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[Illustration: Funerary Urn from a Zapotecan Tomb
The cylindrical urn is concealed behind the human figure. The dress
of the human figure consists of a cape, apron, and a widespreading
headdress. Over the face is worn a mask. Height, 15½ inches.]
American Museum of Natural History
ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS
OF
MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA
[Illustration: Series logo]
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
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 Mexican and Central American field we find the accumulated
writings that result from four hundred years of European contact with
the Indians and in addition a mass of native documents and monumental
inscriptions expressed in several hieroglyphic systems.
The general method of this book will be to take up in order the
recognized “horizons” of pre-Columbian history, beginning with the
earliest of which we have knowledge. In relation to each horizon we will
examine the records and discuss the principal developments in arts,
beliefs, and social structures. The introductory chapter is designed to
put before the reader such facts as may be necessary for a ready
understanding of the discussions and explanations that will follow.
The Mexican Hall of the American Museum of Natural History furnishes
illustrations of most of the facts given herewith. This Hall contains
both originals and casts brought together by various expeditions of the
Museum and of other scientific institutions. The principal patrons of
science whose names should be mentioned in connection with the
upbuilding of these collections are: Willard Brown, Austin Corbin, R. P.
Doremus, Anson W. Hard, Archer M. Huntington, Morris K. Jesup, James H.
Jones, Minor C. Keith, the Duke of Loubat, William Mack, Henry Marquand,
Doctor William Pepper, A. D. Straus, I. McI. Strong, Cornelius
Vanderbilt, Henry Villard, William C. Whitney. But thanks are also due
to innumerable persons who have contributed single specimens and small
collections as well as those who have placed information at the disposal
of the scientific staff. The principal collectors have been: George
Byron Gordon, Aleš Hrdlička, Carl Lumholtz, Francis C. Nicholas,
Marshall H. Saville, Eduard Seler, Herbert J. Spinden, and John L.
Stephens.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Preface 5
Introduction 13
Geography and Natural Environment. History of European
Contact. Languages. Ethnology. Physical Types.
CHAPTER I
The Archaic Horizon 45
Stratification of Remains. The Cemetery under the Lava.
Invention of Agriculture. Archaic Figurines. Ancient
Customs. Archaic Pottery. Stone Sculptures of the Archaic
Period. Extensions of the Archaic Horizon.
CHAPTER II
The Mayan Civilization 73
Architecture. Massive Sculptural Art. Minor Arts. The Serpent
in Mayan Art. The Human Figure. Design. Composition, and
Perspective. The Mayan Pantheon. How Mayan History has
been Recovered. Sequences in Art. Books of Chilam Balam.
The Mayan Time Counts. Elements of the Day Count. The
Conventional Year. The Calendar Round. Mayan Numbers. The
Long Count. Dates of Dedication. Hieroglyphs. Codices.
Correlation with Christian Chronology. The Mayan Eras.
Astronomical Checks on the Correlation. Astronomical
Observatories. The True Year. The Lunar Calendar. Venus
Calendar. Summary of Mayan History.
CHAPTER III
The Middle Civilizations 153
The Olmeca or Rubber People. Zapotecan Culture. Mitla.
Totonacan Culture. The Toltecs. Quetzalcoatl and the
Toltec Era. San Juan Teotihuacan. Xochicalco. Tula.
Cholula. The Frontier Cities of the Northwest. Santa Lucia
Cozumalhualpa. The Chorotegan Culture. Isthmian Gold Work.
CHAPTER IV
The Aztecs 201
Mayas and Aztecs compared to Greeks and Romans. The
Chichimecas. Aztecan History. Social Organization. The
Tecpan or Temple Enclosure. The Calendar Stone. Stone of
Tizoc. Contlicue. Mexican Writing. Aztecan Religion.
Conceptions of the Universe. Ceremonies. Poetry and Music.
Minor Aztecan Arts. The Tarascans. Southern Mexico.
Aztecan Influence in Central America.
A Cross-Section of New World History 249
Bibliography 255
Index 259
MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
Page.
Funerary Urn from a Zapotecan Tomb _Frontispiece_
Map of Mexico and Central America showing the Principal
Archaeological Sites with a Detail Insert of the Valley of
Mexico _Facing_ 45
Diagram of American Chronology _Facing_ 253
PLATES
I. _a_, Village Scene in Arid Mexico; _b_, In the Humid Lowlands 15
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 23
III. _a_, View of the Island Town of Flores in Lake Peten; _b_,
The Sacred _Cenote_ at Chichen Itza 28
IV. _a_, A Guatemalan _huipili_; _b_, Pouches of the Valiente
Indians 40
V. _a_, Zapotecan Girl from the State of Oaxaca; _b_, Lacondone
Man from Southern Mexico 42
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 50
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 54
VIII. Two Stages in the Stone Sculptures of Costa Rica 60
IX. _a_, Stone Sculptures of the Archaic Period; _b_, Typical Site
of the Archaic Period 62
X. Widely Distributed Female Figurines 65
XI. Distribution of the Archaic Culture 69
XII. Distribution of Agriculture in the New World 70
XIII. A General View of the Ceremonial Center of Copan 72
XIV. _a_, View of the Plaza at Copan from the Northwestern Corner;
_b_, View Across the Artificial Acropolis at Copan 74
XV. _a_, Model of the Temple of the Cross, Palenque, designed to
show the Construction; _b_, Detail of Frieze on the Temple
of the Cross 76
XVI. A Temple of Hochob showing Elaborate Facade Decorations in
Stucco 80
XVII. A Sealed Portal Vault in the House of the Governor at Uxmal 82
XVIII. _a_, Realistic Designs on Vases from Chamá, Guatemala; _b_,
The Quetzal as represented on a Painted Cylindrical Vase
from Copan 85
XIX. Stela 13, Piedras Negras 96
XX. _a_, Top of Stela 1 at Yaxchilan; _b_, Analogous Detail of
Stela 4, Yaxchilan 102
XXI. Development in Style of Carving at Copan 107
XXII. Scheme of the Mayan Calendar as presented in the Codex
Tro-Cortesianus 116
XXIII. Typical Mayan Inscription 122
XXIV. Page 24 Dresden Codex 130
XXV. _a_, Detail of the Dresden Codex showing _Tzolkin_ used in
Divination; _b_, Analysis of the above _Tzolkin_,
according to Förstemann 134
XXVI. General View of Monte Alban from the North 152
XXVII. Detail of Monte Alban showing Wall Foundations and Small
Cell-like Rooms 155
XXVIII. Zapotecan Art: Incense Burners, Funerary Vases of Portrait
Type, Cruciform Tomb with Geometric Decoration 158
XXIX. _a_, Sculpture of Stone of the Early Zapotecan Period; _b_,
Jade Tablets pierced for Suspension 162
XXX. Laughing Head of the Totonacs 166
XXXI. _a_, An Elaborately Carved Stone Collar; _b_, A Palmate
Stone from the State of Vera Cruz 168
XXXII. The Temple of Xochicalco before Restoration 174
XXXIII. Two Views of the Principal Pyramid in the Citadel at
Teotihuacan 176
XXXIV. _a_, Partial View of the Great Pyramid at Cholula; _b_, A
View at La Quemada 181
XXXV. Stone Slab from an Ancient Sepulcher in the State of
Guerrero 186
XXXVI. _a_, Finely Carved Ceremonial Slab found at Mercedes, Costa
Rica; _b_, Stone Figure from Costa Rica; _c_, Ceremonial
Slab decorated with Monkeys, Mercedes, Costa Rica 192
XXXVII. _a_, The Gold Work of the Ancient Mexicans; _b_, Ornament
of Gold from Costa Rica 196
XXXVIII. A Page from the Tribute Roll of Moctezuma 200
XXXIX. A Page from the Codex Telleriano Remensis 202
XL. Serpent Head at Bottom of Balustrade, Great Pyramid, Mexico
City 206
XLI. Sahagun’s Plan of the Tecpan in Mexico City 212
XLII. The Calendar Stone of the Aztecs 214
XLIII. The Shield Stone at Cuernavaca 216
XLIV. The Newly Discovered “National Stone” of Mexico 220
XLV. Sculpture representing Coatlicue, the Serpent-Skirted Goddess 222
XLVI. Page from the _Tonalamatl_ Section of the Codex Borbonicus 228
