INDIRECT EXTERNAL EVIDENCES--AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES--Continued.
The Book of Mormon, as already stated, requires the evidence of the
existence of a very ancient civilization in the north continent of
America, with its central and most enduring monuments in our Central
American states. Also the evidences of a later civilization somewhat
overlaying and intermixed with the former; the monuments of these
two civilizations, however, may be somewhat confused by the rise of
another, though inferior civilization, during the thousand years
immediately preceding the advent of the Spaniards in America, which had
begun to raise itself out of that chaos of confusion into which things
were thrown by the destruction of the Nephites and their government.
Under these circumstances it may be extremely difficult to separate
these antiquities and assign each group to its proper division. But
this much we feel confident can be done; evidence can be adduced that
such ancient civilizations did exist; that the monuments of one has
overlaid and intermixed with the others; that the central location of
the first was in our Central States of America, and so far as such
evidence is adduced, to that extent the claims of the Book of Mormon
will be sustained. In the presentation of such evidence I can only
take the humble part of compiler of it from the writings of others,
since I lay no claim to original investigation of the matter; and even
in the work of presenting the utterances of conceded authorities upon
the subject, one stands momentarily confused, not because of the lack
of matter to present to the reader, but in the matter of selecting
from the great mass those passages suitable for our limited space,
and which shall be most direct and convincing. With so much by way of
introduction, then, I present first of all:--
I.
_The Evidence of the Existence of Ancient Civilizations in America._
Considering the vast extent of these remains, [i. e. of ancient
cities, pyramids and temples] spreading over more than half the
continent, and that in Mexico, and South America, after the lapse
of an unknown series of ages, they still retain much of ancient
grandeur which "Time's effacing fingers" have failed to obliterate.
It is certainly no wild flight of the imagination to conjecture
that in ancient times, even coeval with the spread of science in
the east, empires may have flourished here that would vie in power
and extent with the Babylonian, the Median, or the Persian; and
cities that might have rivaled Nineveh, and Tyre, and Sidon; for
of these empires and these cities, the plains of Asia now exhibit
fewer, and even less imposing relics, than are found of the former
inhabitants of this country. [1]
We venture to say that the aboriginal inhabitants of our hemisphere
have not till this day received their meed for ancient bravery,
nautical skill, and wonderful attainments in geography and in every
branch of material advancement and of civilization generally.
Ancient prehistoric America was, indeed, a civilized world. * * * *
* Proceeding from north to south, we find from distance to distance
unmistakable traces of mighty, skilful, and learned nations that
had either wholly disappeared from the face of the earth, or
had become degenerated and degraded to such an extent as to be
irrecognizable at the time of not only the Spanish, but even of the
Northman [tenth century] discoveries. * * * * * The Mayas [Central
America] were intellectual giants, indeed. The ruins of their vast
public works, of their costly edifices, of their sculptures and
paintings, and of their finely carved symbolic writings attest the
height of a civilization of which we might well be proud today.
And yet all these evidences of a glorious past lay buried for long
centuries before Columbus' discovery in the virgin forests of
Yucatan. Palenque, Uxmal, Copan, and several other ruined cities
of Central America are as grand and beautiful monuments on the
cemeteries of the New World as are Troy, Babylon, and Thebes on
those of the Old; and their antiquity does not seem to be less
venerable. They certainly pertain to America's remotest period.
They were ruins more than they are now, in the sixteenth century;
the native of the neighboring region knew nothing of their origin,
and no notice whatever of the existence of such cities appears in
the annals of the surrounding civilized nations during the eight
or nine centuries preceding the Spanish conquest. Bancroft is even
of the opinion that the Maya grandeur was already at its height
several centuries before Christ. [2]
After speaking of various evidences of civilization in America,
Nadaillac remarks:
But we need not give any further account of these great
discoveries. We must return to the companions of Cortez to tell
of the new wonders which awaited them. Even in the most remote
districts in the primeval forests covering Chiapas, Guatemala,
Honduras, and Yucatan, where, through the dense undergrowth a
passage had often to be forced, axe in hand, statues, columns,
hieroglyphics, unoccupied villages, abandoned palaces, and stately
ruins, rose on every side, mute witnesses of past ages and of
vanished races. Everywhere the conquerors were met by tokens, not
only of a civilization even more ancient and probably more advanced
than that of the races they subjugated, but also of struggles and
wars, those scourges of humanity in every race and every clime. [3]
Continuing further on in his admirable work, the same writer says:
Undoubtedly America bears witness to a venerable past; and without
admitting the claims of some recent authors who are of opinion
that when Europe was inhabited by wandering savages, whose only
weapons were roughly hewn of stone, America was already peopled
by men who built cities, raised monuments, and had attained to a
high degree of culture, we must admit that their civilization and
social organization can only have become what it was by degrees.
