The youth of the nobility were placed under "wise men," who were the only ones having sufficient learning to do such work. The youth were trained for the especial kind of duties they were to perform in after life. They were taught the laws of their country, the principles of government, and were well grounded in the use of their mother tongue. Those who were to enter into a religious life were carefully instructed in regard to the rites and ceremonies of the religion of the country. All were made familiar with the use of the quipus.
The quipus were used for counting and computing numbers. The quipu was a cord near two feet long, made of threads of different colors twisted together and having smaller threads hanging from them like fringe. These threads were of different colors with knots in them which served instead of ciphers in computing. Sometimes the threads represented abstract ideas, as, white stood for peace, red for war, and, again they represented concrete objects, as, white was for silver, yellow for gold.
LITERATURE
- ... Ancient Peru—Its people and its monuments. Harper's Magazine, VII. (1853), 7-38.
- Joyce, Thomas A., South American archæology.
- Nadaillac, Marquis de, Prehistoric America.
- Prescott, William H., History of the conquest of Peru.
- Winsor, Justin, Narrative and critical history of America.
CHAPTER III
THE CHILD IN EGYPT
The Country.
From the cataracts on the South to the Mediterranean Sea the Nile pursues its course for over five hundred miles, till within sixty miles of its mouth it divides into branches and forms the part called the Delta. The cultivable land, depending upon the extent of the inundation, averages about five and a half miles in width, varying from two miles in its narrowest part to ten and three-quarters in its widest part, including the river. On the west of the valley is a range of hills, which protects it from the sand of the desert, and on the east, between the Nile and the Red Sea, is also another range of hills. Lying at the foot of the hills is a strip of sand, sometimes as great as two and a half miles in breadth, which is not reached by the inundation and consequently remains a waste. The demarcation between this waste and the fertile soil is very marked, so as to be readily noted. The rock in these hills varies, at the southern extremity being found the granite, from which were cut out their monoliths and made into obelisks and collossi; further north is found sandstone of various colors, and from which were built the palaces and temples of that region; and following this district is a part wherein there is a limestone formation, in which region are found the pyramids, mostly composed of this stone.
The People.
"In form the Egyptian resembled the modern Arab. He was tall; his limbs were long and supple; his head was well placed upon his shoulders; his movements were graceful; his carriage dignified. In general, however, his frame was too spare; and his hands and feet were unduly large. The women were as thin as the men, and had forms nearly similar. Children, however, appear to have been sufficiently plump; but they are not often represented."[24]
The people were divided into classes and although the separation of the classes was very marked and distinct, yet there was really no rigid caste system, as the boundaries were crossed by people ascending from a lower class into a higher. Of course, as with all people, it was quite customary for the son to take up the work of his father, but, at least, in some cases this was not compulsory. In one instance it is shown where the occupation of architect had descended from father to son for twenty-one generations. There is difficulty in knowing just what were the divisions of society but at any rate there were at least three distinct classes, which were the priestly class, the military class, and the rest of the people. The first two classes, from whom came the king, were exempt from taxation. The rest of the people had to bear the burden of the taxes, to construct the public works, to perform the agricultural tasks, and to carry on all mechanical and other pursuits. They had a hard time and yet the laws regarding them seem to have been justly administered and it would appear as if they were contented with their condition.