24 of the Dresden Codex ( Plate XXIV ). From section 3, the calculation jumps to section 1 where the numbers in the original are partly destroyed. They have, however, been restored with perfect assurance since the days in all instances are 1 Aha

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Plate XXV.

( a ) Detail of the Dresden Codex showing Tzolkin used in Divination. ( b ) Analysis of the above Tzolkin , according to Förstemann. The three pictures of gods give us an inkling into the significance of this particular table of chances. All of the gods carry the kan or maize sign in their hands. The first god is the benevolent rain god and the third is the benevolent sun god. Between them is seated the malevolent goddess of floods with a serpent on her head. The maize god is not shown but his h

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Correlation with Christian Chronology.

The day for day correlation rests broadly on the placing of the date on the Lintel of the Initial Series at Chichen Itza in the first occupation of that city according to the chronicles. More specifically it rests upon statements in Mayan and Spanish documents relating to the completion of tuns and katuns in the never-languishing day count. Also consideration must be given the so-called Year-Bearers, these being the first days of current years which furnish the designations for such years. Bisho

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The Mayan Eras.

The zero of the Mayan day count, reached by subtracting 12.9.17.9.4 or 1,799,104 days from the position declared above, is shown to be October 14, 3373 B. C. in the backward projection of the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian readings are preferable to the Julian because they preserve the actual times in the tropical year, but it is sometimes useful to use the days of the Julian Period which can always be found by adding 489384 to the Mayan number. Now Mayan history does not reach back to the ze

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Astronomical Checks on the Correlation.

The first astronomical checks which develop from the correlation explained above are dates which reach the equinoxes, solstices, etc., further marked by special hieroglyphs which are to be explained as ideographs of these stations in the natural year. For instance the most emphatic date in the three famous temples of the Sun, the Cross, and the Foliated Cross at Palenque is one written 9.12.18.5.16, 2 Cib 14 Mol, September 23, 430 A. D., which coincides with the autumnal equinox. In connection w

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Astronomical Observatories.

One of the most interesting pieces of evidence in support of the correlation explained above has to do with a giant sun dial at Copan. Two stelæ stand on opposite sides of the valley establishing a line which runs about 9 degrees north of west. When observation is made from the eastern marker the sun sets behind the western stone two times during the course of a year, once shortly after the vernal equinox and once shortly before the autumnal equinox. Now the Mayan chronicles state that the calen

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The True Year.

The base line at Copan yielded accurate data on the exact length of the tropical year, a period varying by a difficult fraction from 365 full days. The tropical year is the time measured by the revolution of the earth around the sun and by the recurring seasons. No agricultural people could neglect this natural time period with its obvious relation to planting and harvest. Reference has already been made to the notational 360 day year (tun) of the Mayas and to their formal calendar year (haab) o

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The Lunar Calendar.

The apparent revolution of the moon around the earth was taken by the Mayas as the basis of a lunar calendar distinct from the civil calendar, but used in combination with it for various ceremonial purposes. Now the average duration of a lunar revolution is 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, 2.87 seconds. Twelve lunations amount to a little more than 354 days and are therefore far short of a true year. Primitive peoples whose principal interest is to keep the moon in adjustment with the seasons have

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Venus Calendar.

Mayan astronomers reached a remarkable knowledge of the movements of the planet Venus and evolved a Venus calendar based essentially on the correspondence between 8 calendar years of 365 days each and 5 apparent or synodical revolutions of Venus of 584 days each. Venus whirling on an inside orbit actually makes thirteen revolutions around the sun in very nearly the same time that the earth makes eight revolutions and therefore passes between the earth and the sun five times (the difference betwe

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Summary of Mayan History.

A brief summary of Mayan history is given below:—...

