THE AZTECS
The Aztecs were the dominant nation on the highlands of Mexico when
Cortez marched with his small army to conquer New Spain. The horrible
sacrifices that they made to their gods and the wealth and barbaric
splendor of their rulers have often been described. But their history in
point of time covered short space and their art and religion was based
in a large measure on achievements of the nations that had preceded
them.
Mayas and Aztecs compared to Greeks and Romans.
A remarkably close analogy may be drawn between the Mayas and Aztecs in
the New World and the Greeks and Romans in the Old, as regards
character, achievements, and relations one to the other. The Mayas, like
the Greeks, were an artistic and intellectual people who developed
sculpture, painting, architecture, astronomy and other arts and sciences
to a high plane. Politically, both were divided into communities or
states that bickered and quarreled. There were temporary leagues between
certain cities, but real unity only against a common enemy. Culturally,
both were one people, in spite of dialectic differences, for the warring
factions were bound together by a common religion and a common thought.
To be sure the religion of the Mayas was much more barbaric than that of
the Greeks but in each case the subject matter was idealized and
beautified in art.
Plate XXXIX.
[Illustration: Page from the Codex Telleriano-Remensis showing a
Native Manuscript with Explication by the Spaniards. The death of
Chimalpopoca and the election of his successor, Itzcouatl, is
recorded, as well as the capture of Atzcapotzalco.]
The Aztecs, like the Romans, were a brusque and warlike people who built
upon the ruins of an earlier civilization that fell before the force of
their arms and who made their most, notable contributions to
organization and government. The Toltecs stand just beyond the foreline
of Aztecan history and may fitly be compared to the Etruscans. They were
the possessors of a culture derived in part from their brilliant
contemporaries that was magnified to true greatness by their ruder
successors.
The Chichimecas.
The term Chichimecas was applied by the more civilized tribes of the
Mexican highlands to those nomads outside the pale who dressed in skins
and hunted with the bow and arrow. Some of these wandering groups spoke
Nahuan dialects, but the term was also applied to the Otomis who spoke a
distinct language. Possibly through having been reduced in war certain
of these wandering groups were drawn into civilization and when the
Toltecan cities began to decline, they advanced to considerable power
and prestige. In fact, the Aztecs may be considered as originally
Chichimecan, along with the people of Texcoco. In later times, these
city-broken nomads looked back with considerable pride on their lowly
origin. The early life in the open is pictured interestingly in several
documents including the Map of Tlotzin and the Map of Quinatzin.
We have already seen how the splendid culture of the Toltecan cities
broke down under the weight of civil war about 1220 A. D. To be sure,
Cholula appears to have kept alive the flame of Toltecan religion and
art up to the advent of the Spaniards. Atzcapotzalco, Colhuacan, and
other towns near the lakes that had been established during the Toltecan
period were able to hold their own for a time against the newer order.
Xolotl, founder of the dynasty of Texcoco, makes his first appearance in
the Valley of Mexico in 1225, five years after the dispersion of the
Toltecs, according to the Codex Xolotl. He viewed the abandoned cities
but neither he nor his immediate successors chose to lead a sedentary
life. The first date appears too early because it seems unlikely that
the reigns of Xolotl and his son actually covered ninety years. The
foundation of Texcoco took place in the reign of Techotlala and
Ixtlilxochitl, his son, fell a victim to the murderous policy of
Tezozomoc, the famous tyrant of Atzcapotzalco. Nezahualcoyotl, who
regained the throne in 1431 was a great poet, philosopher, and law
maker. The rulers of Texcoco were as follows:—
THE DYNASTY OF TEXCOCO
Nomadic Chieftains
Xolotl 1225-1284
Nopalli 1284-1315
Tlotzin 1315-1324
Quinatzin 1324-1357
Sedentary Chieftains
Techotlala 1357-1409
Ixtlilxochitl 1409-1418
(Interregnum) 1418-1431
Nezahualcoyotl 1431-1472
Nezahualpilli 1472-1515
Cacama 1515-1520
Aztecan History.
The history of the Aztecs has a mythological preamble in common with
other nations of Mexico. The Chicomoztoc or Seven Caves must not be
considered historical but simply man’s place of emergence from the
underworld. The general conception of an existence within the earth that
preceded the existence upon the earth is found very widely among North
American Indians. It is likewise impossible to locate the Island of
Aztlan, that served, according to several codices, as the starting place
of the Mexican migration. The northern origin for the Aztecan tribe to
which so much attention has been paid need not have been far from the
Valley of Mexico, since in their entire recorded peregrination they
hardly traveled eighty miles.
Owing to the ineffectiveness of the Mexican time count Aztecan
chronology is far from fixed. The year was known by the day with which
it began and as this day ran the permutation of four names and thirteen
numbers a cycle was fifty-two years in length. No method of keeping the
cycles in their proper order seems to have been devised except the
laborious one of putting down every year in sequence whether or not an
event occurred in it. According to different authorities the year 1
Stone which begins the historical account in the Aubin Codex was 648,
1064, or 1168 in the European calendar, each date differing from the
others by multiples of fifty-two years. The last base, 1168, is correct;
this being the epoch of the Toltec Era established by Quetzalcoatl.
Plate XL.
[Illustration: Serpent Head at Bottom of Balustrade, Great Pyramid,
Mexico City. The same excavations showed that the Great Pyramid was
enlarged several times and this sculpture seems to have been buried
under the walls long before the coming of the Spaniards. Compare
Serpent Balustrade at Chichen Itza.]
The wandering tribes, among which may be mentioned the Chalca,
Xochimilca, Tlahuica, Huexotzinca, Tepaneca, and Azteca, pushed their
way into the region of the lakes and were allowed to live in less
desirable locations as vassals to the established tribes. The
“peregrinations” relate the succession of stops and the length of each
stop. The Aztecs themselves made twenty or more stops lasting from two
to twenty years. Finally, about 1325, they reached Chapultepec and for a
number of years lived in comparative peace and quiet. Their bad manners
and growing power excited the enmity of several nearby towns and in 1351
the Aztecs, under their chieftain Huitzilihuitl, were worsted in a
fierce battle. Remnants of the tribe, including Huitzilihuitl and his
daughter, sought the protection of Cozcoztli, king of Colhuacan. They
soon were able to repay his support in a war with Xochimilco. The first
actual settlement on the site of the future Tenochtitlan was made in
1364 and in 1376 Acamapictli, a noble allied to the royal house of
Colhuacan, was elected to be the first war chief of the new city.
[Illustration: Fig. 70. Pictographic Record of fighting near the
Springs of Chapultepec, “Hill of the Grasshopper.” Aubin Codex.]
One of the first improvements undertaken by the new city was in the
matter of water supply. Rights were secured to the famous spring of
Chapultepec, an important gain because the brackish waters of the lake
were not fit to drink. A double water main of terra cotta was laid from
the springs to the town. New land was made, probably after the manner
still to be seen in the famous floating gardens of Xochimilco by
throwing the soil from the bed of the shallow lake into enclosed areas
of wattle work. Gradually a Venice-like city, traversed by canals and
admirably protected from attack, rose from the lake. At the coming of
the Spaniards there were three causeways leading to the shores of the
lake and each of these was protected by drawbridges. There was a city
wall upon which were lighthouses for the guidance of homecoming
fishermen. There were palaces and market places and a great central
plaza called the Tecpan, where were situated the principal temples.
The Spaniards destroyed the ancient city, blocking up the canals with
the débris of temples, and building the new City of Mexico over the
leveled ruins. Ancient relics are brought to light wherever excavations
are made. In 1900 many sculptures and ceremonial objects were uncovered
in Escalerillas street near the Cathedral. Recently a building near the
National Museum was torn down for replacement and in digging for new
foundations part of the base of the great pyramid was found. This had
been enlarged several times, as could be seen by the stairways
successively buried under new walls. At the bottom of the balustrade of
one stairway a great serpent head of stone was found in its original
position (Plate XL).
The Aztecs count their history as a great people from their first war
chief Acamapichtli who commenced his rule in 1376 (Codex Aubin). The
names and the order of the succeeding war chiefs are the same in several
records, but the dates are found to vary slightly.
Acamapichtli 1376-1396
Huitzilihuitl 1396-1417
Chimalpopoca 1417-1427
Itzcouatl 1427-1440
Moctezuma I 1440-1469
Axayacatl 1469-1482
Tizoc 1482-1486
Ahuitzotl 1486-1502
Moctezuma II 1502-1520
Cuitlahua 1520
Cuauhtemoc 1520-1521
After throwing off the yoke of their early overlords, the Tepanecas, by
the subjection of Atzcapotzalco at the beginning of the brilliant reign
of Itzcouatl, the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan entered into a three-cornered
league with Texcoco and Tlacopan (Tacuba). This was an offensive and
defensive alliance with an equal division of the spoils of war. Soon the
united power of these three cities dominated the Valley of Mexico and
began to be felt across the mountains on every side. Tenochtitlan
gradually assumed the commanding position in the league, and although
Texcoco continued to be an important center the third member was
apparently much reduced. The great votive stone of Tizoc records some of
the earlier conquests of the Aztecs. At the arrival of Cortez only a few
important cities such as Tlaxcala retained their independence. But the
crest of power had then been passed and it seems pretty certain that the
remarkable city in the lake would in time have suffered the fate of
other self-constituted capitals both in the Old World and the New.
Social Organization.
Spanish historians often liken Tenochtitlan to the seat of an empire and
speak of the ruler as one who had the power of an absolute monarch while
other and more recent writers have declared that the tribal organization
of the Aztecs was essentially democratic. The truth doubtless lies
between these extremes. The people were warlike by nature and all men,
except a few of the priesthood, were soldiers. Honors depended largely
upon success in war and warriors were arranged in ranks according to
their deeds. The common warriors formed one rank and next came those who
had distinguished themselves by definite achievements which gave the
right to wear certain articles of dress or to bear certain titles. The
chiefs were elected for an indefinite term of office from the most
distinguished fighters and could be removed for cause.
But while the offices of state were elective there was, nevertheless, a
tendency to choose from certain powerful families and at least the
foundation of an aristocratic policy. A chief was succeeded by his son
or brother except when these candidates were manifestly unfit. In the
actual succession of the great war chiefs of Tenochtitlan, a peculiar
system seems to have been followed in that the candidates from the older
generation were ordinarily exhausted before the next lower generation
became eligible. Thus Huitzilihuitl, Chimalpopoca, and Itzcouatl were
all sons of Acamapichtli, and the last and greatest was born of a slave
mother. Then followed Moctezuma Ilhuicamina I, the son of Huitzilihuitl.
This chief had no male heirs but the children of his daughter ruled in
order: Axayacatl, Tizoc, and Ahuitzotl. Moctezuma II was the son of the
first of these as was Cuitlahua, while Cuauhtemoc, the last Aztec ruler,
was the son of Ahuitzotl. This peculiar succession was not in vogue in
Texcoco, where son succeeded father and the lawful wife was chosen from
the royalty of Tenochtitlan. In the various annals, the genealogies are
often indicated and the evidence that aristocracies existed is too
strong to be overthrown. There are even cases of queens who succeeded to
the chief power after the death of the royal husband.
It is extremely doubtful whether the Aztecs ever had what might be
called clans. We have seen that there were originally eight closely
related tribes constituting the Mexica or Mexici nation. The Aztecs
themselves are said to have been divided into seven groups that were
first reduced to four or five and then increased to about twenty. It is
not clear that these were exogamic kinship groups. They were probably
military societies taking into their membership all the men of the
tribe. The name _Calpolli_, or “great house,” which was applied to them
seems to have referred to a sort of barracks or general meeting place in
each ward or division of the city where arms and trophies were kept and
the youth educated in the art of war. The title in land was held by the
_calpolli_ and the right of use distributed among the heads of families
who held possession only so long as the land was worked. Each _calpolli_
seems to have had a certain autonomy in governmental matters as well as
a local religious organization. It is curious to find in Salvador, far
to the south, the word _calpolli_ applied to the platform mounds that
surround courts in the ancient ruins. This use of the word may indicate
that the “great houses” of the different societies were ordinarily the
principal buildings of the city and that they were used for civil,
military, and religious purposes.
In forming judgment on the fundamentals of social organization among the
Aztecs we must remember that no clear case of kinship clans has been
reported south of the area of the United States. Among the Cakchiquels,
a Mayan tribe of the Guatemalan highlands, two royal houses are reported
from which the ruling chief was alternately drawn. The Zotzils have been
explained as a bat clan because their name is associated with the word
for bat and because a bat god appears to have been their patron deity.
The Mazatecas and Mixtecas, Deer people and Cloud people, also have
clanlike names but in all cases these are designations of entire tribes,
not of subdivisions of tribes.
Plate XLI.