XLVII. _a_, Picture of Tlaloc, the God of Rain, and of Ehecatl,
the God of Winds, in the Codex Magliabecchiano; _b_,
Mexican Genealogical Table on Amatl Paper 230
TEXT FIGURES
1. The Great Snowstorm of 1447 shown in the Pictographic Record of
the Aztecs 13
2. A Mexican Picture of a Volcanic Eruption 16
3. Yucatan Deer caught in a Snare 20
4. The Moan Bird, or Yucatan Owl, personified as a Demigod 20
5. Spanish Ship in the Aubin Codex 22
6. Cortez arrives with Sword and Cross and Moctezuma brings him
Gold 25
7. Aztecan Canoe. Lienzo de Tlaxcala 26
8. Design on Modern Huichol Ribbon 37
9. Woven Pouch of the Huichol Indians 37
10. Atzcapotzalco Destroyed 47
11. Diagram of Culture Strata at Atzcapotzalco 48
12. _Teocentli_ or Mexican Fodder Grass 51
13. Archaic Figurines from Central Mexico 55
14. Archaic Figurines—Zapotlan, Jalisco; Tampico, Vera Cruz; and
Cuesta Blanca, Salvador 55
15. Archaic Figurine from Salvador 56
16. Types of Eyes of Archaic Figurines 57
17. Textile Designs painted on Archaic Effigies 58
18. Typical Tripod Vessels of the Archaic Period, from Morelos,
Mexico 59
19. Series showing the Modification of a Celt into a Stone Amulet 61
20. Groundplans of Yaxchilan Temples 77
21. Cross-section of Typical Mayan Temple in Northern Yucatan 78
22. Mask Panel over Doorway at Xkichmook, Yucatan 84
23. Design on Engraved Pot representing a Tiger seated in a Wreath
of Water Lilies. Northern Yucatan 86
24. Painted Design on Cylindrical Bowl showing Serpent issuing
from a Shell Salvador 86
25. Mayan Basket represented in Stone Sculpture 88
26. Typical Elaborated Serpents of the Mayas 90
27. Conventional Serpent of the Mayas used for Decorative Purposes 91
28. Upper Part of Serpent Head made into a Fret Ornament 92
29. Sculpture on Front of Lintel at Yaxchilan 93
30. Types of Human Heads on the Lintels of Yaxchilan 94
31. Sculpture on Upper Part of Stela 11, Seibal 95
32. The Ceremonial Bar 98
33. The Manikin Scepter 99
34. The Two-Headed Dragon 100
35. Gods in the Dresden Codex 101
36. The Front Head of the Two-Headed Dragon on Stelæ at Piedras
Negras showing the Increase in Flamboyant Treatment 105
37. Grotesque Face on the Back of Stela B, Copan 108
38. Jaguar in Dresden Codex with a Water Lily attached to Forehead 108
39. Late Sculpture from Chichen Itza 109
40. The Twenty Day Signs 112
41. The Nineteen Month Signs of the Mayan Year 115
42. Bar and Dot Numerals of the Mayas 119
43. Face Numerals found in Mayan Inscriptions 121
44. The Normal Forms of the Period Glyphs 121
45. Face Forms of Period Glyphs 121
46. Hieroglyphs of the Four Directions 127
47. Hieroglyphs containing the Phonetic Element _kin_ 127
48. Mayan Ceremony as represented in the Dresden Codex 132
49. Diagram of the Astronomical Base Line at Copan giving Readings
at April 9 and September 2 138
50. Representations of the Moon 142
51. The Last Glyph of the Supplementary Series 142
52. Comparison of Mayan and Zapotecan Serpent Heads 156
53. Bar and Dot Numerals combined with Hieroglyphs on Zapotecan
Monuments 157
54. Detail of Wall Construction at Mitla 161
55. Wall Paintings of Mitla 163
56. The Eyes of Totonacan Figurines 165
57. Jointed Doll of Clay from San Juan Teotihuacan 178
58. Pottery Plates from Cholula with Decorations in Several Colors 180
59. Vessel with “Cloisonné” Decoration in Heavy Pigments 184
60. The Turtle Motive as developed in Negative Painting with Wax
at Totoate, Jalisco 185
61. Jaguar Head on Disk-Shaped Stone, Salvador 187
62. Front View and Profile View Serpent Heads in Chorotegan Art 190
63. Jaguar Design associated with Figurines that still retain
Archaic Characters, Costa Rica 191
64. Jaguars from painted Nicoyan Vases 191
65. Highly Conventionalized Jaguar Motive 193
66. Simple Crocodile Figures in Red Lines on Dishes from Mercedes,
Costa Rica 194
67. Panels containing Crocodiles painted in White Lines on Large
Tripod Bowls from Mercedes, Costa Rica 194
68. Simplified Crocodile Heads in the Yellow Line Ware of
Mercedes, Costa Rica 194
69. Conventional Crocodiles from Costa Rica and Panama 197
70. Pictographic Record of the Fighting near the Springs of
Chapultepec 207
71. Details from the Stone of Tizoc 219
72. Detail showing the Construction of the Face of Coatlicue 223
73. Hieroglyphs of Precious Materials 224
74. Phonetic Elements derived from Pictures and used in Mexican
Place Name Hieroglyphs 224
75. Aztecan Place Names 225
76. Aztecan Day Signs 226
77. Variant Forms of Aztecan Day Signs 226
78. Aztecan Numbers and Objects of Commerce 227
79. Analysis of Mexican Record 231
80. Chalchuihtlicue, Aztecan Goddess of Water 232
81. A Mexican Orchestra 241
82. Mexican Blanket with the Design that represents interlacing
Sand and Water called “Spider Water” 243
83. The Year Symbol of Southern Mexico 245
84. Year Bearers in the Codex Porfirio Diaz ascribed to the
Cuicatecan Tribe 246
85. A Page from the Codex Nuttall, recording the Conquest of a
Town situated on an Island of the Sea 247
86. The God Macuilxochitl, Five Flower, as shown in a Mexican
Codex and in Pottery from Southern Mexico 248
INTRODUCTION
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.
Positions south of Mexico will often be referred to the areas of the
modern political units although these have no immediate relation to
pre-Spanish conditions. These political units are: Guatemala, British
Honduras, Honduras, Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.
[Illustration: Fig. 1. The Great Snowstorm of 1447 shown in the
Pictographic Record of the Aztecs called Codex Telleriano Remensis.]
Although lying within the tropics, the territory extending from the
Isthmus of Panama to Central Mexico exhibits great extremes of climate
and topography and hence of plant and animal life. The year is
everywhere divided into a wet and a dry season but the relative duration
of each depends upon land form and altitude. The coast of the Pacific is
considerably drier than that of the Atlantic. Three climatic zones are
generally recognized, namely, the _Tierra Caliente_ (Hot Land), _Tierra
Templada_ (Temperate Land), and _Tierra Fria_ (Cold Land), and in some
regions each of these has an arid and a humid strip. The change from
luxuriant forests to open thorny deserts is often very sudden. On the
high plateau or _Tierra Fria_ the natural warmth of the latitude is
largely overcome by the altitude. In the Valley of Mexico snow falls
only at rare intervals, yet chilling winds are common in the winter.
Much of the plateau from Mexico south into Guatemala is open farming
land well suited to the raising of maize and wheat where water is
sufficient. The shoulders of the mountains bear forests of pine and oak
while the highest peaks are crowned with perpetual snow.
A description of the mountains, rivers, and lakes will help towards an
understanding of the problems that are before us. The broad plateau,
crossed by irregular ranges of mountains, that occupies the states of
New Mexico and Arizona continues far south into Mexico. On the western
rim the Sierra Madre lifts a great pine-covered barrier, beyond which
the land drops off quickly into the hot fringe of coastal plain
bordering the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California. The highest
mountains of the western Sierra Madre are El Nevado and Colima, the
first a snowy peak 14,370 feet high and the second an active volcano
12,278 feet high. On the eastern rim of the central plateau the second
Sierra Madre is less continuous but it culminates in the loftiest peak
of all Mexico—the wonderful cone of Orizaba. This mountain rises from
the tropical jungles well into the region of perpetual snow and attains
an elevation of 18,314 feet above the sea. Its name in Aztecan is
Citlaltepetl, which means Star Mountain. Two other famous peaks of
Mexico are Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl, both names being pure Aztecan.
