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 Quemada—Maya and Nahua Architecture Compared—Old World Analogies—Sculpture—Of the Mounds—At Palenque—At Uxmal—Of the Nahuas—Ancient American Art and its Old World Analogies—Egyptian Tau at Palenque—Serpent Sculpture—Nahua Symbolism probably Asiatic—Hieroglyphics—Maya MSS. and Books—Landa’s Alphabet—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.
Chronology, Calendar Systems, and Religious Analogies.
No Mound-builder Chronology Known—Maya Calendar—Landa on the Calendar—Maya Days—Maya Months—The Katun—The Ahau Katun or Great Cycle—The Maya System Adjusted to our Chronology—The Adjustment by Perez—Intercalary Days—The Nahua Calendar—The Sources—Divisions of the Mexican Calendar—The Aztec Year—The Nemontemi—Aztec Months—Aztec Days—Nahua Ritual Calendar—Mexican Calendar Stone—Sources of Interpretation—History of the Stone—Its Interpretation—Date of the Origin of the Calendar Stone—Date of the Nahua Migration—Analogies with the Nahua Calendar—Religious Analogies—Jewish Analogies—Deluge Traditions—Supposed Parallels in Jewish and Mexican History—Analogies of Doctrine—Analogies of Ceremonial Law—Yucatanic Trinity Myth—Mexican and Asiatic Analogies—Buddhism in the New World—Scandinavian Analogies—Mexican and Greek Analogies—Brasseur de Bourbourg’s Comparisons.
Language and its Relation to North American Migrations.
Diversity of Languages in America—Causes of Diversity—Richness of American Languages—Polysynthesis—Grimm’s Law—The Maya-Quiché Languages—Stability of the Maya—Oldest American Language—The Maya compared to the Greek, the Hebrew, the North European, the Basque, West African, and the Quichua Languages—Epitome of Maya Grammar—The Mizteco-Zapotec Languages—The Nahua or Aztec—The Classic Tongue—Ancient and Modern Nahua—Epitome of Aztec Grammar—Geographical Extension of the Aztec—In the South—In the North-west—Buschmann’s Researches—The Sonora Family—Opata-Tarahumar-Pima Family—Moqui and Aztec Elements—Aztec in the Shoshone and in the Languages of Oregon and the Columbian Region—Line of Aztec Elements—The Nahua probably the Language of the Mound-builders—The Otomi—Supposed Chinese Analogies—Japanese Analogies—Geographical Names.