[Illustration: Sahagun’s Plan of the Tecpan in Mexico City. After
Seler. Among the details shown are: (_a_) The two great temples;
(_b_) The _Quauhxicalli_ or eagle bowl; (_c_) One of the
_Callimecatl_, or priest houses; (_e_) An eagle house or warriors’
shrine; (_f_) The _Teotlachtli_ or ball court of the gods; (_g_)
_Tzompantli_ or skull rack; (_h_) The temple of Xipi; (_i_) The
_Temalacatl_ or Gladiator Stone; (_k_) The _Colhuacan Teocalli_ or
temple of Colhuacan; (_l-m_) The gods 5 Lizard and 5 House
respectively; (_n_) Dance courts; (_o_) _Coatenamitl_ or Serpent
Wall, so called because it was decorated with heads of serpents.]
Tenochtitlan was divided into four quarters and each quarter subdivided
into a number of wards. An under chief was elected from each of the
subdivisions which are doubtless to be identified with the _calpolli_,
and an over chief from each of the four quarters. Above these stood the
war chief of the entire tribe who was likewise elected, but within the
limits of a fixed aristocracy. A second great chief, who seems to have
been a peace officer with some important relation to the priesthood, was
nominally equal to the war chief, but practically much less powerful.
The real center of the home government was a council made up of all the
chiefs. In time of war the war chief was in supreme command and could
either delegate his rights or act in person. Just how much the
priesthood intervened in governmental affairs cannot be definitely put
in words, but their power was doubtless great. Certain lands were
cultivated in common for the officers of church and state and much of
the tribute from conquered provinces was devoted to their needs.
The Tecpan or Temple Enclosure.
Plate XLII.
[Illustration: The Calendar Stone of the Aztecs. This great stone
represents the disk of the sun and the history of the world. It may
be analyzed as follows, reading outward from the center.
Central or cosmogonic portion: The day sign 4 Olin with details in
the arms representing four epochs of the world; with the face of the
sun god in the center and minor hieroglyphs that may represent the
four directions just outside the Olin symbol.
Band of day signs beginning at the top and reading towards the left.
Bands of conventional rays of the sun and other details such as the
embellishment of the sun with turquoise and eagle feathers.
The outer circle of two great reptiles that may indicate the
universe.
Invisible edge of the disk bears representations of Itzpapalotl, the
obsidian butterfly which is symbolical of the heavens.]
The ceremonial center of Tenochtitlan has been transformed into the
civic center of Mexico City. The Cathedral, the National Palace, and the
Zocolo, or Plaza Major, mark the site where once stood the famous Tecpan
or temple enclosure. Within the serpent walls, according to Sahagun,
there were twenty-five temple pyramids, five oratories, sundry fasting
houses, four bowl-shaped stones, one disk-shaped stone, a great stepped
altar, a “star column,” seven skull racks, two ball courts, two enclosed
areas, a well, three bathing places, two cellar-like rooms, a dancing
place, nine priest houses, a prison for the gods of conquered nations,
arsenals, work places, etc. A native plan of the Tecpan, much
simplified, occurs in the Sahagun manuscript. The great pyramid rose in
several terraces and was surmounted by two temples each three stories in
height, one dedicated to Huitzilopochtli and the other to Tlaloc. Each
temple contained an image of the god to which it was dedicated and a
sacrificial altar. The walls were encrusted with blood of human victims
whose hearts, still beating, had been torn out for divine food and whose
bodies had been rolled down the steep flight of temple stairs. The
foundations for the great pyramids were laid in 1447 by Moctezuma I, the
pyramids were completed in 1485 while Tizoc was war chief and the final
dedication ceremonies were held in 1487.
Several very interesting large sculptures and many minor objects have
been unearthed on the site of the Tecpan. In 1790 and 1791 were found
three famous monoliths, the Calendar Stone, the Stone of Tizoc
(Sacrificial Stone), and the Statue of Coatlicue. Since 1897 many fine
pieces of pottery and several sculptures have been excavated near the
Cathedral and placed in the Museo Nacional.
Plate XLIII.
[Illustration: The Shield Stone at Cuernavaca. This Aztecan
sculpture carved upon a boulder in the City of Cuernavaca shows a
shield, a bundle of war arrows, and a war banner. The sculpture
records the conquest of Cuernavaca or more properly Quauhnahuac,
capital of the Tlahuican nation.]
The Calendar Stone.
The great sculptured monument known as the Calendar Stone or Stone of
the Sun, is the most valuable object that has come down intact from the
time of the Aztecs. It is a single piece of porphyry, irregular except
for the sculptured face. It now weighs over twenty tons and it is
estimated that the original weight was over twice as much. The
sculptured disk is about twelve feet in diameter. This great stone was
transported by men over many miles of marshy lake bottom before it could
be placed in position in front of the Temple of the Sun in the temple
enclosure that has just been described. The stone was doubtless thrown
down from its original position by the soldiers of Cortez and may have
been lost to sight. We know, however, that it was exposed to view about
1560 and was then buried by order of the archbishop of Mexico City lest
its presence should cause the Indians to revert to their original pagan
beliefs. It was rediscovered in 1790 and was afterwards built into the
façade of the Cathedral where it remained until 1885, when it was
removed to the nearby museum.
The Calendar Stone is not only a symbol of the sun’s face marked with
the divisions of the year but it is a record of the cosmogonic myth of
the Aztecs and the creations and destructions of the world. In the
center is the face of the sun god, Tonatiuh, enclosed in the middle of
the symbol called Olin. Tonatiuh is often represented by a much simpler
sign of a circle with four or more subdivisions resembling those of a
compass which are intended to represent the rays of the sun. Olin is one
of the day signs and means movement, or perhaps earthquake. It has also
been explained as a graphic representation of the apparent course of the
sun during the year. The history of the world, according to the Aztecan
myth, is divided into five suns or ages, four of which refer to the past
and one to the present. The present sun is called Olin Tonatiuh because
it is destined to be destroyed by an earthquake. The day signs of the
four previous suns are represented in the rectangular projections of the
central Olin symbol beginning at the upper right hand corner and
proceeding to the left. They are 4 Ocelotl (jaguar); 4 Ehecatl (wind); 4
Quauhtli (rain); 4 Atl (water), and they refer to destruction, first, by
jaguars, second, by a hurricane, third, by a volcanic rain of fire,
fourth, by a flood. It is claimed by some that the year 13 Acatl (reed)
recorded at the top of the monument between the reptile tails refers to
the first year of the present sun. The fifth sun will end with the day 4
Olin, that is expressed in the central symbol already described. For
this reason a fast was held on each recurrence of this day. Outside of
the Olin symbol but between its arms are four hieroglyphs of uncertain
meaning. Next to this area dealing with the great ages of the world
comes a band of the twenty day signs of the Aztecan month. Outside of
this band are several others which probably represent in a
conventionalized manner the rays of the sun and the turquoise and eagle
feathers with which the sun disk was believed to be decorated. Finally,
outside of all, are two plumed monsters meeting face to face at the
bottom of the disk. In each reptile face is seen a human face in
profile. These reptiles are probably to be identified as the Xiuhcoatl
or Fire Serpents.
The newly discovered National Stone pictures the Calendar Stone in
vertical position on a mound and at the head of a flight of steps. The
dates on the side of the stairway are 1 Tochtli and 2 Acatl, 1506 and
1507, indicating that the Calendar Stone was dedicated in connection
with the New Fire Ceremony. The design on the back of this new-found
monument pictures the eagle on the cactus, symbolic of the founding of
Tenochtitlan. Other sculptures adorn the sides, the top, and the bottom
of the stone.
Stone of Tizoc.
The Sacrificial Stone or Stone of Tizoc is believed to have been carved
by order of Tizoc, the war chief who ruled from 1482-1486, as a memorial
offering to Mexican arms on the completion of the great temple to the
Mexican God of War. The stone was a _quauhxicalli_, or “eagle bowl.”
This name was given to large bowls which were used to hold the blood and
the heart of human victims sacrificed to the gods. The same name was
extended to the large drum-shaped stone, under consideration, which has
a pit in the center and a sort of canal running from the center to one
side which may have been intended to drain off the blood. Human
sacrifice actually took place on this stone but it is pretty certain
that it was not one of the _temalacatl_ or “gladiator stones” on which
were staged mortal combats as ceremonies. According to description the
gladiator stones were pierced by a hole in the center so that one or
more captives could be bound fast by a rope.
[Illustration: Fig. 71. Details from the Stone of Tizoc: _a_,
Huitzilopochtli, Aztec War God; _b_, Figures representing a captured
town; _c_, Name of the captured town (Tuxpan, place of the rabbit).]
Plate XLIV.
[Illustration: The newly discovered “National Stone” of Mexico. The
front view shows the Calendar Stone in position and the year signs 1
Rabbit and 2 Reed (1506 and 1507 A. D.). The sculpture on the back
is an eagle on a cactus, recording the foundation of Mexico City
(Tenochtitlan). On all the other surfaces priests and religious
symbols are drawn.]
On the top of the Stone of Tizoc is a representation of Tonatiuh, or the
sun’s disk, much less complex than that which we have seen on the
Calendar Stone but with many similar parts. On the sides of the stone
are fifteen groups of figures, each group representing a conqueror and
his captive. The victorious soldier appears each time in the guise of
the war god, Huitzilopochtli, or his wizard brother Tezcatlipoca. The
left foot of the figure ends in two scroll-like objects that may
represent the humming bird feathers that formed the left foot of
Huitzilopochtli. But Tezcatlipoca also had a deformed foot. Moreover, on
the side of the headdress is a disk with a flame-shaped object coming
out of it. This may represent the smoking mirror of Tezcatlipoca. The
captive wears costumes that change slightly from one figure to the next.
Over the head of the captive in each instance is the hieroglyph of a
captured town or district.
Nearly all the place name hieroglyphs have been deciphered. The list is
interesting historically because it gives the principal conquests up to
the reign of Tizoc. Starting at the side directly across the stone from
the groove or drain we see that the figure of the victor has behind his
head a hieroglyph that represents a leg. This is the hieroglyph of Tizoc
and the victim in this case represents the district of Matlatzinco in
the Valley of Toluca. This district was brought under subjection by
Tizoc himself. Among the other conquered cities are such well-known ones
as Chalco, Xochimilco, and Colhuacan in the vicinity of Lake Texcoco and
Ahuilizapan (Orizaba) and Tuxpan that are more distant.
Coatlicue.
Plate XLV.
[Illustration: Monstrous Sculpture representing Coatlicue, the
Serpent-Skirted Goddess, who was regarded as the Mother of the
Gods.]
The famous statue of the Earth Goddess, Coatlicue, “the goddess with the
serpent skirt,” is one of the most striking examples of barbaric
imagination. The name Teoyamiqui is often given to this uncouth figure,
but the identification is faulty. Like the other great sculptures we
have just examined, it doubtless occupied an important place in the
great ceremonial center of Tenochtitlan, but no ancient reference to it
is extant. This goddess is reported to have been the mother of the gods.
[Illustration: Fig. 72. Detail showing the Construction of the Face
of Coatlicue from Two Serpent Heads meeting End to End.]
The statue may be described as follows: The feet are furnished with
claws. The skirt is a writhing mass of braided rattlesnakes. The arms
are doubled up and the hands are snake heads on a level with the
shoulders. Around the neck and hanging down over the breast is a
necklace of alternating hands and hearts with a death’s head pendant.
The head of this monstrous woman is the same on front and back and is
formed of two serpent heads that meet face to face. The forked tongue
and the four downward pointing fangs belong half and half to each of the
two profile faces.
Mexican Writing.
The means of record employed in Mexican codices are in part pictographic
and in part hieroglyphic. The sequence of the historical events in these
native manuscripts is often indicated by a line of footprints leading
from one place or scene of action to another. Historical records of this
type resemble old-fashioned maps and some are actually called maps. The
names of towns in these documents are represented by true hieroglyphs
and often the character of the country is indicated by pictures of
typical vegetation, such as maguey plants for the highlands and palms
for the lowlands. The day or the year in which took place the foundation
of the town or whatever event is intended to be recorded is usually
placed in conjunction with the hieroglyph or picture. Conquest is
indicated by a place name hieroglyph with a spear thrust into it or by a
temple on fire, while warfare is a shield and bundle of lances encircled
by footprints.
[Illustration: Fig. 73. Hieroglyphs of Precious Materials: left to
right, gold; turquoise; mosaic of precious stones; _chalchihuitl_,
or jade; mirror of obsidian.]
[Illustration: Fig. 74. Phonetic Elements derived from Pictures and
used in Mexican Place Name Hieroglyphs.]