The first means Smoking Mountain and the second White Woman. These
volcanic crests rise into the snowy zone from the table-land which is
itself about 8,000 feet above the sea.
Plate I.
[Illustration: (_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.]
[Illustration: (_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.]
[Illustration: 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 perceptibly, because the shore line of the Pacific and
the mountain range that parallels it swing more and more towards the
east. At the Isthmus of Tehuantepec a low valley separates the highland
area of Mexico from that of Central America. This second table-land is
not so wide as the one we have just considered and is more deeply
dissected by rivers. The mountains of Guatemala rise to a considerable
altitude, the highest being Tacaná with 13,976 feet elevation. Active
volcanoes are numerous and earthquakes frequent and often disastrous.
The Volcan de Agua and the Volcan de Fuego (Volcano of Water and Volcano
of Fire) look down upon Ciudad Vieja and Antigua Guatemala, the old
Spanish capitals which each in turn destroyed. The cordillera still
presents its most abrupt front to the Pacific and on the eastern side,
in Guatemala and Honduras, there are high forest-bearing ridges between
the river systems. The Cockscomb Mountains in British Honduras are a low
outlying group. In southern Nicaragua the main chain is broken by a low
broad valley that extends from ocean to ocean. In Costa Rica and Panama
a single range stretches midway along the narrow strip of land, with
peaks that rise above 11,000 feet.
The lowland strip on the Pacific side of our area is a narrow fringe.
Like the central plateau it is for the most part arid, but irrigation
makes it productive. The lowlands of the Atlantic side are generally wet
and heavily forested. The greatest land mass of uniformly low elevation
is the Peninsula of Yucatan. In eastern Honduras and Nicaragua there are
extensive river valleys of low elevation.
The river systems of Mexico and Central America flow into the two
bounding oceans or into lakes which have no outlets. Several closed
basins occur on the Mexican table-land. The Rio Nazas and the Rio Nieves
flow into salt marshes in the northern state of Coahuila. But the most
important interior basin is the Valley of Mexico. In this mountain
enclosed valley, whose general level is 7,500 feet above the sea, there
are five lakes which in order from north to south are named Tzompanco,
Xaltocan, Texcoco, Xochimilco, and Chalco. The last two contain fresh
water, since they drain into Lake Texcoco, but the rest are more or less
brackish. Lake Texcoco is by far the largest, although its area has been
greatly reduced by natural and artificial causes since the coming of the
Spaniards.
The largest river of Mexico is the Rio Lerma which takes the name Rio de
Santiago during its deep and tortuous passage from Lake Chapala to the
Pacific. Farther to the south is the Rio de las Balsas which likewise
flows into the western ocean. The name means “River of the Rafts” and is
given because of a peculiar floating apparatus made of gourds tied to a
wooden framework that is used on this stream. Flowing into the Gulf of
Mexico are several large streams, among which may be mentioned the
Panuco, Papaloapan, Grijalva, and Usumacinta. The last is by far the
greatest in volume of water, and with its maze of tributaries drains a
large area of swamp and jungle in which are buried some of the most
wonderful ruined cities of the New World.
In the northern part of Yucatan there are no rivers on the surface on
account of the porous limestone. Instead there are great natural wells
called _cenotes_ where the roofs of subterranean rivers have fallen in.
Many of the ancient cities were built near such natural wells.
Passing to the south the most important river of Guatemala is the
Motagua, which has cut a fine valley through a region of lofty
mountains. In Honduras there are several large rivers, including the
Uloa, Patuca, and Segovia. The lake region of Nicaragua is drained by
the San Juan River that flows into the Caribbean Sea. Nearly all the
streams of Central America that flow into the Pacific are short and
steep torrents. An important exception is the Lempa River that forms
part of the interior boundary of Salvador.
Concerning lakes, mention has already been made of Chapala and Texcoco,
the most important in Mexico. The former is about fifty miles in length.
In the state of Michoacan there are a number of beautiful lakes
intimately connected with the history and mythology of the Tarascan
Indians. The most famous is called Patzcuaro. In southern Yucatan the
shallow body of water known as Lake Peten also has a distinct historical
interest. Several lakes in Guatemala are well known on account of the
rare beauty of their situation. Lake Atitlan is surrounded by lofty
mountains, and Lake Izabal, or Golfo Dulce, is famous for the luxuriance
of the vegetation that screens its banks. Lakes Nicaragua and Managua
are well known on account of their connection with the much-discussed
canal projects. The Island of Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua bears an active
volcano.
In regard to the geology it is only necessary to point out a few of the
more important characters. The highlands which bear so many active and
quiescent volcanoes naturally show great masses of eruptive rocks, some
due to recent action and others much more ancient. Porous tufa is a
common material for sculptures in many parts of Mexico and Central
America. In other places there are great beds of softer and finer
grained material also of volcanic origin. In these places, such as Copan
in western Honduras and Mitla in southern Mexico, building in stone
received its greatest development. The soft greenish stone of Copan
seems to be a solidified mud flow permeated with volcanic ash rather
than a true lava flow of melted rock. Limestones are also common and
important in the economic development. In some regions there are beds of
a hard, blue limestone going back to the Carboniferous epoch. This stone
makes an excellent cement after burning. The Peninsula of Yucatan is a
great plain of limestone of much more recent formation. Like our own
Florida it was once a coral reef which was lifted above the sea by some
natural agency. This limestone gets older and more solid as we approach
the base of the peninsula but at best is rather porous and
coarse-grained.
[Illustration: Fig. 3. Yucatan Deer caught in a Snare. From the
Mayan Codex, Tro-Cortesianus.]
The fauna and flora present great variation. In the moist lowlands the
monkeys play in the tree tops and the jaguar lies in wait for its prey.
Alligators and crocodiles infest the rivers and swamps. Two small
species of deer and the ocellated turkey are important items in the meat
supply of Yucatan, that includes also the iguana, the peccary, and
various large rodents. The tapir and manatee are the largest animals of
the lowlands but neither seems to have been of great significance to the
natives. Bats are frequently represented in the ancient art and a bat
demon appears in several myths.
[Illustration: Fig. 4. The Moan Bird, or Yucatan Owl, personified as
a Demi-god. Dresden Codex.]
Upon the highlands of Mexico the Toltecan deer is still hunted, together
with the wild turkey that is the parent of our domestic birds. The
turkey was, in fact, domesticated by the Mexican tribes. It probably
occurred southward over the Guatemalan highlands, but is now extinct in
this latter region. In the southern part of Central America the place of
the turkey as an item of diet is taken by the curassow, a yellow-crested
bird with black plumage. The coppery-tailed trogon, the famous quetzal,
was sacred in ancient times and is now the emblem of Guatemala. This
beautiful bird occurs only in the cloud cap forest zone on the high
mountains of southern Mexico and Guatemala. Blue macaws, parrots,
paroquets, and humming birds contributed their gay plumage to adorn
headdresses and feather-covered cloaks. These and many other birds
doubtless flitted about in the aviary of Moctezuma. The black vulture,
the king vulture, and the harpy eagle are other conspicuous birds often
figured in the ancient art. The coyote, ocelot, and puma are the
principal beasts of prey on the highlands.
Among the characteristic trees of the lowlands may be mentioned the
palm, which occurs in great variety, the amate and ceiba, both of which
attain to large size, as well as mahogany, Spanish cedar (which is not a
cedar at all but a close relative of the mahogany), campeche, or
logwood, rosewood, sapodilla, and other trees of commerce. Upon the
higher mountain slopes are forests of long-leaf pine and of oak. In the
desert stretches the cactus is often tree-like and there are many shrubs
that in the brief spring become masses of highly-colored blossoms.
Some of the principal crops of Mexico and Central America have been
introduced from the Old World, including coffee, sugar cane, and
bananas. Other crops such as maize, beans, chili peppers, cocoa, etc.,
are indigenous. Among the native fruits may be mentioned the aguacate,
or alligator pear, the mamey, the anona, or custard apple, the
guanabina, jocote, and nance.
