The North Americans of Antiquity / Their origin, migrations, and type of civilization considered

by John T. Short

ANCIENT AMERICAN CIVILIZATION AND SUPPOSED OLD WORLD ANALOGIES—ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE AND HIEROGLYPHICS.

Analogies, Real and Fancied—Maya Architecture—The American Pyramid—The Palace of Palenque—The French Roof at Palenque—The Trefoil Arch—Yucatanic Architecture—Uxmal—The Casa de Monjas—Kabah—Casa Grande of Zayi—Quiché Architecture—Copan—Circus of Copan—Description by Fuentes—Utatlan—Nahua Architecture—Remains in Oajaca—Mitla—Grecques at Mitla—Remains in the State of Vera Cruz—Cholula—Pyramid of Xochicalco—The Temple of Mexico—Teotihuacan—Los Edificios of Quemeda—Maya and Nahua Architecture Compared—Old World Analogies—Sculpture—Of the Mounds—At Palenque—At Uxmal—At Chichen-Itza—On the Isla Mujeres—Of the Nahuas—Ancient American Art and its Old World Analogies—Egyptian Tau at Palenqué—Serpent Sculpture—Nahua Symbolism probably Asiatic—Hieroglyphics—Maya MSS. and Books—Landa’s Alphabet—The Attempts at the Interpretation of Maya MSS. by Bollaert, Charencey, and Rosny—Rosny’s Classification of the Hieroglyphics—Hopes that a Key has been Discovered—The Mexican Picture-writing—Aztec Migration Maps.

WITHOUT pretending to furnish an exhaustive treatment of the subject proposed for this chapter, we desire to make observations on some phases of the development of American civilization in the Pre-Historic period. One of the most natural fruits of the study of the arts and customs of any people, is a disposition on the part of the investigator to institute a comparison with corresponding features of civilization in all parts of the world. Unfortunately this disposition has led many writers on America into wild and fanciful speculations, which tend only to deceive the reader and add nothing to true investigation. In a few instances pronounced old world analogies have been proven to exist in ancient American institutions and arts, but their number bears a small ratio to the multitude of fancied analogies which never existed, except in the imaginations of their discoverers. To discuss the subject in hand without transcending the limits of the period which is treated in previous chapters, namely, the Primitive period—that which antedates the era of the annals of those ancient peoples, is a somewhat difficult task, since the question of dates is a very uncertain one in the absence of any sufficient key to the hieroglyphic and picture records. The customs and political organization, together with the Aztec civilization, have been often treated, and by none better than our own Prescott and Bancroft. The repetition of their labors here would be highly superfluous. We shall, however, ask the attention of the reader to some considerations upon the following divisions of the subject:

1. Architecture. 2. Sculpture and Hieroglyphics. 3. Chronological and Astronomical Knowledge. 4. Religious Analogies.

Architecture.—The works of the Mound-builders and Pueblos have already been described and their transitional forms or stages noted. To seek for parallelisms or analogies between the Mound-builders and the people of Asia because mounds are common to both continents, or to seek to identify them with the people of Northern Europe because the shell-heaps of our sea-board resemble those of Denmark, would certainly be an unjustifiable use of the imagination, in anything like a serious discussion of the question. We have no disposition to speculate on this subject, since such speculation cannot furnish any satisfactory results. Certain resemblances between American and Hindoo-mounds have been supposed to exist, but the resemblance, if any, proves nothing.[491] That more fruitful and wonderful field of ancient architecture in Central America, Yucatan and Mexico, furnishes abundant opportunity for the discussion of our subject. Detailed descriptions of the remains found in different localities have been given by travelers, artists and authors, the latter availing themselves of several accounts and instituting comparisons between the statements of different explorers. Such works, savoring somewhat of the critical, cannot be underrated, since their development of the true facts has contributed largely to our knowledge of the subject. It has been generally the rule for writers to undertake the description of remains in a particular locality and treat them in detail, thus presenting to the mind a pleasant picture of the whole, together with the relation of parts. This is certainly a satisfactory plan to many readers, but it seems to us that such a course is unnecessary, after it has been once pursued by the explorer. By repetitions nothing is gained, unless the work of classification (by which certain architectural forms and methods are woven into a style and their variations noted) receives attention. In preceding chapters we have treated of the Maya, the Quiché, and the Nahua peoples, and in this, it is our purpose to briefly note the main features of their styles of architecture, sculpture, etc., as indicated in the divisions above laid down.