_tlan_ from _tlantli_, teeth
_cal_ from _calli_, house
_mix_ from _mixtla_, cloud
A few examples of Nahuan hieroglyphs will now be given to illustrate
this interesting method of writing. It must be remembered that there is
nothing in the nature of a connected narrative. The hieroglyphs or word
pictures are limited to geographical and personal names, including the
names of gods, to months, days, numbers, objects of commerce and a few
objects or ideas of ceremonial import. Some of the signs are in no
degree realistic and have a definite meaning by common consent alone,
such as the symbol for gold (Fig. 73). Others are abbreviated and
conventionalized pictures of objects. Thus the head of a god or of an
animal frequently appears as the sign of the whole. But the most
important and interesting word signs are rebuses in which separate
syllables or groups of syllables are represented by more or less
conventionalized pictures. The whole word picture is a combination of
syllable pictures which indicate phonetically the word as a whole. Very
often advantage is taken of puns on whole or partial words, while color
and position are also employed to indicate sounds and syllables.
[Illustration: Fig. 75. Aztecan Place Names.]
Caltepec
Itztepec
Atepec
Pantepec
Mistlan
Itzlan
Petlatlan
Tecalco
In Fig. 74 are given a few of the more common syllable pictures. The
name of the object represented is cut down by the elimination of _tl_,
_li_, etc., that form the nominal endings. Thus, the picture of water,
_atl_, becomes the sign for the sound _a_, that of stone _tetl_ is cut
down to the syllable _te_. Several of these syllable pictures are
combined to represent a whole word.
[Illustration: Fig. 76. Aztecan Day Signs.]
_Cipactli_ _Ehecatl_ _Calli_ _Cuezpallin_ _Coatl_
Crocodile Wind House Lizard Snake
_Miquiztli_ _Mazatl_ _Tochtli_ _Atl_ _Itzcuintli_
Death Deer Rabbit Water Dog
_Ozomatli_ _Malinalli_ _Acatl_ _Ocelotl_ _Quauhtli_
Monkey Herb Reed Jaguar Eagle
_Cozcaquauhtli_ _Olin_ _Tecpatl_ _Quiahiutl_ _Xochitl_
Vulture Movement Stone Rain Flower
[Illustration: Fig. 77. Variant Forms of Aztecan Day Signs: _a,
acatl_, arrow; _b, mazatl_, deer foot; _c, malinalli_, jaw bone; _d,
itzcuintli_, dog’s ear; _e, ozomatli_, monkey’s ear; _f, ocelotl_,
jaguar’s ear.]
[Illustration: Fig. 78. Aztecan Numbers and Objects of Commerce:
_a_, 1; _b_, 20; _c_, 400; _d_, 8,000; _e_, ten faces carved from
precious stone; _f_, twenty bags of cochineal dye; _g_, one hundred
bales of cocoa; _h_, four hundred bales of cotton; _i_, four hundred
jars of honey of tuna; _j_, eight thousand leaf bundles of copal
gum; _k_, twenty baskets each containing sixteen hundred ground
cacao nibs; _l_, four hundred and two blankets.]
The hieroglyphs of the twenty days of the month (see Fig. 76) are
frequently represented, but those of the eighteen months are not nearly
so well known. As for the gods, the faces are usually pictured,
especially when these are grotesque, but sometimes details of dress or
an object connected with a special ceremony is sufficient to recall the
divinity. The Mexican system of numbers was based on twenties. The units
were figured by dots, the twenties by flags, the four hundreds by a
device like a tree that represented hair, and the eight thousands by the
ceremonial pouches in which copal incense was carried.
Plate XLVI.
[Illustration: Page from the _Tonalamatl_ Section of the Codex
Borbonicus. The thirteen days run along the bottom of the page and
up the right side of the large division. The period covered is
one-twentieth of the _Tonalamatl_ of 260 days. At the left of each
day is seen one of the nine Lords of the Night, so-called, in
orderly succession. In the divisions above or to the left of the
days are the thirteen gods of the Hours of the Day in connection
with the Thirteen Birds. The patron goddess of this division of the
_Tonalamatl_ is Itzpapalotl, the obsidian butterfly. The other
pictures relate mostly to mythological instances and the details of
ceremonies. For instance, the broken tree represents Tamoanchan, a
legendary site, and the sacrifice of twenty birds is indicated by
the flag attached to the bleeding head of a decapitated bird.]
Aztecan Religion.
The religion of the Aztecs, like that of the Mayas, was a polytheism in
which special divinities controlled the powers of nature and the
activities of men. The gods were perhaps further advanced towards human
form and attributes than were those of the earlier culture to the south,
but definite characterization was still accomplished by grotesque
features and certain animal connections were still evident. The matter
is confused beyond the point of analysis. The mythologies often ascribe
different origins to the same deity. One god is addressed by many names,
descriptive or figurative, that are intended to bring out the various
aspects of his power. Overlapping functions make it impossible to assign
each god to his special province. There are universal gods, there are
special gods, and there are patron gods of trade guilds. Moreover, there
are foreign gods, some recent, some ancient.
The religion of central Mexico had its objective, ritualistic side,
which appealed directly to the understanding of the masses, and its more
subtle theological or philosophical side seen, for instance, in the
poems written by priests and rulers. It was a mixture of spirituality
and the grossest idolatry. The ceremonial calendar, with a description
of the feasts and sacrifices occurring at different times of the year,
has been preserved in a number of documents. Pageants, incense-burning,
and human sacrifice gave a strong dramatic quality to the religious
rites.
Plate XLVII.
[Illustration: (_a_) Pictures of Tlaloc, the God of Rain, and of
Ehecatl, the God of Winds, in the Codex Magliabecchiano.]
[Illustration: (_b_) Mexican Genealogical Table on Bark Paper. The
names of most of the individuals are given by hieroglyphs attached
to the head or the seat. Original in the American Museum.]
The conception of a supreme deity is seen in _Ometeuctli_, the Lord of
Duality, a vague god-head and creator who is sometimes addressed in some
of the religious poems as the “Cause of All.” In the background of the
popular religion was the belief in the Earth Mother and the Sky Father
and in the divinity of the Sun, the Moon, the Jaguar, the Serpent, and
whatever else was beautiful, powerful, and inexplicable. Tezcatlipoca,
by reason of his magic and his omniscience, was placed at the head of
the pantheon of active gods. Huitzilopochtli was, however, the favorite
god of the Aztecs through his relation to war. Tlaloc, the god of rain,
was naturally of great importance to agriculturists living in a rather
arid region. Tonatiuh, the Sun God, was a more or less abstract deity
who acted in part through other gods. But the list is too long to be
repeated here.
[Illustration: Fig. 79. Analysis of Mexican Record. 1, the year Two
Reed, 1507; 2, eclipse of the sun; 3, earthquake at place pictured
at 4; 5, the town, of Huixachtitlan. In the temple (6) was held (7)
the new-fire ceremony at the beginning of a 52-year period. In this
year were also drowned in the River Tuzac (8) two thousand warriors
(10) which the vultures devoured (9).]
The special gods of principal Mexican cities were as follows:—
Tenochtitlan Huitzilopochtli
Texcoco Tezcatlipoca
Tlaxcala Camaxtli
Cholula Quetzalcoatl
Cuauhnahuac Xochiquetzalli
Of gods with a foreign origin perhaps the most important were
Quetzalcoatl and Xipe. The former was introduced long before the Aztecs
raised their banner of war and was the Long-nosed God of the Mayas,
introduced under the patronage of Quetzalcoatl, the powerful emperor of
the Toltecs. The worship of Xipe is said to have originated in a town in
southern Mexico. It had certainly taken a strong hold on the Aztecs of
Mexico City and was likewise known as far south as Salvador. It has
recently been demonstrated that the people of Yopico, specially given to
the worship of Xipe, originated in Nicaragua.
[Illustration: Fig. 80. Chalchuihtlicue, Aztecan Goddess of Water.]
Conceptions of the Universe.
Cosmogonic myths, the world over, are unscientific attempts to explain
the creation of the universe, to outline the powers of the gods and to
trace the development of nature. The cosmogonic myths of Mexico and
Central America are characterized by multiple creations. The Aztecan
belief in five suns each standing for a world epoch is paralleled in
fragments of Mayan mythology. Creation is not emphasized so much as
destruction. The sequence of the suns is figured on the Calendar Stone,
and in one of the codices, besides being explained in some of the early
writings of Spanish priests and educated natives. The first sun was
devoured by a jaguar and in the resulting darkness the inhabitants of
the earth were devoured by jaguars. The second sun was destroyed by a
hurricane, the third by a rain of fire, and the fourth by a flood. One
human pair escaped each cataclysm and lived to repopulate the world. The
fifth or present sun will be destroyed by an earthquake.
Notions of the shape and character of the universe are pretty well
defined in Aztecan lore. The widespread belief that the universe
consists of three superimposed worlds, the upper or sky world, the
middle world of living men and the under world of the dead, is found in
a developed form. The upper world is divided into thirteen levels. The
uppermost four levels are called _Teteocan_, the abode of the gods, and
are considered to be invisible. The creator of all, Ometeuctli, Lord of
Duality, dwells with his spouse in the highest heaven and under him in
order are the Place of the Red God of Fire, the Place of the Yellow Sun
God and the Place of the White Evening Star God. The inferior heavens,
called _Ilhuicatl_, are given over to the visible celestial activities.
There is one heaven for the storms, another for the blue sky of the day,
the dark sky of the night, the comets, the evening star, the sun, the
stars, etc.
The under world is _Mictlan_, the Place of the Dead. Nine divisions are
commonly given and in the lowermost of these lives _Mictlanteuctli_, the
Lord of Death, and his mate. The idea of future blessing or punishment
is not entirely absent from the minds of the Aztecs. Warriors killed in
battle go to the House of the Sun, in one of the upper worlds, as do
women who die in childbirth. _Tlalocan_, the lowermost heaven, is a sort
of terrestrial paradise for others. _Mictlan_ is, however, the common
abode of the dead, and the wretched soul can reach it only after a
journey set with horrors.
The cult of the quarters is intimately associated with the concept of
the universe. With the four cardinal points a number of others are
sometimes taken including the zenith, the nadir, and the middle. The
sacred numbers 4, 5, 6, and 7 may thus conceivably be derived from the
points of space, but it would be very unsafe to assume that they are
necessarily so derived. The general concept of a universe divided into
quarters, fifths, or sixths is a powerful conventionalizing factor in
mythology, religion, and art. Prayers, songs, and important acts are
repeated in identical or in systematically varied form for each point of
space. In Mayan and Aztecan codices the symbolism of the four directions
is often manifest.
Ceremonies.
Ceremonialism was intensely developed in Mexico and the dramatic quality
of many Aztecan rites of human sacrifice has probably never been
equaled. We are apt to think only of the gruesome features of human
sacrifice and to overlook the spiritual ones. The victim was often
regarded as a personification of a god and as such he was fêted, clothed
in fine garments, and given every honor. Efforts were made to cause the
victim to go willingly to his death uplifted by a truly religious
ecstasy. It was considered unlucky that he should grieve or falter.
The religious calendar was given over to fixed and movable feasts. The
fixed feasts were eighteen in number and each came on the last day of a
twenty-day period and gave its name to that period. These eighteen
periods correspond with the Mayan uinals or months, but since dates were
rarely given in relation to them, they do not have the same calendrical
importance. The five days that rounded out the 365-day year were
considered unlucky.
Each of the eighteen feasts of the year was under the patronage of a
special divinity and each had a set of ceremonies all its own. In some
cases the ceremonies were really culminations of long periods of
preparation. Thus, on the last day of the month Toxcatl there was
sacrificed a young man, chosen from captured chieftains for his beauty
and accomplishments, who for an entire year had been fitting himself for
his one turn on the stage of blood and death. This intended victim,
gayly attired and accompanied by a retinue of pages, was granted the
freedom of the city. When the month of Toxcatl entered he was given
brides, whose names were those of goddesses, and in his honor was held a
succession of brilliant festivals. On the last day there was a parade of
canoes across Lake Texcoco and when a certain piece of desert land was
reached, the brides and courtiers bade farewell to the victim. His pages
accompanied him by a little-used trail to the base of an apparently
ruined temple. Here he was stripped of his splendid garments and of the
jewels that were symbols of divinity. With only a necklace of flutes he
mounted the steps of the pyramid. At each step he broke one of the
flutes and he arrived at the summit, where the priests waited, knife in
hand, a naked man whose heart was to be offered to the very god he had
impersonated. This ceremony is given only as an example, but it
illustrates two characteristics that are seen in several other
sacrifices, namely, the paying of homage and honor to the intended
sacrificial victim, and, secondly, the necessity of keeping the victim
in a happy frame of mind.
The eleventh feast of the year was called Ochpaniztli, “the feast of the
broom” and was celebrated in honor of the goddess known as Toci, or
Teteoinnan. The first of these names means “our female ancestor” and the
second one means “the mother of the gods.” She was a goddess of the
earth and her symbol was the grass broom with which the earth was swept.