* * * To erect the monuments of Mexico and Peru, the yet more
ancient ones of Central America--the singular resemblance of
which, in some particulars, to the temples and palaces of Egypt,
strike the archaeologist--must have required skilled labor, a
numerous population, and an established priesthood, such as could
have developed only during the lapse of centuries. * * * To sum
up: multitudes of races and nations have arisen upon the American
continent and have disappeared, leaving no trace, but ruins,
mounds, a few wrought stones, or fragments of pottery. [4]
In the New World, mysterious mounds and gigantic earth-works arrest
our attention. Here we find deserted mines, and there we can trace
the sites of ancient camps and fortifications. The Indians of the
prairies seem to be intruders on a fairer civilization. We find
here evidences of a teeming population. In the presence of their
imposing ruins, we can not think that nomadic savages built them.
They give evidences rather of a people having fixed habitations,
and seem to imply the possession of a higher civilization than that
of the Indians. These questions demand solution; but how shall
we solve the problem? Save here and there a deserted camp, or a
burial mound, containing perhaps articles of use or adornment,
all traces have vanished. Their earth-works and mounds are being
rapidly leveled by the plow of modern times, and the scholar of
the future can only learn from books of their mysterious builders.
In Mexico, and further south, we find the ruins of great cities.
To the student of antiquity, these far surpass in interest the
ruined cities of the Nile or Euphrates valley. Babylon of old, with
its walls, towers, and pleasure resorts, was indeed wonderful.
In our own land cities, if not as ancient, yet fallen in more
picturesque ruin, reward the labors of the explorer. Uxmal, Copan,
and Palenque, invite our attention. Here are hieroglyphics in
abundance, but no Rosetta Stone supplies the key by whose aid a
Champollion can unravel the mystery. [5]
Closely enveloped in the dense forests of Chiapas, Guatemala,
Yucatan, and Honduras, the ruins of several ancient cities have
been discovered, which are far superior in extent and magnificence
to any seen in Aztec territory. * * * Most of these cities were
abandoned and more or less unknown at the time of the conquest.
They bear hieroglyphic inscriptions apparently identical in
character; in other respects they resemble each other more than
they resemble the Aztec ruins--or even other and apparently later
works in Guatemala, and Honduras. All these remains bear evident
marks of great antiquity. Their existence and similarity, the
occupation of the whole country at some remote period by nations
far advanced in civilization, and closely allied in manners and
customs, if not in blood and language. Furthermore, the traditions
of several of the most advanced nations point to a widespread
civilization introduced among a numerous and powerful people
by Votan and Zamna, who, or their successors, built the cities
referred to, and founded great allied empires in Chiapas, Yucatan,
and Guatemala; and moreover, the tradition is confirmed by the
universality of one family of languages or dialects spoken among
the civilized nations, and among their descendants to this day. [6]
That the population of Central America (and in this term I include
Mexico) was at one time very dense, and had attained to a high
degree of civilization, higher even than that of Europe in the time
of Columbus, there can be no question; and it is also probable, as
I have shown, that they originally belonged to the white race. [7]
Finally, from all we can gather from this momentous subject, we are
compelled from the overwhelming amount of evidence to admit that
mighty nations, with almost unbounded empire, with various degrees
of improvement, have occupied the continent, and that, as in the
old world, empire has succeed empire, rising one out of the other,
from the jarring interests of the unwieldly and the ferocious
mass--so also in this. [8]
The foregoing is perhaps sufficient for the purpose of establishing
the mere fact of the existence of extensive and highly developed
civilization in America, especially as many of the quotations on some
of the other divisions of the subject will also bear upon this point. I
now take up the matter of the chief centers of those old civilizations.
II.
_Chief Centers of Ancient American Civilization._
The following is from Baldwin's "Ancient America":
It has been said, not without reason, that the civilization found
in Mexico by Spanish conquerors consisted, to a large extent, of
"fragments from the wreck that befell the American civilization of
antiquity." To find the chief seats and most abundant remains of
the most remarkable civilization of this old American race, we must
go still farther south into Central America and some of the more
southern states of Mexico. Here ruins of many ancient cities have
been discovered, cities which must have been deserted and left to
decay in ages previous to the beginning of the Aztec supremacy.