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Protohistoric Period

613 B. C. to 176 A. D. 7.0.0.0.0 to 9.0.0.0.0 The counting of days apparently began on August 6, 613 B. C. and the civil calendar in perfected form was inaugurated about 580 B. C. when 0 Pop coincided with the winter solstice, while the Venus calendar emerged half a century later. The calendarial inventions, the numerical notation and the hieroglyphic system may, perhaps, be credited to the genius of one man afterwards deified as Itzamna. The earliest contemporary Mayan date occurs on a jade sta

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Early Period

176 A. D. to 373 A. D. 9.0.0.0.0 to 9.10.0.0.0 During these ten katuns the great cities of the south make rapid strides towards grandeur. Pyramidal mounds are erected and temples built upon them. Public squares are laid out and in these are set up stelæ and altars. The leading early cities are Palenque, Tikal, and Copan, where the dated monuments and temples mark rapid progress in the arts of sculpture and architecture while the subject matter of inscriptions reveals growing ability in astronomy

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Middle Period

373 A. D. to 471 A. D. 9.10.0.0.0 to 9.15.0.0.0 Some of the most beautiful monuments of the Mayas belong to this middle period. While archaism does not entirely disappear there is freshness, purity of style, and straightforwardness of presentation about the sculpture of this age. Flamboyancy is not apparent. At Copan the Great Mound was practically carried to completion during this period, an enormous undertaking which absorbed so much energy that few stelæ were set up. The best series of monume

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Great Period

471 A. D. to 629 A. D. 9.15.0.0.0 to 10.3.0.0.0 Many cities flourished in the culminating years of Mayan civilization. In addition to those already mentioned Quirigua, Ixkun, Seibal, Nakum, Cancuen, Yaxchilan, Toniná, and Kobá were important centers while a complete list of the sites with dated monuments would show many more names. The territorial extension reaches from northern Yucatan to the Guatemalan highlands and from southern Vera Cruz to central Honduras. Art passes through interesting ch

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Transition Period

629 A. D. to 964 A. D. 10.3.0.0.0 to 11.0.0.0.0 Most of the Mayas surviving the collapse of the First Empire seem to have found a second home in western Yucatan, especially in the region called Chakunputun in the Chronicles. Here the rainfall is much less and the forest environment not nearly so luxuriant. Certain cities, which probably date from this transitional period, such as Hochob, Dzibilnocac, Rio Bec, etc., have very beautiful architecture showing advances over that of the First Empire i

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Period of the League of Mayapan

964 A. D. to 1191 A. D. 11.0.0.0.0 to 11.11.10.0.0 The first phase of the Mayan renaissance was pretty clearly centered in Chichen Itza although the earliest date which may be contemporary is probably that of the Temple of the Initial Series at Holactun. The inscription shows a survival of the ancient method of counting time and is now believed to treat of the interval between March 9, 1012 A. D. and November 14, 1016 A. D. Other cities rising to splendor during the Second Empire are Kabah, Labn

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Period of Mexican Influence

1191 A. D. to 1437 A. D. 11.11.10.0.0 to 12.4.0.0.0 The helpers of Hunac Ceel bore Mexican names and belonged to the Toltec nation. Hunac Ceel is identified in one place with Kukulcan, the name meaning “plumed serpent” in the Mayan language, and in another place with Quetzalcoatl which has the same significance in the Mexican language. In Chichen Itza sculptural art and architecture have many clear analogies to works in the Valley of Mexico. The building called the Castillo seems to have been bu

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Modern Period

1437 A. D. to the present day. After the second general abandonment of urban life the Mayas seem to have been divided into many warring factions. Temples were still regarded as sacred and some constructions in stone and mortar were still made, as we know from the first Spanish descriptions of towns on the east coast of Yucatan. Tulum probably represented this last phase and this site on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean is probably the city compared to Seville by the coasting expedition of Grija

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Plate XXVI.

General View of Monte Alban from the North. The mounds are arranged around courts in an orderly manner. The influence of the Mayan civilization when at its height (400 to 600 A. D.) may be traced far beyond the limits of the Mayan area. Ideas in art, religion, and government that were then spread broadcast served to quicken nations of diverse speech and a series of divergent cultures resulted. Most of these lesser civilizations were at their best long after the great Mayan civilization had decli

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The Olmeca or Rubber People.