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 came from a district called Veragua. After a few years of
stormy warfare the Spaniards established themselves firmly in this
golden land. Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, who emerged from the bickering mob
as the strongest leader, was the first white man to cross the Isthmus.
This he did in 1513, grandiloquently laying claim to the Pacific Ocean
and all the shores that it touched in the name of Spain. The crown
appointed the greedy and black-hearted Pedrarias Davila governor of
Darien and in 1517 he succeeded in having Balboa beheaded on a flimsy
charge. Colonization and exploration went forward rapidly. In 1519 the
old city of Panama, now in ruins, was founded. The rich region around
the Nicaraguan lakes was discovered by Gil Gonzalez Davila and the city
of Granada was founded in 1524. The exploration from the southern base
came in contact with that from the north in Salvador shortly after this
event.
[Illustration: Fig. 5. Spanish Ship in the Aubin Codex.]
Plate II.
[Illustration: (_a_) Site of Pueblo Viejo, the First Capital of
Guatemala.]
[Illustration: (_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 sailors were cast upon the coast of Yucatan. Most of them were
killed and sacrificed, but two survived. One of these survivors was
Geronimo de Aguilar, who later was rescued by Cortez and became his
guide and interpreter.
The first accredited voyage of discovery to Mexico was one under the
command of Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, which sailed from Cuba in
February, 1517. He coasted the northern and eastern shores of Yucatan.
When he attempted to obtain water he was worsted in a serious battle
with the Maya Indians. His expedition finally returned to Cuba in a sad
plight. The next year Juan de Grijalva set out to continue the
exploration of the new land with the stone-built cities. He landed at
Cozumel Island and took possession. He explored the eastern coast of
Yucatan as well as the northern and western ones, discovered the mouth
of the large river that bears his name, and proceeded as far as the
Island of Sacrifices in the harbor of Vera Cruz.
The next year Hernando Cortez was sent out by Velasquez, the governor of
Cuba, to conquer the new land. He landed at Cozumel Island and rescued
Geronimo de Aguilar. Then he followed the coast to the mouth of the
Grijalva River where he disembarked and fought the important battle of
Cintla, the first engagement in the New World in which cavalry was used.
After a signal victory Cortez continued his way to Vera Cruz. Here delay
and dissension seemed about to break the luck of the invaders.
Although the Mexicans were somewhat inclined to regard the Spaniards as
supernatural visitants and to associate their coming with the fabled
return of Quetzalcoatl, the Plumed Serpent, still Moctezuma refused to
grant an interview to Cortez. The Totonacan city of Cempoalan opened its
gates and became allies of the invaders. Finally, at the instigation of
their stout-hearted captain, the Spaniards destroyed their ships on the
shore in order to steel their resolution through the impossibility of
retreat. Then the little band of 450 white men with their retinue of
natives marched towards the highlands. The route led past Jalapa and
over the mountains to the fortified city of Tlaxcala. This city, after a
skirmish, likewise enlisted in the Spanish cause, a course that came
easy because Tlaxcala was a traditional enemy of Tenochtitlan, the
ancient Mexico City, and had withstood the attacks of the Aztecs for
many years. From here Cortez passed to the sacred city of Cholula where,
suspecting treachery, he caused many of the inhabitants to be massacred.
[Illustration: Fig. 6. Cortez arrives with Sword and Cross and
Moctezuma brings him Gold. Codex Vaticanus 3738.]
In the Spanish histories one hears much concerning the omens, the
prophecies, and the vain appeals to the gods that became more and more
frequent and frantic as the invaders approached the capital. Arriving at
Ixtapalapan they entered upon the great causeway leading out to the
Venice-like city in the lake. Accepting the inevitable, Moctezuma and
his nobles met the Spaniards and conducted them to the Palace of
Axayacatl, which was prepared for their habitation. This took place in
November, 1519. The fears of Moctezuma were soon fulfilled, for he was
taken prisoner and held as a hostage of safety in his own capital.
[Illustration: Fig. 7. Aztecan Canoe. Lienzo de Tlaxcala.]
Meanwhile Velasquez, convinced of the unfaithfulness of Cortez,
dispatched Narvaez to capture the rebellious agent. But Narvaez was
himself captured and his soldiers went to augment the army of the
victor.
Alvarado had been left in command of the garrison at Tenochtitlan during
the absence of Cortez. The time approached for the great feast of
Tezcatlipoca and the Spaniards, fearing the results of this appeal to
the principal Aztecan god, resolved to be the first to strike. The
multitude assembled in the temple enclosure was massacred and after this
deed the soldiers fought their way back to the stronghold in which they
were quartered. The Aztecs were thoroughly aroused by this unwarranted
cruelty as well as by the cupidity of the Spaniards. Cortez hastened
back to take personal charge; but in spite of victories in the storming
of the pyramids and in other hand-to-hand contests, the invaders were so
weakened that their condition was truly alarming. Moctezuma died in
captivity and the last restraint of the natives was removed.
The night of June 30, 1520, is famous as La Noche Triste—The Sad
Night—for on this night the Spaniards attempted to steal out of the city
that had become untenable. The natives were warned by a woman’s shriek
and a desperate encounter took place on the narrow causeway loading to
Tlacopan. The bridges were torn down and the Spanish soldiers in armor
were hemmed in between the deep canals. At last, however, the firm land
was reached. Here, instead of following up the victory, the natives
permitted the Spaniards to re-form their ranks. A few days later Cortez
was able to restore something of his lost prestige by the decisive
victory at Otumba, after which he continued his retreat to the friendly
Tlaxcala.
A year was spent in recuperation, in building boats for an attack from
the lake, and in putting down the Aztecan outposts. In the meantime the
natives were suffering from a dreadful visitation of smallpox,
introduced by the Spaniards, and Cuitlahuac, the successor of Moctezuma,
had died of this disease after a rule of eighty days. Finally
Tenochtitlan was besieged again. The buildings were leveled to the
ground as the Spaniards advanced.
Plate III.
[Illustration: (_a_) View of the Island Town of Flores in Lake Peten
where the Last Capital of the Itzas was located.]
[Illustration: (_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 were sent
out to subdue the more distant provinces and to establish colonies.
Alvarado invaded the south and by 1524 he had captured Utatlan and other
native strongholds on the highlands of Guatemala and had invaded
Salvador. Cortez himself undertook a wonderful march from Vera Cruz to
the Gulf of Honduras to punish an unruly subordinate. His course lay
through the swamps and jungles of the Usumacinta Basin, thence across
the savannahs of southern Yucatan to Lake Peten, and, finally, over the
mountains to Lake Izabal and the Motagua River. Even today much of his
route would be called impassable for an army. Puerto Cortez, on the
northern coast of Honduras, was founded at the conclusion of this
expedition. The exploitation of Yucatan and Tabasco was granted to
Francisco Montejo, who began the conquest of this low-lying territory in
1527. The first campaigns were disastrous and heartbreaking. Several
short-lived Salamancas were founded, one of them at Chichen Itza. But
the odds were too great and by 1535 all the Spaniards had been killed or
expelled. The son of Montejo renewed the struggle. In 1540 Campeche was
founded and early in 1542 the city of Mérida was established upon the
site of an earlier Mayan town.
Progress was also rapid in the north. Nuño de Guzman departed in 1529 on
a mission to conquer Michoacan and the great northern province known as
New Galicia. His rule was marred by many acts of cruelty. In 1538
Coronado, the successor of Guzman, led his army northward to the land of
the Pueblo Indians and then out into the Great Plains. Before the first
English settlement was made in North America the power of Spain was
firmly established, not only throughout Central America and Mexico, but
also in the southwestern part of the United States.
The spiritual conquest was no less remarkable than the territorial. The
priests accompanied and even preceded the armies with the doctrine of
the cross. The rough and ready characters that enliven the wonderful
drama of this period had the vices of greed and cruelty, but nearly all
were imbued with a pride of religion, if not with the true flame. The
firmness and bigotry on the one hand and the open sympathy on the other
with which the Catholic fathers met the practical problems before them
resulted in vast achievements. Either by accident or design certain
patron saints and efficacious shrines of special interest to the natives
were not long in becoming known. The Virgin of Guadeloupe and the Black
Christ of Esquipulas brought many converts to the foreign faith. Church
building was carried on apace. The various religious orders became rich
and powerful and exerted a strong influence upon civil administration.