Most of these ruins were found buried in dense forests, where, at
the time of the Spanish conquest, they had been long hidden from
observation. [9]
Marcus Wilson, in speaking of the central location of the ancient
American civilization and its probable "radiating points," says:
It is believed that the western shores of this continent, and
perhaps both Mexico and Peru--equally distant from the equator,
and in regions the most favorable for the increase and the support
of human life, were the radiating points of early American
civilization; from which, as from the hearts of empire, pulsation
after pulsation sent forth their streams of life throughout the
whole continent. But the spread of civilization appears to have
been restricted, as we might reasonably expect to find it, to those
portions of the continent where the rewards of agriculture would
support a numerous population. Hence, following the course of the
civilization, by the remains it has left us, we find it limited
by the barren regions of upper Mexico, and the snows of Canada on
the north, and the frosts of Patagonia on the south; and while in
Mexico and Peru are found its grandest and most numerous monuments,
on the outskirts they dwindle away in numbers and in importance.
[10]
In the Central American region of the western continent are found
ruins of what are pronounced by all scholars to be the highest
civilization, and the most ancient in time, of any in the New
World. There it arose, flourished, and tottered to its fall.
Its Glory had departed, its cities were a desolation, before
the coming of the Spaniards. * * * * * The most important ruins
are in the modern states of Honduras, Guatemala, Chiapas, and
especially Yucatan, the northern portion of this peninsula being
literally studded with them. The river Usumacinta, and its numerous
tributaries flowing in a northern direction through Chiapas, is
regarded as the original home of the civilization whose ruins
we are now to describe. From whence the tribes came that first
settled in this valley is as yet an unsettled point. We notice
that we have here another instance of the influence that fertile
river valleys exert upon tribes settling therein. The stories told
us of the civilization that flourished in primitive times in the
valley of the Euphrates and the Nile are not more wonderful--the
ruins perhaps not more impressive--than are the traditions still
extant, or the material remains fallen in picturesque ruins, of
the civilization that once on a time held sway in the Usumacinta
valley. [11]
Wherever there was a center of civilization, that is, wherever
the surroundings favored the development of culture, tribes of
different stocks enjoyed it to nearly an equal degree, as in
central Mexico and Peru. By them it was distributed, and thus
shaded off in all directions. [12]
A brief description of some of these ruins of Central America cannot
fail at this point to be both instructive and interesting. I begin
with the description of Copan which, by mutual consent of authorities,
we may regard as one of the most famous, as also the most ancient, of
American ruins. [13]
COPAN.
The ruins are situated in the west part of the modern state of
Honduras, on the left bank of the Copan river, which empties into the
Montague. The name Copan is applied to the ruins because of their
vicinity to an adjoining hamlet of that name, so that Copan is not to
be regarded as the true name of the ancient city. And now I quote the
description from the works of John L. Stephens to whom the world is
chiefly indebted for its knowledge of Central American ruins. I omit,
however, the references to plans and engravings which occur in his
excellent work:
The extent along the river, as ascertained by monuments still
found, is more than two miles. There is one monument on the
opposite side of the river, at the distance of a mile, on the top
of a mountain two thousand feet high. Whether the city ever crossed
the river, and extended to that monument, it is impossible to say.
I believe not. At the rear is an unexplored forest, in which there
may be ruins. There are no remains of palaces or private buildings,
and the principal part is that which stands on the bank of the
river, and may, perhaps, with propriety be called the Temple.
The temple is an oblong enclosure. The front or river wall extends
on a right line north and south six hundred and twenty-four feet,
and it is from sixty to ninety feet in height. It is made of cut
stones, from three to six feet in length, and a foot and a half in
breadth. In many places the stones have been thrown down by bushes
growing out of the crevices, and in one place there is a small
opening, from which the ruins are sometimes called by the Indians,
Las Ventanas, or the windows. The other three sides consist of
ranges of steps and pyramidal structures, rising from thirty to
one hundred and forty feet in height on the slope. The whole line
survey is two thousand eight hundred and sixty-six feet, which,
though gigantic and extraordinary for a ruined structure of the
aborigines, that the reader's imagination may not mislead him, I
consider it necessary to say, is not so large as the base of the
great pyramid of Ghizeh. * *
Near the southwest corner of the river wall and the south wall is
a recess, which was probably once occupied by a colossal monument
fronting the water, no part of which is now visible; probably it
has fallen and been broken, and the fragments have been buried
or washed away by the floods in the rainy season. Beyond are the
ruins of two small pyramidal structures, to the largest of which
is attached a wall running along the west bank of the river; this
appears to have been one of the principal walls of the city; and
between the two pyramids there seems to have been a gateway or
principal entrance from the water.