The Olmeca may be placed in the humid region of southern Vera Cruz and western Tabasco which the Aztecs of later times called Nonoalco. This region is frequently mentioned in the most ancient of the Mexican traditions, doubtless symbolizing in a general way the civilizing contacts with the Mayas. Rubber is called olli in the Mexican language and while the earliest known specimens of rubber are those found in the Sacred Cenote at Chichen Itza, the ceremonial and practical uses of the material are

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Plate XXVII.

Detail of Monte Alban showing Wall Foundations and Small Cell-like Rooms....

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Zapotecan Culture.

In the State of Oaxaca the Zapotecan Indians attained to a high degree of civilization, but a study of their culture shows they were profoundly indebted to the Mayas for many ideas. Monte Alban, the White Mountain, overlooking the modern City of Oaxaca is the principal archæological site in point of size and may have been the ancient capital. It was abandoned before the coming of the Spaniards, however, and Mitla appears to have taken its place. Fig. 52. Comparison of Mayan and Zapotecan Serpent

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Plate XXVIII. Zapotecan Art:

Incense Burners. Funerary Vases of Portrait Type. Cruciform Tomb with Geometric Decoration. At Monte Alban there are one or two narrow vaulted chambers in mounds, but on the tops of the mounds the few excavations have disclosed only simple cell-like rooms which probably had flat roofs. Some hints of ancient architectural decoration can be picked up here and there. Figures similar to those modeled in bold relief on the fronts of the cylindrical funeral urns (see frontispiece ) seem to have been u

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Plate XXIX.

( a ) Stone Sculpture of the Early Zapotecan Period showing Rulers seated upon Thrones before an Altar. ( b ) Jade Tablets pierced for Suspension, found in Zapotecan Tomb. The 260 day cycle of the time count, was subdivided into four periods of 65 days and each period was under control of a single god and was associated with one of the cardinal points. Each period of sixty-five days was further divided into five groups of thirteen days for a ceremonial reason. Some authorities have considered th

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Mitla.

The famous temples of Mitla are the best-preserved examples of architecture on the highlands of Mexico and are peculiar in form and decoration. The word Mitla is a corruption of the Aztecan word Mictlan , place of the dead. This site was the burial ground of Zapotecan kings and may have been a place of pilgrimage. It was conquered by the Aztecs in the last decade of the fifteenth century. While the architecture belongs in a class by itself the frescoes have the distinct character of the Aztecan

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Totonacan Culture.

In the central part of the state of Vera Cruz are found the remains commonly referred to the Totonacan Indians. These Indians are southern neighbors of the Huastecas who are an outlying Mayan tribe. The Totonacan language is according to some authorities thrown into the Mayan stock. If not truly Mayan it contains many loan words. This apparent connection in language is all the more interesting in view of the character of Totonacan art which also shows a strong strain of Mayan feeling and techniq

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Plate XXX.

Laughing Head of the Totonacs, remarkable example of Freehand Modeling in Clay. Heads of this type probably served as decorative details on temple fronts. The smiling or laughing faces have a much higher technique and are perhaps the finest examples of clay modeling from the New World. These heads have tubular extensions at the back and were possibly set into temple walls. The faces and foreheads are broadened in accordance with the esthetic type of a forehead flattening people. While the faces

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Plate XXXI.

( a ) An Elaborately Carved Stone Collar, an Example of the Best Sculpture of the Totonacan Indians. ( b ) A Palmate Stone from the State of Vera Cruz. Two grotesque figures are holding snakes in their mouths. The designs on the sacrificial yokes and paddle stones are largely reptilian, but there are examples where the turkey, the coyote, as well as the human motive are treated somewhat after the manner of the Mayas. Plumed serpents, monkeys, centipedes, and crocodiles are interestingly drawn on

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The Toltecs.

Mexican history is greatly concerned with the Toltecs, the name meaning People of Tula, or Tollan, “place of the reeds.” Evidence is accumulating that this Tula was not the comparatively insignificant ruin on the northern edge of the Valley of Mexico, but instead was the great city of San Juan Teotihuacan. The lesser Tula may have been founded about 1200 A. D., just before the collapse of Toltec power. Archæology tells a more detailed and convincing story of the Toltecs than does recorded histor

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Quetzalcoatl and the Toltec Era.

