ANTIQUITIES OF GUATEMALA AND BELIZE.
THE STATE OF GUATEMALA -- A LAND OF MYSTERY -- WONDERFUL
REPORTS -- DISCOVERIES COMPARATIVELY UNIMPORTANT -- RUINS
OF QUIRIGUA -- HISTORY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY -- PYRAMID,
ALTARS, AND STATUES -- COMPARISON WITH COPAN -- PYRAMID OF
CHAPULCO -- RELICS AT CHINAMITA -- TEMPLES OF MICLA --
CINACA-MECALLO -- CAVE OF PEÑOL -- CYCLOPEAN DÉBRIS AT
CARRIZAL -- COPPER MEDALS AT GUATEMALA -- ESQUIMATHA --
FORTIFICATION OF MIXCO -- PANCACOYA COLUMNS -- CAVE OF
SANTA MARÍA -- MAMMOTH BONES AT PETAPA -- ROSARIO AQUEDUCT
-- RUINS OF PATINAMIT, OR TECPAN GUATEMALA --
QUEZALTENANGO, OR XELAHUH -- UTATLAN, NEAR SANTA CRUZ DEL
QUICHÉ -- ZAKULÉU NEAR HUEHUETENANGO -- CAKCHIQUEL RUINS
IN THE REGION OF RABINAL -- CAWINAL -- MARVELOUS RUINS
REPORTED -- STEPHENS' INHABITED CITY -- ANTIQUITIES OF
PETEN -- FLORES -- SAN JOSÉ -- CASAS GRANDES -- TOWER OF
YAXHAA -- TIKAL PALACES AND STATUES -- DOLORES --
ANTIQUITIES OF BELIZE.
[Sidenote: GUATEMALA.]
Above the isthmus of Honduras the continent widens abruptly, forming
between the Rio Motagua and Laguna de Terminos on the Atlantic, the
Rio Paza and bar of Ayutla on the Pacific, a territory which stretches
some five hundred and fifty miles from north to south, with a nearly
uniform width of two hundred miles from east to west. Dividing this
territory into two nearly equal portions by a line drawn near the
eighteenth parallel of latitude, the northern part, between the bay of
Chetumal and Laguna de Terminos, is the peninsula of Yucatan; while
that portion lying south of the dividing line constitutes the
republic of Guatemala and the English province of Belize, which latter
occupies a strip along the Atlantic from the gulf of Amatique
northward. The Pacific coast of Guatemala for an average width of
seventy miles is low and unhealthy, with few inhabitants in modern,
as, judging from the absence of material relics, in ancient times.
Then comes a highland tract which contains the chief towns and most of
the white population of the modern republic; succeeded by the yet
wilder and more mountainous regions of Totonicapan and Vera Paz,
chiefly inhabited by comparatively savage and unsubdued aboriginal
tribes; from which we descend, still going northward towards Yucatan,
into the little-explored lake region of Peten. At the time of its
conquest by the Spaniards, Guatemala was the seat of several powerful
aboriginal kingdoms, chief among which were those of the Quichés and
Cakchiquels. They fought long and desperately in defence of their
homes and liberty, and when forced to yield before Spanish discipline
and arms, the few survivors of the struggle either retired to the
inaccessible fastnesses of the northern highlands, or remained in
sullen forced submission to their conquerors in the homes of their
past greatness--the aboriginal spirit still unbroken, and the native
superstitious faith yielding only nominally to Catholic power and
persuasion. Here and in the adjoining state of Chiapas the natives
probably retain to the present day their original character with fewer
modifications than elsewhere in the Pacific States.
By reason of the peculiar nature of the country, the grandeur of its
mountain scenery, the existence of large tracts almost unknown to
white men, the desperate struggles of its people for independence,
their wild and haughty disposition, and their strange and
superstitious traditions, Guatemala has always been a land of mystery,
particularly to those who delight in antiquarian speculations. A
residence at Rabinal in close contact with the native character in
its purest state first started in the mind of the Abbé Brasseur de
Bourbourg the train of thought that has since developed into his most
startling and complicated theories respecting American antiquity; and
Guatemala has furnished also many of the documents on which these
theories rest. Few visitors have resisted the temptation to indulge in
speculative fancies or to frame far-reaching theories respecting
ancient ruins or possibly flourishing cities hidden from the explorer's
gaze in the depths of Guatemalan forests and mountains.
And yet this mysterious land, promising so much, has yielded to actual
exploration only comparatively trifling results in the form of
material relics of antiquity. The ruins scattered throughout the
country are indeed numerous, but with very few exceptions, besides
being in an advanced state of dilapidation, they are manifestly the
remains of structures destroyed during the Spanish conquest. Important
as proving the accuracy of the reported power and civilization of the
Quichés and Cakchiquels, and indirectly of the Aztecs in Anáhuac,
where few traces of aboriginal structures remain for our study, they
are still unsatisfactory to the student who desires to push his
researches back into the more remote American past.
[Sidenote: RUINS OF QUIRIGUA.]
Beginning with the province of Chiquimula, bordering on Honduras and
composed for the most part of the valley of the Motagua and its
tributaries, the first ruin of importance, one of the exceptions noted
above to the general character of Guatemalan antiquities, is found at
Quirigua, fifty miles north-east of Copan, on the north side of the
Motagua, about sixty miles above its mouth, and ten miles below
Encuentros where the royal road, so called, from Yzabal to Guatemala
crosses the river. The stream is navigable for small boats to a point
opposite the ruins, which are in a cedar-forest on low moist ground
nearly a mile from the bank.[IV-1] Our only knowledge respecting this
ancient city comes through Mr Catherwood and Dr Scherzer. The former,
traveling with Mr Stephens, visited the locality in 1840 in company
with the Señores Payes, proprietors of the estate on which the ruins
stand, and by his description Quirigua first was made known to the
world. Mr Stephens, on hearing Catherwood's report, entered into
negotiations with the owners of the land for its purchase, with a view
to shipping the monuments to New York, their location on the banks of
a navigable stream being favorable for the execution of such a
purpose; but the interference of a European official so raised the
market value of ancient real estate that it was found necessary to
abandon the scheme. Dr Karl Scherzer's visit was in 1854, and his
account, published in the Transactions of the Royal Austrian Academy
of Science, and also reprinted in pamphlet form, is the most extensive
and complete extant.[IV-2] Nothing like a thorough exploration has
been made even in comparison with those of Copan and other Central
American ruins; but monuments and fragments thus far brought to light
are found scattered over a space of some three thousand square feet,
on the banks of a small creek which empties into the Motagua. The site
is only very slightly elevated above the level of the river, and is
consequently often flooded in times of high water; indeed, during a
more than ordinary freshet in 1852, after Mr Catherwood's visit,
several idols were undermined and overthrown. No aboriginal name is
known for the locality, Quirigua being merely that of a small village
at the foot of Mount Mico, not far distant. There being no plan extant
by which to locate the different objects to be mentioned in this old
centre of civilization, I will give the slight descriptions
obtainable, with very slight reference to their arrangement, beginning
with the pyramid which seems to occupy a somewhat central position
round which the other relics are grouped. Catherwood's description of
this structure is limited to the statement that it is "like those at
Copan, with the steps in some places perfect," and twenty-five feet
high. Scherzer's account only adds that it is constructed of neatly
cut sandstone in regular oblong blocks, and is very much ruined,
hardly more, in fact, than a confused mass of fragments, among which
were found some pieces of fine white marble. But under this structure
there is, it seems, a foundation, an artificial hill, or mound, of
rough stones without mortar. The base is an irregular square, the
dimensions of which are not stated, with a spur extending toward the
south. The steps which lead up the sides to the super-imposed
structure are only eight or nine inches high and six or seven inches
in width, remaining intact only at a few points. In the upper part of
the mound are two or three terraces, on the first of which several
recesses, or niches, of no great extent are noticed; they are lined
with small rough stones, plastered, and in a good state of
preservation, details which indicated to the observer that these
niches may be of more modern origin than the rest of the ruin. There
are no traces of openings to show that the hill contained underground
apartments; neither are there any sculptures on the hewn stones of the
pyramid itself, nor any idols or carved fragments found on the surface
of the mound.