The later history of this great region can be passed over briefly.
Cortez was the first governor general of Mexico but he was soon shorn of
his power as dictator at large. The First Audiencia was appointed in
1528 and is noteworthy simply by reason of its misrule. The Second
Audiencia, beginning two years later, put through some excellent reform
laws. The first Viceroy, the great and good Mendoza, arrived in 1535 and
for fifteen years the land prospered under his rule, which was benign
without being weak. He was succeeded by Luis de Velasco, who emancipated
many of the enslaved Indians. The long line of viceroys continued until
1821, when Spain was forced to relinquish her provinces in America.
Among the greatest of the viceroys was Bucareli, the forty-sixth in
line, who ruled Mexico from 1771-1779 while the United States of America
were just beginning to feel the pulse of life.
During the viceregal period in Mexico the region to the south was ruled
by the captain general of Guatemala. The dominion was subdivided into
five departments corresponding to the modern republics of Guatemala
(which then included the Mexican state of Chiapas), Honduras, Salvador,
Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Panama was ruled from the South American
province of New Granada.
Weakened by Napoleonic wars and rent by internal dissensions, Spain
found herself in the first two decades of the nineteenth century unable
to maintain her waning power in America. Bolivar and his brother
patriots raised the standard of revolt in South America in 1810 and in
the same year war for independence broke out in the north. Hidalgo, the
parish priest of Dolores, rang the liberty bell of Mexican freedom on
the 16th of September, 1810. This beloved patriot was captured the year
following, and shot, but the revolution, once begun, was continued under
Morelos and other leaders. After 1815 the cause seemed hopeless, but in
1820 there was a new uprising and General Iturbide, who was sent to put
it down, turned his army against the government and established himself
as emperor. Central America was also included in this Mexican empire.
The rule of Iturbide soon became unpopular and in 1823 he abdicated his
throne. The Mexican republic that was then instituted continued until
the French intervention in 1861. During this time the most noteworthy
events were the war with the United States in 1846-47 and the passing of
the reform laws under Benito Juarez that freed Mexico from the
oppressions of the church.
As a result of the French intervention Maximilian of Austria was made
emperor. This unfortunate ruler, who did much to beautify Mexico City,
was dethroned and shot in 1867. The republic was then re-established.
The other republics of Central America formed a federal union at the
time the first Mexican empire came to an end in 1823. This union was
preserved till 1839 and several later attempts were made to restore it.
The five republics have had such tempestuous careers as a result of
warfare, usurpation, and political brigandage that their material and
social development has been stunted. Several are now, however, on the
high road to stability.
Panama was until 1903 a part of Colombia. British Honduras had its
origin in the concessions given to English logwood gatherers and to the
fact that pirates found refuge behind the coral reefs that line the
shores. The English claim to the Mosquito Coast rested upon a similar
flimsy basis, and was finally abandoned.
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, however, are still spoken by hundreds of thousands of
natives.
The language having the greatest geographical extension within the area
under consideration is the Mexican, or Nahuan, now consolidated with the
Piman, Shoshonean, etc., in a great stock called the Uto-Aztecan. In its
extent this stock may be compared to the Indo-Iranian of the Old World
which comprises most of the modern and ancient languages of Europe as
well as those of a large part of Asia. Within the United States are the
numerous Shoshonean tribes found as far north as Idaho, reaching into
California on the one hand and into Texas on the other. In southern
Arizona and northwestern Mexico come the Piman group. East of the Sierra
Madre are the Tarahumare and the Tepehuane. These languages are mutually
unintelligible, although morphologically related, and all are subdivided
into dialects. The relationship is proved through laborious comparison
and analysis of the words and grammar, in the same way as the
philologist proves that Persian, Greek, Russian, English and Welsh are
all cognate tongues. Farther to the south are still other divisions of
the stock; including the Huichol and Cora of the mountainous region
north of Guadalajara and the Mexican or Aztecan of the Valley of Mexico
and adjacent country. The Mexican language is still spoken by a million
or more natives and is divided into a number of dialects. Properly the
Aztecs are a single tribe whose chief city was Tenochtitlan, the ancient
Mexican City. They first appear on the page of history as the Mexitin,
along with the closely related Chalca, Xochimilca, etc. The people of
Central Mexico called their language Nahuatl, meaning “clear speech” and
nicknamed their relatives to the south, Pipil, or “boys” because they
spoke awkwardly. Mexican colonies were widespread before the coming of
the Spaniards and during the Conquest the distribution of this nation
was made still greater. The Mexicans, and especially the natives of
Tlaxcala, accompanied the Spaniards on military expeditions against
other tribes and as a consequence many place names in southern Mexico
and Guatemala were translated into their language. There were, however,
large groups of Indians of Mexican stock already located in southern
Guatemala and in Salvador. Still farther south were the Niquirao of
Nicaragua and a little-known group called the Sigua in Costa Rica.
The wide geographical distribution of Uto-Aztecan languages has an
undeniable historical significance. The numerous tribes represent a very
wide range in culture albeit nearly all are dwellers of arid or
semi-arid regions. Some like the Paiute, are miserable “diggers” willing
to eat anything that will support life; others like the Comanche are
warlike raiders; more progressive tribes like the Hopi have adopted
agriculture and developed interesting arts and customs; while the
highest members of the group are among the most civilized nations of the
New World. It seems clear that language can be used as a basis of
classification over a much greater stretch of time than can other social
habits summed up as “culture.” Particular phases of art, religion, and
government develop and disappear, but the grouping of sounds used to
express ideas remains as proof that peoples now far apart
geographically, as well as in their habits and achievements, were once
close together. The peculiar distribution of the Uto-Aztecan languages
may indicate a general southward movement of the stock.
The second most important linguistic stock is the Mayan, now spoken by
over half a million people. This stock has only one outlying member,
namely, the Huasteca of northern Vera Cruz. The other twenty-one
languages cover a continuous area in the Mexican states of Yucatan,
Tabasco, and Chiapas, and in the republic of Guatemala. The most
important language of the group is the Maya proper, which is spoken by
the natives of Yucatan and by the Lacandone Indians of the Usumacinta
Valley. The Tzental, Quiché, Cakchiquel, Chol, and Chorti are other
prominent languages.
In the region of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec are the Zapotecan and
Mixtecan stocks, which differ widely in sound and structure from the
Mayan and Nahuan tongues that hem them in. West and east of the Valley
of Mexico are, respectively, the Tarascan and Totonacan stocks, which
show no great amount of subdivision. In Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa
Rica are several language groups that have never been carefully studied.
It seems likely that some of these will be consolidated when words and
grammatical structures are better known. The Chiapanecan languages were
spoken in three localities on the Pacific side of Nicaragua and Costa
Rica, while a fourth division occupied a small area far to the northwest
on the banks of the Chiapas River. It is now believed that the Otomi
group, as well as a number of minor languages, including the Mazatecan,
belong in a single stock with the Chiapanecan. If this supposed
connection should prove true a northern movement of the stock would be
pretty surely indicated. Several members of the Subtiaban stock show the
same south to north movement and here there is evidence that the
migration took place some three centuries before the coming of the
Spaniards. Parts of the Isthmian region were held by tribes having
linguistic affiliation with South America and it is not unlikely that a
considerable back flow from South America made itself felt along the
Atlantic coast of Central America, if we may judge by ethnological
features and by suggested linguistic connections.
The great Hokan stock has now been extended from California across
northern Mexico to Texas, taking in the Seri and numerous other tribes
of low culture. For the most part these tribes are extinct or at least
have lost the ancient speech.
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 8. Design on Modern Huichol Ribbon.]
[Illustration: Fig. 9. Woven Pouch of the Huichol Indians showing
Two-Headed Austrian Eagle.]
The Pima, Seri, Tarahumare, Tepehuane, and other tribes of the extreme
north and northwest of Mexico have until recent times been comparatively
unmodified by Spanish influences. Basketry, textiles, and pottery have
been maintained by them as well as many religious ceremonies. Farther
south among the Cora and Huichol there also are surviving arts. The
woven fabrics of these Indians are very beautiful but introduced ideas
are frequently seen. For instance, a very common motive in Huichol
textile art is the two-headed Austrian eagle evidently taken from the
coins of Charles V. Crowns similar to those worn by the two-headed eagle
are often shown on the heads of rampant animals. But most of the motives
are doubtless of native origin.