The chronology of the Toltecs and their successors is greatly dilated in several historical compilations made after the Spanish conquest by intelligent natives who interpreted fragments of ancient pictographic year counts then surviving in Mexico. Thanks to a modern survey of materials much more extensive than those which Chimalpahin, Ixtlilxochitl, etc., had at their disposal, we are now able to avoid the errors of these writers. In the original pre-Spanish chronicles important events are recor

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Plate XXXII.

The Temple at Xochicalco before Restoration. The lower part of the picture shows the sculptured base of the temple pyramid. The walls of the temple itself are seen above....

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San Juan Teotihuacan.

This name Teotihuacan means Where the Gods (i.e., the deified dead) Dwell. This enormous ruin is located on the eastern margin of the Valley of Mexico. The principal features of Teotihuacan are two great pyramids and a straight roadway lined with small pyramids. There are also several groups of buildings of which the lower walls and the bases of the piers are still to be seen as well as some interesting fragments of fresco painting. The smaller of the two great pyramids is called the Pyramid of

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Plate XXXIII. Two Views of the Principal Pyramid in the Citadel at Teotihuacan.

( a ) General view of the original mass of the pyramid at the back with the reconstructed addition in front. ( b ) View of stairway and various walls covered up and preserved by the addition. In 1921 the Mexican Government undertook a restoration of the Citadel, following the discovery of remarkable sculptures on the principal pyramid. It appears that in ancient times this pyramid was enlarged by an addition to one side and the richly ornamented terraces and stairway buried ( Plate XXXIII ). The

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Xochicalco.

Let us now pass over in brief review several ruins which belong to the Toltecan period. Xochicalco, the House of the Flowers, is a large ruin near Cuernavaca. The position seems to have been chosen primarily for defense. The rounded ridge that drops off into deep valleys on either side is laid out in courts, terraces, and pyramids. Only one building offers evidence of the sculptural skill of the ancient habitants. It is a temple, standing upon a rather low platform mound. The sides of the platfo

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Tula.

Building stone of good quality was available at this site and in consequence sculptures are plentiful. Particularly famous are the great sculptured columns which represent feathered serpents and gigantic human figures. The drums are mostly mortised and the columns are crowned by true capitals. These architectural features at Tula find their closest counterpart at the Mayan city of Chichen Itza in northern Yucatan. The tlachtli or ball court occurs at Tula and the groundplans of complicated “pala

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Cholula.

The sacred city of Cholula, in the environs at Puebla, is chiefly famous for its great pyramid. This structure is more or less irregular in shape but the base averages more than a thousand feet on the side and the total height, now somewhat reduced, was probably close to two hundred feet above the plain. Compared with the Pyramid of Cheops, it covers nearly twice as much ground and has a much greater volume, but lacks of course, in height. As already noted, the pyramids of the New World are simp

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Plate XXXIV.

( a ) Partial View of the Great Pyramid at Cholula which rises from the Level Plain in Three Broad Terraces. A Spanish church has been built upon the top of this pyramid and a roadway leads up the badly eroded mound. ( b ) A View at La Quemada. Cylindrical columns built up of slabs of stone supported the roofs of some of the structures. The use of columns was characteristic of late Toltecan times. Unlike the other Toltecan cities Cholula was still inhabited and a place of religions importance wh

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The Frontier Cities of the Northwest.

An important culture area is located upon the northwestern limits of the area of high culture in ancient Mexico. The best known and most accessible ruin is La Quemada, “The Burned” which is situated a day’s ride from the city of Zacatecas. This site was found in a deserted and ruinous condition by the Spaniards in 1535 and there is little doubt that it had been abandoned several centuries previous. La Quemada has been popularly associated with Chicomoztoc, “The Seven Caves,” a place famous in Az

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Plate XXXV.