Very near the foot of the mound Mr Catherwood found a moss-covered
colossal head six feet in diameter, and a large altar, both relics
being within an enclosure.[IV-3] Scherzer also describes several
monuments near the pyramid, some of which may be identical with the
ones mentioned by Catherwood, although he says nothing of an
enclosure. The first is a stone of a long oval form like a human head,
six feet high and thirty-five feet in circumference, the surface being
covered with carved figures in demi-relief, which for some reason have
been better preserved and present clearer outlines than other carvings
at Quirigua. One of the most clearly defined of these sculptures
represents a sitting female, whose legs and hands are wanting, but
whose arms hang down to the ground. A prominent feature is her
head-dress, sixteen inches high, the upper part of which is an idol's
head crowned with a diadem. The forehead is described as narrow,
depressed above and projecting below. The features are indistinct, but
the form of the head is of what Scherzer terms the Indian type. On
the south side of this block, or altar, is the rude figure of a turtle
five feet high. The top is covered with ornamental figures
representing plants and fruits, all the varieties there delineated
being such as still flourish in this region. The sides bear also faint
indications of hieroglyphics. Dr Scherzer believes that the stone used
in the construction of this altar must have been found on the spot,
since by reason of its great size it could not have been brought from
a distance with the aid of any mechanical appliances known to native
art.[IV-4] The second of these monuments is like a mill-stone, four
feet in diameter and two feet thick, cut from harder material than the
other objects. A tiger's head nearly covers one side of the disk, and
the rest of the surface, including the rim, is covered with
hieroglyphics, several of these mysterious signs appearing on the
animal's forehead. The third of the relics found near the pyramid is a
fragment eighteen feet long and five feet wide, the upper portion
having disappeared. The human face appears at different points among
its hieroglyphics and ornaments.
[Sidenote: STATUES OF QUIRIGUA.]
Three or four hundred yards northward from the mound, and at the foot
of a 'pyramidal wall,' concerning which we have no information beyond
the mention of its existence, is a group of sculptured idols, pillars,
or obelisks, standing in the forest like those in the sacred enclosure
at Copan. Indeed, they bear a strong resemblance to the latter, except
in their greater height and less elaborate sculpture, which is also in
lower relief. Twelve of them are definitely mentioned, the smallest of
which is nine feet high, and the largest twenty-six feet above ground,
increasing in size toward the top, leaning twelve feet out of the
perpendicular, and requiring, of course, some six or eight feet below
the surface to sustain its weight in such a position.[IV-5] They are
from two to three feet thick and four to six feet wide. In most
instances a human face, male or female, appears on the front or back
or both; while the sides are covered for the most part with
hieroglyphics, which are also seen on various parts of the dress and
ornaments. One statue is, however, mentioned, which, although crowded
with ornaments, has no character, apparently, of hieroglyphic nature.
One of the idols, twenty-three feet high, stands on a stone foundation
projecting some fifteen feet; and another, circular instead of
rectangular in form, rests on a small mound, within a wall of stones
enclosing a small circular area.[IV-6] In one the human figure has a
head-dress of which an animal's head forms a prominent part, while in
yet another the head is half human and half animal. In both cases the
aim of the artist would seem to have been to inspire terror, as in the
case of some Nicaraguan idols already noticed. Mr Catherwood made
sketches of two of the obelisks, including the leaning one, the
largest of all; but as he could not clean them of moss in the limited
time at his disposal, he makes no attempt to give the details of
sculpture, and a reproduction of the plates is therefore not deemed
necessary. The two monuments sketched by him could not be found at all
by Dr Scherzer. The Quirigua idols have not, like those at Copan,
altars in front of them, but several altars, or apparently such, were
found buried in moss and earth, and not carefully examined by either
of the explorers. They are usually of round or oval form, with
hieroglyphically inscribed sides; and one of them, within the circular
wall with steps, already mentioned as enclosing one of the
statues,[IV-7] is described as supported by two colossal heads. Many
fragments were noticed which are not described; and here as elsewhere
monuments superior to any seen were reported to exist by enthusiastic
guides and natives; in which latter class of antiquities are eleven
square columns higher than those mentioned, and also a female holding
a child, and an alligator's head in stone.[IV-8] The material of all
the stone work of Quirigua is a soft coarse-grained sandstone, not
differing materially, so far as I can judge, from that employed at
Copan. It is the prevalent formation at both localities, and may be
quarried readily at almost any point in the vicinity.
Absolutely no traditions have been preserved respecting Quirigua in
the days when its monuments were yet intact, when a large town, which
has left no traces, must have stood in the immediate vicinity.[IV-9]
The idols scattered over the surface of the ground, instead of being
located on the pyramids, may indicate here as at Copan that the
elevations served as seats for spectators during the religious
ceremonies, rather than as temples or altars on which sacrifice was
made. Both observers agree on the general similarity between the
monuments of Quirigua and Copan,[IV-10] and the hieroglyphics are
pronounced identical. Indeed, it seems altogether probable that they
owe their existence to the same era and the same people. Mr Stephens
notes, besides the greater size and lower relief of the Quirigua
monuments, that they are "less rich in design, and more faded and
worn, probably being of a much older date." Dr Scherzer speaks of the
greater plumpness of the sculptured figures, and has no faith in their
great antiquity, believing that the low-relief carvings on so soft a
material, would, when exposed in an atmosphere so moist, have been
utterly obliterated in a thousand years.[IV-11]
[Sidenote: CHAPULCO AND CHINAMITA.]
At Chapulco, a few leagues below Quirigua, on the opposite side of the
Motagua, one traveler speaks of a quadrilateral pyramid with terraced
sides, up which steps lead to the summit platform, where débris of
hewn stone are enveloped in a dense vegetation. Also at Chinamita,
some sixteen miles above Quirigua on the same side of the river, the
same authority reports a large area covered with aboriginal relics, in
the form of ruined stone structures, vases and idols of burned clay,
and monoliths buried for the most part in the earth. Of course, with
this meagre information, it is impossible to form any definite idea of
what these ruins really are, and whether they should be classed with
Quirigua and Copan, or with a more modern class of Guatemalan
antiquities. The same remark will apply also to many of the localities
of this state, of whose relics we have no description in
detail.[IV-12]
At Micla, or Mimilla, some three leagues north of lake Guijar, or
Uxaca, which is on the boundary between Guatemala and Salvador, traces
of a sacred town with its cues and temples are spoken of as visible in
1576. They are represented as of the class erected by the Pipiles who
occupied the region at the time of the conquest.[IV-13]
[Sidenote: CINACA-MECALLO.]
Still farther south-west towards the coast, a few miles south, of
Comapa, are the ruins of Cinaca-Mecallo, a name said to mean 'knotted
rope.' The Rio Paza here forms the boundary line between the two
states, and from its northern bank rises abruptly a mountain chain. On
the summit, at a point commanding a broad view over a large portion of
Salvador, is a plain of considerable extent, watered by several small
mountain streams, which unite and fall over a precipice on the way to
the river below. On the highest portion of this summit plain
interesting works of the former inhabitants have been discovered by D.
José Antonio Urrutia, padre in charge of the church at Jutiapa.[IV-14]
The remains of Cinaca-Mecallo cover an oval area formerly surrounded
by a wall, of which fragments yet remain sufficient to mark the line
originally followed. Within this space are vestiges of streets, ruined
buildings, and subterranean passages. Padre Urrutia makes special
mention of four monuments. The first is what he terms a temple of the
sun, an excavation in the solid rock opening towards the rising sun,
and having at its entrance an archway known to the natives as 'stone
of the sun,' formed of stone slabs closely joined. On these slabs are
carved in low relief figures of the sun and moon, to which are added
hieroglyphics painted on the stone with a very durable kind of red
varnish. There are also some sculptured hieroglyphic signs on the
interior walls of this artificial cavern. The second monument is a
great slab covered with carved inscriptions, among which were noted a
tree and a skull, emblematic, according to the padre's views, of life
and death. Next is mentioned the representation of a tiger or other
wild animal cut on the side of a large rock. This monument is, it
appears, some distance from the other ruins, and is conjectured by
Urrutia to be a commemoration of some historical event, from the fact
that the natives still celebrate past deeds of valor by dances, or
scenic representations, in which they dress in imitation of different
animals. Mr Squier suggests farther that the event thus commemorated
may have been a conflict between the Pipiles and the Cakchiquels, in
which the latter were driven permanently from this district. The
fourth and last of these monuments is one of the subterranean passages
which the explorer penetrated until he reached a kind of chamber where
were some sculptured blocks. This underground apartment is celebrated
among the natives as having been in modern times the resort of a
famous robber chief, who was at last brought to bay and captured here
in his stronghold. The material employed in all the Cinaca-Mecallo
structures is a slate-like stone in thin blocks, joined by a cement
which resembles in color and consistence molten lead. Some of the
carved blocks were sent by the discoverer as specimens to the city of
Guatemala. Outside the walls are tumuli of earth and small stones,
with no sculptured fragments. These are supposed to be burial mounds,
and to vary in size according to the rank and importance of the
personages whose resting-places they mark.