Among the Huichol and Tarahumare the curious _peyote_, or _hikule_
worship may be studied. A small variety of cactus is eaten, which
induces ecstasy or stupor accompanied by color visions and peculiar
dreams. Elaborate ceremonies are associated with the eating and
gathering of this plant. The religious cult of the peyote has swept over
a large portion of the Great Plains Area of the United States and is
known even to Indians in the neighborhood of the Great Lakes. There can
be no doubt that the narcotic action of the peyote was known to the
Aztecs, who made a ceremonial use of it under the name _teonanacatl_. An
intoxicating drink called _teswin_ is commonly made in northern Mexico
from the heart of the mescal plant. It takes the place of the famous
_pulque_, the ancient beverage of the Mexican highlands. Hunting dances
in which are employed regalia and ceremonial objects of great interest
occur among the Huichol and neighboring tribes. The so-called “god’s
eyes” made of yarn strung spider-web fashion over crossed sticks are
practically identical with the “squash blossoms” of the Pueblo Indians.
There are also real temple structures, or “god houses,” which are very
significant when we consider the former importance of the temple among
the more highly civilized peoples to the south. In these and other
respects the Huichol culture is about midway between the culture of the
Southwestern Pueblo tribes and that which formerly existed in central
Mexico.
Elsewhere in northern and central Mexico it is possible to find many
suggestions of ancient Indian ways of living. In nearly all the outlying
villages the old-time thatched huts are still used, while baskets, gourd
vessels, wooden bowls, earthen pots, and other household objects hark
back to native origins, although often modified by European contact. For
instance, glazing is commonly seen on the modern pottery. Many travelers
in Mexico bring away as souvenirs pieces of pottery from Guadalajara and
Cuernavaca. These wares are made by Indians, but in decoration they have
only slight traces of the ancient art of the Mexicans.
In dress there are noteworthy survivals. The _serape_ made either on the
narrow hand loom or on a crude form of the Spanish tread loom is a
picturesque element in the national dress that is rapidly disappearing
from view. Time was when the rich plantation owner wore a gayly colored
blanket on _fiesta_ days. The most famous centers for the manufacture
and sale of blankets were the cities of Saltillo and San Miguel. The
Saltillo pattern shows a medallion consisting of concentric diamonds in
various colors upon an all-over design in stripes. The motives are
minute geometric figures skilfully interlocked. The colors are rich and
permanent and are combined in a very pleasing manner. Saltillo blankets
must be classed among the finest textile products of the world. The best
period was before 1850. San Miguel blankets show characteristically a
rosette instead of a diamond in the center. Many beautiful blankets come
from other localities in Mexico. The Chimayo blankets have the same part
Indian, part Spanish origin and are made by the Spanish-speaking natives
in the mountain valleys of New Mexico.
Plate IV.
[Illustration: (_a_) A Guatemalan _huipili_ decorated with Highly
Conventionalized Animals in Embroidery.]
[Illustration: (_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 a short
huipili is worn over a longer one. An easily visited town where the
natives still wear the old-time dress is Amatlan, within an hour’s walk
of Cordova. The women of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec have a gorgeous
costume of which the most remarkable feature is a wide ruff worn around
the neck or on the back of the head. The Mayan women of Yucatan wear
white huipili with needlework in color around the bottom. On the
highlands of Guatemala the huipili is usually a blouse. The skirt
sometimes consists of a strip of cloth wrapped several times around the
body.
An interesting ceremony which survives in some parts of Mexico and
Guatemala has as its principal feature a lofty pole with a swivel
arrangement at the top to which long ropes are attached. These ropes are
wound round the swivel and performers, who may be dressed like birds,
attach themselves to the rope ends. During the process of unwinding the
performers whirl dizzily around the pole descending lower and lower and
swing in a wider and wider circle till they reach the ground.
The Lacandone Indians live in the marshy jungles that border the winding
Usumacinta. They speak the same tongue as the Maya Indians of Yucatan
but in the matter of culture they have acquired little from the
Spaniards. They still weave simple garments and make pottery vessels. In
hunting they use the bow and arrow, the latter usually tipped with a
point of stone. In their religious practices they use incense burners
which are comparable to those of the sixteenth century.
Plate V.
[Illustration: (_a_) Zapotecan Girl from the State of Oaxaca,
wearing a Turban-Like Headdress made of Yarn.]
[Illustration: (_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. They have now established themselves in the new land
where they raise the manioc or cassava root and press out the poisonous
juice in a basketry tube as do their kindred in the Orinoco Valley. Long
before the forcible immigration it is likely that the Caribs, who were
cannibalistic in habit, had raided the shores of Central America in
their seagoing canoes. A significant passage in the chronicles of the
Mayas states that naked man-eating savages visited Yucatan long before
the coming of the Spaniards.
The Mosquito Indians of the east coast of Nicaragua and Honduras have a
very considerable negro admixture. They are fishermen of low culture.
Farther inland are found the Sumo who flatten the heads of their
children and who hold strange feasts in honor of the dead in which the
dancers are masked so that none may be recognized. A string is stretched
over the tree tops from the grave to the feasting place and over this
string the ghost of the dead person is supposed to walk. When everyone
has fallen in a drunken stupor from _mishla_ the ghost of the dead man
departs for the land of the dead. These Sumo Indians build large houses
with open sides and are very skilful at fishing with bow and arrow and
steering their canoes through white rapids. They practise polygamous
marriages, weave cotton, and make interesting beadwork ornaments.
In the narrow Isthmian region there are tribes of Indians that resist
manfully the inroads of civilization. Perhaps the best known of these
are the San Blas Indians who inhabit the mountain fastnesses east of the
Canal Zone. In northern Costa Rica the Guatuso and Talamanca tribes
still maintain to a considerable degree their old native character.
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 excess of 5 feet 6 inches. To make up for their lack of height the
southern Indians are sturdy and heavy muscled, with deep chests. Their
hair is usually black and straight, but occasionally wavy. Light beards
and mustaches are sometimes worn, especially by the Mayas. The eyes are
so dark brown as to appear black to the casual observer. They are set
rather wide apart and while usually horizontal they seem, in some
instances, to have a slight Mongoloid tilt. Noses vary greatly but are
often finely aquiline. The cephalic index (obtained by dividing the
breadth of the head by its length and multiplying the result by 100) is
rather high. The Mayas are strongly round-headed with an index of 85.0
while their linguistic relatives, the Tzendals, have a medium index of
76.8. The other tribes of southern Mexico fall between these extremes.
No long-headed peoples are found in this area although in northern
Mexico some tribes approach the long-headed type.
[Illustration: Map of Mexico and Central America showing the Principal
Archæological Sites with a Detail Insert of the Valley of Mexico.
High-resolution Map]
Chapter I
THE ARCHAIC HORIZON
In 1910 an actual stratification of human products was found in the
environs of Mexico City in which three principal culture horizons could
be readily discerned. A collection made at the time, illustrating the
objects characteristic of the three strata, is on exhibition in the
American Museum of Natural History. In parts this stratification
verified theories of culture succession already held by students working
in this field. Since that time careful research in several localities
has been carried on and many authentic specimens from the three layers
have been brought together.
The stratigraphic series concerns sedentary life after the invention of
agriculture. Presumably a nomadic horizon preceded that of the first
farmers, but few traces of this have so far been reported from southern
Mexico and Central America. The earliest known specimens of the lowest
level are not rudimentary but are well stylized, and opinions vary as to
the length of time necessary for a theoretical formative stage. It seems
necessary to consider this old civilization as a stratigraphic unit
admitting the probability that true beginnings await the archæologist’s
spade.
The culture of the lowest stratum is here called archaic, a word meaning
old, but not necessarily primitive. The word “horizon” carries an
implication of chronological succession, but it would not be wise to
insist that archaic remains everywhere represent a dead chronological
level. Archaic art is oldest in its place of origin, the highlands of
Mexico and Central America, and in or near this general region, it was
first succeeded by higher types. On the margin of its distribution
archaic art, or at least the most striking traits of archaic art, lasted
into much more recent times, and in some places may even have survived
till the coming of the Spaniards. Even when every allowance is made for
independent expressions which may find nearly the same form, it seems
that remarkable homogeneity and continuity can be demonstrated for
products of the archaic civilization of the New World.