Stone Slab from an Ancient Sepulcher in the State of Guerrero. The face at the top apparently represents a monkey, but serpents have been introduced between the eyes and the eyebrows. The other highly conventionalized faces are probably those of serpents. Fig. 61. Jaguar Head on Disk-Shaped Stone. Salvador. It is difficult to place time limits for the artistic styles that once existed in this northwestern region. The archaic culture seems to have lasted longer here than farther south; next follo

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Santa Lucia Cozumalhualpa.

The zonal distribution of rain forests in southern Mexico and Central America is especially important, as has been pointed out, in connection with the spread of Mayan-type civilizations. The Olmeca and Totonacs who were among the first to feel the cultural effects of the Mayan ascendency occupied lands of heavy precipitation. The Zapotecan and Mixtecan areas were partly wet and partly dry. The Toltecs seem originally to have been desert dwellers but they extended their conquests over tribes livi

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The Chorotegan Culture.

Passing south and east from the Mayan area we find remains of a rich and in many ways peculiar art, consisting mostly of pottery and stone carvings, to which the name Chorotegan is applied. This name means Driven-out People. It was first used in connection with several tribes of the Chiapanec-Otomi stock dispossessed of a fertile area about Lake Nicaragua by the intrusive Mexican-speaking Nicarao. The Chorotega were not, however, totally dispossessed since they continued to hold the Peninsula of

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Plate XXXVI.

( a ) Finely Carved Ceremonial Slab found at Mercedes, Costa Rica. The three large figures on the end as well as the smaller ones on the bottom represent crocodiles. Keith Collection. ( b ) Stone Figure from Costa Rica. This sculpture in lava rock is one of the finest pieces ever discovered in this region. The lines on the body probably represent tattoo marks. ( c ) Ceremonial Slab decorated with Monkeys. Mercedes, Costa Rica. These ceremonial slabs may be developments of metates or corn grinder

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Isthmian Gold Work.

Metal-working was unknown to the Mayas of the First Empire, but is abundantly illustrated in cities of the Second Empire, especially Chichen Itza where the pieces are predominantly of Costa Rican and Colombian manufacture evidently secured in trade. We are therefore justified in concluding that the splendid Isthmian gold work came into being after 630 A. D. and was typically developed by 1200 A. D. The “wire technique,” essentially a cast rather than a soldered filigree, characterized metal work

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Plate XXXVII.

( a ) The Gold Work of the Ancient Mexicans excited the Wonder of the Spanish Conquerors. Comparatively few examples, however, have come down to us. ( b ) Many Ornaments of Gold are found in the Graves of Costa Rica and Panama. The Keith Collection contains a very fine series of these pieces illustrating all the forms as well as the technical processes. Fig. 69. Conventional Crocodiles from Costa Rica and Panama. The gold objects are found in stone box graves along with pottery and stone carving

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Plate XXXVIII.

A Page from the Tribute Roll of Moctezuma, showing the Annual Tribute of the Eleven Towns pictured at the Bottom and Right. The tribute consisted of: ( a ) Two strings of jade beads; ( b ) Twenty gourd dishes of gold dust; ( c ) A royal headdress; ( d ) Eight hundred bunches of feathers; ( e ) Forty bags of cochineal dye; ( f-g ) Warrior’s costumes; ( h ) Four hundred and two blankets of this pattern; ( i ) Four hundred blankets; ( j ) Four hundred and four blankets; ( k ) Four hundred blankets.

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Mayas and Aztecs compared to Greeks and Romans.

A remarkably close analogy may be drawn between the Mayas and Aztecs in the New World and the Greeks and Romans in the Old, as regards character, achievements, and relations one to the other. The Mayas, like the Greeks, were an artistic and intellectual people who developed sculpture, painting, architecture, astronomy and other arts and sciences to a high plane. Politically, both were divided into communities or states that bickered and quarreled. There were temporary leagues between certain cit

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Plate XXXIX.

