The geographical relations of the members of the Maya stock are in marked
contrast to those of the Uto-Aztecan--its only rival in civilization.
Except the colony of the Huastecas on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico
in the valley of the Rio Panuco, all its dialects were in contiguity.
The true Maya, which is believed to be the purest form of the language,
extended over the whole of the peninsula of Yucatan, around Lake Peten,
and far up the affluents of the Usumacinta, the dialect of the Lacandons
being closely akin to it. The principal tribes in Guatemala were the
Quiches, the Cakchiquels and the Mams; while in Tabasco the Tzendals and
the Tzotzils held an extensive territory. We cannot identify the builders
of the ruined cities of Palenque in Tabasco and Copan in Honduras with
the ancestors of any known tribe, but the archæological evidence is
conclusive that whoever they were, they belonged to this stock, and spoke
one of its dialects.
The historic legends of several members of the family have been well
preserved. According to the earliest authorities, those of the Quiches
went back more than eight hundred years before the conquest,[202] that
is, to about 700 A. D.; while the chronicles of the Mayas seem to present
a meagre sketch of the nation nearly to the beginning of the Christian
era.[203] The uniform assertion of these legends is that the ancestors of
the stock came from a more northern latitude, following down the shore
of the Gulf of Mexico. This is also supported by the position of the
Huastecas, who may be regarded as one of their tribes left behind in the
general migration, and by the tradition of the Nahuas which assigned them
a northern origin.[204] So far no relationship has been detected with any
northern stock, but the striking similarity of some art remains in the
middle Mississippi to those of Yucatan, suggests that one should search
in this vicinity for their priscan home.[205]
Physically the Mayas are short, strong, dark, and brachycephalic. The
custom of compressing the skull antero-posteriorly which formerly
prevailed, exaggerated this latter peculiarity. When first encountered
by the Spaniards they were split into a number of independent states of
which eighteen are enumerated in Yucatan alone. According to tradition,
these were the fragments of a powerful confederacy which had broken up
about a century before, the capital of which was Mayapan. The tribes were
divided into gentes, usually named after animals, with descent in the
male line. A man bore the names of both his father’s and mother’s gens,
but the former was distinguished as his “true name.” The chieftainship
was hereditary, a council from the gentes deliberating with the ruler.
The art in which these people excelled was that of architecture. They
were born builders from a remote epoch. At the time of the conquest the
stately structures of Copan, Palenque, T’Ho, and many other cities were
deserted and covered with an apparently primitive forest; but others not
inferior to them Uxmal, Chichen Itza, Peten, etc., were the centers of
dense population, proving that the builders of both were identical. The
material was usually a hard limestone, which was polished and carved, and
imbedded in a firm mortar. Such was also the character of the edifices of
the Quiches and Cakchiquels of Guatemala. In view of the fact that none
of these masons knew the plumb-line or the square, the accuracy of the
adjustments is remarkable.[206] Their efforts at sculpture were equally
bold. They did not hesitate to attempt statues in the round of life-size
and larger, and the facades of the edifices were covered with extensive
and intricate designs cut in high relief upon the stones. All this was
accomplished without the use of metal tools, as they did not have even
the bronze chisels familiar to the Aztecs. Gold, silver and copper were
confined to ornaments, bells and similar purposes.
The chief source of the food supply was agriculture. Maize was the
principal crop, and the arable land was carefully let out to families by
the heads of the villages. Beans and peppers were also cultivated and
bees were domesticated, from which both honey and wax, used in various
arts, were collected. Cotton was woven into fabrics of such delicacy that
the Spaniards at first thought the stuffs were of silk. It was dyed of
many colors, and was the main material of clothing. Brilliant feathers
were highly prized. Their canoes were seaworthy, and though there was
no settlement of the Mayas on the island of Cuba as has been alleged,
there was a commercial interchange of products with it, since Columbus
was shown wax from Yucatan and was told about the peninsula. An active
commerce was also maintained with southern Mexico, along the Gulf Coast,
the media of exchange being cacao beans, shells, precious stones and flat
pieces of copper.[207]
The points which have attracted the most attention in Maya civilization,
next to its architecture, are the calendar and the hieroglyphics. The
calendar is evidently upon the same basis as that of the Mexicans,
turning upon the numerals thirteen, twenty, and four. But the Mayas
appear to have had more extended measures for the computation of time
than the Aztecs. Besides the cycle of twenty years, called by them the
_katun_, and that of fifty-two years, they had the _ahau katun_, or Great
Cycle, of two hundred and sixty years.
Both the Cakchiquels, Quiches and Mayas of Yucatan were literary peoples.
They made frequent use of tablets, wrote many books, and covered the
walls of their buildings with hieroglyphs carved on the stone or wood, or
painted upon the plaster. Their characters are entirely different from
those of the Mexicans. Most of them have rounded outlines, something like
that of a section of a pebble, and for this reason the name “calculiform”
has been applied to the writing. Their books were of maguey paper or of
parchment, folded like those of the Mexicans. Although five or six of
them have been preserved, as well as numerous inscriptions on the walls
of buildings, no satisfactory interpretations have been offered, largely,
perhaps, because none of the interpreters have made themselves familiar
with the Maya language.[208]
Imperfect description of the myths and rites of the Yucatecan Mayas are
preserved in the old Spanish authors; while of the Quiches we have in
the original their sacred book, the _Popol Vuh_ with a fair translation
by the Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg.[209] This may well be considered one
of the most valuable monuments of ancient American literature, and its
substantial authenticity cannot be doubted. Its first part presents a
body of ancient mythology and its second the early history of the tribe.
The latter is supplemented by a similar document relating to the history
of their neighbors the Cakchiquels, written at the time of the conquest,
which I have published from the unique MS. in my possession.[210] Many
facts relating to their ancient mythology, history and superstitions were
written down by educated natives of Yucatan in a series of documents
entitled “the Books of Chilan Balam,” copies of a number of which have
been preserved.[211] They are replete with curious material.