The south wall runs at right angles to the river, beginning with a
range of steps about thirty feet high, and each step about eighteen
inches square. At the southeast corner is a massive pyramidal
structure one hundred and twenty feet high on the slope. On the
right are other remains of terraces and pyramidal buildings; and
here also was probably a gateway, by a passage about twenty feet
wide, into a quadrangular area two hundred and fifty feet square,
two sides of which are massive pyramids one hundred and twenty feet
high on the slope.
At the foot of these structures, and in different parts of the
quadrangular area, are numerous remains of sculpture. At one point
is a colossal monument richly sculptured, fallen, and ruined.
Behind it fragments of sculpture, thrown from their place by trees,
are strewn and lying loose on the side of the pyramid, from the
base to the top; and among them our attention was forcibly arrested
by rows of death's heads of gigantic proportions, still standing in
their places about half way up the side of the pyramid; the effect
was extraordinary.
Here follows the description of the gigantic stone monuments or carved
images which were doubtless the idols of the ancient inhabitants of
Copan. Resuming his general description, Mr. Stephens says:
The whole quadrangle is overgrown with trees, and interspersed with
fragments of fine sculpture; particularly on the east side, and
at the northwest corner is a narrow passage, which was probably
a third gateway. On the right is a confused range of terraces
running off into the forest, ornamented with death's heads, some
of which are still in position, and others lying about as they
have fallen or been thrown down. Turning northward, the range on
the left hand continues a high, massive pyramidal structure, with
trees growing out of it to the very top. At a short distance is a
detached pyramid, tolerably perfect, about fifty feet square and
thirty feet high. The range continues for a distance of about four
hundred feet, decreasing somewhat in height, and along this there
are but few remains of sculpture. The range of structures turn at
right angles to the left, and runs to the river, joining the other
extremity of the wall, at which we began our survey. The bank was
elevated about thirty feet above the river, and had been protected
by a wall of stone, most of which had fallen down.
The plan was complicated, and the whole ground, being overgrown
with trees, difficult to make out. There was no entire pyramid,
but at most, two or three pyramidal sides, and these joined on the
terraces or other structures of the same kind. Beyond the wall or
enclosure were walls, terraces, and pyramidal elevations running
off into the forest, which sometimes confused us. Probably the
whole was not erected at the same time, but additions were made and
statues erected by different kings, or, perhaps in commemoration of
important events in the history of the city. Along the whole line
were ranges of steps with pyramidal elevations, probably crowned on
the top with buildings or altars now ruined. All these steps of the
pyramidal sides were painted and the reader may imagine the effect
when the whole country was clear of forest and priest and people
were ascending from the outside to the terraces, and thence to the
holy places within to pay their adoration in the temple.
Then follows a description of pyramids and stone monuments and altars,
together with stone tablets of hieroglyphics which, without the
accompanying engravings of Mr. Stephens' work, would be unintelligible.
Mr. Stephens visited the stone quarries which supplied the material for
this magnificent city, ruins of whose public buildings doubtless alone
remain, and if these extensive ruins but mark the site and grandeur of
the public buildings, as is most probable, then how extensive indeed
must have been the old city whose ruins we call Copan! While at the
quarry, some two miles distant from the ruins, Mr. Stephens indulged in
the following reflections:
The range lies about two miles north from the river, and runs east
and west. At the foot of it we crossed a wild stream. The side
of the mountain was overgrown with bushes and trees. The top was
bare, and commanded a magnificent view of a dense forest broken
only by the winding of the Copan river, and the clearings for the
haciendas of Don Gregorio and Don Miguel. [14] The city was buried
in forest and entirely hidden from sight. Imagination peopled the
quarry with workmen, and laid bare the city to their view. Here, as
the sculptor worked, he turned to the theatre of his glory, as the
Greek did to the Acropolis of Athens, and dreamed of immortal fame.