Page from the Codex Telleriano-Remensis showing a Native Manuscript with Explication by the Spaniards. The death of Chimalpopoca and the election of his successor, Itzcouatl, is recorded, as well as the capture of Atzcapotzalco. The Aztecs, like the Romans, were a brusque and warlike people who built upon the ruins of an earlier civilization that fell before the force of their arms and who made their most, notable contributions to organization and government. The Toltecs stand just beyond the fo

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The Chichimecas.

The term Chichimecas was applied by the more civilized tribes of the Mexican highlands to those nomads outside the pale who dressed in skins and hunted with the bow and arrow. Some of these wandering groups spoke Nahuan dialects, but the term was also applied to the Otomis who spoke a distinct language. Possibly through having been reduced in war certain of these wandering groups were drawn into civilization and when the Toltecan cities began to decline, they advanced to considerable power and p

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Aztecan History.

The history of the Aztecs has a mythological preamble in common with other nations of Mexico. The Chicomoztoc or Seven Caves must not be considered historical but simply man’s place of emergence from the underworld. The general conception of an existence within the earth that preceded the existence upon the earth is found very widely among North American Indians. It is likewise impossible to locate the Island of Aztlan, that served, according to several codices, as the starting place of the Mexi

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Plate XL.

Serpent Head at Bottom of Balustrade, Great Pyramid, Mexico City. The same excavations showed that the Great Pyramid was enlarged several times and this sculpture seems to have been buried under the walls long before the coming of the Spaniards. Compare Serpent Balustrade at Chichen Itza. The wandering tribes, among which may be mentioned the Chalca, Xochimilca, Tlahuica, Huexotzinca, Tepaneca, and Azteca, pushed their way into the region of the lakes and were allowed to live in less desirable l

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Social Organization.

Spanish historians often liken Tenochtitlan to the seat of an empire and speak of the ruler as one who had the power of an absolute monarch while other and more recent writers have declared that the tribal organization of the Aztecs was essentially democratic. The truth doubtless lies between these extremes. The people were warlike by nature and all men, except a few of the priesthood, were soldiers. Honors depended largely upon success in war and warriors were arranged in ranks according to the

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Plate XLI.

Sahagun’s Plan of the Tecpan in Mexico City. After Seler. Among the details shown are: ( a ) The two great temples; ( b ) The Quauhxicalli or eagle bowl; ( c ) One of the Callimecatl , or priest houses; ( e ) An eagle house or warriors’ shrine; ( f ) The Teotlachtli or ball court of the gods; ( g ) Tzompantli or skull rack; ( h ) The temple of Xipi; ( i ) The Temalacatl or Gladiator Stone; ( k ) The Colhuacan Teocalli or temple of Colhuacan; ( l-m ) The gods 5 Lizard and 5 House respectively; (

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Plate XLII.

The Calendar Stone of the Aztecs. This great stone represents the disk of the sun and the history of the world. It may be analyzed as follows, reading outward from the center. Central or cosmogonic portion: The day sign 4 Olin with details in the arms representing four epochs of the world; with the face of the sun god in the center and minor hieroglyphs that may represent the four directions just outside the Olin symbol. Band of day signs beginning at the top and reading towards the left. Bands

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Plate XLIII.

The Shield Stone at Cuernavaca. This Aztecan sculpture carved upon a boulder in the City of Cuernavaca shows a shield, a bundle of war arrows, and a war banner. The sculpture records the conquest of Cuernavaca or more properly Quauhnahuac, capital of the Tlahuican nation....

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The Calendar Stone.

The great sculptured monument known as the Calendar Stone or Stone of the Sun, is the most valuable object that has come down intact from the time of the Aztecs. It is a single piece of porphyry, irregular except for the sculptured face. It now weighs over twenty tons and it is estimated that the original weight was over twice as much. The sculptured disk is about twelve feet in diameter. This great stone was transported by men over many miles of marshy lake bottom before it could be placed in p

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Stone of Tizoc.