Most of the evidence of the old civilization consists of ceramic
objects, but there is also some stonework including implements,
ornaments, and crude statues. Common household pottery shows local
variations, but as a rule the archaic wares can be recognized as such by
qualities of paste, shape, and decoration. The motives are simply
geometric or realistic and there is a lack of formalized designs. One
process of decoration has wide distribution and seems to have been
invented well along in the archaic period. This is the process of
negative painting in which the lines of the decorative pattern,
originally applied in wax or pitch, stand out in the natural surface
color of the pot against an over-painted background. This “batik”
pottery extends from central Mexico to northern Peru.
The most interesting and important objects of archaic art in clay are
human figurines executed in peculiar styles. These not only reflect
details of dress, etc., but also seem to stand for a set of religious
ideas. Especially a type of figurine representing a nude female appears
to be an agricultural fetish, symbolizing the fecundity of Mother-Earth.
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 fragments of the typical Aztecan pottery in use when the
Spaniards arrived.
[Illustration: Fig. 10. Atzcapotzalco Destroyed. The temple burns at
the Place of the Ant.]
The stratification of the plain varies in different places so far as the
thickness of the different strata is concerned, but the order is always
the same. At one locality it is as shown in Fig. 11. First comes a layer
of fine soil of volcanic ash origin, probably deposited by the wind.
This is five or six feet in thickness, yellowish at the top, and much
darker towards the bottom, with streaks and discolorations. The Aztecan
pottery is found close to the surface, while Toltecan pottery occurs in
the middle and lower sections. Underneath the soil layers lies a thick
stratum of water-bearing gravel mixed with sand. This gravel stratum is
possibly the old bed of a stream that formerly entered Lake Texcoco near
this point. In some places it is fifteen or eighteen feet in thickness.
Scattered throughout the gravel are heavy, waterworn fragments of pots
as well as more or less complete figurines of the archaic type.
[Illustration: Fig. 11. Diagram of Culture Strata at Atzcapotzalco.]
Temple mounds of Toltecan period.
Surface finds of Aztecan period.
Remains of Toltecan period.
Deep stratum of water-bearing gravels containing remains of archaic
period.
Bed rock of hard clay.
At other sites, such as Colhuacan, the Toltecan layer is of greater
thickness and the archaic layer of lesser thickness. The remains extend
below the present level of the water and may indicate that considerable
changes have taken place in the level of the lake. But we must remember
that many of the ancient settlements were built over the water and that
land was made in ancient times, as it is today in the gardens of
Xochimilco, by deepening canals. Archaic remains are also common on the
denuded tops of hills which may once have been covered by soil.
A stratification of archæological remains has recently been determined
in Salvador.
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. Tales of clay figurines found under the lava in this quarry
had been current for years, but no serious investigation was made until
human burials were met with in the earth under the great lava cap. Then
a series of tunnels was dug and a considerable number of ancient burials
were uncovered, but not moved from their original position. One now
enters an electric-lighted graveyard and sees human bodies lying exactly
as they have lain for untold centuries, with the funeral offerings
beside them. This enormously important find gives us an historical level
in mid-Archaic.
Another site, at Cuicuilco, on the opposite side of the lava flow, has
received attention from archæologists. Here a great round mound rises in
terraces faced with cobblestones. It is surrounded by the lava flow and
some persons have assumed that the mound was already abandoned and in
decay when the lava flow took place. Perhaps, however, the mound was
built on a piece of land that the lava flow had spared. There are no
contacts between the lava and the mound except at the ends of two
projecting aprons or causeways. The pottery at this site is sufficiently
different from that found at Copilco.
Plate VI.
[Illustration: (_a_) Cuicuilco. A view showing cobblestone facing of
mound and lava in contact with apron or causeway.]
[Illustration: (_b_) Archaic Site under Lava Flow near Mexico City.
A local museum has been established at this site in electric-lighted
tunnels.]
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 cultivated plants in the New World are different from
those of the Old World and there is a vast area in northwestern America
and northeastern Asia, upon the only open line of communication, where
agriculture and the higher arts have never been practised.
[Illustration: Fig. 12. _Teocentli_ or Mexican Fodder Grass.]
Now the invention of agriculture is an antecedent necessity for all the
high cultures of the New World. It is equally clear that this invention
must have taken place in a locality where some important food plant grew
in a wild state. By far the most important food plant of the New World
is maize. While this plant has changed greatly under domestication,
botanists are inclined to find its nearest relative and possible
progenitor in a wild grass growing on the highlands of Mexico and known
by the Aztecan name _teocentli_, which means sacred maize. It is known
that maize is at its best in a semi-arid tropical environment. It cannot
be brought to withstand frost although the growing season can be cut
down to meet the requirements of a short summer. Geographically its use
extended from the St. Lawrence to the Rio de la Plata and from sea level
to an elevation of fifteen thousand feet in tropical regions. The
Mexican highlands occupy the central position in the area of its
distribution and archæological evidence strongly points to this region
as being the cradle of agriculture and the attendant arts. Besides
maize, the most widely distributed food plants of the New World are
beans and squashes. Certain other plants were cultivated in more
restricted areas and may have had different places of origin. For
instance, manioc was doubtless brought under cultivation in a humid
lowland region, probably the Amazon Valley, and the same may be said of
sweet potatoes. The common potato was found under domestication in Peru
and there is no very good evidence that its use extended into Central
America.
Irrigation would have been necessary before agriculture could have been
developed to any great extent on the highlands of Mexico. Although
irrigation is often looked upon as a remarkable sequel of the
introduction of agriculture into an arid country, yet from the best
historical evidence at our command we should rather regard it as a
conception which accounts for the very origin of agriculture itself. The
earliest records of cultivated plants are from Mesopotamia, Egypt,
Mexico, and Peru where irrigation was practised. In these regions are
also seen the earliest developments of the characteristic arts of
sedentary peoples, namely, pottery and weaving, and the elaborate social
and religious structures that result from a sure food supply and a
reasonable amount of leisure.
If this theory is true we must admit that below the Archaic Horizon we
should find traces of a horizon of non-agricultural peoples, living a
nomadic life without pottery. Unfortunately, such peoples make fewer
objects and scatter them more widely than do sedentary agriculturists.
No one on the basis of present knowledge can offer more than an opinion
concerning the date of the invention of agriculture in the New World.
The thick deposits left by the sedentary peoples argue great age and the
wide area of homogeneous products argues slow change. In the most
favored regions archaic art may have been succeeded by higher forms
shortly before the time of Christ, and perhaps 5000 years is not too
long a time to allow for the diversities of the domesticated plants of
America.
Archaic Figurines.
Plate VII.
[Illustration: 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.]
[Illustration: Fig. 13. Archaic Figurines from Central Mexico. The
first three specimens are from under the lava at Copilco.]
[Illustration: Fig. 14. Archaic Figurines—Zapotlan, Jalisco;
Tampico, Vera Cruz; and Cuesta Blanca, Salvador.]
Archaic art is characterized by figures of men and women modeled in clay
and sometimes painted. The forms are peculiar and the technique well
standardized. Most are modeled in a flat gingerbread fashion into a
gross shape. Upon this gross shape special features are indicated by
stuck-on ribbons and buttons of clay and by gougings and incisings with
some pointed instrument. Modeling was done entirely by hand, moulds
being as yet unknown. The figurines are usually from two to five inches
in height and often represent nude women in sitting or standing
positions with the hands upon the knees, hips, or breasts. The heads are
characteristically of slight depth compared with their height, the limbs
taper rapidly from a rather plump torso and hands and feet are mere
knobs with incised details. When the figures are intended to stand
erect, as is often the case, the feet show signs of having been pinched
between the thumb and finger of the potter so that they have a forward
and backward cusp and a broad base of support. Groovings are seen in
connection with the hair, eyes, mouth, fingers, toes, and details of
dress and ornament. Paint is often added to this surface to indicate
tattooing, textile patterns, etc.
[Illustration: Fig. 15. Archaic Figurine from Salvador.]