Proceeding now north-eastward to the region lying within a circle of
fifty miles about the city of Guatemala as a centre, we have a
reported cave on the hacienda of Peñol, perhaps twenty-five miles east
of Guatemala, which is said to have been explored for at least a
distance of one mile, and is believed by the credulous natives to
extend eleven leagues through the mountain to the Rio de los Esclavos.
In this cavern, or at least on the same hacienda, if we may credit
Fuentes, human bones of extraordinary size were found, including
shin-bones about five feet in length. These human relics crumbled on
being touched, but fragments were carefully gathered up and sent to
Guatemala, since which time nothing is known of them.[IV-15] On the
hacienda of Carrizal, some twenty miles north of Guatemala, we hear of
cyclopean débris, or masses of great unhewn stones heaped one on
another without cement, and forming gigantic walls, which cover a
considerable extent of territory on the lofty heights that guard the
approaches to the Motagua Valley.[IV-16]
[Illustration: Copper Medal at Guatemala.]
[Sidenote: COPPER MEDALS AND FORTIFICATIONS.]
The immediate vicinity of Guatemala seems not to have yielded any
antiquarian relics of importance. M. Valois reports the plain to be
studded with mounds which the natives regard as the tombs of their
ancestors, which others have searched for treasure, but which he
believes to be ant-hills.[IV-17] Ordoñez claims to have found here two
pure copper medals, fac-similes one of the other, two inches in
diameter and three lines thick, a little heavier than a Mexican peso
fuerte, engraved on both sides, as shown in the cut, which I give
herewith notwithstanding the fact that this must be regarded as a
relic of doubtful authenticity. M. Dupaix noticed an indication of
the use of the compass in the centre of one of the sides, the figures
on the same side representing a kneeling, bearded, turbaned man,
between two fierce heads, perhaps of crocodiles, which appear to
defend the entrance to a mountainous and wooded country. The reverse
presents a serpent coiled round a fruit-tree, and an eagle--quite as
much like a dove or crow or other bird--on a hill. There are, besides,
some ornamental figures on the rim, said to resemble those of
Palenque, and, indeed, Ordoñez refers the origin of these medals to
the founders of that city. He kept one of them and sent the other to
the king of Spain in 1794.[IV-18]
About 1860, a stone idol forty inches high was dug up in a yard of the
city, where it had been buried fifty years before, having been brought
by the natives from a point one hundred and fifty miles distant. Its
discovery was mentioned at a meeting of the American Ethnological
Society in 1861, by Mr Hicks. The same gentleman also spoke of the
reported discovery of a great city in ruins in the province of
Esquimatha, buried in a dense forest about fifty-six miles from the
city.[IV-19]
A few leagues west of the city are the ruins of Mixco, a fortified
town of the natives down to the time of the conquest, mentioned by
several authorities but described by none. Fuentes, however, as
quoted by Juarros, speaks of a cavern on a small ridge by the side of
the ruins. The entrance was a Doric portico of clay about three feet
wide and high. A flight of thirty-six stone steps leads down to a room
one hundred and twenty feet square, followed by another flight still
leading downward. This latter stairway no one has had the courage to
fully explore, on account of the tremulous and insecure condition of
the ground. Eighteen steps down this second flight, however, is an
arched entrance on the right side, to a passage which, after a descent
of six steps, has been explored for a distance of one hundred and
forty feet. Furthermore, the author tells us there are some
extravagant (!) accounts not worthy of implicit belief, and
consequently not repeated by him. Hassel states that gigantic bones
have been found here, and that the cave is natural, without any
artificial improvements whatever.[IV-20]
In this same valley, where the Pancacoya River enters the Xilotepec,
Juarros speaks of "a range of columns curiously wrought, with
capitals, mouldings, etc.; and a little farther on there are several
round cisterns formed in the rock." The cisterns are about four feet
in diameter and three feet deep, and may have served originally, as
the author remarks, for washing auriferous earths in the search for
gold.[IV-21] The Santa María River, near its junction with the
Motagua, is said to flow for a long distance underground, and at the
entrance to its subterranean channel are reported some carvings, the
work of human hands, but from superstitious fears the interior of this
bewitched cave has never been explored.[IV-22]
[Sidenote: PETAPA, ROSARIO, AND PATINAMIT.]
Petapa, twelve or fifteen miles southward from Guatemala on Lake
Amatitlan is another of the localities where the old authors report
the discovery of mammoth human bones, including a tooth as large as a
man's two fists. Such reports, where they have any other than an
imaginary foundation, may probably result from the finding of animal
bones, by which the good padres were deceived into the belief that
they had come upon traces of the ancient giants reported in all the
native traditions, which did not seem to them unworthy of belief,
since they were told elsewhere that "there were giants on the earth in
those days."[IV-23]
At Rosario, eight or ten miles south of the same lake, we have a bare
mention of a beautiful aqueduct in ruins.[IV-24] Twenty-five or thirty
miles west of the lake, at the western foot of the volcano of Fuego,
Don José María Asmitia, a Guatemalan official of antiquarian
tendencies, reports the discovery on his estate of a well-preserved
aqueduct, constructed of hewn stone and mortar, together with nine
stone idols each six feet in height. He proposed to make, at an early
date, more thorough explorations in that vicinity. Like other
explorers he had his theory, although he had not personally seen even
the relics on his own estate; deriving the American culture from a
Carthaginian source.[IV-25] Farther south on the Pacific lowlands, at
a point called Calche, between Escuintla and Suchiltepeques, the Abbé
Brasseur speaks of a pyramid cut from solid stone, which had been seen
by many Guatemalans.[IV-26]
[Sidenote: RUINS OF PATINAMIT.]
Passing now north-westward to the region lying about Lake Atitlan, and
noting that the town of Sololá on the northern lake-shore is said to
be built on the ruins of the aboriginal Tecpan Atitlan,[IV-27] we come
to the ruins of the ancient Patinamit, 'the city', the Cakchiquel
capital. It is near[IV-28] the modern town of Tecpan Guatemala,
fifteen miles south-east of the lake, and forty miles north-west of
Guatemala. The aboriginal town, to which Brasseur de Bourbourg would
assign a very ancient, pre-Toltec origin, was inhabited down to the
time when the conquistadores came, and was by them destroyed. With the
state of the city as found and described by them, I have, of course,
nothing to do in this volume, having simply to record the condition of
the ruins as observed at subsequent periods, although in the
descriptions extant the two phases of the city's condition are
considerably confounded. The remains are found on a level plateau
having an area of several square miles, and surrounded by a ravine
from one hundred to four hundred feet in depth, with precipitous
sides. The plateau is accessible at one point only by a path
artificially cut in the side of the barranca, twenty to thirty feet
deep, and only wide enough to permit the passage of a single horseman.