She also exerted an influence over the arts of the hearth, such as
weaving. Her pictures in the codices show her with a broom in one hand
and a shield in the other while about her head is a band of unspun
cotton into which are stuck spindles wrapped with thread.
During this month the roads were repaired, the houses and plazas swept,
and the temples and idols refurbished. According to the text in the
Codex Magliabecchiano there were human sacrifices in the temples which
fronted on the roads and there were great dances and carousals. Those
sacrificed were afterwards flayed as in the feast of Xipe and their
skins worn by dancers. The picture that accompanies this revolting
admission is itself devoid of any morbid symbols. It shows a kneeling
woman holding out the broom and shield. She wears a white dress and a
neckless of jade beads with golden bells for pendants. Below her are two
standing men who bear in their hands offerings of ripe fruit.
Sahagun gives details of a terrible drama that was enacted during this
twenty-day month. For the first eight days there was dancing without
song and without the drum. After this prologue a woman was chosen to
impersonate the patron goddess and to wear her characteristic dress and
ornaments. With her was a retinue of women skilled in medicine and
midwifery. For four days these persons divided in opposing ranks and
pelted each other with leaves and flowers. While this harmless ceremony
and others like it were being acted out, the greatest care was taken
that the woman who played the rôle of the goddess and who was marked for
death should not suspect her fate. It was considered unlucky, indeed, if
this victim wept or was sad. When her time to die had come she was
clothed in rich garments and given to understand that she should be that
night the bride of a rich lord. And under such a beguiling belief she
was led silently to the temple of sacrifice. There without warning an
attendant lifted her upon himself, back to back, and her head was
instantly struck off. Without delay the skin was stripped from her warm
body and a youth, wearing it as a garment, was conducted in the midst of
captives to the temple of the War God, Huitzilopochtli. Here in the
presence of this mighty god the youth himself tore out the hearts of
four victims and then abandoned the rest to the knife of the head
priest. Thus closed the terrible drama which began with an innocent
battle of flowers and ended in an orgy of blood.
The twelfth month passed under two names. It was called Pachtli after a
plant with which the temples were decorated and Teotleco which signifies
“the arrival of the gods.” The principal feast was held, as usual, on
the twentieth day when the great company of gods was supposed to return
from a far land. One god, very youthful and robust, arrived on the
eighteenth day, being able to outwalk the others, while a few very old
and infirm divinities were late in getting to the feast. The one who
arrived first was called Telpochtli or Titlacauan but in reality he was
the great Tezcatlipoca in disguise.
In anticipation of this return, the temples, shrines, and household
idols were decorated with branches. The youths who did this work were
repaid in corn, the amount varying from a full basket to a few ears. A
novel manner of attesting the earliest presence of divinity is related.
Some cornmeal was spread in a circular mass upon the ground. During the
night the high priests kept vigil and from time to time visited this
circle of cornmeal. When he saw a footprint in the center he cried out,
“Our master has come.” Then there was a burst of music and everyone ran
to the great feast in the temple. Much native wine was drunk, for this
was considered equivalent to washing the tired feet of the travel-worn
gods. As a final act of the celebration there was a dance in costume
around a great fire and several unfortunates were tossed alive into the
flames.
Space will not permit a further examination of the eighteen fixed
feasts. The movable feasts were mostly in definite relation to the
_tonalamatl_ and were thus subject to repetition every 260 days. The
permutation of twenty day names and thirteen numbers is pictured in
Mexican codices in two or more stereotyped forms, but these are very
complete. In the commonest form the entire cycle is divided into twenty
groups of thirteen days each and each group is presided over by a
special divinity. There are other repeating series of gods, sacred
birds, etc., that preside over the individual days in these groups. The
_tonalamatl_ was much used in Mexico in connection with foretelling
events. The days were lucky, indifferent, or unlucky, and the future
life of a child was believed to be locked up in the horoscope of his
birthday.
Other feasts were held in relation to longer time periods. There were
important festivals held in connection with the planet Venus with
especially elaborate ones falling at intervals of eight years. Still
another ceremony was held at the completion of a fifty-two year period,
when the set of years were figuratively bundled up and laid away and a
new sacred fire lighted.
Poetry and Music.
The languages of Central America were capable of considerable literary
development. This is seen especially in the songs that were used in
different religious ceremonies of the Aztecs, as well as in the
reflective poems written by educated natives. Several very fine pieces
have been preserved, and while there is no rhyme, there is much rhythm.
When recited by a person speaking fluently the native tongue these poems
are very impressive. Of course, translation is always hazardous, and
fundamental differences in language, such as exist between English and
Aztecan, make it almost impossible. The most famous poet whose name has
come down to us was Nezahualcoyotl, or Famishing Coyote, who was a ruler
of Texcoco and died at the advanced age of eighty years in 1472. A few
verses from one of his poems on the mutability of life and the certainty
of death have been translated as follows:—
All the earth is a grave, and naught escapes it; nothing is so perfect
that it does not fall and disappear. The rivers, brooks, fountains and
waters flow on, and never return to their joyous beginnings; they
hasten on to the vast realms of Tlaloc, and the wider they spread
between their marges the more rapidly do they mould their own
sepulchral urns. That which was yesterday is not today; and let not
that which is today trust to live tomorrow.
The caverns of earth are filled with pestilential dust which once was
the bones, the flesh, the bodies of great ones who sat upon thrones,
deciding causes, ruling assemblies, governing armies, conquering
provinces, possessing treasures, tearing down temples, flattering
themselves with pride, majesty, fortune, praise and dominion. These
glories have passed like the dark smoke thrown out by the fires of
Popocatepetl, leaving no monuments but the rude skins on which they
are written.
Another example will serve to emphasize the strain of sadness and the
vision of death that characterize so many Aztecan poems.
Sad and strange it is to see and reflect on the prosperity and power
of the old and dying king Tezozomoc; watered with ambition and
avarice, he grew like a willow tree rising above the grass and flowers
of spring, rejoicing for a long time, until at length withered and
decayed, the storm wind of death tore him from his roots and dashing
him in fragments to the ground. The same fate befell the ancient King
Colzatzli, so that no memory was left of him, nor of his lineage.
[Illustration: Fig. 81. A Mexican Orchestra: 1, log drum; 2, kettle
drum; 3-4, flageolets; 5, gourd rattle; 6, turtle shell. Manuscrit
du Cacique.]
The Aztecs held concerts in the open air where poems were sung to the
accompaniment of the drum and other simple instruments. Songs were also
sung at banquets and in the stress of love and war. The common musical
instruments of the Aztecs vary but little from those in use elsewhere in
Mexico and Central America. There were two kinds of drums. One was a
horizontal hollowed-out log with an H-shaped cutting made longitudinally
on its upper surface so as to form two vibrating strips which were
struck with wooden drumsticks having tips of rubber. The second sort of
drum was an upright log also hollowed out and covered with a drumhead of
deerskin. Conches were used for trumpets. Resonator whistles with or
without finger holes were made of clay in fanciful shapes. Flageolets
were constructed of clay, bone, or wood and flutes were made of reed.
Resounding metal disks and tortoise shells were beaten in time. Many
sorts of gourd and earthenware rattles were employed as well as notched
bones which were rasped with a scraping stick. Copper bells of the
sleigh bell type were exceedingly common. The marimba, however, that is
such a favorite musical instrument today in Central America is of
African origin and fairly recent introduction. No stringed instruments
were known to the ancient Mexicans nor does the pan-pipe appear to have
been used in this area although common in Peru.
Minor Aztecan Arts.
Some of the great sculptures of Tenochtitlan have already been described
and references have been made to the native books painted in brilliant
colors on paper and deerskin. Objects of minor art comprise pottery
vessels, ornaments of gold, silver, copper, jade, and other precious
materials, textiles, pieces of feather work, etc.
The best known ceramic products are made of orange colored clay and
carry designs in black that sometimes are realistic, but more often not.
The tripod dishes with the bottoms roughed by cross scoring were used to
grind chili. Heavy bowls with loop handles on the sides and a channel
across the bottom were seemingly made to be strung on ropes. They may
have held pitch and been used for street lights. The pottery figurines
of the Aztecan period are nearly all moulded and lack the sharp detail
of the earlier examples. They often represent deities wearing
characteristic dress and carrying ceremonial objects.
Comparatively few specimens of ancient gold work in Mexico escaped the
cupidity of the Spanish conquerors, but these attest a remarkable
proficiency in casting. The moulds were made of clay mixed with ground
charcoal and the melting of gold was accomplished by means of a blow
pipe. The technique seen in Costa Rican gold work according to which
details falsely appear to be added by soldered wire, was followed in
Mexico. Modern Mexican filigree bears little relation to the ancient
Indian work, but is probably of Moorish origin. The examples of Aztecan
gold work include finger rings, earrings, nose and lip ornaments,
necklaces, and pendants.
Among the precious and semi-precious stones known to the Aztecs, the
most valuable in their eyes was turquoise. This was probably obtained by
trade from the Pueblo Indians. It was mostly cut into thin plates and
used in the manufacture of mosaic objects. Red jasper, green jade, jet,
gold, and shell of various colors was also used in these mosaics. Jade
was highly prized and was known as _chalchihuitl_. Ornaments of
obsidian, a black volcanic glass, and of crystal quartz, are fairly
common and others of opal and amethyst have been found. Pearls and
emeralds were secured in trade from the south.
[Illustration: Fig. 82. Mexican Blanket with the Design that
represents interlacing Sand and Water called “Spider Water.”]
The textile decorations in vogue at the coming of the Spaniards can be
restored from the pictures in codices. Mantles were often demanded as
tribute and the designs are given on the conventional bundles in the
tribute lists. Garments with certain designs served as insignia of
office for several of the priesthoods. Feather mosaic was highly prized
and was made according to several methods. Capes as well as shields and
other objects were covered with brilliant feathers so arranged as to
bring out designs in the natural colors.
The Tarascans.
The Aztecs while by far the most important tribe in the fifteenth
century did not dominate all the surrounding peoples. For instance, most
of the State of Michoacan was controlled by the Tarascan tribe who
defeated every expedition sent against them. The list of Tarascan towns
is a long one but Tzintzuntzan which means the “Place of the Humming
Birds” was the capital and principal stronghold. The ancient history of
the Tarascans is little known. Large and striking specimens of archaic
art were formerly accredited to this people, but without good reason. It
is likely that archaic characters in art were maintained in Michoacan
after they had passed away in central Mexico, but we cannot be sure that
the Tarascans were the ancient inhabitants. There is some evidence,
however, of culture which can be associated with them. The peculiar
T-shaped mounds called _yatacas_, which rise in terraces and are faced
with stone slabs laid without mortar, may have been built by this tribe.
Sculptures of rather fine quality are occasionally found, an example
being a reclining god of the type made famous by the “Chacmool” of
Chichen Itza. Many fine copper celts have been unearthed in this highly
mineralized mountain region. When the Spaniards came the Tarascans were
skilled in weaving and were particularly famous for feather mosaics and
feather pictures made largely of the brilliant plumage of humming birds.
The use of the _atlatl_ or spear-thrower survives among the present-day
Indians who also make gourd vessels covered with colored clays in
pleasing geometric and floral designs.
The Otomis are a tribe of central Mexico even less cultured than the
Tarascans and there is some evidence that they entered this region from
the south only a few centuries before the Spaniards. Their relatives,
the Matlatzincas of the Valley of Toluca, had more interesting arts.
[Illustration: Fig. 83. The Year Symbol of southern Mexico. It is
combined with the four year bearers, House, Rabbit, Reed, and Stone.
In the second detail the day 6 Serpent in the year 12 Rabbit is
recorded.]
Southern Mexico.
Somewhere about the middle of the fifteenth century Moctezuma I planted
an Aztecan colony at Uaxyacac on the edge of the Zapotecan territory to
protect the trade route to Tabasco. This name gave rise to the modern
Oaxaca. From this point expeditions were sent out which harrassed the
Zapotecs to the south and the Mixtecs to the west. In the Tribute Roll
of Moctezuma II more than twenty Zapotecan towns are listed as paying
tribute that consisted of gold disks and gold dust, jadeite beads,
quetzal feathers, cochineal dye, fine textiles, etc. Very little is
preserved concerning the traditional history of southern Mexico, but it
is presumed that the Zapotecan culture before the Aztecan ascendency was
a development of that implanted many centuries before when Monte Alban
flourished and which we have already examined. As for the Mixtecs we
only know that they produced pottery of great beauty somewhat similar to
that of Cholula.
[Illustration: Fig. 84. Year Bearers in the Codex Porfirio Diaz
ascribed to the Cuicatecan tribe: Wind, Deer, Herb, and Movement.]