The eyes of the archaic images—and the mouths as well—are made according
to several methods. First, there is the simple groove; second, a groove
across an applied ball or button of clay; third, a round gouging made by
the end of a blunt implement held vertically; fourth, a round gouging in
an applied ball or button of clay; fifth, two gougings made with a round
or chisel-edged implement held at an angle. The second form of eye,
which resembles a grain of coffee, and the fifth form with the double
gouging made from the center outward, are found from the northern limits
of archaic art in Mexico as far south as Colombia and Venezuela.
[Illustration: Fig. 16. Types of Eyes of Archaic Figurines.]
The technique of manufacture naturally changes somewhat with the
increase in size. There is also reason to believe that the largest
hollow figures come from the end of the Archaic Period in Mexico, and
especially those that have been found in the state of Jalisco and the
territory of Tepic. The eyelids are often rather carefully modeled and
sometimes an eyeball is put in between the lids. These and perforated
eyes seem to be the latest characters to be developed in the archaic art
and it is significant that they are not found over such a wide area as
the first five types of eyes given above.
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. Body painting, or tattooing, appears to have been a common
usage. Among weapons the _atlatl_, or spear-thrower, was already known
and knobby clubs seem to have been popular. Men are shown beating on
drums and turtle shells, while women nurse children and carry water.
Since the large figures of clay are often found in tombs it is not
impossible that they were intended to be portraits of the dead. Many
have a startling quality of caricature.
[Illustration: Fig. 17. Textile Designs painted on Archaic
Effigies.]
Archaic art is a pretty certain index of the religion then in vogue.
There is a notable absence of purposely grotesque or compounded figures
representing divinities such as will be found in the later horizons. We
miss entirely the characteristic Mexican gods such as Tlaloc and
Ehecatl. Dogs are frequently modeled in clay and were apparently
developed into a rather special domestic breed. Snakes are sometimes
found as a plastic decoration on pottery but there are few signs of
serpent worship. We can find no evidence that human sacrifice was
practiced. The presence of human figurines in graves has already been
mentioned and the suggestion made that some of them may have been
intended as portraits of the dead. Nude female figurines in sitting or
standing position have an unbroken distribution from Mexico into South
America and it is not unlikely that the primitive agriculturists
associated them with fertility and used them as amulets to secure good
crops. The male figurines may have been votive offerings for success at
arms.
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 with the figures in clay already described.
[Illustration: Fig. 18. Typical Tripod Vessels of the Archaic
Period, from Morelos, Mexico.]
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.
[Illustration: (_a_)]
[Illustration: (_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.
[Illustration: Fig. 19. Series showing the Modification of a Celt
into a Stone Amulet. State of Guerrero, Mexico, probably late
Archaic.]
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 relief.
The arms and legs are ordinarily flexed so that the elbows meet over the
knees. The eyes and mouths in the most carefully finished pieces
protrude, but the face has little or no modeling. Many celts are
modified into figures by grooves, and faces are frequently represented
on roughly conical or disk-shaped stones.
Plate IX.
[Illustration: (_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.]
[Illustration: (_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 may have been developed towards the end of the Archaic
Period. It would be interesting to determine whether adobe moulded into
bricks was known at this time, as it was at a later time in the same
region, or whether walls were built up out of fresh mud possibly
reinforced by slabs of stone.
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 little fetishes representing women then these fetishes would spread
as part of the agricultural complex.
It now seems possible that the cult of the female figurine reached our
Southwestern states on the earliest level of agricultural life. In sites
belonging to Basket-Maker III—the archæological level of the first
Pueblo pottery—little female fetishes are found and, indeed, are
symptomatic of this early culture. They are cruder than anything as yet
found in Mexico, but not necessarily older. With them occurs a primitive
maize doubtless introduced from the south.
In the Isthmian region, on the other side of the Mexican and Central
American cradle of New World agricultural civilization, there are small
figurines quite similar to the archaic figurines of Mexico and Salvador
as regards pose and bodily proportions. These are mostly on the level of
the first Mayan civilization even in cases where the coffee-grain eye is
used. Around the Nicaraguan lakes the figurines of nude females were
cast in moulds, a device entirely unknown on the Archaic Horizon in
Mexico. In the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica the figurines are
skilfully modeled with painted designs in black on a dark brilliant red,
which may represent tattooing. In the Chiriqui Province of Panama the
figurines belong in a ceramic group characterized by the use of highly
conventionalized alligators or crocodiles. It has already been stated
that designs of the Archaic Horizon in Mexico are either geometric or
naïvely realistic. There is another matter that deserves attention: some
of these southern types of the female fetish occur in distinctly humid
lands and this, by itself, is a strong argument against great antiquity.
The Isthmian female fetish must have been implanted on the Archaic
Horizon even though the present examples are mostly from post-archaic
times. Perhaps future archæological investigation will reveal early
stations of a purely archaic type in desert parts of Costa Rica and
Panama. Till then a controlling fact is that Mayan religious art avoids
all references to sex and cannot, therefore, possibly be held
responsible for the culture trait of the female fetish. But this fetish
does agree with a pre-Mayan concept, as we have seen.
Plate X. Widely Distributed Female Figurines:
[Illustration: (_a_) Nicaragua.]
[Illustration: (_b_) Panama.]
[Illustration: (_c_) Venezuela.]
[Illustration: (_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
resin to a simple underlying form of the same material.
In Colombia and Venezuela archaic art is common in arid and mountainous
territory. Local developments confuse the issue of time. Various
cultural successions took place here, the Quimbaya, Sinu, and Tairona
Indians having developed civilizations with possible Mayan affiliations
in some features. The archaic figurines of Colombia are decorated with
designs made by the process of negative painting through the medium of
wax. This process is pretty generally distributed from central Mexico to
northern Peru. The indications are that it was invented long before the
rise of the Mayas, and once invented remained popular.
As regards Venezuela the figurines of men and women from the Eastern
Andes are often strikingly similar to those of Mexico, especially in
such matters as eyes made by double gougings. As a rule, these figurines
are painted. Around Lake Valencia they are made without paint, but in
combination with pottery designs showing the beginnings of
conventionalization. Here there is added the circumstance that wild
Carib tribes, coming down the Orinoco, drove the earlier inhabitants out
over the West Indies. This flight must have taken place centuries before
the coming of the Spaniards.
The archæology of the lower Amazon is best known from the remains found
on the Island of Marajo where female figurines exhibit close similarity
in pose to specimens from Venezuela and Mexico. This culture of Marajo
seems to have been disrupted before the coming of Europeans. But it may
be significant that crude fetishes representing women are used at the
present time by tribes on the margins of the old Amazonian culture area.
The earliest level at Ancon, Peru, yields ware recalling northern
products. Nude females, apparently of somewhat later time, however, are
in standing rather than sitting pose. It seems, then, that the trail of
dissemination of agriculture and the ancillary arts can be followed
across the northern part of South America and southward along the Andes
to Peru. The greatest similarities must be sought in the oldest objects
and some leeway granted in the case of marginal survivals.
It is proper to speak of agriculture, pottery-making, and weaving as the
great civilizing complex. Few inventions could break down the ordinary
boundaries of language and environment, as these had done. Yet, after
the discovery of America, the horse, introduced by the Spaniards, spread
rapidly through native tribes, modifying their lives greatly. It is
capable of demonstration that with the horse went two types of
saddle—the pack saddle and the riding saddle. Similarly in the first
rapid spread of agriculture went pots and woven garments.
Two maps of the New World are given herewith: the first showing the
extent of the Archaic Horizon and the second the final distribution of
pottery among the American Indians and the final distribution of
agriculture. The agricultural area is subdivided according to, first,
the arid land type where irrigation is generally practised; second, the
humid land type; and third, the temperate land type. The first type of
agriculture appears to be the earliest and the range coincides, for the
most part, with the range of the archaic pottery art.
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-Archaic Horizon
Specialized cultures in North, Central, and South America dependent
upon agriculture. Strong local developments in esthetic arts,
religious ideas, and social institutions. Agriculture extended to
humid tropical and temperate regions.
Plate XI.
[Illustration: 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.]
Plate XII.
[Illustration: 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.
Plate XIII.
[Illustration: 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.]