Little did he imagine that the time would come when his works would
perish, his race be extinct, his city a desolation and abode for
reptiles, for strangers to gaze at and wonder by what race it had
once been inhabited.
Relative to the antiquity and probable cause of the desertion of Copan,
Mr. Stephens writes:
In regard to the age of the desolate city I will not at present
offer any conjecture. Some idea might perhaps be formed from
the accumulations of earth, and the gigantic trees growing on
the top of the ruined structures, but it would be uncertain and
unsatisfactory. Nor shall I at this moment offer any conjecture in
regard to the people who built it, or to the time when or the means
by which it was depopulated, and became a desolation and ruin;
whether it fell by the sword, or famine, or pestilence. The trees
which shroud it may have sprung from the blood of its slaughtered
inhabitants; they may have perished howling with hunger; or
pestilence, like the cholera, may have piled its streets with dead,
and driven forever the feeble remnants from their homes; of which
dire calamities to other cities we have authentic accounts, in eras
both prior and subsequent to the discovery of the country by the
Spaniards. One thing I believe, that its history is graven on its
monuments. No Champollion has yet brought to them the energies of
his inquiring mind. Who shall read them?
"'Chaos of ruins! who shall trace the void,
O'er the dim fragments cast a lunar light,
And say 'here was or is,' where all is doubly night?'" [15]
PALENQUE
I next call attention to the ruins of Palenque, situated about two
hundred and sixty miles northwest from Copan in the modern state of
Chiapas in the valley of the Usumacinta river. Our space will not admit
of the elaborate and detailed description given of this ancient city
by the writers who have visited it, and whose descriptions are usually
attended with references to numerous cuts of pyramids, temples, ruined
walls, statuary, tablets, etc. I have therefore decided to abridge the
description of this city and its chief monuments from the admirable
work of Nadaillac:
The monuments of Palenque are justly reckoned amongst the most
remarkable in Chiapas. [16] The town stands in the region watered
by the Usumacinta, where settled the first immigrants of whom it
has been possible to distinguish traces. The position of Palenque,
at the foot of the first buttresses of the mountain chain, on the
banks of the little river Otolum, one of the tributaries of the
Tulija, was admirably chosen. The streets extended for a length of
from six to eight leagues, (from eighteen to twenty-four miles)
irregularly following the course of the streams which descend from
the mountains and furnish the inhabitants with an abundant supply
of water necessary to them. At the present day the ruins rise in
solitude, which adds to the effect produced by them. They were
long altogether unknown; Cortez, in one of his expeditions, passed
within a few miles of Palenque without suspecting its existence;
and it was not till 1746, that chance led to its discovery by a
cure of the neighborhood. * * * * * *
Among the best preserved ruins may be mentioned the palace, the
temple of the three tablets, the temple of the bas-reliefs, the
temple of the cross, and the temple of the sun. We keep the names
given by various explorers in the absence of better ones. There are
others, but of less importance. Dupaix speaks of eleven buildings
still standing, and a few years before A. Del Rio mentioned twenty;
Waldeck says eighteen, and Maler, who visited the ruins of Palenque
in 1877, fixes the number of the temples or palaces at twelve.
These contradictions are more apparent than real, and are explained
by the different impressions of each traveler, and the divisions he
thought it necessary to adopt.
The palace, the most important building of Palenque, rests on a
truncated pyramid about forty feet high, the base of which measures
from three hundred and ten feet by two hundred and sixty. The
inside of this pyramid is of earth; the external faces are covered
with large slabs; steps lead up to the principal building, which
forms a quadrilateral of two hundred and twenty-eight feet by one
hundred and eighty; the walls, which are two or three feet thick,
are of rubble, crowned by a frieze framed between two double
cornices. Inside as well as outside they are covered with a very
fine and durable stucco, painted red or blue, black or white. The
principal front faces the east; it includes fourteen entrances
about nine feet wide, separated by pilasters ornamented with
figures. These figures measure more than six feet high, and are
full of movement; while above the head of each are hieroglyphics
inlaid in the stucco. * * * * * *
The inside of the palace corresponds with the magnificence of
the outside; there are galleries forming a peristyle all around
the court; and the rooms are decorated with granite bas-reliefs,
grotesque figures, some thirteen feet high. * * * * The expression
of the figures speaks well for the skill of the artist; but the
execution is weak, suggesting an art in decadence rather than
the ruggedness of one in its infancy. These rooms were united
by corridors. * * * The architects of Palenque were ignorant of
the arch, and their vaults were formed of oversailing courses,
one above the other, as in the cyclopean monuments of Greece and
Italy. The building is finished off with a tower of three stories,
measuring thirty feet square at the base. Here, too, we find
symbolical decorations, which are very rich and in a very good
state of preservation.