At the time of Mr Stephens' visit nothing was visible but confused
irregular masses, or mounds, of fallen walls, among which, however,
could still be made out the foundations of two buildings, one of them
fifty by one hundred feet. Two sculptured figures were pointed out by
the natives, lying on the ground, on one of which the nose and eyes of
some animal were discernible. Fuentes, who wrote in the century
following the conquest, observed, during his examination of the city,
more definite traces of its former grandeur. Two gates of chay-stone
afforded entrance to the narrow passage which led up to the plateau; a
coating, or layer, of clay covered the soil to a depth of two feet;
and a trench six or eight feet deep, faced with stone and having also
a breastwork of masonry three feet high, running north and south
across the table, divided the city's site into two portions,
inhabited, as is suggested, respectively by the plebeian and
aristocratic classes of its original citizens. The street-lines,
crossing each other at right angles, were traceable, indicating that
the city was regularly laid out in blocks. One of the structures whose
foundations were then to be seen was a hundred yards square, besides
which there remained the ruins of what is described as a palace, and
of several houses. West of the city, on a mound six feet high, was "a
pedestal formed of a shining substance, resembling glass." Brasseur
also mentions 'vastes souterrains,' which, as usual, he does not deign
farther to describe. The modern town is built to a considerable
extent, and its streets are paved, with fragments of the hewn stone
from Patinamit, which have been carried piece by piece on the backs of
natives up and down the sides of the barranca. The aborigines still
look with feelings of superstitious respect on this memorial of their
ancestral glory, and at times their faithful ears detect the chimes of
bells proceeding from beneath the hill. A famous black stone was, in
the days of aboriginal independence, an object of great veneration in
the Cakchiquel religious rites connected with the fate of prisoners,
its shrine being in the depths of a dark ravine near at hand. In
Fuentes' time it had been consecrated by the Catholic bishop and
placed on the altar of the church. He describes it as of singular
beauty and about eighteen inches square. Stephens found it still on
the altar, the object of the people's jealous veneration; and when his
Spanish companion had, with sacrilegious hand, to the infinite terror
of the parish priest, ripped open the cotton sack in which the relic
was enveloped, there appeared only a plain piece of ordinary slate
measuring ten by fourteen inches. Brasseur de Bourbourg, however,
believes that the former visitors were both in error, and that the
original black stone was never permitted to fall into the hands of the
Spanish unbelievers.[IV-29] At Patzun, a native pueblo near Tecpan
Guatemala, two mounds were noticed, but not opened.[IV-30]
Quezaltenango, the aboriginal Xelahuh, is some twenty-five or thirty
miles westward from Lake Atitlan. In the days of Quiché power this
city was one of the largest and most powerful in the land. I find no
evidence that any remains of the town itself are to be seen, though
Wappäus speaks of such remains, even classing them with the most
ancient type of Guatemalan antiquities. Two fortresses in this
vicinity, however, Olintepec and Parrazquin, supposed to have guarded
the approaches to Xelahuh, are said to have left some traces of their
former strength.[IV-31]
[Sidenote: RUINS OF UTATLAN.]
[Illustration: El Sacrificatorio at Utatlan.]
Thirty miles farther back in the mountains north-eastward from
Quezaltenango, toward the confines of Vera Paz, was Utatlan, 'road of
the waters,' in the native language Gumarcaah, the Quiché capital and
stronghold, at the modern town of Santa Cruz del Quiché. This city was
the richest and most magnificent found by the Spaniards south of
Mexico, and at the time of its destruction by them was, unlike most
aboriginal American towns, in its highest state of prosperity. Slight
as are the ruins that remain, they are sufficient to show that the
Spanish accounts of the city's original splendor were not greatly
exaggerated; this, with the contrasts which these ruins present in the
absence of statues, sculpture, and hieroglyphics, and in other
respects, when compared with those of Quirigua and Copan, constitutes
their chief importance in archæological investigations. Like
Patinamit, Utatlan stood on a plateau, or mesa, bounded by a deep
ravine on every side, a part of which ravine is believed to be of
artificial construction. The barranca can only be crossed and the site
of the city reached at one point, from the south-east. Guarding this
single approach, at the distance of about half a mile from the village
of Santa Cruz, are the ruins of a long line of structures of carefully
laid hewn stone, evidently intended as fortifications and connected
one with another by a ditch. Within this line and more immediately
guarding the passage, is an immense fortress, El Resguardo, one
hundred and twenty feet high, in the form of a square-based pyramidal
structure, with three ranges of terraces, and steps leading up from
one to another. A stone wall, plastered with a hard cement, incloses
the area of the summit platform, in the centre of which rises a tower
furnished with steps, which were also originally covered with cement.
Crossing the barranca from the fort Resguardo, we find the table which
was the site of the ancient city covered throughout its whole extent
with shapeless masses of ruins, among which the foundations of a few
structures only can be definitely made out. The chief edifice, known
as the grand castle, or palace, of the Quiché kings, and said to have
been in round numbers eleven hundred by twenty-two hundred feet,
occupied a central position. Its upper portions have been carried away
and used in the construction of the modern town, but in 1810, if we
may trust the cura of the parish, the building was still entire. The
floors remain, covered with a hard and durable cement, and also
fragments of the partition walls sufficient to indicate something of
the original ground plan. A plaster of finer quality than that
employed on the floors and pyramids, covers the inner walls, with
evident traces of having been colored or painted. The ruins of a
fountain appear in an open court-yard, also paved with cement. Another
structure, El Sacrificatorio, still visible, is a pyramid of stone
sixty-six feet square at the base and, in its present state,
thirty-three feet high, the plan and elevation of which are shown in
the cuts. Each side except the western is ascended by a flight of
nineteen steps, each step eight inches wide and seventeen inches high.
The western side is covered with stucco, laid on, as is ascertained by
careful examination, in several successive coatings, each painted with
ornamental figures, among which the body of a leopard only could be
distinguished. The pyramid is supported by a buttress in each of the
four corners, diminishing in size toward the top. The summit is in
ruins, but our knowledge of the Quiché religious ceremonies, as set
forth in the preceding volume of this work, leaves little doubt that
this was a place of sacrifice and supported an altar. No sculpture has
been found in connection with the ruins of Utatlan. Its absence is
certainly remarkable; but it is to be noted that the natives of this
region have always been of a haughty, unsubdued spirit, ardently
attached to the memory of their ancestors; and the destruction or
concealment of their idols with a view to keep them from the
sacrilegious touch and gaze of the white man, would be in accordance
with their well-known character. They have the greatest respect for
the holy pyramid on the plateau, and at one time when the reported
discovery of a golden image prompted the destruction of the palace in
search of treasure, the popular indignation on the part of the natives
presaged a serious revolt and compelled the abandonment of the scheme,
not, however, until the walls had been razed. Flint arrow-heads are
mentioned as of frequent occurrence among the débris of fortifications
outside the barranca, and a Spanish explorer in 1834 found a sitting
figure twelve inches high, and two heads of terra cotta exceedingly
hard, smooth, and of good workmanship. One of the heads was solid, the
other and the idol were hollow. The annexed cut shows the sitting
figure. Under one of the buildings is an opening to what the natives
represented as a subterranean passage leading by an hour's journey to
Mexico, but which only revealed to Mr Stephens, who entered it, the
presence of a roof formed by overlapping stones. This form of arch
will be described in detail when I come to speak of more northern
ruins, where it is of frequent occurrence. That a long time must have
passed between the erection of Copan and Utatlan, the civilization of
the builders meantime undergoing great modifications, involving
probably the introduction of new elements from foreign sources, is a
theory supported by a careful study of the two classes of remains. For
an account of Utatlan and other Guatemalan cities as they were in the
time of their aboriginal glory, I refer the reader to Volume II. of
this work.[IV-32] The cura at Santa Cruz del Quiché said he had seen
human skulls of more than natural size, from a cave in a neighboring
town.[IV-33]
[Illustration: Utatlan Terra Cotta.]
[Sidenote: RUINS OF HUEHUETENANGO OR ZAKULÉU.]
[Illustration: Sepulchral Urn from Huehuetenango.]
North-westward from Utatlan, thirty or forty miles distant, in the
province of Totonicapan, is the town of Huehuetenango, and near it,
located like Utatlan on a ravine-guarded plain, are the ruins of
Zakuléu, the ancient capital of the Mams, now known popularly as Las
Cuevas. These remains are in an advanced state of dilapidation, hardly
more than confused heaps of rubbish scattered over the plain, and
overgrown with grass and shrubs. Two pyramidal structures of rough
stones in mortar, formerly covered with stucco, can, however, still be
made out. One of them is one hundred and two feet square and
twenty-eight high, with steps, each four feet in height and seven feet
wide. The top is small and square, and a long rough slab found at the
base may, as Mr Stephens suggests, have been the altar thrown down
from its former position on the platform. There are also several small
mounds, supposed to be sepulchral, one of which was opened, and
disclosed within an enclosure of rough stones and lime some fragments
of bone and two vases of fine workmanship, whose material is not
stated but is probably earthen ware. One of them is shown in the cut,
and bears a striking resemblance to some of the burial vases of
Nicaragua.[IV-34] Another burial vault, not long enough, however, to
contain a human being at full length, at the foot of one of the
pyramids, was faced with cut stone, and from it the proprietor of the
estate took a quantity of bones and the terra-cotta tripod shown in
the cut. It has a polished surface and is one foot in diameter. At a
point on the river where the banks had been washed away at the time of
high water, some animal skeletons of extraordinary size were brought
to light. Mr Stephens saw in the bank the imprint of one of these
measuring twenty-five or thirty feet in length, and others were said
to be yet larger.[IV-35]
[Illustration: Tripod from Huehuetenango.]
[Sidenote: RUINS IN RABINAL VALLEY.]