Some of the finest pre-Cortesian codices that have come down to us are
probably of Zapotecan and Mixtecan origin although reflecting to some
extent the religion of the Aztecs. Several of these have been
interpreted by Doctor Seler in terms of Aztecan religion and art. Among
the documents from southern Mexico that belong to the late period are:—
Codex Borgia
Codex Vaticanus 3773
Codex Bologna
Codex Féjervary-Mayer
Codex Vindobonensis
Codex Nuttall or Zouche
[Illustration: Fig. 85. A Page from the Codex Nuttall, recording the
Conquest of a Town situated on an Island of the Sea. The conquerors
come in boats and the conquest is indicated by a spear thrust into
the place name hieroglyph. The crocodile, flying fish, and the sea
serpent are represented in the water.]
Several _lienzos_ or documents written on cloth are also from this
region. The Lienzo of Amoltepec which is a fine example of this class is
conserved in the American Museum of Natural History. The documents from
southern Mexico are distinguished by details of geometric ornament that
resemble the panels of geometric design on the temples of Mitla. They
record historical events, give astronomical information and present much
pictographic evidence on various ceremonies and religious usages. In
giving a date a somewhat different method is used than we have seen in
the historical records from the Valley of Mexico. There is a definite
year sign (Fig. 83) and with it is combined the year bearer, or initial
day of the year, and often the particular day of the event.
Unfortunately, this is not entirely satisfactory because no month signs
are recorded and a day with a certain name and number frequently occurs
twice in one year. The year bearers are the same as among the Aztecs for
most of the documents, namely, Knife, House, Rabbit, and Reed, but in a
manuscript ascribed to a tribe in southern Mexico called the Cuicatecs,
the year bearers are Wind, Deer, Herb, and Movement (Fig. 84). Conquest
of a town is shown by a spear thrust into the place name. Individuals
are often named after the day on which they were born. Thus 8 Deer is a
warrior hero in the Codex Nuttall and 3 Knife is a woman who also plays
a prominent part. In some of the manuscripts from southern Mexico we see
details that are very close to those in the codices of the Mayas.
[Illustration: Fig. 86. The God Macuilxochitl, Five Flower, as shown
in a Mexican Codex and in Pottery from southern Mexico.]
[Illustration: ... and in Pottery.]
Aztecan Influence in Central America.
The influence from the late Mexican cultures can be traced far to the
south. Decorative motives that show affiliations to those of the Aztecs
and their immediate predecessors are found as far south as Costa Rica
but the strain is thin and not to be compared with the evidences of
culture connection over wide territories that are found on earlier
horizons. There was clearly a brisk trade in gold in Aztecan times
between the Isthmus of Panama and Mexico.
After the breakdown of the civilization of the humid lands of Central
America, following the Mayan cataclysm, the abandoned regions appear to
have been repopulated by a stream of tribes from South America who swept
up the coast of the Caribbean Sea and across the peninsula of Yucatan,
as far as Tehuantepec. There was also a strong northern movement of
tribes along the Pacific Coast seen most clearly in the distribution of
languages belonging to the Chiapanecan or Chorotegan stock. The early
historic records show the Mazateca in transit from their old home in
Costa Rica to their new one in northern Oaxaca. Cortez in 1526 found
these Indians in Yucatan.
A Cross-Section of New World History
This survey of ancient history in Mexico and Central America discloses a
condition which doubtless holds true of the archæological record in
other parts of the world. The earliest sedentary culture was by far the
most homogeneous and widespread. This means it modified slowly and
lasted for ages. At the same time, owing to the connection of the
archaic complex with agriculture, the initial spread may have been
rapid. The plants domesticated by the American Indians were developed
far beyond the wild types, much farther indeed, than the domestic plants
of the Old World. This development must have extended over many
centuries. The first horizon of agriculture was based on plants of an
arid highland environment. The second horizon of agriculture was based
on these same plants after they had been slowly modified to fit a humid
lowland environment, as well as on certain new plants of humid lowland
origin.
The Maya civilization was specialized to the wet lowlands of the tropic
zone and while the influence exerted by this dominant culture of the New
World was felt over a great area, the exact characters were not
reproduced elsewhere. Trade relations can be traced from Yucatan to
Colombia on the one hand and on the other to New Mexico. The cycle of
the Mayan civilization was comparatively short and the cycles of the
resultant civilizations were even shorter. All New World history must be
referred ultimately to the horizons of culture described above, with the
standard chronology of the Mayas as the only definite scale.
In the cross-section of New World history presented herewith the
horizontal measures represent space and the vertical measures represent
time. The line A-B-C-D begins at Victoria Island and ends at Cape Horn,
cutting across the culture areas named on the diagram. Over a large part
of this cross-section the “horizon of recorded history” is in fact the
time of the first European exploration, but in Colombia and Peru, there
are well-defined traditions giving lists of kings, while in Central
America there is exact chronology going back 2000 years before the
coming of the white man. Below this and within it there are
archæological records of culture sequence which in some regions, such as
the Pueblo Area, have been nicely classified. On the basis of trade
relations and diffused ideas in material and esthetic arts the marginal
chronology can be tied in with that of the central standard section of
history. Of course, all dates earlier than the first recorded ones are
theoretical. The beginning of agriculture in America is put at 4000 B.
C.—it may be earlier, but can hardly be much later.
In the Pueblo or Southwest Area a single type of flint corn, doubtless
introduced from the south, appears on the first agricultural level.
Contacts with Mexico and Central America are inferable during Basket
Maker II and III, the latter stratum having female fetishes roughly
comparable with those of the Archaic Horizon of Mexico. Later Southwest
evolution is autochthonous until the end of Pueblo III when the concepts
of the Plumed Serpent, the Eagle Man, Four-direction symbolism, etc.,
come from Mexico with Toltec trade. Culture sequence in the Southwest is
about as follows:—
Pueblo V Modern 1692 to present time
Pueblo IVb Early Historic 1538 to 1692
Pueblo IVa Protohistoric 1200 to 1538
Pueblo IIIb Toltec Trade 1000 to 1200
Pueblo IIIa Urban Developments
Pueblo II Small House
Pueblo I Proto-Pueblo
Basket Maker III First Pottery
Basket Maker II First Agriculture
Basket Maker I Nomadic
In Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru culture successions are now being worked
out. The best criterion of age is found in metals which enter Central
America from South America after the fall of the First Mayan Empire,
i.e., after 630 A. D. The technology of metal working is continuous from
southern Colombia to central Mexico. Negative painting with wax has a
wider and perhaps earlier distribution, reaching Ecuador and Peru in
association with tripod pottery which is otherwise rare in the Andean
region. Various motives of design link the two continents, especially on
the Toltec-Chorotegan level. Between 1000 and 1200 A. D. civilization
seems to have been generally stabilized, but this halcyon age was
followed by disorganization and far-reaching migrations. The pre-Spanish
horizons of southern Peru are tentatively arranged as follows by A. L.
Kroeber, the apparently earlier material of Ancon being omitted for lack
of the cross-ties.
III. Inca
IIc. Late Ica
IIb. Middle Ica
IIa. Epigonal
Ib. Late Nasca
Ia. Early Nasca
The early Nasca civilization was far from primitive being characterized
by pyramids, fine textiles, and some metal. Mayan strains have been
recognized in Chavin and Recuay in Peru and various sites in Ecuador.
The dynamic forces in the history of man in the New World have a
tremendous bearing upon the present and future state of the world. The
debt which we owe to the ancient civilizations of Mexico and Central
America becomes apparent when we list the more important agricultural
plants, fibers, gums, dyes, etc., which were taken over by Europeans
from the American Indians.
Food Plants Cultivated by American Indians
Maize
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Tomatoes
Pumpkins
Squashes
Lima beans
Kidney beans
Peppers
Cacao
Pineapples
Nispero
Barbados cherry
Strawberries
Persimmons
Papaws
Guava
Arracacha
Peanuts
Oca
Cashew nut
Jocote
Star apples
Paraguay tea
Alligator pear
Chirimoya
Sour sop
Sweet sop
Custard apple
Cassava
Important Economic Contributions of American Indians
Fibers
Cotton
Henequen
Pita
Medicines
Tobacco
Cinchona (Quinine)
Cascara Sagrada
Cocaine
Ipecac
Sarsaparilla
Domesticated Animals
Alpaca
Llama
Guinea pig
Dog (perhaps Old World)
Muscovy duck
Turkey
Gums
Rubber
Copal
Peruvian Balsam
Chicle
Dyes
Añil (Indigo)
Cochineal
Logwood
Fustic
Diagram of American Chronology
[Illustration: ... showing regions and eras.]
Showing regions:
ARCTIC
CANADIAN FOREST
GREAT PLAINS
SOUTHWEST
CENTRAL MEXICAN
MAYAN
COLOMBIAN
AMAZON FOREST
PERUVIAN
SOUTHERN PLAINS
SOUTHERN FOREST
Eras:
Horizon of Recorded History
Second Horizon of Agriculture (Humid)
First Horizon of Agriculture (Arid)
Nomadic Non-Agricultural Horizon
Primary Invasion from Asia via Alaska on upper Paleolithic or lower
Neolithic, without agriculture, pottery or loom weaving.
15000-10000 BC.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A brief list of books on Mexico and Central America is appended. These
books may be consulted in the Museum Library as well as others referred
to in the more complete bibliographies that will be found in the works
cited.
Bancroft, H. H. _The Native Races of the Pacific States._ 5 vols. New
York and London, 1875-1876.
Bandelier, Adolph F. _On the Distribution and Tenure of Lands and the
Customs with Respect to Inheritance, among the Ancient Mexicans._
(Eleventh Annual Report, Peabody Museum of American Archæology and
Ethnology, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 384-448, Cambridge, 1878.)
_Social Organization and Mode of Government of the Ancient Mexicans._
(Twelfth Annual Report, Peabody Museum of American Archæology and
Ethnology, vol. 2, no. 3, Cambridge, 1879.)
Bowditch, C. P. _The Numeration, Calendar Systems and Astronomical
Knowledge of the Mayas._ Cambridge, 1910.
Bransford, J. F. _Archæological Researches in Nicaragua._ (Smithsonian
Contributions to Knowledge, XXV, Art. 2, pp. 1-96, 1881.)
Brinton, D. G. _The Maya Chronicles._ Philadelphia, 1882. (No. 1 of
Brinton’s Library of Aboriginal American Literature.)
_The Annals of the Cakchiquels._ The original text with a translation,
notes and introduction. Philadelphia, 1885. (No. 6 of Brinton’s Library
of Aboriginal American Literature.)
_Essays of an Americanist._ Philadelphia, 1890.
Bulletin 28. _Mexican and Central American Antiquities, Calendar Systems
and History._ Twenty-four papers by Eduard Seler, E. Förstemann, Paul
Schellhas, Carl Sapper and E. P. Dieseldorff. Translated from the German
under the supervision of Charles P. Bowditch. (Bulletin 28, Bureau of
American Ethnology, Washington, 1904.)
Charnay, D. _The Ancient Cities of the New World._ Trans. by J. Gonino
and H. S. Conant. London, 1887.
Dias Del Castillo, Bernal. _The True History of the Conquest of Mexico,
1568._ 3 vols. (Translated by A. P. Maudslay. Hakluyt Society, London,
1908.)
Förstemann, E. _Commentary of the Maya Manuscript in the Royal Public
Library of Dresden._ (Papers, Peabody Museum, IV, No. 2, pp. 48-266,
1906.)
Gann, T. _Mounds in Northern Honduras._ (Nineteenth Annual Report,
Bureau of American Ethnology, part 2, pp. 661-692, Washington,
1897-1898.)
Hartmann, C. V. _Archæological Researches in Costa Rica._ (The Royal
Ethnographical Museum in Stockholm, Stockholm, 1901.)
_Archæological Researches on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica._ (Memoirs,
Carnegie Institute, vol. 3, pp. 1-95, 1907.)
Holmes, W. H. _Ancient Art of the Province of Chiriqui._ (Sixth Annual
Report, Bureau of American Ethnology, pp. 3-187, Washington, 1888.)
_Archæological Studies among the Ancient Cities in Mexico._
(Publications, Field Columbian Museum, Chicago, 1895-1897.)
Joyce, T. A. _Mexican Archæology._ An Introduction to the Archæology of
the Mexican and Maya Civilizations of pre-Spanish America. New York and
London, 1914.
_Central American and West Indies Archæology._ Being an Introduction to
the Archæology of the States of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and the
West Indies. New York, 1916.
_Maya and Mexican Art._ London, 1927.
Kingsborough, Lord. _Antiquities of Mexico._ 9 vols., folio. London,
1831-1848.
Lehmann, W. _Methods and Results in Mexican Research._ Trans. by Seymour
de Ricci. Paris, 1909.
