Transcriber’s Note

A number of typographical errors have been maintained in the current version of this book. They are marked and the corrected text is shown in the popup. A [list] of these errors is found at the end of this book.

ANCIENT AMERICA,
IN
NOTES ON AMERICAN ARCHÆOLOGY.

By JOHN D. BALDWIN, A.M.,
AUTHOR OF “PRE-HISTORIC NATIONS.”

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.

NEW YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
FRANKLIN SQUARE.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by
John D. Baldwin,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

PREFACE.

The purpose of this volume is to give a summary of what is known of American Antiquities, with some thoughts and suggestions relative to their significance. It aims at nothing more. No similar work, I believe, has been published in English or in any other language. What is known of American Archæology is recorded in a great many volumes, English, French, Spanish, and German, each work being confined to some particular department of the subject, or containing only an intelligent traveler’s brief sketches of what he saw as he went through some of the districts where the old ruins are found. Many of the more important of these works are either in French or Spanish, or in great English quartos and folios which are not accessible to general readers, and not one of them attempts to give a comprehensive view of the whole subject.

Therefore I have prepared this work for publication, believing it will be acceptable to many who are not now much acquainted with the remains of Ancient America, and that some who read it may be induced to study the but as Ancient America covers all time previous to the discovery by Columbus, they may not be deemed out of place. Materials for the paper on “Antiquities of the Pacific Islands” came to me from the Pacific World while I was preparing the others. The discovery of the Pacific is so intimately connected with the discovery of America, that this paper would not be out of place even if the Mexican and Peruvian traditions did not mention that a foreign people communicated with the western coast of America in very ancient times.

Worcester, Mass., November, 1871.

CONTENTS.

Page
I.[ANCIENT AMERICA.—THE MOUND-BUILDERS][13]
[Works of the Mound-Builders][14]
[Extent of their Settlements][31]
[Their Civilization][33]
[Their Ancient Mining Works][43]
II.[ANTIQUITY OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS][47]
[How long were they here?][51]
III.[WHO WERE THE MOUND-BUILDERS?][57]
[Not Ancestors of the Wild Indians][58]
[Brereton’s Story][62]
[American Ethnology][65]
[Who the Mound-Builders were][70]
IV.[MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA][76]
[Their Northern Remains][77]
[The “Seven Cities of Cevola”][85]
[Central Mexico][89]
[The great Ruins at the South][93]
V.[MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA][103]
[Palenque][104]
[Copan and Quiragua][111]
[Mitla][117]
[An Astronomical Monument][122]
[Ruins farther South][123]
[The Ruins in Yucatan][125]
[Mayapan][127]
[Uxmal][131]
[Kabah][137]
[Chichen-Itza][140]
[Other Ruins][144]
VI.[ANTIQUITY OF THE RUINS][151]
[Distinct Eras traced][155]
[Nothing perishable left][156]
[“The Oldest of Civilizations”][159]
[American Cities seen by Tyrians][161]
VII.[WHENCE CAME THIS CIVILIZATION?][165]
[The “Lost Tribes of Israel”][166]
[The “Malay” Theory][167]
[The Phœnician Theory][171]
[The “Atlantic” Theory][174]
[It was an original Civilization][184]
VIII.[AMERICAN ANCIENT HISTORY][187]
[The Old Books not all lost][189]
[The Ancient History sketched][197]
[The Toltecs our Mound-Builders][200]
[Some confirmation of the History][205]
IX.[THE AZTEC CIVILIZATION][207]
[The Discovery and Invasion][209]
[The City of Mexico][211]
[The Conquest][213]
[Who were the Aztecs?][216]
[They came from the South][217]
X.[ANCIENT PERU][222]
[The Spanish Hunt for Peru][223]
[The Ruins near Lake Titicaca][226]
[Other Ruins in Peru][237]
[The great Peruvian Roads][243]
[The Peruvian Civilization][246]
XI.[PERUVIAN ANCIENT HISTORY][257]
[Garcilasso’s History][258]
[Fernando Montesinos][261]
[His Scheme of Peruvian History][264]
[Probabilities][268]
[Conclusion][272]
[APPENDIX][277]
[A. The Northmen in America][279]
[B. The Welsh in America][285]
[C. Antiquities of the Pacific Islands][288]
[D. Deciphering the Inscriptions][292]