Extending eastward from the region of Huehuetenango to that of Salama
in the province of Vera Paz, a distance of nearly one hundred miles,
there seems to be a line of ruins, occurring at frequent intervals,
particularly in the valley of the Rabinal and about the town of that
name. A map of Guatemala now before me locates seventeen of these
ruins, and M. Brasseur de Bourbourg incidentally mentions many of them
by name, none of them, however, being anywhere described in detail. It
is much to be regretted that the last-named author, during a residence
at Rabinal, did not more fully improve his opportunities for the
examination of these remains, or, at least, that he has never made
known to the world the result of his investigations. All the ruins
along this line would seem to belong to the class of those occupied
by the natives, chiefly Cakchiquels, at the time of the conquest, most
of them being the remains of fortresses or fortified towns, built on
strong natural positions at the river-mouths, guarding the entrance to
fertile valleys.
Opposite the mouth of the River Rabinal, where the Pacalah empties
into the Chixoy, or Usumacinta, are the ruins of Cawinal, visited by
the Abbé Brasseur in 1856, and by him pronounced the finest in Vera
Paz. They are situated on both sides of the stream in a fine
mountain-girt valley, the approach to which was guarded by a long line
of fortifications, pyramidal mounds, and watch-towers, whose remains
may yet be seen. Among these structures is a pyramid of two terraces,
forty feet high, ascended by a stairway of three flights, with the
ruined walls of three small buildings on its summit. Near many of the
old towns, especially in the Rabinal district, tumuli--_cakhay_, 'red
houses'--very like in form and material to those of the Mississippi
Valley are said to be numerous.[IV-36]
Besides the ruins actually seen and vaguely described, there are
reports of others. The province is large and comparatively unexplored,
its people wild and independent, and both have ever been to travelers
the object of much mysterious conjecture, increasing in intensity as
the northern region of Peten is approached. In 1850 Mr Squier wrote,
"there has lately been discovered, in the province of Vera Paz, 150
miles north-east of Guatemala, buried in a dense forest, and far from
any settlements, a ruined city, surpassing Copan or Palenque in extent
and magnificence, and displaying a degree of art to which none of the
structures of Yucatan can lay claim."[IV-37] The cura of Santa Cruz
had once lived in Coban, some forty miles north of Rabinal, and four
leagues from there he claimed to have seen an ancient city as large as
Utatlan, its palace being still entire at the time of his
visit.[IV-38] One Leon de Pontelli claims to have traveled extensively
in these parts in 1859, and to have discovered many ancient and
remarkable ruins of great cities, at points impossible to locate,
somewhere about the confines of Vera Paz and Peten. Pontelli is not
regarded as a trustworthy explorer, and no positive information
whatever is to be obtained from his account.[IV-39]
Not only are cities in ruins reported to exist, but also somewhere in
this region, four days' journey from Utatlan towards Mexico, an
inhabited city in all its aboriginal magnificence is said to be
visible, far out on the plain, from the summit of a lofty sierra. The
cura of Santa Cruz before mentioned had gazed upon its glittering
turrets and had heard from the natives traditions of its splendor, and
the failure of all attempts on the part of white men to approach its
walls for the purpose of a closer examination. One other man had the
courage to climb the sierra, but on the day chosen for the ascent the
city was rendered invisible by mists. The intelligence and general
reliability of the good cura inclined Mr Stephens to put some faith in
the accuracy of his report; others, however, not without reason, are
sceptical about the matter.[IV-40]
[Sidenote: PROVINCE OF PETEN.]
Leaving the lofty highlands of Vera Paz, we descend northward to the
province of Peten, a comparatively low region whose central portion is
occupied by several large lakes. It is in this lake region chiefly
that antiquities have been brought to light by the few travelers who
have penetrated this far-off country, less known, perhaps, than any
other portion of Central America. The Spaniards found the Itzas, a
Maya branch from Yucatan, established here, their capital, Tayasal, a
city of no small pretensions to magnificence, being on an island now
known as Remedios, in Lake Itza, or Peten, where the town of Flores is
now situated. Flores is built indeed on the ruins of the aboriginal
city, which, however, has left no relics of sculpture or architecture
to substantiate the Spanish accounts of its magnificent structures,
which included twenty-one adoratorios. Rude earthen figures and
vessels are, however, occasionally exhumed; and M. Morelet heard of
one vase of some hard transparent material, very beautifully formed
and ornamented. This relic had passed into the hands of a Tabascan
merchant. Sr Fajardo, commissioner to establish the boundary between
Mexico and Guatemala, furnished to Sr I. R. Gondra drawings of some
_nacas_, or small idols, found in the Peten graves. Sr Gondra
pronounces them similar to those of Yucatan as represented by
Stephens.[IV-41]
On the north side of the lake is the small town of San José, and a
spot two days' journey south-eastward from here--although this would,
according to the maps, carry us back across the lake--is given as the
locality of three large edifices buried in the forest, called by the
natives Casas Grandes. All we know of them rests on the report of an
Indian chief, who was induced by M. Morelet to depart from the
characteristic reserve and secrecy of his race respecting the works of
the antiguos; consequently the statement that the buildings are
covered with sculptures in high relief, closely analogous to those of
Palenque, must be accepted with some allowance.[IV-42]
Two days eastward of Lake Peten, on the route to Belize, is the lake
of Yaxhaa, Yachá, or Yasja, one of the isles in which is said to be
covered with débris of former structures. Col. Galindo, who visited
the locality in 1831, is the only one who has written of the ruins
from personal observation, and he only describes one structure, which
he terms the most remarkable of all. This is a tower of five stories,
each nine feet high, each of less length and breadth than the one
below it, and the lower one sixty-six feet square. No doors or windows
appear in the four lower stories, although Galindo, from the hollow
sound emitted under blows, supposed them not to be solid. A stairway
seven feet wide, of steps each four inches high, leads up to the base
of the fifth story on the west, at which point, as on the opposite
eastern side, is an entrance only high enough for a man to crawl
through on hands and knees. This upper story is divided into three
apartments communicating with each other by means of low doors, and
now roofless, but presenting signs of having been originally covered
with the overlapping arch. The whole structure is of hewn stone laid
in mortar, and no traces of wood remain. It is evident that this
building is entirely different from any other monuments which we have
thus far met in our progress northward, and further north we shall
meet few if any of a similar nature. So far as the data are sufficient
to justify conclusions, this may safely be classed with the older
remains at Copan and Quirigua, rather than with the more modern
Quiché-Cakchiquel structures. There are no means of determining with
any degree of accuracy whether these buildings of Yaxhaa were the work
of the Itzas or of a more ancient branch of the Maya people.[IV-43]
[Sidenote: RUINS OF TIKAL.]
About forty miles north-east from the eastern end of Lake Peten, in
the foothills of the mountains, but in a locality inaccessible from
the direction of the lake except in the dry season, from January to
June, are the ruins of Tikal, a name signifying in the Maya language
'destroyed palaces.' So dry is the locality, however, during this dry
season, that water must be carried in casks, or thirst quenched with
the juice of a peculiar variety of reed that grows in the region. A
more thorough search might reveal natural wells, which supplied water
to the ancient inhabitants, as was the case further north in Yucatan.
The ruined structures of Tikal are reported to extend over a space of
at least a league, and they were discovered, although their existence
had been previously reported by the natives, in 1848, by Governor
Ambrosio Tut and Colonel Modesto Mendez. From the pen of the latter we
have a written description accompanied by drawings.[IV-44]
Unfortunately I have not been able to examine the drawings made by Sr
Mendez, whose text is brief and, in some respects, unsatisfactory.
[Sidenote: TIKAL PALACES.]
