It must be admitted that no factor could possibly have more speedily impressed upon primitive men the benefits of concerted action and of organization and communal life than the occasional recurrence of a great and imminent peril which was shared by all alike, and for which there was but one visible means of escape. It is equally clear that, once a concerted and united undertaking had been determined upon, some sort of plan and organization must have naturally evolved itself. The mere building of such a gigantic structure as the pyramid of Cholula, which may well have absorbed the energies of several generations of men, or, at all events that of innumerable workmen, could well have been an [pg 273] abiding and most powerful factor in establishing their social organization. Its erection must indeed have marked an epoch in the lives of the inhabitants of this region, because, during many years it created a bond of common interest which, of itself, might well have laid the foundation of a permanent communal life, in which responsibility and labor were equally distributed. The mere necessity to expend an equal amount of material and labor upon the building of each side of the pyramid, would naturally lead to the formation of pathways traced by the feet of the carriers of earth and stone from different directions, and ultimately to a division of the workers into four bands, each associated with a different cardinal point. Practice would demand that each band should be under leadership, and be divided into those who collected and carried material, and those who placed it in position, at each side of the pyramid. The necessity for general supervision and directorship, extending over the four bands of workers alike, would, of itself, create central rulership upon which would devolve the duty of enforcing an equal division of labor, which would create, in turn, some form of systematic routine and rotation. It can thus be understood how, by slow degrees, each side of the pyramid would become permanently identified with a cardinal point; and associated with a division of workmen under its leader and a fixed period of time. It may likewise be seen how a separate caste would slowly develop itself, consisting of the trained architects and builders, the descendants of the first organizers of human labor, and systematical rulers of men.[76]
It may thus be seen how the realization of frequent danger, the necessity to provide an escape and insure the safety of the race, aided by experience, might lead to the conception of a vast pyramid, the mere building of which would create and establish the fundamental principles of organization and government.
The simultaneous development of the ideas suggested by Polaris would inevitably lead to a comparison and association of the terrestrial centre of communal activity with the polar axis, and to [pg 274] the conception of an earthly government in which human affairs were adjusted so as to be in seeming harmony with the movements of celestial bodies. The blending of the conclusions attained by the astronomer-priests, and the practical system adopted by the master builders, could not fail ultimately to cause the pyramid to appear as the sacred visible sign or image of the single, central power and quadruple government which extended its rule throughout heaven and earth. I venture to point out that, if carefully analyzed, the pyramid seems to be but a later development of precisely the same ideas which are expressed by the swastika.
Pausing now to review preceding data we find it demonstrated that the geographical position of Tullan Cholollan and its pyramid designates it as an ancient seat of civilization where the native scheme of organization may have evolved itself, and the source whence the native traditions concerning successive destructive cataclysms and convulsions of nature may have spread.
What is more, the peculiar conditions existing at Tullan Cholollan, situated in the heart of a volcanic region, would amply explain the traditional destruction and abandonment of the most ancient centre of native civilization and the spread throughout the continent of the identical scheme of government, etc., it being most natural that each band of fugitives, on finding what appeared to be a favorably situated region, should settle there and carry out the inherited plan of organization, etc., which would naturally become slightly modified under altered conditions. Fresh colonies on the pattern of the ruined metropolis and integral state would successively be founded far and wide and as examples of such I venture to designate Tulantzinco, literally the title Tullan, and possibly Teotihuacan, where the native civilization seems to have undergone its more advanced stages of evolution, and to have risen in power, developed divergent cults with separate languages (the Maya and the Nahuatl) and instituted the two religions and dual rulership which eventually led to dissension and the dissolution of the integral state at a period anterior to historical times.
The assumption that the most ancient centre of native civilization lay in a volcanic region affords a plausible explanation of how an inordinate value would naturally be placed on stability, per se, and the feelings of veneration for Polaris and a passionate [pg 275] longing for a place of terrestrial and celestial rest would become strongly developed. Indeed, it is only possible to understand the reason why various American tribes wandered about in ardent and earnest search for the stable middle of the earth, when it is assumed that they must have been driven from their former place of residence by volcanic disturbances which made a firm piece of ground under foot seem to be the most desirable of all earthly benefits. I venture to assert that this search and the ideal of stability would not have been suggested so forcibly to people who had never experienced a long succession of more or less terrible earthquakes.
Although widely different opinions concerning the identification of the ancient Tullan are held by American archæologists they will all doubtlessly admit that at Cholollan we have, in the first case, a locality to which the natives assign the name of Tollan, and a pyramid, the largest on the American continent, which testifies that, in prehistoric times, this place was inhabited for a prolonged period, by a numerous and organized community.
The fertility of the surrounding plains now known as the Campiña de Puebla and the ancient name of Tlaxcalla yield evidence that, from time immemorial, this district was associated with maize cultivation.
The vicinity of the giant volcanoes of Popocatepetl, Iztaccihuatl and Orizaba[77] sufficiently demonstrate that they must repeatedly have been the scene of violent disturbances which would fully account for the tradition of successive cataclysms which destroyed a vast state and almost annihilated the native race.
The foregoing unassailable facts undoubtedly justify the conclusion that the giant pyramid of Cholula marks the site of the great and ancient Tollan whose destruction was the theme of the plaintive native songs of lamentation even at the time of the Spanish Conquest. That the natives have ever regarded Cholula as a place of particular sanctity is shown by the following statement by Fray Geronimo Roman y Zamorra (1569-1575) (Republicas de Indias, ed. Suarez, Madrid, 1888): “It was Colola or Cholola, which was the ancient metropolis or head of all the native religion, so much so that all the great chiefs or lords had their own [pg 276] chapels and dwelling houses there because they used to perform pilgrimages to its great temple this being the most revered [in the land].”