In the mountain regions the houses were generally of stone, and in the arid coast lands, of sun-dried bricks. They were located in groups surrounded by walls, also of stone or brick. The stones were sometimes fitted together with extraordinary nicety, or elsewhere were united with mortar or cement. Recent travellers have stated that the stone-work on some of the ruins of the Inca palaces is equal to that in any part of the world; this is especially true of the mysterious ruins of Tiahuanaco, near Lake Titicaca, where some of the most complete work on the continent is to be found.
These architects had not discovered the pointed arch, as had the Mayas, and in the details of their structures, as in the forms of their doors and the perfect simplicity of their walls, it is clearly seen that they had no connection with the northern civilizations. The structures were rarely erected on pyramids or mounds, and frequently were of several stories in height.
Their skill in the reduction and manufacture of various metals excited the admiration of the Europeans. Among the articles they offered the Spaniards were utensils, both solid and hollow, of gold, imitations of fruits and animals of the same substance, golden butterflies, idols, birds, masks, and mace-heads. Groups of half a dozen figures in various attitudes have been found of solid silver, the symmetry and expression being well preserved.
There was a like exuberance in the forms they gave their pottery. The jars and vases were imitations of every kind of object around them—fish, birds, reptiles, fruits, men, houses. Often the product is so symmetrical that one is tempted to believe it was formed by a potter’s wheel; but this invention, so ancient in the old world, was never known to the American Race. Curious ingenuity is displayed in the production of whistling or musical jars, which will emit a note when the fluid is poured in; or trick-jars, which cannot be emptied unless turned in a certain direction, not at first obvious. The art of glazing was not known, and most of the pottery seems to have been sun-dried only.
With the materialistic notions of religion and of a future life which they entertained, it was regarded of the utmost importance that the body should be preserved undisturbed in the tomb. Hence it was often carefully mummified, and the sepulchres were selected in the most secret and inaccesible location, either a cave on the side of a precipice, or if in the plains the grave was levelled, so that no sign of it appeared on the surface.
South of the Peruvian monarchy were the Araucanians, occupying the area of the modern state of Chili. They were a warlike, hunting race, physically and also linguistically akin to the tribes of the Pampas. Neither the Incas nor the Spaniards succeeded in reducing their indomitable spirit. In culture they had gained an advantage over the Pampean tribes by their relations to the Qquichuas, but were far behind the latter in general aptitude in the arts. Much of their subsistence was dependent on the chase, and they are not classed among the partly civilized natives of the continent. They are described as tall and robust, the skull brachycephalic, the face round, the nose short and rather flattened.
LECTURE X.
PROBLEMS AND PREDICTIONS.
Contents.—I. Ethnographic Problems. 1. The problem of acclimation. Various answers. Europeans in the tropics. Austafricans in cold climates; in warm climates. The Asian race. Tolerance of the American race. Theories of acclimation. Conclusion. 2. The problem of amalgamation. Effect on offspring. Mingling of white and black races. Infertility. Mingling of colored races. Influence of early and present social conditions. Is amalgamation desirable? As applied to white race; to colored races. 3. The problem of civilization. Urgency of the problem. Influence of civilization on savages. Failure of missionary efforts. Cause of the failure. Suggestions.
II. The Destiny of Races. Extinction of Races. The American race. Are the Indians dying out? Conflicting statements. They are perishing. Diminution of insular peoples; causes of fatality. The Austafrican race. The Mongolian race stationary. Wonderful growth of the Eurafrican race. Influence of the Semitic element. The future Aryo-Semitic race.
Relation of ethnography to historical and political science.
The population of the world in this year of 1890 is estimated at over fifteen hundred millions. This vast multitude have passed in review before us in their races, peoples and nations. What is the future of these jostling millions, each individual of whom is striving after some goal, seeking to satisfy some desire?