PORTION OF THE EASTERN FAÇADE
OF THE SO-CALLED "GOVERNOR'S HOUSE," UXMAL, YUCATAN
Lomaland Photo. and Engraving Dept.
PANORAMIC VIEW OF SAN JUAN TEOTIHUACÁN, TAKEN FROM THE NORTH
(Sketched by W. H. Holmes)
A. Pyramid of the Moon. B. Pyramid of the Sun. C. The Path of the Dead.
FF. San Juan River. G. Town of San Juan.
The great age of this civilization is amply proved by the fact that the city was buried under the wash of a great river that came down from the mountains. Geological considerations enable us to fix the date of that river back beyond other changes that have taken place in the ground since. Hence the city must be older still. And even before this flood the city was probably already abandoned—through pestilence, war, or some such cause. It was quite by accident that it was found; the exploring party chanced to step into a cave-in. It lies beneath the thick and long-cultivated residual soil, and consequently there may be an indefinite number of such cities almost anywhere.
Among objects found was a dental cast of a human mouth.
The more we discover, the more do we confirm the teaching that civilization is not of recent growth. The older the civilization, the more advanced—this seems to be the rule everywhere. Clearly the arts of modern civilization have been known before and we are but rediscoverers of them.
We might go on quoting indefinitely, but must pass on to comment. It is very clear that these mighty builders, whose achievements have never since been equaled or even approached by any race in any part of the world were no barbarians or "primitive men." And we have to remember that it is not only from America that such archaeological accounts come, but from Asia, Africa, Europe, New Zealand—practically everywhere. And always one tale is the same—that of ancient civilizations and their prowess. Only recently the discoveries in Crete have altered all our views of Greek history by showing the existence of a great and widespread civilization in the Aegean, far preceding that of Greece.