_Ergebnisse einer Forschungsreise in Mittelamerika und Mexico
1907-1909._ (Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, Band 42, pp. 687-749, 1910.)
_Zentral Amerika. Die Sprachen Zentral-Amerikas in ihren Beziehungen
zueinander sowie zu Süd-Amerika und Mexiko._ In zwei Banden. Band 1.
Berlin, 1920.
Lothrop, S. K. _Pottery of Costa Rica and Nicaragua._ (Contributions,
Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, vol. VIII, 1926.)
Lumholtz, C. _Unknown Mexico._ 2 vols. New York, 1902.
_Symbolism of the Huichol Indians._ (Memoirs, American Museum of Natural
History, vol. 3, part 1, 1900.)
_Decorative Art of the Huichol Indians._ (Memoirs, American Museum of
Natural History, vol. 3, part 4, 1904.)
MacCurdy, G. G. _A Study of Chiriquian Antiquities._ (Memoirs,
Connecticut Academy of Sciences, vol. 3, 1911.)
Maudslay, A. P. _Biologia Centrali-Americana, or Contributions to the
Knowledge of the Flora and Fauna of Mexico and Central America._
_Archæology_, 4 vols. of text and plates. London, 1889-1902.
Memoirs of the Peabody Museum, vols. 1-5. Reports on excavations and
exploration by Gordon, Maler, Thompson, and Tozzer.
Morley, S. G. _An Introduction to the Study of the Maya Hieroglyphs._
(Bulletin 57, Bureau of American Ethnology, Washington, 1915.)
_The Inscriptions at Copan._ (Publication 219, Carnegie Institution of
Washington, Washington, 1920.)
Peñafiel, A. _Monumentos del arte Mexicano antiguo._ 3 vols. Berlin,
1890.
_Nomenclatura geografica de Mexico._ Mexico, 1897.
Sahagun, Bernardino de. _Histoire générale des Choses de la
Nouvelle-Espagne._ (Edited and translated by D. Jourdanet and Rémi
Siméon.) 1880.
_Historia de las cosas de Nueva España._ (Portfolio of illustrations
from two Sahagun manuscripts copied under direction of F. del Paso y
Troncoso and issued by the Mexican Government. Florence, 1922.)
Saville, Marshall H. _Turquois Mosaic Art in Ancient Mexico._
(Contributions, Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, vol. VI,
1922.)
_The Wood-Carver’s Art in Ancient Mexico._ (Contributions, Museum of the
American Indian, Heye Foundation, vol. IX, 1925.)
Schellhas, P. _Representation of Deities of the Maya Manuscripts._ 2nd
edition revised. (Translated by Miss Selma Wesselhoeft and Miss A. M.
Parker, Papers, Peabody Museum, vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 7-47, 1904.)
Seler, E. _Die alten Ansiedelungen von Chaculá im Districkte Nenton des
Departments Huehuetenango der Republic Guatemala._ Berlin, 1901.
_Gesammelte Abhandlungen zur amerikanischen Sprach- und
Alterthumskunde._ 5 vols. Berlin, 1908-1923.
_Codex Vaticanus No. 3773 (Codex Vaticanus B). An Old Mexican Pictorial
Manuscript in the Vatican Library._ (Translated by A. H. Keane.) Berlin
and London, 1902-1903.
Spinden, H. J. _A Study of Maya Art._ (Memoirs, Peabody Museum, vol. 6,
1913.)
_The Reduction of Maya Dates._ (Papers, Peabody Museum of American
Archæology and Ethnology, Harvard University, vol. 6, no. 4, Cambridge,
1924.)
Squier, E. G. _The States of Central America: their Geography,
Topography, Climate, Population,_ etc. New York, 1858.
Stephens, J. L. _Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan._ 2 vols. New
York, 1841.
_Incidents of Travel in Yucatan._ 2 vols. New York, 1843.
Thomas, C. _A Study of the Manuscript Troano._ (U. S. Geographical and
Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region, Contributions to
American Ethnology, V, pp. 1-224, 1882.)
Thomas, C., and Swanton, John R. _Indian Languages of Mexico and Central
America._ (Bulletin 44, Bureau of American Ethnology, Washington, 1911.)
Tozzer, A. M. _A Comparative Study of the Mayas and Lacandones._ New
York, 1907.
_A Maya Grammar, with Bibliography and Appraisement of the Works Noted._
(Papers, Peabody Museum of American Archæology and Ethnology, Harvard
University, vol. 9, Cambridge, 1921.)
FOOTNOTES
[1]The word _cycle_ is applied in this book to re-entering series, or
wheels, of days. These all contain the _tzolkin_ or _tonalamatl_
without a remainder. The word _period_ is applied to fixed numbers
that do not contain the _tonalamatl_.
INDEX
A
Acropolis, artificial, 72, 74, 77.
Adobe, 63;
houses, Mexican, 15.
Agriculture, connection with archaic art, 249;
distribution of, 68, 70, 71;
distribution in the New World, 67, 68, 70;
influence on Mayan culture, 73;
invention of, 45, 51-53, 67, 251;
spread and development of, 63, 70, 250.
Ah Puch, Lord of Death, 101.
Alphabet, of Landa, 125.
Altars, Mayan, 84;
Quirigua, 108.
Amulets, archaic figurines as, 61;
gold, 198.
Animals, domestication of, 20, 59, 253.
Annals of Quauhtitlan, 171, 172.
Arch, in Mayan architecture, 79.
Archaic, art, 45-46, 53-57, 58, 75, 244;
art, on borders of Mayan area, 75;
art, local developments of, 63-68;
culture, 187, 249;
culture, distribution of, 63-66, 69;
culture, figures, 60, 61, 62;
figurines, 53-57;
horizon, 45-71;
horizon, extensions of, 63-68;
pottery, 46, 59-61;
sites, 50;
stone sculptures, 61-63.
Architecture, early period of the Mayas, 146;
great period of the Mayas, 147;
historical sequence determined by, 108-109;
Mayan, 77-83;
Mitla, 157, 163-164;
Monte Alban, 159;
period of the League of Mayapan, 149;
transition period, Mayan, 148;
types of, La Quemada, 182-183;
Zapotecan, 159.
Art, archaic, 45-46, 53-57, 75, 244;
archaic, characterization of, 53;
archaic, Colombia, and Venezuela, 66-67;
archaic, local developments of, 63-68;
bat, represented in, 20;
Chorotegan, 190-195;
decorative, Isthmian region, 64, 66;
high development of Mayan, 73;
massive sculptural, 83-84;
Mayan, 89, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150;
Mayan, human figure in, 93-94;
Mayan, sequences in, 106-109;
Mayan, serpent in, 89-93;
motives, Huichol, 37-38;
Santa Lucia Cozumalhualpa, 188;
Tarascan, 244-245;
Toltecan, influenced by Mayan, 169, 170;
Totonacan, close correspondence to Mayan, 165, 166, 167;
Zapotecan, influenced by Mayan, 159.
Arts, minor, Aztecan, 242-244;
Mayan, 87-89.
Astronomical, base line, Copan, 138;
checks, on correlation with Christian chronology, 136-137;
observatories, Mayan, 137-139.
Astronomy, Mayan knowledge of, 73, 111, 133.
_Atlatl_, 58, 244.
Atzcapotzalco, 203, 204, 209;
stratification at, 47-48, 169.
Aztecan history, 204-209.
Aztecs, 34, 201-249;
and Mayas, compared to Greeks and Romans, 201-203.
B
_Baktun_, defined, 120.
Bar and dot numerals, 119, 120, 128, 154, 157, 159.
Basketry, Mayan, 88.
Bats, represented in ancient art, 20.
Bells, Aztecan, 241-242;
copper, 187;
copper and gold, 198.
Ben, Mayan day sign, 87.
Birds, Mexico and Central America, 20-21.
Blankets, Mexican, 39, 243.
Brilliant period, Mayan civilizations, 75, 77, 147-148.
Buildings, Mayan, 78;
Mitla, 164.
C
Caban, Mayan day sign, 88.
Cakchiquels, 151, 211.
Calendar, annual, Mayan, 110, 111;
Central American, 163;
ceremonial, Aztecan, 229;
lunar, Mayan, 140-142;
lunar-solar, Mayan, 112;
Mayan, scheme as presented in Codex Tro-Cortesianus, 116;
religious, Aztecan, 235-236;
system, Zapotecan, 156;
Venus, Mayan, 143-145.
Calendar round, Mayan, 117-118.
Calendar Stone, 214, 215-219, 233.
_Calpolli_, Aztecan, 211, 213.
Cannibalism, 43.
Captives, as represented in Mayan art, 93.
Caribs, characterization of culture, 43.
Caricature, in archaic figurines, 54, 58.
Carving, development in style at Copan, 107;
on Mayan monuments, 108;
stone, at Xochicalco, 179.
Celts, copper, Tarascan, 244;
stone, 63.
Cemetery, at Copilco, 49-51.
Cempoalan, 25, 169, 195.
_Cenote_, 18;
sacred, at Chichen Itza, 28, 154.
Cephalic index, Mexico and Central America, 44.
Ceremonial, bar, Mayan, 93, 98, 99, 108;
regalia, depicted in Mayan art, 94.
Ceremonies, Aztecan, 234-239;
Mexican, 41.
Chacmool, 170, 194-195, 244.
Chalchuihtlicue, Aztecan Goddess of Water, 232.
Chapultepec, 207.
Chiapanecan languages, 35-36.
Chichen Itza, 28, 110, 139, 149, 150, 170, 173, 179, 188, 244.
Chichimecas, 203-204.
Chicomoztoc, 182, 204.
Chiefs, Aztecan, 210, 213;
Texcoco, 204;
Toltecan, 171;
war, Aztecan, 208-209;
Zapotecan, 161.
Chilam, Balam, Books of, 109-111, 234.
Chimayo blankets, 39.
Cholula, 25, 180-182, 203.
Chorotegan culture, 157, 189-195.
Chronology, archaic horizon, 45-46;
Aztecan, 205;
bases of Mayan, 103-106;
diagram of New World, opposite 253;
Mayan, 250;
Mayan, correlation with Christian, 75, 110-111, 135-136;
Mayan, established by dated monuments and style of sculpture,
104, 106, 107;
Peruvian, 252;
Southwestern, 251;
Toltecan, 173.
Cities, Mayan, 75.
Civilization, Mayan, 73-151, 250.
Civilizations, middle, in Mexico and Central America, 153-198.
Clans, kinship, 210-211.
Climate, Mexico and Central America, 13-14.
_Cloisonné_ pottery, 178, 183-184;
San Juan Teotihuacan, 178.
Coatlicue, 215, 221-223.
Codex, Aubin, 205, 206, 208;
Borbonicus, 228;
Magliabecchiano, 230, 236;
Nuttall, 246, 247;
Telleriano-Remensis, 202;
Tro-Cortesianus, 116;
Xolotl, 204.
Codices, Mayan, 128-135, 248;
Mayan gods in, 99, 100, 103;
Mexican, 223;
southern Mexico, 163, 246-247.
Colhuacan, 203, 207;
stratification at, 48-49.
Collectors, specimens in Mexican Hall, 6.
Colonization, Central America, by Spaniards, 22;
Mexico, 29.
Columns, sculptured, at Tula, 179.
Comalcalco, 153.
Commerce, Aztecan objects of, 227.
Composition in design, Mayan, 94-97.
Conquest, history of Spanish, 22-32;
of Mexico, 22-31;
symbol for, 247, 248.
Construction of walls, La Quemada, 182-183;
Mayan, 78, 79, 81, 83;
Mitla, 157-158, 164.
Copan, 19, 72, 74, 77, 83, 85, 138, 139, 141, 146, 147, 188.
Copilco 49, 50.
Cora, 33, 37.
Coronado, 30.
Correlations, dates with style of carving in Mayan monuments, 104,
106, 107, 110, 111, 124-125;
Mayan and Christian chronology, 135, 136-137.
Cortez, Hernando, 24, 26, 27, 29, 30, 209, 217, 249.
Crocodile motive, in Chorotegan art, 191, 193;
Isthmian region, 194, 197.
Crops, indigenous and introduced, Mexico and Central America, 21;
principal, Mayan region, 73, 75.
Cross-section, typical, Mayan temple, 76, 78.
Cuauhtemoc, 29.
Cuicuilco, 49, 50, 51.
Cuitlahuac, 27.
Cult, of the quarters, Aztecan, 234;
of Xipe, 189.
Culture, Carib, 43;
Chorotegan, 189-195;
horizons, stratification of, 45-46;
Huichol, 38;
Lacandone Indians, 41;
Mayan, 73-151;
Mosquito Indians, 43;
peoples speaking Uto-Aztecan languages, 34-35;
sequences of, 250-252;
southern Mexico, 245-248;
strata, Atzcapotzalco, 48;
Sumo Indians, 43;
Tarascans, 244-245;
Toltecs, 169-171, 203;
Totonacan, 165-169;
Zapotecan, 156-163.