The Sacrificial Stone or Stone of Tizoc is believed to have been carved by order of Tizoc, the war chief who ruled from 1482-1486, as a memorial offering to Mexican arms on the completion of the great temple to the Mexican God of War. The stone was a quauhxicalli , or “eagle bowl.” This name was given to large bowls which were used to hold the blood and the heart of human victims sacrificed to the gods. The same name was extended to the large drum-shaped stone, under consideration, which has a p

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Plate XLIV.

The newly discovered “National Stone” of Mexico. The front view shows the Calendar Stone in position and the year signs 1 Rabbit and 2 Reed (1506 and 1507 A. D.). The sculpture on the back is an eagle on a cactus, recording the foundation of Mexico City (Tenochtitlan). On all the other surfaces priests and religious symbols are drawn. On the top of the Stone of Tizoc is a representation of Tonatiuh, or the sun’s disk, much less complex than that which we have seen on the Calendar Stone but with

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Plate XLV.

Monstrous Sculpture representing Coatlicue, the Serpent-Skirted Goddess, who was regarded as the Mother of the Gods. The famous statue of the Earth Goddess, Coatlicue, “the goddess with the serpent skirt,” is one of the most striking examples of barbaric imagination. The name Teoyamiqui is often given to this uncouth figure, but the identification is faulty. Like the other great sculptures we have just examined, it doubtless occupied an important place in the great ceremonial center of Tenochtit

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Mexican Writing.

The means of record employed in Mexican codices are in part pictographic and in part hieroglyphic. The sequence of the historical events in these native manuscripts is often indicated by a line of footprints leading from one place or scene of action to another. Historical records of this type resemble old-fashioned maps and some are actually called maps. The names of towns in these documents are represented by true hieroglyphs and often the character of the country is indicated by pictures of ty

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Plate XLVI.

Page from the Tonalamatl Section of the Codex Borbonicus. The thirteen days run along the bottom of the page and up the right side of the large division. The period covered is one-twentieth of the Tonalamatl of 260 days. At the left of each day is seen one of the nine Lords of the Night, so-called, in orderly succession. In the divisions above or to the left of the days are the thirteen gods of the Hours of the Day in connection with the Thirteen Birds. The patron goddess of this division of the

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Aztecan Religion.

The religion of the Aztecs, like that of the Mayas, was a polytheism in which special divinities controlled the powers of nature and the activities of men. The gods were perhaps further advanced towards human form and attributes than were those of the earlier culture to the south, but definite characterization was still accomplished by grotesque features and certain animal connections were still evident. The matter is confused beyond the point of analysis. The mythologies often ascribe different

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Plate XLVII.

( a ) Pictures of Tlaloc, the God of Rain, and of Ehecatl, the God of Winds, in the Codex Magliabecchiano. ( b ) Mexican Genealogical Table on Bark Paper. The names of most of the individuals are given by hieroglyphs attached to the head or the seat. Original in the American Museum. The conception of a supreme deity is seen in Ometeuctli , the Lord of Duality, a vague god-head and creator who is sometimes addressed in some of the religious poems as the “Cause of All.” In the background of the po

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Conceptions of the Universe.

Cosmogonic myths, the world over, are unscientific attempts to explain the creation of the universe, to outline the powers of the gods and to trace the development of nature. The cosmogonic myths of Mexico and Central America are characterized by multiple creations. The Aztecan belief in five suns each standing for a world epoch is paralleled in fragments of Mayan mythology. Creation is not emphasized so much as destruction. The sequence of the suns is figured on the Calendar Stone, and in one o

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Ceremonies.

Ceremonialism was intensely developed in Mexico and the dramatic quality of many Aztecan rites of human sacrifice has probably never been equaled. We are apt to think only of the gruesome features of human sacrifice and to overlook the spiritual ones. The victim was often regarded as a personification of a god and as such he was fêted, clothed in fine garments, and given every honor. Efforts were made to cause the victim to go willingly to his death uplifted by a truly religious ecstasy. It was

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Poetry and Music.

The languages of Central America were capable of considerable literary development. This is seen especially in the songs that were used in different religious ceremonies of the Aztecs, as well as in the reflective poems written by educated natives. Several very fine pieces have been preserved, and while there is no rhyme, there is much rhythm. When recited by a person speaking fluently the native tongue these poems are very impressive. Of course, translation is always hazardous, and fundamental

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Minor Aztecan Arts.

