It is satisfactory to be able to establish the conclusion that the figures are caciques of the Quichés, for it thereby becomes possible to advance a few steps towards the solution of a problem which presents many difficulties with regard to the period of the construction of Palenque, and state of civilization of the builders. In a manuscript left in a Franciscan convent by one of the descendants of the Quichés, an account was given of the migrations of that tribe before they settled near Utatlan. It was stated that they reached that country after a long journey from Mexico, and adopted the name of Quiché in memory of one of their leaders; but before that time the people were called Toltecs.
Before endeavouring to establish conclusions with regard to Palenque, attention should be directed to the temples and other stone buildings in the adjacent regions. With respect to the numerous groups of ruins in Yucatan, we possess the testimony of the Spanish priests who dwelt in their parishes in that country at a period when many of the governing class of Indians were of the same generation as those who inhabited the land when it was conquered. One of these missionaries was Father Landa, who was not only zealous in the performance of his duties, but also studied the language and civilisation of the race amongst whom he dwelt. He was present in Tihoo soon after the capture of that Indian settlement, which was afterwards chosen for the site of the city of Merida.
He states that in that place there were several stone edifices. He made a plan of the largest of them from which it is evident that they were of the same character as those at Uxmal. Tihoo was occupied by the Spanish forces in 1541, and the terraces, upon which were placed the principal buildings, were given to the Franciscans as a site for their convent. The friars began their work in 1547. Thus only six years had elapsed since the Indians had left their town. Landa’s descriptions of the state and condition of the ancient ruins are therefore of the greatest assistance in forming conclusions with regard to them.
The principal edifice was placed upon the highest of three terraces, each of which was surrounded or faced by thick walls, and approached by steps. There was a large interior quadrangle having ranges of rooms or cells occupying the four sides. These were similar to those in the “House of the Nuns” at Uxmal. In the vicinity there were several pyramids which had small temples on their summits. It was observed that all these structures appeared to have been disused for a considerable period. The Franciscans found that the Indian structures were covered with thick brushwood. This was cleared away. The buildings were destroyed and the materials supplied the stone required for their church and convent.[102]
The fact that the desertion of the temples had occurred before the arrival of the Spaniards is important. It explains many of the circumstances then existing in Yucatan which otherwise would be unintelligible. When the conquerors settled in that land they were surprised to find numerous stone buildings in various parts of the country, all of which were unoccupied. They were informed that they had not been abandoned in consequence of their conquest. They found that it was impracticable to obtain from the natives any explanation of the nature of the events which had happened and had caused this change. Thus the problem regarding the purposes of these extensive buildings, and the architectural skill of the constructors was as obscure to them at that time as it is now to the present inhabitants.
At Izamal, about thirty-five miles east of Tihoo, there were also numerous temples, and it was noticed by Landa that there were evidences of there having been a paved road between the two places. A Franciscan convent was established at Izamal, and a brief account of its temples was written in 1663 by Father Lizana, in which he states, with respect to the ruins in Yucatan, that the deserted edifices appeared to have been of one style of architecture, and that some of them were so perfect that it might be said that twenty years had not elapsed since they were built. These edifices were however, he observes, not inhabited by the Indians when the Spaniards arrived. The natives lived scattered in huts amongst the woods, but they used them as temples or sanctuaries, and occasionally performed religious ceremonies and fasts there.[103]
The Franciscan missionaries were not able to obtain from the natives an intelligible explanation of the events that had occurred which had caused the temples to be abandoned. But they were informed that an invasion had taken place about two hundred years before their arrival, and many of the caciques and ruling families had been driven out of the land. The invaders did not occupy the sacred buildings, and allowed them to fall into ruin, but they were visited occasionally by those who still had faith in the ancient gods and wished to offer sacrifices to them. It was ascertained that the greater part of Yucatan had become subject to the control of chiefs belonging to the Aztec race, and that several of them paid tribute to Montezuma.
The question of the antiquity of the temples of Palenque, Uxmal and other structures of that character must therefore, in a great degree, be decided by the evidence upon which are based the traditions of the migrations of the Toltecs who preceded the Aztecs, and were the first of the hordes who conquered the aboriginal races of Central America. The historians who have investigated those traditions concur in considering that the arrival of the Toltecs within Mexican territory happened in the seventh century. After remaining some time in the northern part of the country, they migrated southwards to Cholula, Palenque and Yucatan.[104] If the historic evidence is accepted as being trustworthy, it follows that all the stone edifices in these regions must have been erected later than that date. The Aztecs arrived at the close of the twelfth century. Therefore it may be concluded that Palenque was built later than the eighth century, and was deserted before the fourteenth century. Uxmal is evidently more modern than Palenque, and it may be assumed that it was constructed after the tenth century, and abandoned not much earlier than a hundred years before the Spaniards landed upon the shores of the New World.
The Aztec chiefs introduced into Yucatan one of their barbarous customs which was similar to what was practised by them elsewhere. It was found by the conquerors, that in Mexico they kept slaves and prisoners in cages, where these victims were fattened and prepared for sacrifice.[105] After having been killed and offered as propitiations to the gods their bodies were eaten. In 1511, it happened that a Spanish vessel was wrecked upon some shoals fifteen leagues south of the island of Jamaica. The crew after having been thirteen days in an open boat, landed upon the north-eastern shores of Yucatan near Cape Catoche, and were made captives by the cacique of the district. Valdivia, who was in command, together with four of his men, were at once sacrificed and eaten, others were put in cages, but several of these men escaped. When the fleet under the command of Cortes anchored off Cozumel, in 1519, one of the captives, named Aguilar, went on board the flagship.
Bernal Diaz, who was with the expedition and saw this man when he arrived, relates that when Aguilar came before the presence of Cortes he cowered down according to the manner of Indian slaves. Aguilar stated that only he and another Spaniard named Gonzalo Guerrero, were then alive. Most of his companions had been sacrificed to the gods, but some had died, and two women who were with them had perished from misery and the severity of the labour of grinding maize. Guerrero had married an Indian woman and followed the native customs. He had been tattoed, his ears were pierced and his lips were turned down.[106] Aguilar had become acquainted with the Maya language, and was afterwards employed by Cortes as an interpreter. Guerrero remained in Yucatan with the Indians.