Cycle, defined, 113.
D
Dances, hunting, Huichol, 38;
Mosquito Indians, 43.
Dates, of dedication, Mayan, 123-125;
early Mayan, 146, 153;
Mayan, 96, 107, 117-118, 122,
123;
on National Stone, 218;
Olmeca, 154, 156;
Toltecan, 172-173.
Day, count, Mayan, elements of the, 112-114;
signs, Aztecan, 218, 225-226;
signs, hieroglyphs used on Mayan pottery, 87-88;
signs, Mayan, 112, 125;
signs, Zapotecan, 159.
Death God, Mayan, 101, 116.
Decoration, Mayan buildings, 83;
Mayan pottery, 85, 87-88;
pottery, archaic period, 59, 61.
Decorative motives, Chorotegan art, 190-193;
distribution of, 252.
Dedication, dates of, Mayan, 123-125.
Design, composition and perspective, Mayan, 94-98;
on Leyden plate, 146;
on Mexican blanket, 243;
motives, archaic pottery, 46, 61;
motives, Costa Rica, 191, 192, 193, 194, 196, 197.
Designs, archaic horizon, 64;
on blankets, 39;
developed in negative painting, 184-185;
geometric, at Mitla, 164, 246;
Mayan pottery, 85-88;
polychrome pottery, 87;
realistic, Mayan pottery, 85, 87;
textile, archaic, 58;
textile, Aztecan, 243;
textile, Mayan, 88;
Totonacan sacrificial yokes and paddle stones, 167;
woven, Huichol, 37, 38.
Dogs, domestication of, 58-59.
Donors, collections in Mexican Hall, 6.
Dresden Codex, 101, 128, 130, 134, 141, 142, 143, 145.
Dress, shown in archaic figurines, 57;
Mexico and Central America, 39-41;
modern Mexican, 39.
Drums, Aztecan, 240-241.
Dyes, 253.
E
Early Period, in Mayan history, 146-147.
Earrings, archaic figurines, 57.
Economic contributions, of American Indians, 253.
Ehecatl, God of Winds, 58, 226, 230.
Ek Ahau, war god, Mayan, 103.
Elevations, Mayan buildings, 81-83.
Environment, Mayan, 153;
Mexico and Central America, 13-21.
Ethnology, 36-44, 57-59.
European contact, history of, 22-32.
Exploration, of Central America, by Spaniards, 22;
Mexico, 22, 29.
Eyes, archaic sculptures, 63;
color and Mongoloid tilt, 44;
Totonacan figurines, 165;
types of, on archaic figurines, 56-57, 64.
F
Façade decoration, Mayan, 83-84.
Face numerals, Mayan inscriptions, 121, 126.
Fauna, Mexico and Central America, 20-21.
Feast, in connection with planet Venus, 239;
of the twelfth month, 237-238.
Feasts, Aztecan, 235-239;
Sumo, 43.
Feather mosaics, Aztecan, 243-244;
Tarascan, 244.
Fertility, female figurines associated with, 46, 59, 63.
Fetishes, female, Southwestern Pueblo, 251.
Figurines, archaic, 46, 53-57;
archaic, at Atzcapotzalco, 47;
archaic, Colombia and Venezuela, 66-67;
archaic, Isthmian region, 64, 65;
archaic, Nicaragua, 64;
archaic, Salvador, 56, 64;
clay, transition period, 75;
female, Basket-Maker III, 63-64;
female, distribution of, 59, 63-64;
female, Island of Marajo, 67;
pottery, Aztecan, 242;
pottery, San Juan Teotihuacan, 177-178.
Filigree, modern Mexican work, 243.
First Empire, Mayan, 111, 123, 142, 148, 195, 251.
Flageolets, Aztecan, 241.
Flora, Mexico and Central America, 21.
Flores, 28.
Flying façade, Mayan buildings, 83.
Food plants, cultivated by American Indians, 253;
most widely distributed in the New World, 52.
Frescoes, Mitla, 163-164.
Frontier cities, of the northwest, 183-187.
Fruits, native, 21.
Funerary urns, Zapotecan, 159, 160; also frontispiece.
G
Games, ceremonial Toltecan, 170;
sacred, Olmeca, 154.
Genealogical table, Mexican, 230.
Genealogies, Aztecan, 210.
Geography, Mexico and Central America, 13-21.
Geology, Mexico and Central America, 19-20.
Gladiator stones, 219.
Glaze, on modern Mexican pottery, 39.
Glyphs, introducing, 122, 123;
period, Mayan, 121, 123, 126;
supplementary series, 123, 141, 142.
God houses, Huichol, 38.
God of War, Mayan, 103.
God’s eyes, Huichol, 38.
Gods, Aztecan, 225, 229, 231;
beast, Mayan representation of, 99;
in Dresden Codex, 101;
Mayan, 89, 98-103, 135;
Mexican, 58, 229, 230-232;
represented in pottery from San Juan Teotihuacan, 178.
Gold work, ancient, Isthmian region, 66;
Aztecan, 242-243;
in cruciform tombs, 164;
Isthmian, 195-198;
Mayan, 89;
Zapotecan, 160.
Gourd vessels, Tarascan, 245.
Government, Aztecan, 209, 213;
theocratic of the Mayas, 93.
Graves, Isthmian, gold objects found in, 198.
Great Mound, Copan, 147.
Great Period, Mayan history, 147-148.
Great Pyramid, Mexico City, 206, 208.
Grooving, archaic figurines, 56.
Groundplans, Toltecan buildings, 170;
Yaxchilan temples, 77.
Guatuso, 44.
Gums, 253.
H
_Haab_, defined, 139.
_Hablatun_, defined, 120.
Hair form, Indians of Mexico and Central America, 44;
Lacandone, 42.
Headdresses, archaic figurines, 55, 57;
Zapotecan funerary urns, 159-160;
Zapotecan, 42.
Head form, Indians of Mexico and Central America, 44.
Hieroglyphs, Aztecan, of precious stones, 224;
containing phonetic element _kin_, 127;
decorative use on pottery, Mayan, 87-88;
of the Four Directions, 126, 127;
Mayan, 73, 97, 125-128;
Mayan, Venus and the Moon, 137;
Nahuan, 224;
on stelæ at Monte Alban, 159;
on the Stone of Tizoc, 221;
at Xochicalco, 179;
Zapotecan, 160-161.
History, Aztecan, 204-209;
Chichimecan, 203-204;
cross-section of New World, 249-253;
of European contact, Mexico and Central America, 22-32;
Mayan, 136;
Mayan, recovery of, 103-106;
Mayan, summary of, 145-151;
summary in relation to archaeological evidences, on the
archaic horizon, 68, 71;
Toltecan, 171-175;
traditional, southern Mexico, 245-246.
Hochob, 80, 148.
Hokan linguistic stock, distribution of, 36.
Horse, introduction of, 67-68.
Hotun periods, 124.
Houses, adobe, Mexican, 15, 39;
archaic period, 63;
Mayan, 79.
Huastecas, 35, 165.
Huichol, 33, 37.
_Huipili_, decorated, 40, 41.
Huitzilihuitl, 207, 210.
Huitzilopochtli, 215, 221, 231, 237.
Human, form, carved in stone, archaic period, 61, 63;
form, in Mayan art, 89, 93-94, 106-108.
Hunac Ceel, identification of, 150.
Hunting implements, Lacandone, 41.
I
Ilhuicatl, inferior heavens, 233.
Imix, day sign, Mayan, 87;
first day of formal permutation, 114.
Incense burners, Lacandone, 41.
Incised designs on pottery, 88.
Influence, Aztecan, in Central America, 248-249;
Mayas, on other civilizations, 170;
Mexican, in northern Yucatan, 150.
Initial Series dates, 123, 124, 135, 141, 149.
Inscriptions, hieroglyphic, 103;
hieroglyphic, on Mayan monuments, 123-125;
Mayan, face numerals on, 121;
Mayan, Great Period, 141-148;
Mayan, typical, 122.
Invention of agriculture, in the New World, 45, 51-53, 67, 251.
Irrigation, in the New World, 17, 52-53, 63.
Itzamna, 99, 103, 116.
Ixchel, Goddess of the Rainbow, 103.
Ixtapalapan, 26.
Ixtubtun, Mayan goddess, 103.
J
Jade, carving of, Mayan, 89;
Zapotecan, 160;
work in, Aztec, 243.
Jaguar design, Chorotegan art, 191, 193.
K
Kan, day sign, Mayan, 88;
maize sign, 135.
Katun, defined, 110, 120.
Kukulcan, 150.
L
Lacandone Indians, 35, 41, 151.
Lakes, Mexico and Central America, 17, 18-19.
Land laws, Aztecan, 211.
Language, Toltecan, 170;
Totonacan, 165.
Languages, Central America, 239;
Mexico and Central America, 32-36.
La Quemada, 182, 183.
League, Aztecan, 209;
of Mayapan, 145, 149.
Leyden Plate, 146.
Lienzo of Amoltepec, 246.
Linguistic stocks, Mexico and Central America, 32-36.
Lintels, Mayan sculptured, 83, 97;
Zapotecan, with hieroglyphs, 159.
Long count, Mayan, 123, 141.
Long-nosed God, Mayan, 98, 100, 101, 160, 232.
Lunar, calendar, Mayan, 112, 140-142.
Lunar-solar calendar, Mayan, 112.
M
Macuilxochitl, God Five Flower, 248.
Maize God, Mayan, 99, 100, 103.
Maize, distribution of use, 52;
most important food of the New World, 52;
staple, in Mayan region, 75.
Manikin Scepter, 93, 99, 100.
Manioc, cultivation of, 52;
use and preparation by Carib, 43.
Marimba, origin of, 242.
Mask panels, on Mayan structures, 84, 159.
Matlatzincas, 245.
Mayan civilization, 73-151;
linguistic stock, distribution of, 35-36.
Mayas, and Aztecs, compared to Greeks and Romans, 201-203.
Mazatecas, 189.
Medicines, 253.
Metal, ornaments made of, Mayan, 89;
working, technology of, 251-252;
Zapotecan, 145.
Metates, elaborately sculptured, 193.
Metonic cycle, Greeks, 140.
Mexican, Hall, American Museum, 5-6;
influence, period of, in Mayan history, 149-150.
Mexitin, 34.
Mictlan, 163, 233, 234.
Mictlanteuctli, Lord of Death, 233-234.
Middle Period, in Mayan history, 147.
Migrations, Aztecan, 205-207;
indicated by distribution of linguistic stocks, 35-36.
Mitla, 19, 156-157, 163-165, 246.
Mixtecan stock, 35.
Mixtecas, 156, 246.
Moctezuma, 25, 26, 27, 215, 245.
Modeling, archaic figurines, 53, 55-57;
archaic sculptures, 63;
clay, San Juan Teotihuacan, 178.
Modern Period, Mayan history, 150.
_Mogotes_, Zapotecan burial mounds, 160.
Monkey, in Chorotegan art, 190-191.
Monte Alban, 152, 155, 156, 246.
Month, Mayan, twenty day signs of, 113;
signs, of Mayan year, 115;
signs, Zapotecan, 159.
Months, Aztecan, 227;
Mayan, length of, 115;
Mayan, names of, 115.
Monuments, Mayan, dated, 123-125;
sequence of Mayan determined by style of sculpture, 106-109.
Moon, representations of the, 142.
Mosaic, feather, Aztecan, 242;
feather, Tarascan, 244;
masks and ceremonial objects, 89.
Mosquito Indians, 43.
Mound, artificial, at Copan, 77, 147;
at Cholula, 80;
at Cuicuilco, 49, 51.
Mounds, at Atzcapotzalco, 47;
foundation for temples, 77;
Mayan, 146;
at Monte Alban, 152, 157;
Tarascan, 244;
Zapotecan, 160.
Mountains, Mexico and Central America, 14-16.
Music, Aztecan, 240-242.
Musical instruments, Aztecan, 240-241.
Mythology, Aztecan, 204, 217, 229, 232-233;
Mayan and Aztecan, 229.
Myths, cosmogonic, 232-233.
N
Nahuan linguistic stock, distribution of, 33, 203.
Naranjo, 75, 108, 147.
Nasca, 252.
National Stone, Aztecan, 218, 220.
Negative painting, 46, 66, 184-185, 187, 252.
New Fire Ceremony, Aztecan, 218;
Toltecan, 173.
Nezahualcoyotl, 204, 239.
Niquiras, 34.
Nose form, Indians of Mexico and Central America, 44.
Noserings, on archaic figurines, 57.