The chief feature at Tikal is the occurrence of many palaces or
temples of hewn stone in mortar, on the summit of hills usually of
slight elevation. Five of these are specially mentioned, of which
three are to some extent described. The first is on a hill about one
hundred and forty feet high, natural like all the rest so far as
known, but covered in many places with masonry. A stairway about
seventy feet wide leads up to the summit, on which stands a lofty
stone palace, or tower, seventy-two by twenty-four feet at the base
and eighty-six feet high, facing the east. The walls of the lower
portion, or what may be regarded as the first story, are plain and
coated with a hard cement. There is a niche five or six feet deep in
the front, covered on the interior with paintings and hieroglyphics,
and furnished with wooden rings at the top, as if for the suspension
of curtains. At this point an attempt to penetrate to the interior of
the structure showed the lower story to be solid, filled with earth
and stones. The upper story has an ornamented and sculptured front,
and there are ruins of a fallen balcony, or more probably a staircase
which formerly led up to the entrance. Nothing is said of the
interior of the upper portion. The second structure is of the same
dimensions as the first, and is built on a hill opposite, or eastward,
which seems, however, to have no steps upon its sides. It is much
damaged and fallen, but several of its rooms are well preserved,
having the triangular-arched roof of overlapping stones, walls
decorated with paintings and hieroglyphics, and corridors six and a
half feet wide and over one hundred feet long, with windows, or
air-holes, two and a half by four feet. The walls are nearly seven
feet thick, and the top of the doorway at the entrance is of rough
zapote beams. The third palace differs in no respect from the others,
except that the zapote architrave of the chief entrance is carved in
ornamental and hieroglyphic figures. In a kind of a court at the foot
of the hill in front of the first palace were found eleven stone idols
from five to six feet high. Three of the number stood on large round
stone disks, or pedestals. About twenty of these disks, without idols,
were also found, seven or eight of which bore indistinct medallion
figures sculptured in low relief, and the rest were rough and
apparently unfinished. Three oval stone disks were also dug out, as
implied by Mendez' text, from the excavation under the first palace,
although it is difficult to explain the presence of sculptured relics
in such a situation. One of the stones measured five and a half by
four by five and a half feet, and bore on one side the figure of a
woman with decorated robe. The second bore the outlines of a supposed
god, and the third a figure which the explorer profoundly concludes to
have represented an eagle or a snake, but which may perhaps be taken
for some other insect. On the road, just before reaching the ruins,
fragments of pottery were noticed, and Governor Tut had also seen the
figure of a bull well cut from stone lying on the bank of a lagoon
some eight miles distant. It is evident that at or near Tikal was
formerly a large city, and when we consider the extent and importance
of the ruins, the preceding description unaccompanied by plates may
seem meagre and unsatisfactory. But after a perusal of the following
chapter on the ruins of Yucatan, the reader will not fail to form a
clear idea of those at Tikal; since all that we know of the latter
indicates clearly their identity in style and in hieroglyphics with
numerous monuments of the peninsula further north. It is therefore
very probable that both groups are the work of the same people,
executed at approximately the same epoch.
Colonel Mendez, while on his way to visit Tikal for the second time in
1852, accidentally discovered two other groups of ruins in the
neighborhood of Dolores, south-eastward from Lake Peten and at about
the same distance from the lake as Tikal. One group is south-east and
eight miles distant from Dolores, and the other the same distance
north-west. The former is called by the natives Yxtutz, and the latter
Yxcum. There seem to have been made a description and some drawings of
the Dolores remains, which I have not seen. Traces of walls are
mentioned and monoliths sculptured in high relief, with figures
resembling those at Copan and Quirigua rather than those at Tikal,
although the hieroglyphics are pronounced identical with those of the
latter monuments. Other relics are the figure of a woman dressed in a
short nagua of feathers about the waist, fitting closely and showing
the form of the leg; and a collection of sculptured blocks upon a
round disk, on which are carved hieroglyphics and figures of the sun
and moon with a prostrate human form before them.
[Sidenote: RELICS IN BELIZE.]
Near by on the Belize River is a cave in which several idols were
discovered, probably brought here by the natives for concealment.[IV-45]
There are found in the early Spanish annals of this region some
accounts of inhabited towns in this vicinity when the conquerors
first came, of which these ruins may be the remains. I close the
chapter on Guatemalan antiquities with two short quotations, embodying
all I have been able to find respecting the ancient monuments of the
English province of Belize, on the Atlantic coast eastward from Peten.
"About thirty miles up the Balize River, contiguous to its banks are
found, what in this country are denominated the Indian-hills. These
are small eminences, which are supposed to have been raised by the
aborigines over their dead; human bones, and fragments of a coarse
kind of earthen-ware, being frequently dug from them. These
Indian-hills are seldom discovered but in the immediate vicinity of
rivers or creeks," and were therefore, perhaps, built for refuge in
time of floods. "The foot of these hills is regularly planted round
with large stones, and the whole may perhaps be thought to bear a very
strong resemblance to the ancient barrows, or tumuli, so commonly
found in various parts of England."[IV-46] "I learned from a young
Frenchman that on this plantation (New Boston) are Indian ruins of the
same character as those of Yucatan, and that idols and other
antiquities have often been found there."[IV-47]
FOOTNOTES:
[IV-1] About five miles down the river from El Pozo de los Amates on
the main road from Guatemala to Yzabal, in a forest of cedar and
mahogany, about a mile from the left bank of the river, on the estate
of the Señores Payes. _Stephens' Cent. Amer._, vol. ii., pp. 118-23.
Stephens' map locates Quirigua, however, on the south bank of the
river. 'Quirigua, village guatémalien, situé sur la route et à huit
lieues environ du port de l'Isabal; les ruines qui en portent le nom
existent à deux lieues de là sur la rive gauche du fleuve Motagua.'
_Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Palenqué_, introd., p. 22. 'Sur la rive
gauche de la rivière de Motagua, à milles vares environ de cette
rivière.' _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1840, tom. lxxxviii., pp.
376-7. 'Liegen in der Nähe des kleinen Dorfes Los Amates, 2 Stunden
unterhalb Encuentros, am linken Ufer des Motagua, ¾ Stunde vom Flusse
entfernt, mitten im Walde. Der Weg von Yzabal führt in einer
Entfernung von 3 Stunden an dem Orte vorbei.' _Reichardt_, _Cent.
Amer._, p. 69. 'Eine der unbekanntesten und merkwürdigsten
Ruinenstätten Central-Amerika's, nahe dem See von Isabal, in einer
schwer zugänglichen Wildniss.' _Wagner and Scherzer_, _Costa Rica_, p.
x. 'Quirigüa, c'est le nom d'une ville considérable, bâtie par les
Aztèques à l'époque où florissait la magnifique Anahuac. Ses ruines
mystérieuses sont aujourd'hui ensevelies à environ trois lieues du
triste village qui porte son nom.' _Sue_, _Henri le Chancelier_, pp.
110-11. Nearly two English miles from the river-bank. _Scherzer_,
_Quiriguá_, p. 5. Mention in _Wappäus_, _Geog. u. Stat._, p. 276;
_Hesse_, in _Sivers_, _Mittelamerika_, p. 256.
[IV-2] _Stephens' Cent. Amer._, vol. ii., pp. 118-24, with two plates.
An account made up from Catherwood's notes was, however, inserted in
the Guatemalan newspaper _El Tiempo_ by the proprietors of the
Quirigua estate, and translated into French in _Le Moniteur Parisien_,
from which it was reprinted in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1840,
tom. lxxxviii., pp. 376-7; and in _Amérique Cent._, pt. ii., pp. 68-9,
both French and Spanish text is given. The same description is also
given in _Valois_, _Mexique_, pp. 202-3. Scherzer's pamphlet on the
subject bears the title _Ein Besuch bei den Ruinen von Quiriguá im
Staate Guatemala in Central-Amerika_, (Wien, 1855,) and I have not
found it quoted elsewhere. _Baily's Cent. Amer._, pp. 65-6, also
contains a brief account from a source not stated, and this is quoted
nearly in full in _Helps' Span. Conq._, vol. ii., pp. 138-9. The ruins
are slightly mentioned in _Macgregor's Progress of Amer._, vol. i.,
pp. 878-9, and in _Baldwin's Anc. Amer._, pp. 114-17, where it is
incorrectly stated that Mr Stephens personally visited Quirigua.
Brasseur de Bourbourg says: 'Nous les avons visitées en 1863, et nous
possédons les dessins des plusieurs des monolithes qu'on y voit, faits
par M. William Baily, d'Izabal.' _Palenqué_, introd., p. 22. See also
the additional references in Note 1.
[IV-3] The French version of Catherwood's notes has it, 'Au centre du
cirque, dans lequel on descend par des degrés très-étroits, il y a une
grande pierre arrondie, dont le contour présente beaucoup
d'hiéroglyphes et d'inscriptions; deux têtes d'homme, de proportion
plus grande que nature, parraissent soutenir cette table, laquelle est
couverte de végétation dans la plus grande partie.' _Nouvelles Annales
des Voy._, 1840, tom. lxxxviii., p. 377.
[IV-4] 'Wahrscheinlich benutzten die Erbauer einen hier schon
vorhandenen grossen Felsblock zu ihren Zwecken, denn der Transport
eines Steines von solcher Grösse und Umfang mit den bewegenden Kräften
welche diesen Völkern muthmasslich zu Gebote standen, wäre sonst kaum
begreiflich.' _Scherzer_, _Quiriguá_, p. 7.