Our author, after excusing himself from mentioning many of the
monuments of Palenque, for want of space, says:
We must, however, mention one of them, situated on the other bank
of the Otolum, and known under the name of the Temple of the
Cross. It rises from a truncated pyramid and forms a quadrilateral
with three openings in each face, separated by massive pilasters,
some ornamented with hieroglyphics and some ornamented with human
figures. The frieze is also covered with human figures, and amongst
those still visible Stephens mentions a head and two torsos, which,
in their perfection of form, recall Greek art. The openings, all at
right angles, lead into an inside gallery communicating with three
little rooms. The central one of these rooms contains an altar,
which fairly represents an open chest, ornamented with a little
frieze with a margin. From the two upper extremities of this frieze
springs two wings, recalling the mode of ornamentation so often
employed in the pediments of Egyptian monuments.
Above the altar was originally placed the tablet of the cross,
which was afterward torn from its position by the hand of a
fanatic, who chose to see in it the sacred sign of the Christian
faith, miraculously preserved by the ancient inhabitants of the
palace. The tablet was taken down and then abandoned, we know not
why, in the midst of the forest covering part of the ruins. Here
it was that the Americans discovered part of it, took possession
of it, and carried it to Washington, where it forms part of the
collection of the National Museum. The center represents a cross,
resting upon a hideous figure, and surmounted by a grotesque
bird. On the right, a figure on foot is offering presents; on the
left, another figure, in a stiff attitude seems to be praying
to the divinity. The costume of these two persons is unlike any
that is now in use; and above their heads we can make out several
hieroglyphical characters. A slab on the right is also covered with
them. In the present state of knowledge it is impossible to make
out whether these inscriptions are prayers to the gods, the history
of the country or that of the temple, the name or the dedication of
the founders.
At the end of the sanctuary recently discovered near Palenque by
Maler, are three slabs of sculptured stone in low relief. On the
right and left are hieroglyphics; in the center a cross, surmounted
by a head of strange appearance, wearing around the neck a collar
with a medallion; above this head is a bird, and on either side are
figures exactly like those of the temple of the cross. Evidently
this was a hieratic type, from which the artist was not allowed to
depart. * * *
We cannot leave the ruins of Palenque without mentioning a
statue, remarkable for more than one reason. The calm and smiling
expression of the face resembles that of some of the Egyptian
statues; the head-dress is a little like that of the Assyrians;
there is a necklace around the neck; the figure presses upon its
bosom an instrument and rests its left hand upon an ornament, the
meaning of both of which it is difficult to imagine. The plinth
of the statue has a cartouch with a hieroglyphical inscription,
probably giving the name of the god or hero to whom it was
dedicated. There is a very distinct resemblance in some of these
hieroglyphics to those of Egypt. [17]
In concluding an extended description of the ruins of Palenque,
Bancroft says:
I close my account of Maya antiquities with the following brief
quotations respecting Palenque, and the degree of art exhibited
in her ruined monuments: "These sculptured figures are not
caricatures, but display an ability on the part of the artists to
represent the human form in every posture, and with anatomical
fidelity. Nor are the people in human life here delineated. The
figures are royal or priestly; some are engaged in offering up
sacrifices, or are in an attitude of devotion; many hold a sceptre,
or token baton of authority, their apparel is gorgeous; their
head-dresses are elaborately arrayed, and decorated with long
feathers." [18] "Many of the reliefs exhibit the finest and most
beautiful outlines, and the neatest combinations which remind one
of the best Indian works of art." "The ruins of Palenque have been
perhaps overrated; these remains are fine, doubtless, in their
antique rudeness; they breathe out in the midst of their solitude
a certain imposing grandeur; but it must be affirmed, without
disputing their architectural importance, that they do not justify
in their details the enthusiasm of archaeologists. The lines which
make up the ornamentation are faulty in rectitude; the designs in
symmetry; the sculpture in finish; I except, however, the symbolic
