It is now agreed that the Peruvian antiquities represent two distinct
periods in the ancient history of the country, one being much older than
the other. Mr. Prescott accepts and repeats the opinion that "there
existed in the country a race advanced in civilization before the time
of the Incas," and that the ruins on the shores of Lake Titicaca are
older than the reign of the first Inca. In the work of Rivero and Von
Tschudi, it is stated that a critical examination of the monuments
"indicates two very different epochs in Peruvian art, at least so far as
concerns architecture; one before and the other after the arrival of the
first Inca." Among the ruins which belong to the older civilization are
those at Lake Titicaca, old Huanuco, Tiahuanaco, and Gran-Chimu, and it
probably originated the roads and aqueducts. At Cuzco and other places
are remains of buildings which represent the later time; but Cuzco of
the Incas appears to have occupied the site of a ruined city of the
older period. Figure 51 gives a view of the ancient Peruvian masonry.
Montesinos supposes the name of Cuzco was derived from _cosca_, a
Peruvian word signifying to level, or from heaps of earth called
_coscos_, which abounded there. In his account of the previous times
there is mention that an old city built there was in ruins. Perhaps the
first Inca found on its site nothing but _coscos_, or heaps of ruins.
[Illustration: Fig. 51.--Ancient Peruvian Masonry.]
[Illustration: Fig. 52.--Ruins of "Temple" on the Island of Titicaca.]
[Illustration: Fig. 53.--Ruins on Titicaca Island.]
At Lake Titicaca some of the more important remains are on the islands.
On Titicaca Island are the ruins of a great edifice described as "a
palace or temple." Remains of other structures exist, but their ruins
are old, much older than the time of the Incas. Figures 52 and 53
represent different ruins on the island of Titicaca. They were all built
of hewn stone, and had doors and windows, with posts, sills, and
thresholds of stone, the doorways being narrower above than below. On
the island of Coati there are remarkable ruins. The largest building
here is also described as "a palace or temple," although it may have
been something else. It was not high, but very large in extent. It stood
around three sides of a parallelogram, with some peculiarities of
construction connected with the ends or wings. Making allowance for the
absence of the pyramidal foundations, it has more resemblance to some of
the great constructions in Central America than to any thing peculiar to
the later period of Peruvian architecture. Another ruin on this island
is shown in Figure 54. The antiquities on the islands and shores of this
lake need to be more completely explored and described, and probably
interesting discoveries could be made at some points by means of
well-directed excavations.
[Illustration: Fig. 54.--Ruins on the Island of Coati.]
A few miles from Lake Titicaca, at Tiahuanaco, are ruins which were very
imposing when first seen by the Spaniards in the time of Pizarro. It is
usual to speak of them as the oldest ruins in Peru, which may or may
not be correct. They must, however, be classed with those at the lake.
Not much now remains of the edifices, which were in a very ruinous
condition three hundred and forty years ago. They were described by
Cieca de Leon, who accompanied Pizarro, and also by Diego d'Alcobaca.
Cieca de Leon mentions "great edifices" that were in ruins, "an
artificial hill raised on a groundwork of stone," and "two stone idols
resembling the human figure, and apparently made by skillful
artificers." These "idols" were great statues, ten or twelve feet high.
One of them, which was carried to La Paz in 1842, measured "three and a
half yards" in length. Sculptured decorations appear on them, and,
according to Cieca de Leon, the figures seemed to be "clothed in long
vestments" different from those worn in the time of the Incas. Of a very
remarkable edifice, whose foundations could be traced near these
statues, nothing remained then "but a well-built wall, which must have
been there for ages, the stones being very much worn and crumbled."
Cieca de Leon's description goes on as follows:
"In this place, also, there are stones so large and so overgrown that
our wonder is incited, it being incomprehensible how the power of man
could have placed them where we see them. They are variously wrought,
and some of them, having the form of men, must have been idols. Near the
walls are many caves and excavations under the earth, but in another
place, farther west, are other and greater monuments, such as large
gateways with hinges, platforms, and porches, each made of a single
stone. It surprised me to see these enormous gateways made of great
masses of stone, some of which were thirty feet long, fifteen high, and
six thick."
[Illustration: Fig. 55.--Monolithic Gateway at Tiahuanaco.]
Many of the stone monuments at Tiahuanaco have been removed, some for
building, some for other purposes. In one case, "large masses of
sculptured stone ten yards in length and six in width" were used to make
grinding stones for a chocolate mill. The principal monuments now seen
on this field of ruins are a vast mound covering several acres, where
there seems to have been a great edifice, fragments of columns, erect
slabs of stone which formed parts of buildings, and several of the
monolithic gateways, the largest of which was made of a single stone ten
feet high and thirteen broad. Figure 55 gives a view of one. The doorway
is six feet four inches high, and three feet two inches wide. Above it,
along the whole length of the stone, which is now broken, is a cornice
covered with sculptured figures. "The whole neighborhood," says Mr.
Squier, "is strewn with immense blocks of stone elaborately wrought,
equaling, if not surpassing in size, any known to exist in Egypt or
India."
[Illustration: Fig. 56.--Remains of Fortress Walls at Cuzco.]
[Illustration: Fig. 57.--End View of Fortress Walls at Cuzco.]
At Cuzco, two or more degrees north of Lake Titicaca, there are ruins of
buildings that were occupied until the rule of the Incas was overthrown.
Remains of the old structures are seen in various parts of the present
town, some of them incorporated into new edifices built by the
Spaniards. Cyclopean remains of walls of the Temple of the Sun now
constitute a portion of the Convent of St. Domingo. In the days of the
Incas, this temple stood "a circuit of more than four hundred paces,"
and was surrounded by a great wall built of cut stone. Remains of the
old fortifications are seen; and there is an extensive ruin here which
shows what is supposed to be all that remains of the palace of the
Incas. Figures 56 and 57 give views of remains of the ancient fortress
walls at Cuzco. Occasionally there is search at Cuzco, by means of
excavation, for antiquities. Within a few years an important discovery
has been made; a lunar calendar of the Incas, made of gold, has been
exhumed. At first it was described as "a gold breastplate or sun;" but
William Bollaert, who gives an account of it, finds that it is a
calendar, the first discovered in Peru. Many others, probably, went to
the melting-pot at the time of the Conquest. This is not quite circular.
The outer ring is five inches and three tenths in diameter, and the
inner four inches. It was made to be fastened to the breast of an Inca
or priest. The figures were stamped on it, and there "seem to be
twenty-four compartments, large and small, including three at the top.
At the bottom are two spaces; figures may or may not have been there,
but it looks as if they had been worn away." It was found about the year
1859.
The uniform and constant report of Peruvian tradition places the
beginning of this old civilization in the Valley of Cuzco, near Lake
Titicaca. There appeared the first civilizers and the first civilized
communities. This beautiful valley is the most elevated table-land on
the continent, Lake Titicaca being 12,846 feet above the sea level. Were
it not within the tropics, it would be a region of eternal snow, for it
is more than 4000 feet higher than the beginning of perpetual snow on
Mont Blanc. Near it are some of the higher peaks of the Andes, among
them Sorato, Illimani, and Sahama.