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page
[1.]Gateway at Labna[Frontispiece.]
[2.]Great Mound near Miamisburg[16]
[3.]Square Mound near Marietta[18]
[4.]Works at Cedar Bank, Ohio[19]
[5.]Works in Washington County, Mississippi[20]
[6.]Works at Hopeton, Ohio[22]
[7.]Principal Figures of the Hopeton Works[23]
[8.]Graded Way near Piketon, Ohio[25]
[9.]Great Serpent Inclosure[29]
[10.]Fortified Hill, Butler County, Ohio[30]
[11.]Stone-work in Paint Creek Valley, Ohio[35]
[12.]Work on North Fork of Paint Creek[36]
[13.]Ancient Work, Pike County, Ohio[38]
[14.]Work near Brownsville, Ohio[38]
[15.]Works near Liberty, Ohio[39]
[16.]Work in Randolph County, Indiana[40]
[17.
18.]		}Vases from the Mounds[41]
[19.]Ancient Mining Shaft[45]
[20.]Pueblo Ruin at Pecos[80]
[21.]Modern Zuni[81]
[22.]Ruins in the Valley of the Gila[83]
[23.]Pueblo Building restored[87]
[24.]Ground Plan of the Building[88]
[25.]Arch of Los Monjas, Uxmal[98]
[26.]Arch most common in the Ruins[100]
[27.]Casa No. 1, Palenque[107]
[28.]Casa No. 2 (La Cruz), Palenque[108]
[29.]Great Wall at Copan[112]
[30.]Ruins at Mitla[116]
[31.]Great Hall at Mitla[118]
[32.]A ruined “Palace” at Mitla[119]
[33.]Mosaic Decoration at Mitla[120]
[34.]Great Mound at Mayapan[127]
[35.]Circular Edifice at Mayapan[129]
[36.]Casa del Gobernador, Uxmal[132]
[37.]Ground Plan[132]
[38.]Two-headed Figure at Uxmal[133]
[39.]Decorations over Doorway, Uxmal[134]
[40.]Ground Plan of Las Monjas, Uxmal[136]
[41.]Ruined Arch at Kabah[139]
[42.]Casa Colorada, Chichen-Itza[141]
[43.]Great Stone Ring[143]
[44.]Great Mound at Xcoch[145]
[45.]Bottom of an Aguada[146]
[46.]Subterranean Reservoir[147]
[47.]Plan of the Walls of Tuloom[148]
[48.]Watch-tower at Tuloom[149]
[49.]Specimen of Inscriptions on Stone[190]
[50.]Specimen of the Manuscript Writing[191]
[51.]Ancient Masonry at Cuzco[227]
[52.]Ruins of a “Temple” on the Island of Titicaca[228]
[53.]Ruin on the Island of Titicaca[229]
[54.]Ruin on the Island of Coati[231]
[55.]Monolithic Gateway at Tiahuanaco[233]
[56.]Remains of Fortress Walls at Cuzco[234]
[57.]End View of Fortress Walls at Cuzco[235]
[58.]End View of Walls at Gran-Chimu[238]
[59.
60.]		}Decorations at Chimu-Canchu[238]
[61.]Edifice at Old Huanuco[239]
[62.]Ground Plan of the Edifice[240]
[63.]“Look-out” at Old Huanuco[240]
[64.]Ruins at Pachacamac[242]
[65.]Peruvian Copper Knives[249]
[66.]Copper Tweezers[249]
[67.]Golden Vase of Ancient Peru[251]
[68.]Ancient Peruvian Silver Vase[251]
[69.]Ancient Peruvian Pottery[252]
[70.]Ancient Peruvian Pottery[253]