Maya Architecture furnishes evidence of growth, and may be classified into the Chiapan or ancient and the Yucatanic or modified styles. The Chiapan or ancient style is exhibited in the imposing remains of Palenque, with which the reader is supposed to be already familiar, from the descriptions of several explorers.[492] Palenque is situated in the Usumacinta River region in Chiapas, on a small stream sometimes called the Otolum, a tributary of the Tulija, which is itself a branch of the Usumacinta. The ruins are situated in a small valley of the foothills, from which rise the high table-lands of the interior. They are known as the Palace, with a pyramidal base measuring two hundred and sixty by three hundred and ten feet and forty feet high; Temple of the three Tablets; Temple of the Beau Relief; Temple of the Cross, and Temple of the Sun. The most conspicuous feature of the architecture employed, and seen in most of the Central American structures, is the massive pyramidal foundation. The sides of the pyramid of the Palenque palace are faced with regular blocks of hewn stone, with extensive flights of stairs, upon the east and north leading to its summit.[493] Mr. Bancroft has analyzed the structure of the American pyramid in a philosophical way, and no doubt has in part explained its object. “I think,” he remarks, “that perhaps with a view to raise this place or temple above the waters of the stream, four thick walls, possibly more, were built up perpendicularly from the ground to the desired height; then, after the completion of the walls, to strengthen them, or during the progress of the work to facilitate the raising of the stones, the interior was filled with earth, and the exterior graded with the same material, the whole being subsequently faced with hewn stone.”[494]

Mode of Constructing Pyramid.

In the above cut Mr. Bancroft illustrates his opinion. Stephens and Waldeck, who excavated from the summit downwards, imply that the interior D is of earth. Twenty years later Charnay found a perpendicular wall on the eastern side, quite contrary to the observations of all previous travelers. Mr. Bancroft accounts for this on the supposition that the stone facing, loosened by the growth of trees which covered it, had fallen from B to F, and that the earth which filled the sides at E E had been washed away by the rain and left the perpendicular wall exposed at B. Such a supposition we consider to be perfectly probable in view of the rapid dilapidation of the ruins since Dupaix’s visit in 1806. The ancient model thus established in the construction of this, perhaps oldest of existing American cities, may have determined the style of many similar edifices. A plan of the palace has been furnished by several authors.[495] The accompanying restoration from Armin’s Das Heutige Mexiko, employed by Mr. Bancroft, may serve to give an idea of the proportions of the structure. The edifice occupies the entire summit platform of the pyramid except a narrow passage-way around the edge, and measures 228 feet by 182, and about 30 feet in height. The doorways, of which there are forty in the outer wall, are wider than the piers intervening between them, and were constructed originally with flat wooden lintels, all of which have disappeared. The main architectural features will be observed in the accompanying plate from Waldeck. The lower right-hand figure shows the angle of the foundations of one of the interior buildings and the manner in which the stones were laid. The left-hand figure affords a sectional view of the eastern stairway descending from the principal corridor into the grand court. It will be observed that the height of the steps considerably exceeds their width. Waldeck illustrates this singular disproportion by a diagram in which a native is represented as sitting upon the stairway. The perpendicular face of a step is shown to be considerably higher than the Indian’s knee, and must have measured two feet. The upper left-hand figures represent the forms of niches, which are of frequent occurrence. The T shaped niche is the representative of a numerous class so resembling the Egyptian tau or cross as to excite no little interest in its origin. M. Waldeck found the marks of lamp-black upon the tops of some of them, and supposes them to have held torches which illuminated the corridors; others, which extend through the walls, may have served for the purposes of ventilation; while others perhaps contained idols.[496] The right-hand upper figures represent the highly artistic double cornices employed. Nothing of a definite nature is known of the style of roof with which the palace was covered, since every vestige of it has disappeared. Castañeda represents it as sloping and plastered, while Dupaix refers to it as consisting of large stone flags, carefully joined together.[497]