Some of the great sculptures of Tenochtitlan have already been described and references have been made to the native books painted in brilliant colors on paper and deerskin. Objects of minor art comprise pottery vessels, ornaments of gold, silver, copper, jade, and other precious materials, textiles, pieces of feather work, etc. The best known ceramic products are made of orange colored clay and carry designs in black that sometimes are realistic, but more often not. The tripod dishes with the b

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The Tarascans.

The Aztecs while by far the most important tribe in the fifteenth century did not dominate all the surrounding peoples. For instance, most of the State of Michoacan was controlled by the Tarascan tribe who defeated every expedition sent against them. The list of Tarascan towns is a long one but Tzintzuntzan which means the “Place of the Humming Birds” was the capital and principal stronghold. The ancient history of the Tarascans is little known. Large and striking specimens of archaic art were f

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Southern Mexico.

Somewhere about the middle of the fifteenth century Moctezuma I planted an Aztecan colony at Uaxyacac on the edge of the Zapotecan territory to protect the trade route to Tabasco. This name gave rise to the modern Oaxaca. From this point expeditions were sent out which harrassed the Zapotecs to the south and the Mixtecs to the west. In the Tribute Roll of Moctezuma II more than twenty Zapotecan towns are listed as paying tribute that consisted of gold disks and gold dust, jadeite beads, quetzal

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Aztecan Influence in Central America.

The influence from the late Mexican cultures can be traced far to the south. Decorative motives that show affiliations to those of the Aztecs and their immediate predecessors are found as far south as Costa Rica but the strain is thin and not to be compared with the evidences of culture connection over wide territories that are found on earlier horizons. There was clearly a brisk trade in gold in Aztecan times between the Isthmus of Panama and Mexico. After the breakdown of the civilization of t

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A Cross-Section of New World History

This survey of ancient history in Mexico and Central America discloses a condition which doubtless holds true of the archæological record in other parts of the world. The earliest sedentary culture was by far the most homogeneous and widespread. This means it modified slowly and lasted for ages. At the same time, owing to the connection of the archaic complex with agriculture, the initial spread may have been rapid. The plants domesticated by the American Indians were developed far beyond the wi

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Diagram of American Chronology

... showing regions and eras....

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

A brief list of books on Mexico and Central America is appended. These books may be consulted in the Museum Library as well as others referred to in the more complete bibliographies that will be found in the works cited. Bancroft, H. H. The Native Races of the Pacific States. 5 vols. New York and London, 1875-1876. Bandelier, Adolph F. On the Distribution and Tenure of Lands and the Customs with Respect to Inheritance, among the Ancient Mexicans. (Eleventh Annual Report, Peabody Museum of Americ

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HANDBOOKS

North American Indians of the Plains. By Clark Wissler. Third Edition , 172 pages, maps and illustrations. Cloth, $1.00. Indians of the Southwest. By Pliny Earle Goddard. Fourth Edition , 205 pages, maps and illustrations. Cloth, $1.00. Ancient Civilizations of Mexico and Central America. By Herbert J. Spinden. Third Edition , 270 pages, map and illustrations. Cloth, $1.00. Indians of the Northwest Coast. By Pliny Earle Goddard. Second Edition , 176 pages, map and illustrations. Peoples of the P

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GUIDE LEAFLETS

The Indians of Manhattan Island and Vicinity. By Alanson Skinner. Fourth Edition , 63 pages, and illustrations. Paper, 20 cents. Peruvian Art. A Help for Students of Design. By Charles W. Mead. Fifth Edition , 24 pages, and illustrations. Paper, 10 cents. Indian Beadwork. By Clark Wissler. Second Edition , 31 pages, and illustrations. Paper, 20 cents. Basketry Designs of the Mission Indians. By A. L. Kroeber. Second Edition , 20 pages, and illustrations. Paper, 15 cents. Indian Costumes in the U

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