tablets, the sculpture of which seemed to me very correct." "I
admire the bas-reliefs of Palenque on the facades of her old
palaces; they interest me, move me, and fill my imagination;
but let them be taken to the Louvre, and I see nothing but rude
sketches which leave me cold and indifferent." "The most remarkable
remains of an advanced ancient civilization hitherto discovered
on our continent." "Their general characteristics are simplicity,
gravity, and solidity." [19] "While superior in the execution of
the details, the Palenque artist was far inferior to the Egyptian
in the number and variety of the objects displayed by him." [20]
Mr. John L. Stephens, whose comments upon the cities he visited in
Central America, are always interesting, remarks of the ruins of
Palenque:
What we had before our eyes was grand, curious, and remarkable
enough. Here were the remains of a cultivated, polished, and
peculiar people, who had passed through all the stages incident
to the rise and fall of nations; reached their golden age, and
perished, entirely unknown. The links which connected them with
the human family were severed and lost, and these were the only
memorials of their footsteps upon earth. We lived in the ruined
palaces of their kings; we went up to their desolate temples and
fallen altars; and wherever we moved we saw the evidences of their
taste, their skill in arts, their wealth and power. In the midst
of desolation and ruin we looked back to the past, cleared away
the gloomy forest, and fancied every building perfect, with its
terraces and pyramids, its sculptured, and painted ornaments,
grand, lofty, and imposing, and overlooking an immense inhabited
plain; we called back into life the strange people who gazed at
us in sadness from the walls; pictured them, in fanciful costumes
and adorned with plumes of feathers, ascending the terraces of the
palace and the steps leading to the temples; and often we imagined
a scene of unique and gorgeous beauty and magnificence, realizing
the creations of Oriental poets, the very spot which fancy would
have selected for the "Happy Valley" of Rasselas. In the romance
of the world's history nothing ever impressed me more forcibly
than the spectacle of this once great and lovely city, overturned,
desolate, and lost; discovered by accident, overgrown with trees
for miles around, and without even a name to distinguish it. Apart
from everything else, it was a mourning witness to the world's
mutations:--
* * * * * *
"'Nations melt
From power's high pinnacle, when they have felt
The sunshine for a while, and downward go.'" [21]
Footnotes
1. _History of United States_, Marcus Wilson, Book I, _American
Antiquities_, p. 94.
2. _History of America Before Columbus_, P. De Roo, vol I, pp. 173,
176, 177, 178.
3. _Pre-Historic America_, pp. 10, 11.
4. _Pre-Historic America_, pp. 13, 14
5. _The Pre-Historic World_, or _Vanished Races_, E. A. Allen,
introduction, pp. 23, 24.
6. _Native Races_, vol. II, pp. 116, 117, Bancroft.
7. _Atlantis_, (Donnely) p. 349.
8. _American Antiquities_, Priest, p. 186.
9. _Ancient America_, (Baldwin) pp. 92, 93.
10. History of the United States, Book I, _American Antiquities_, pp.
93, 94.
11. _The Pre-Historic World, or Vanished Races_, by E. A. Allen
(1885), pp. 564, 566. I quote this passage upon the location, extent
and grandeur of the ancient ruins of Central America with the greater
pleasure because Mr. Allen is one of the authors who, as far as
possible, discount the extent, greatness and very remote antiquity of
the civilization represented by American ruins; though for all this his
work is one of the most conscientious and valuable upon the subject.
12. _The American Races_, Daniel G. Brinton, p. 44.
13. Bancroft, _Native Races_, p. 81, also pp. 82, 104.
14. Modern plantations near the ruins.
15. _Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan_,
Stephens (1841), vol. I, ch. 7. Those who would become further
acquainted with the ruins of Copan will find elaborate descriptions
in Bancroft's _Native Races_, vol. IV, ch. 3. His foot notes citing
various authorities on the subject are especially valuable.
16. And for matter of that in Central America.
17. _Pre-Historic America_, Nadaillac, ch. 7.
18. Foster's _Pre-Historic Races_, pp. 338, 339. Klemm,
_Cultur-Geschichte_, tom. 5, pp. 161-3.
19. Morelet, _Voyage_, tom. 1, pp. 273, 274. Mayer's _Mex. Aztec_,
etc., vol. II, p. 172; Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Hist. Nat. Civ_. tom. 1,
p. 85.
20. _Native Races_, vol. IV, pp. 364, 365, and notes.
21. _Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan_,
John L. Stephens, vol. II, pp. 356, 357.