Distribution of the Archaic Culture. The areas in solid black show the distribution of figurines of the archaic type; the areas in dots show the probable extension of pottery on the Archaic Horizon; the dotted lines give the ultimate extension of pottery.
[Plate XII.]
Distribution of Agriculture in the New World. The dotted line gives the limits of pottery; solid black, agriculture in arid regions of considerable altitude, mostly with irrigation; dotted areas, agriculture under humid lowland conditions; lined area, agriculture under temperate conditions.
We will now make an effort to analyze still further the historical levels in the Post-Archaic Horizon.
[Plate XIII.]
A General View of the Ceremonial Center of Copan. After a model and drawing by Maudslay. The artificial acropolis with temples on pyramids and with sunken courts is in the foreground and beyond is seen the Great Plaza in which monuments are set up. The Copan River has cut into the side of the acropolis and made a natural cross-section.
Chapter II
THE MAYAN CIVILIZATION
The wonderful culture of the Mayan Indians to which we will now turn our attention was developed in the humid lowlands of Central America and especially in the Yucatan Peninsula. Artists are everywhere of the opinion that the sculptures and other products of the Mayas deserve to rank among the highest art products of the world, and astronomers are amazed at the progress made by this people in the measuring of time by the observed movements of the heavenly bodies. Moreover, they invented a remarkable system of hieroglyphic writing by which they were able to record facts and events and they built great cities of stone that attest a degree of wealth and splendor beyond anything seen elsewhere in the New World.