Notation system, Mayan, 111, 118-121.
Numbers, Aztecan, 227, 234;
Mayan, 118-121;
Mexican system of, 227-229;
Zapotecan system of, 157.
O
Observatories, astronomical, Mayan, 137-139.
Obsidian, Aztecan ornaments of, 243.
Ochpaniztli, eleventh feast of the year, 236.
Olin, Aztecan day sign, 214, 217, 218.
Olmeca, 154-156, 187.
Ometeuctli, Lord of Duality, 231, 233.
Organization, political, Mayan, 201;
social Aztecan, 209-213.
Ornaments, precious and semi-precious stones, Aztecan, 243;
shown on archaic figurines, 57.
Otomi, 36, 189, 203, 245.
P
Pachtli, twelfth month, Aztecan, 237-238.
Paddle-shaped stones, Totonacan, 167.
Painting, archaic figurines, 57, 64;
archaic pottery, 61;
body, shown on archaic figurines, 58;
on Mayan pottery, 87;
negative, on pottery, 46, 66, 184-185, 187, 252;
Zapotecan pottery, 160.
Palaces, structure of Mayan, 78-79.
Palenque, 75, 76, 83, 146, 156.
Palmate stone, 168.
Pantheon, Mayan, 98-103.
Papantla, pyramid at, 167, 169.
Peregrinations, Aztecan, 205-207.
Peresianus Codex, 128.
Period, defined, in Mayan time count, 113;
glyphs, Mayan, 121, 126.
Permutation system, Aztecan, 238;
Mayan, 111, 113-114.
Perspective, in Mayan design, 94, 97.
_Peyote_ worship, Huichol and Tarahumare, 38.
Phonetic use of signs, Mayan hieroglyphs, 125, 127.
Physical types, 42, 44.
Pictographic hieroglyphs, Mayan, 125.
Piedras Negras, 75, 96, 105, 108, 147.
Pima, 36.
Pipiles, 34, 157, 188.
Place names, Aztecan, 225.
Plants, food, cultivation of, in the New World, 51, 249-250.
Poetry, Aztecan, 239-240.
Polychrome pottery, Cholula, 180, 182;
Mayan, 87.
Portraiture, in archaic art, 54, 58;
in Mayan art, 94, 124;
Totonacan art, 166.
Post-Archaic Horizon, 68-71.
Potato, cultivated in Peru, 52.
Pottery, archaic, 46, 59, 61, 165;
Atzcapotzalco, 47;
Aztecan, 215, 242;
from Cholula, 180, 182, 246;
Chorotegan, 191-193;
cloisonné, San Juan Teotihuacan, 178;
at Cuicuilco, 51;
distribution of, 63-64, 69, 70;
Lacandone, 41;
Mayan, 85, 86, 87-88;
Mitla, 164-165;
modern Mexican, 39;
northwestern region of Mexico, 183-184;
polychrome, Cholula, 180, 182;
polychrome, Mayan, 87-88;
San Juan Teotihuacan, 178;
with semi-glaze, 188-189;
Zapotecan, 160.
Pouches, Valiente Indians, 40.
Pre-Archaic Horizon, 68.
Priests, in Mayan art, 93;
Zapotecan, 161.
Protohistoric Period, Mayan history, 145-146.
Pueblo Viejo, 23.
_Pulque_, 38, 170.
Pyramid, Cholula, 180-181;
Mayan, 78-79;
Monte Alban, 157;
San Juan Teotihuacan, 175-176;
Toltecan, 169, 170.
Q
Quetzalcoatl, 25, 149, 171, 205, 232;
and the Toltec era, 171-175.
Quichés, 151.
Quinatzin, map, 203.
Quirigua, 15, 75, 108, 141.
R
Rank, among the Aztecs, 209-210.
Rattles, Aztecan, 241.
Religion, Aztecan, 229-232;
as evidenced by archaic art, 58;
Isthmian region, 198;
Lacandone Indians, 41;
Mayan, 99-103, 146, 201;
Toltecan, 170;
Zapotecan, 146.
River systems, Mexico and Central America, 17-18.
Roman-nosed God, Mayan, 98, 99, 100.
Roof comb, on Mayan buildings, 76, 83, 109.
Roofs, Mayan buildings, 81.
Rooms, Mayan buildings, 79, 81, 109.
Rubber, uses of, 154.
Ruins, Usumacinta Valley, 18.
Rulers, Toltec, 171.
S
Sacrifices, Aztecan, to the gods, 201;
human, 215, 219, 229;
human, archaic horizon, 59;
human, Aztecan, 229, 234, 235;
human, in sacred cenote, 28;
human, shown on sculptures, 188;
human, Toltecan, 179;
human, Zapotecan, 161.
Sacrificial yokes, Totonacan, 167, 168.
Saltillo blankets, 39.
San Andres Tuxtla, 146, 153.
San Blas Indians, 44.
San Juan Teotihuacan, 169, 175-179.
San Miguel blankets, 39.
Santa Lucia Cozumalhualpa, 187-189.
Sculptural art, massive, 83-84.
Sculptures, archaic, 61-63;
common material for, 19;
developments in, as a check to chronology, 104;
Mayan, Early Period, 146;
Mayan, Middle Period, 147;
San Juan Teotihuacan, 177;
Santa Lucia Cozumalhualpa, 188;
sequence in style, 106-108;
style, correlated with dates, 124-125;
Tenochtitlan, 242;
at Tula, 179;
wall, at Copan, 83;
Zapotecan, 162.
Second Empire, Mayan, 149, 195.
Seibal, 75, 95.
Seri, 36.
Serpent, archaic pottery, 59, 61;
in Chorotegan art, 190-191;
conventional, of the Mayas, 91, 92-93;
heads, comparison of Mayan and Zapotecan, 156;
heads, on Mayan buildings, 84;
motive, importance in Mayan art, 89-93;
in religion of the Mayas, 98.
Shield stone, Cuernavaca, 216.
Sky God, 102.
Slabs, sculptured stone, from Costa Rica, 192, 193, 194;
Zapotecan, 162.
Smiling faces, Totonacan, 165-167.
Social organization, Aztecan, 209-213.
Songs, Aztecan, 239, 240.
Southern Mexico, culture of, 245-248.
Spear-thrower, Tarascan, 244.
Speech scroll, 188.
Stability, Mayan buildings, 81.
Stature, Indians of Mexico and Central America, 44.
Stelæ, Mayan, 84, 106;
Zapotecan, 157.
Stocks, language, distribution of, 32-36.
Stone, collars, Totonacan, 167-168;
great development of building in, Copan and Mitla, 19;
sculpture in, 60-63;
yokes, 167;
Zapotecan art in, 160.
Stratification, archaeological, at Atzcapotzalco, 47-48, 169;
Mexican sites, 45-46, 47-49;
in Salvador, 49.
Structure, two-roomed, Mayan, 79-81.
Subtiaban stock, 36.
Sumo Indians, culture of, 43.
Sun God, Aztecan, 217, 231.
Suns, sequence of, in Aztecan mythology, 233.
Superstructures, on Mayan buildings, 83.
Supplementary series, 123, 141, 142.
Syllables, phonetic use of Mayan, 125, 127.
Symbolism, religious, Mayan, 95, 98, 234.
T
Talamanca, 44.
Tarahumare, 33, 36.
Tarascan, culture, 244-245;
stock, 35.
Tarascans, 44.
Tattooing, shown on archaic figurines, 56, 58.
Tecpan, 208, 209, 212, 213, 215.
Temple, of the Cross, model of, 76;
enclosure, Tenochtitlan, 212, 213, 215;
structure of Mayan, 78, 79, 81, 83;
of the Sun, Aztecan, 217;
at Xochicalco, 179.
Temples, Mayan, 78-83, 109, 146, 150;
Mitla, 163-164;
Tenochtitlan, 212, 213, 215;
Toltecan, 170;
Zapotecan, 157.
Tenochtitlan, 25, 26, 27, 29, 34, 47, 209, 210, 213, 219, 242.
_Teocentli_, sacred maize, 51, 52.
_Teonanacatl_, peyote, use of, 38.
Teotihuacan, 157.
Teotleco, twelfth month, Aztecan, 237-238.
Tepanecas, 47, 205, 209.
Tepehuane, 33, 36.
_Teswin_, 38.
Teteocan, 233.
Teteoinnan, 236.
Texcoco, 172, 195, 203, 204, 209, 239.
Textile, art, Cora and Huichol, 37;
art, Mayan, 88;
decoration, Aztec, 243;
designs, on archaic effigies, 58.
Tezcatlipoca, feast of, 26.
Tikal, 75, 83, 146, 148.
Time, count, Aztecan, 205;
Mayan, 111;
Toltecan, 172;
Zapotecan, 161, 163.
Time-relations, in New World culture, 249-252.
Tizoc, stone of, 209, 215, 219-221.
_Tlachtli_, Mexican ball game, 170, 179.
Tlacopan, 209.
Tlaloc, God of Rain, 58, 178, 215, 230, 231.
Tlalocan, 234.
Tlappaneca, 189.
Tlaxcala, 25, 27, 34, 44, 209.
Tlotzin, map of, 203.
Toltec, era, and Quetzalcoatl, 171-175.
Toltecs, 110, 149, 154, 156, 169-171, 203, 232.
Tomb, cruciform, near Mitla, 158, 164.
_Tonalamatl_, Aztecan, 113, 228, 238-239.
Tonatiuh, the Sun god, 217, 221, 231.
Topography, Mexico and Central America, 14-19.
Totonacan, culture, 165-169;
stock, 35.
Totonacs, 187.
Toxcatl, Aztecan month, 235.
Traditions, Colombia and Peru, 250;
Mayan, 104.
Transition Period, Mayan history, 148-149.
Trees, Mexico and Central America, 21.
Tribes, Indian, Mexico and Central America, 33, 34, 35, 36.
Tribute, lists, Aztecan, 243;
roll, 200, 245;
taken by Toltecs, 171.
Tripod vessels, archaic period, 59.
Tro-Cortesianus Codex, 128.
Tropical year, 139.
Tula, 169, 173, 179.
Tulum, 150, 151.
Tun, defined, 139.
Tuxtla Statuette, 146, 153.
Turquoise, Aztec work in, 243.
Two-Headed Dragon, 93, 100, 101, 102, 105, 108.
Tzendals, 44.
Tzintzuntzan, Tarascan capital, 244.
Tzolkin, defined, 113, 115, 117, 118;
in Dresden Codex, 133-135;
origin of, 113;
permutation table, 114.
U
Uayeb period, Mayan, 115.
Uaxactun, 139, 146, 148.
_Uinal_, lunar month, 112.
Universe, Aztecan conceptions of the, 232-234.
Urns, Zapotecan funerary, 159-160.
Uto-Aztecan languages, distribution of, 33-35.
Uxmal, 149, 150;
House of the Governor at, 82.
V
Vault, Mayan buildings, 79.
Venus, Aztecan festivals in connection with, 239;
calendar, Mayan, 143-145, 146.
Viceroys, Spanish, in Mexico, 31.
Vigesimal system of counting, Mayan, 118, 119.
Volcanoes, Mexico and Central America, 16, 19.
W
Wall construction, La Quemada, 182-183;
Mayan, 76, 79, 81-83;
Mitla, 161, 164.
War God, Aztecan, 219, 237;
Mayan, 103.
War, importance in Aztecan organization, 209-210;
Toltecan, 170-171.
Weapons, shown in archaic figurines, 58.
Weaving, shown in archaic figurines, 57-58;
Cora and Huichol, 37;
Lacandone, 41;
Mayan, 88;
Tarascan, 244.
Whistles, Aztecan, 241.
Writing, hieroglyphic, Mayan, 73;
Mayan and Aztecan, 125-128;
Mexican, 223-229.
X
Xcalumkin, 134.
Xipe, 178, 189, 232, 236.
Xkichmook, 84.
Xochicalco, 157, 179.
Xochimilco, 48, 207.
Xolotl, 204.
Y
_Yatacas_, Tarascan mounds, 244.
Yaqui, 44.
Yaxchilan, 75, 83, 94, 102.
Year, bearers, Cuicatecan, 246, 247;
conventional, Mayan, 114-117;
length of Mayan, 112;
Mayan, the true, 139-140;
symbol, southern Mexico, 245.
Yellow fever, presence in Central America, 148.
Yokes, sacrificial, 167;
designs on, 167, 168.
Yum Kaax, Lord of the Harvest, 103.
Z
Zapotecan stock, 35.
Zapotecs, culture of, 44, 156-163.
Zero, invention of sign for, Mayas, 119.
Zotzils, 211.
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Transcriber’s note:
—Where possible, transcribed text within images.
—Silently corrected apparent typographical errors; left non-standard
spellings and dialect unchanged.