The Prehistoric World; Or, Vanished Races

by Emory Adams Allen

From the manner in which the bricks are laid, and from their variation in size, he concludes that the structure was not all erected at one time, but that the mound is the accumulation of successive periods of labor. From this it follows that it was built to serve some purpose of public utility, and not as a token of respect for some individual. Wherever found, these great works show the same evidence of not being all completed at once. This was true of the North; we shall also find it true of the South. Charney noticed the same thing in the house at Tulla. Nothing is more natural than that an Indian community would increase their buildings as the tribe increased.

Mr. Bandelier’s final conclusion in regard to the purpose of its erection is one of great interest, but not at all surprising. “If we imagine the plateaus and aprons around it covered with houses, possibly of large size, like those of Uxmal and Palenqué,³⁴ or on a scale intermediate between them and the communal dwellings of Pecos and many other places in New Mexico,³⁵ we have then, on the mound of Cholula, as it originally was, room for a large aboriginal population. The structure, accordingly, presents itself as the base of an artificially elevated, and therefore, according to Indian military art, a fortified, pueblo.”

But this does not remove from it the air of mystery. Long-fallen indeed are the communal walls. It was not simply a few years ago that these pueblo-crowned terraces were reared. The date of its erection is hid in the dim traditions of the past. The traditions of the Nahua tribes, who came at a far later date, speak of it as even then standing on the plain. Scattered over the plain are other ruins of a somewhat different nature from the general ruins in the valley. These may be the ruins of works erected by the same class of people as built the mounds. Especially is this thought to be true of ruins found on the slopes of neighboring volcanoes.

To the south-west of Cholula are the ruins of Xochicalco, which, by some, are pronounced to be the finest in Mexico. There are many points of resemblance between this ruin and Tezcocingo. The meaning of the word is “Hill of Flowers.” The hill is a very regular, conical one, with a base nearly three miles in circumference, and rises to a height above the plain of nearly four hundred feet.³⁶ The hill is considered to be entirely a natural formation; but it probably owes some of its regular appearance to the work of man. Around the base of the hill had been dug a wide and deep ditch. When Mr. Taylor visited the place, the side of this moat had fallen in, in many places, and in some quite filled up—but it was still distinctly visible.³⁷ The whole surface of this hill was laid off into terraces.

Five of these terraces, paved with blocks of stone laid in mortar, and supported by perpendicular walls of the same material, extend, in oval form, entirely around the whole circumference of the hill, one above the other. From the accumulation of rubbish, these terraces are not easy to detect in all places. Probably, at one time, there was some easy means of access from one terrace to the other, but they have disappeared—so that now the explorer has to scramble up intervening slopes of the terraces as best he can. It is probable that defensive works once protected these slopes.

Mr. Mayer says: “At regular intervals, as if to buttress these terraces, there are remains of bulwarks shaped like the bastions of a fortification.”³⁸ “Defense seems to have been the one object aimed at by the builders.” The top of the hill is leveled off. Some writers represent that a wall of stone was run along the edge of the summit but others think that the whole top of the hill had been excavated, so as to form a sunken area, leaving a parapet along the edge. This summit-platform measured two hundred and eighty-five feet by three hundred and twenty-eight feet. Within this area were found several mounds and heaps of stones. The probabilities are that it was once thickly covered with ruins. In the center of this sunken area are the remains of the lower story of a pyramid, which the inhabitants in the vicinity affirm to have been once five stories high.

To judge from the ruins still standing, this must have formed one of the most magnificent works of aboriginal skill with which we are acquainted. This cut gives a general idea of the ruins from the west. We presume the broken appearance presented by this side is in consequence of the removal of stones by planters in the vicinity for their own use. It seems they have used this monument as a stone-quarry. This pyramid, or the first story of it, was nearly square—its dimensions being sixty-four feet by fifty-eight.

The next cut is an enlarged drawing of the north-west corner seen in the first drawing. Notice the grotesque ornamentations on it. The ornaments are not stucco-work, but are sculptured in bas-relief. As one figure sometimes covers parts of two stones, it is plain they must have been sculptured after being put in position. The height of this front is nearly fifteen feet. In the left-hand corner of this sculpture will be perceived the bead of a monstrous beast with open jaws and protruding tongue. This figure is constantly repeated in various parts of the façade. Some have supposed it to be a crocodile. The rabbit is another figure that constantly reappears in portions of the wall.