[IV-5] 'Plus inclinée que la tour de Pise.' _Nouvelles Annales des
Voy._, 1840, tom. lxxxviii., p. 376.
[IV-6] Stephens' text, _Cent. Amer._, vol. ii., p. 122, leaves it
uncertain whether it is the statue or the altar afterwards mentioned
which rests on the elevation. The French text, however, indicates that
it is the former.
[IV-7] See Notes 6 and 3.
[IV-8] Baily, _Cent. Amer._, pp. 65-6, sums up all the relics at
Quirigua as follows: seven quadrilateral columns, twelve to
twenty-five feet high, three to five feet at base; four pieces of an
irregular oval shape, twelve by ten or eleven feet, not unlike
sarcophagi; two large square slabs seven and a half by three feet and
over three feet thick; all except the slabs being covered on all sides
with elaborately wrought and well-defined sculptured figures of men,
women, animals, foliage, and fanciful representations. All the columns
are moreover of a single piece of stone.
[IV-9] Yet Scherzer thinks that 'es ist nicht ganz unwahrscheinlich,
dass die Monumente von Quiriguá noch zur Zeit der spanischen Invasion
ihrer religiösen Bestimmung dienten, und dass auch eine Stadt in der
Nähe noch bewohnt war.' _Quiriguá_, p. 15, although there is no record
of such a place in the annals of the conquest.
[IV-10] Although Baily, _Cent. Amer._, p. 66, says 'they do not
resemble in sculpture those of Palenque ... nor are they similar to
those of Copan.... They suggest the idea of having been designed for
historical records rather than mere ornament.'
[IV-11] The sculpture presents no old-world affinities whatever. A
certain coarseness of execution, implying inferior tools,
distinguishes them from the coarsest Egyptian carvings. Both grouping
and execution indicate a still "barbaric state of art, with no
advanced idea of beauty, the patience and industry of the workmen
being more remarkable than their ideas or skill." _Scherzer_,
_Quiriguá_, p. 11-12.
[IV-12] _Hesse_, in _Sivers_, _Mittelamerika_, p. 256.
[IV-13] _Palacio_, _Carta_, pp. 62.
[IV-14] Padre Urrutia published an account of his investigations at
Cinaca-Mecallo in the _Gaceta de Guatemala_, according to _Brasseur de
Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 81. The most complete
description, however, he gave in a letter to E. G. Squier, who
published the same in his _Cent. Amer._, pp. 342-4. The substance of
the letter may be found in _Baldwin's Anc. Amer._, p. 124; and a
French version in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1857, tom. cliii., pp.
182-6.
[IV-15] _Juarros' Hist. Guat._, pp. 45, 308-9, taking the information
from _Fuentes_, _Recopilacion Florida_, MS., tom. ii., lib. iv., cap.
ii. Of course no importance is to be attached to these and similar
reports.
[IV-16] _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. i., pp. 43-4.
[IV-17] _Valois_, _Mexique_, pp. 430-1.
[IV-18] _Dupaix_, _Rel. 3me Expéd._, p. 9, in _Antiq. Mex._, tom.
i., div. i., tom. iii., pl. vii., fig. 12, and in _Kingsborough's Mex.
Antiq._, vol. v., p. 290, vol. vi., p. 470, vol. iv., pl. viii., fig.
12. Kingsborough's translation incorrectly represents this relic as
having been found at Palenque, although the original reads 'lo
encontró en Guatemala' and the French 'l'a trouvée à Guatemala.' M.
Lenoir, _Parallèle_, p. 72, thinks the engraved device may show some
analogy with the astronomical traditions of the ancients, the serpent
of the pole, the dragon, the constellation Ophis, the apples of the
Hesperides, etc.; and the reverse may be the Mexican tradition of the
creation, the Python, or the serpent killed by Cadmus!! Cabrera,
_Teatro Crítico_, pp. 53-5, pl. i., who was the bearer of one of the
medals to the king of Spain, speaks of it as made of brass, and
pronounces it to be 'a concise history of the primitive population of
this part of North America.' The bird, in his opinion, is an eagle
with a serpent in its beak and claws. His application of this relic to
history will be more appropriate when I come to treat of the origin of
the Americans.
[IV-19] _Hist. Mag._, vol. vi., pp. 57-8.
[IV-20] _Juarros' Hist. Guat._, pp. 488-9. The ruins are situated on a
rock commanding the junction of the rivers Pixcayatl and Motagua.
_Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 524. Ruins of
the ancient capital of the Cakchiquel kings. _Hassel_, _Mex. Guat._,
pp. 333, 335. 'Remarquable par les ruines de l'ancienne forteresse du
même nom.' _Larenaudière_, _Mex. et Guat._, p. 266; _Malte-Brun_,
_Précis de la Géog._, tom. vi., p. 470.
[IV-21] _Juarros' Hist. Guat._, pp. 487-8; _Hassel_, _Mex. Guat._, p.
333.
[IV-22] _Hesse_, in _Sivers_, _Mittelamerika_, p. 257.
[IV-23] _Fuentes_, in _Juarros' Hist. Guat._, p. 492; _Hassel_, _Mex.
Guat._, p. 327.
[IV-24] _Wappäus_, _Geog. u. Stat._, p. 281.
[IV-25] _Hesse_, in _Sivers_, _Mittelamerika_, p. 257.
[IV-26] _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 507.
[IV-27] _Reichardt_, _Cent. Amer._, p. 72.
[IV-28] The distance is stated to be one fourth of a mile, one mile
and a half, one league, and one league and a half by different
writers.
[IV-29] _Juarros' Hist. Guat._, pp. 382-4; his authority being
_Fuentes_, _Recopilacion_, MS., tom. i., lib. iii., cap. i., and lib.
xv., cap. v.; _Stephens' Cent. Amer._, vol. ii., pp. 147, 149-53.
Juarros' account is also given in _Conder's Mex. Guat._, vol. ii., pp.
270-1, in _Bradford's Amer. Antiq._, p. 90, and in _Stephens' Cent.
Amer._, loc. cit. It is also used with that of Stephens to make up the
description in _Sivers_, _Mittelamerika_, pp. 199-200. Slight mention
also in _Wappäus_, _Geog. u. Stat._, p. 284; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_,
_Palenqué_, p. 33; _Id._, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., pp. 152, 493,
526. According to Brasseur's statement, M. Daly made drawings at
Patinamit, seen by the Abbé, and to be published.
[IV-30] _Stephens' Cent. Amer._, vol. ii., p. 146.
[IV-31] 'In the province of Quezaltenango, there are still to be met
with the vestiges and foundations of many large fortresses, among
which is the celebrated one of Parrazquin, situated on the confines of
Totonicapan and Quezaltenango; and the citadel of Olintepeque, formed
with all the intricacies of a labyrinth, and which was the chief
defence of the important city of Xelahuh.' _Juarros' Hist. Guat._, pp.
485, 379. Slight mention also, probably resting on no other authority
than the paragraph above quoted, in _Wappäus_, _Geog. u. Stat._, p.
247; _Hassel_, _Mex. Guat._, p. 341.
[IV-32] _Stephens' Cent. Amer._, vol. ii., pp. 171, 182-8. Mr Stephens
gives, besides the engravings I have copied, and one of the other
terra-cotta heads mentioned, a view of El Sacrificatorio, a ground
plan showing the relative positions of the plateau, the barranca, and
the projecting fortress, together with a view of El Resguardo and the
other ruins in the distance. I do not reproduce them because they show
no details not included in the description, which, moreover, is easily
comprehended without the aid of cuts. A thorough exploration of
Utatlan was made by Don Miguel Rivera y Maestre, a commissioner sent
for the purpose by the Guatemalan government in 1834. His MS. report
to the state authorities was seen by Mr Stephens and is described as
being very full and accurate, but not containing any details outside
of Stephens' account. He does not state that his plans and views were
obtained from Rivera y Maestre. Juarros, _Hist. Guat._, pp. 86-8, 487,
follows Fuentes, who described the city chiefly from historical
accounts of its original condition, although it seems that he also
visited the ruins. Las Casas, _Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. lii.,
speaks of Utatlan's 'maravillosos edificios de cal y canto, de los
cuales yo vide muchos.' Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom.
ii., pp. 493, 120, tom. i., p. 124, speaks of Rivera y Maestre's plans
in Stephens' work as incorrect, but rejoices in the prospect that M.
César Daly will publish correct drawings. 'Un des palais des rois de
Quiché a 728 pas géométriques de longueur et 376 de largeur.'
_Humboldt_, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1827, tom. xxxv., p. 329.
'En Utlatan habia muchos y muy grandes _cues_ ó templos de sus Idolos,
de maravillosos edificios, y yo vi algunos aunque muy arruinados.'
_Zurita_, in _Palacio_, _Carta_, pp. 123-4. See also accounts of these
ruins made up from Stephens and Juarros, in _Wappäus_, _Geog. u.
Stat._, p. 286, and _Reichardt_, _Cent. Amer._, p. 72; also mention in
_Malte-Brun_, _Précis de la Géog._, tom. vi., p. 470; _Larenaudière_,
_Mex. et Guat._, pp. 266, 274; _Galindo_, in _Antiq. Mex._, tom. i.,
div. ii., pp. 73-8; _Revue Amér._, 1826, tom. i., pp. 353-5; _Müller_,
_Amerikanische Urreligionen_, p. 462.
[IV-33] _Stephens' Cent. Amer._, vol. ii., p. 192.
[IV-34] See p. 63 of this volume.
[IV-35] _Stephens' Cent. Amer._, vol. ii., pp. 228-32, with figures of
two vases found at Huehuetenango in addition to those represented
above. 'On trouve un plan des plus incorrects dans le MS. de Fuentes.'
_Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., pp. 119, 504.
Mention of the ruins in _Id._, _Palenqué_, p. 34. Huehuetenango, in
Lat. 15° 28´ 15´´, Long. 91° 36´ 50´´. _Wappäus_, _Geog. u. Stat._, p.
288. Engravings of four vases copied from Stephens, in _Larenaudière_,
_Mex. et Guat._, p. 379, pl. 14.
[IV-36] 'J'ai moi-même visité les ruines d'un grande nombre de ces
villes et châteaux, dont les positions sont admirablement choisies
pour la défense; il en existe sur presque toutes les hauteurs qui
environnent la plaine de Rabinal. Elles sont, du reste,
très-nombreuses dans toutes les provinces guatémaliennes et sont une
preuve de l'étendue de leur antique population.' The chief one is one
league west of Rabinal. _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._,
tom. ii., p. 125. Ruins of Cawinal, _Id._, p. 149. Mention of tumuli,
_Id._, tom. i., p. 15. Mention of ruins of Tzuruya, Tzutum, Nimpokom,
Cakyug, Zamaneb, and Salama. _Id._, tom. ii., pp. 479, 505-6. Mention
of Nebah, Uspantan, Rabinal, Cavinal, Xeocok, and Nimpokom. _Wappäus_,
_Geog. u. Stat._, pp. 288, 291. The ruins located by Sonnenstern,
_Mapa de Guat._, 1859, proceeding from west to east, are as follows:
Xolacul, Nebak, Hatzal, Suizul, Balbitz, Cavinal, Pacalay, Xokoc,
Beleh Trak, Pikek, Xozintun, Trak Pocoma, Cakyug, Chocotoy, Chotocoy,
Talam, Xubabal.
[IV-37] _Annual Scien. Discov._, 1850, pp. 363-4.
[IV-38] _Stephens' Cent. Amer._, vol. ii., p. 193.
[IV-39] Pontelli's account with some plates was published in the
_Correo de Ultramar_, Paris, 1860. I have not seen the original, but
what purports to be a translation of it in the _California Farmer_,
Nov. 7, 1862, is the veriest trash, containing nothing definite
respecting the location or description of the pretended discoveries.
[IV-40] _Stephens' Cent. Amer._, vol. ii., pp. 195-7; _Id._, _Yuc._,
vol. ii., p. 201. 'Quant à l'existence d'une cité mystérieuse, habitué
par des indigènes, qui vivraient au centre du Petén dans les mêmes
conditions d'autrefois, c'est une croyance qu'il faut reléguer parmi
les fantaisies de l'imagination. Ce conte a pris naissance au Yucatan,
et les voyageurs en le recueillant, lui ont donné trop d'importance.'
_Morelet_, _Voyage_, tom. ii., p. 68. Mr Otis, on the authority of a
late English explorer, believes the city to be a limestone formation
which has misled. _Hist. Mag._, vol. vi., p. 120. 'We must reject the
notion of great cities existing here.' _Squier_, in _Id._, vol. iv.,
p. 67. Its existence not improbable. _Mayer's Mex. as it Was_, p. 263.
Such reports unfounded. _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._,
tom. i., p. 37.
[IV-41] _Morelet_, _Voyage_, tom. ii., pp. 65-8, 26. M. Morelet, by
reason of sickness, was unable to make any personal explorations in
Peten beyond the island. He has preserved, however, some native
reports respecting the antiquities of the region. 'On trouve dans tout
ce pays des ruines d'anciens édifices, comme dans le Yucathan, et des
idoles en pierre.' _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1843, tom. xcvii., p.
51. 'Por aquellos montes ay muchos edificios antiguos grandiosos (como
lo que oy se ven en Yucathàn) y en ellos muy grandes Idolos de
piedra.' _Cogolludo_, _Hist. Yuc._, p. 700. 'It is doubtful if any
monuments of note exist in the district, except on the islands, or in
the immediate neighborhood of the lakes.' _Squier's Cent. Amer._, pp.
543-5. Mention in _Wappäus_, _Geog. u. Stat._, p. 295; _Humboldt_, in
_Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1827, tom. xxxv., p. 329. 'Il n'existe
dans cette île aucuns vestiges d'idoles ni de temples.' _Waldeck_,
_Voy. Pitt._, pp. 69-70. Many relics and remains of idols still to be
found on the island. _Hassel_, _Mex. Guat._, p. 359; _Malte-Brun_,
_Précis de la Géog._, tom. vi., p. 470; _Morelet's Trav._, pp. 240-2;
_Gondra_, in _Prescott_, _Mex._, tom. iii., p. 98.
[IV-42] 'Les Indiens, on le sait, se montrent très réservés sur tout
ce qui touche à leur ancienne nationalité: quoique ces ruines fussent
connues d'un grand nombre d'entre eux, pas un n'avait trahi le secret
de leur existence.' _Morelet_, _Voyage_, tom. ii., pp. 66-7; _Id._,
_Trav._, pp. 241-2; _Squier_, in _Hist. Mag._, vol. iv., p. 66;
_Wappäus_, _Geog. u. Stat._, p. 295.
[IV-43] _Galindo_, in _Antiq. Mex._, tom. i., div. ii., p. 68;
_Squier_, in _Hist. Mag._, vol. iv., p. 66. Mr Squier says the tower
is 22 feet square at the base, instead of 22 paces as Galindo gives
it. He does not state the authority on which his description rests; it
seems, however, in other respects to be simply a reproduction of
Galindo's account, which is also repeated in _Squier's Cent. Amer._,
pp. 544-5. Slight mention in _Morelet_, _Voyage_, tom. ii., p. 66;
_Id._, _Trav._, p. 240; _Wappäus_, _Geog. u. Stat._, p. 295.
[IV-44] Col. Mendez, whom Gov. Tut preceded at Tikal by a day or two
only, visited the ruins as commissioner of the Guatemalan government,
to which, after a stay of four days, he made a report. This report, so
far as I know, was never published in the original Spanish; but the
MS. fell into the hands of Mr Hesse, Prussian envoy to the Central
American governments, and was by him translated into German and
published with the plates in the _Zeitschrift für Allgemeine
Erdkunde_, 1853, tom. i., pt. iii., pp. 162-8. This translation,
without the plates, and with some slight omissions of unimportant
details respecting the journey, was also published in _Sivers_,
_Mittelamerika_, pp. 247-54, 304-8, with notes by Messrs Hesse and
Sivers. This is the source of my information. Mendez revisited Tikal
in 1852, without obtaining any additional information of value so far
as I know. The ruins are mentioned and more or less fully described,
always from the same source, in _Müller_, _Amerikanische
Urreligionen_, pp. 460-2; _Buschmann_, _Ortsnamen_, pp. 115-17;
_Ritter_, in _Gumprecht_, tom. i., p. 3; _Wappäus_, _Geog. u. Stat._,
pp. 247, 295.
[IV-45] Hesse, in _Sivers_, _Mittelamerika_, pp. 254-5, 308-9;
_Buschmann_, _Ortsnamen_, pp. 115-16; _Wappäus_, _Geog. u. Stat._, p.
295; _Müller_, _Amerikanische Urreligionen_, p. 460.
[IV-46] _Henderson's Honduras_, pp. 52-3; repeated in _Squier's Cent.
Amer._, pp. 596-7.
[IV-47] _Froebel's Cent. Amer._, p. 167.