The Native Races of the Pacific States of North America

Introduction

. PAGE. Monumental Archæology — Scope of the Arolume — Treatment of the Subject — Sources of Information — Tangibility of Material Relics — Vagueness of Traditional and AA'ritten Archæology — ATalue of Monumental Relics, as conveying Positive Information respecting their Builders, as Corroborative or Corrective AATitnesses, as Incentives to Research — Counterfeit Antiquities — Egyptian, Assyrian and Persian monuments — Relics proving the Antiquity of Man — Exploration of American Ruins — Key to Central American Hieroglyphics — No more Unwritten History 1

Chapter II. Antiquities Of The Isthmus, Costa Rica, Mosquito Coast, And Nicaragua

The Isthmus - -Roman Coin and Galley — Huacas of Chiriqui — Incised Stone-carvings — Sculptured Columns — Human Remains — Golden Ornaments — AAreapons — Implements — Pottery — Musical Instruments — Costa Rica — Stone Hammers — Ancient Plantations — Images of Gold — Terra-Cottas — Axe of Quartz — AAronderful Hill — Paved Road — Stone Frog — Mosquito Coast — Granite Arases — Remarkable Reports — Animal Group — Rock-Paintings — Golden Figure — Home of the Sukia — Nicaragua — Authorities — Mounds — Sepulchres — Excavations — AVeapons — Implements — Ornaments — Statues — Idols — Pottery — Metals 15 CHAPTEE III. ANTIQUITIES OF SALVADOR AND HONDURAS, RUINS OF COPAN. Salvador — Opico Remains — Mounds of Jiboa — Relics of Lake Guijar — Honduras — Guanaja — AATall — Stone Chairs — Roatan — Pottery — Olancho Relics — Mounds of Agalta and Abajo — Hacienda of Labranza — Comayagna — Stone Dog-idol — Terraced Mounds of Calamulla — Tumuli on Rio Chiquinquare — Earthen Vases of Yarumela — Fortified Plateau of Tenampua — Pyramids, Enclosures, and Excavations — Stone Walls — Parallel Mounds — Cliff-Carvings at CONTENTS.

PAGE. Aramacina— Copan— History and Bibliography— Palacio, Fuentes, Galindo, Stephens, Daly, Ellery, Hardcastle, Rrasseur de Bour bourg—Plan of Ruins Restored— Quarry and Cave— Outside Mon uments-Enclosing AValls— The Temple— Courts— Vaults— Pyra mid—Idols—Altars—Miscellaneous Relics— Human Remains- Lime— Colossal Heads— Remarkable Altars— General Remarks. . . 68 CHAPTEE IV. ANTIQUITIES OF GUATEMALA AND BELIZE. The State of Guatemala— A Land of Mystery— AA'onderful Reports- Discoveries Comparatively Unimportant— Ruins of Quirigua — History and Bibliography— Pyramid, Altars, and Statues— Comparison with Copan — Pyramid of Chapulco— Relics at Chinamita — Temples of Micla— Cinaca-Mecallo— Cave of Penol— Cyclopean Debris at Carrizal— Copper Medals at Guatemala— Esquimatha — Fortification of Mixco — Pancacoya Columns — Cave of Santa Maria — Mammoth Bones at Petapa — Rosario Aqueduct — Ruins of Patinamit, or Tecpan Guatemala — Quezaltenango, or Xelahuh — Utatlan, near Santa Cruz del Quiche — Zakuleu, near Huehuetenango — Cakchiquel Ruins in the Region of Rabinal— Cawinal— Marvelous Ruins Reported — Stephens' Inhabited City — Antiquities of Peten — Flores — San Jose — Casas Grandes — Tower of Yaxhaa — Tikal Palaces and Statues — Dolores — Antiquities of Belize 10G CHAPTEE V. ANTIQUITIES OF YUCATAN.

Yucatan, the Country and the People — Abundance of Ruined Cities — Antiquarian Exploration of tbe State — Central Group — Uxmal — History and Bibliography — AA'aldeck, Stephens, Catherwood, Norman, Friederichsthal, and Charnay — Casa del Gobernador, Las Monjas, El Adivino, Pyramid, and Gymnasium — Kabah, Nohpat, Labnd, and nineteen other Ruined Cities — Eastern Group; Chichen Itza and vicinity — Northern Group; Mayapan, Merida, and Izamal — Southern Group; Labphak, Iturbide, and Macoba — Eastern Coast; Tuloom and Cozumel — Western Coast; Maxcami, Jai'na, and Campeche — General Features of the Yucatan Relics — Pyramids and Stone Buildings — Limestone, Mortar, Stucco, and AATood — The Triangular Arch — Sculpture, Painting, and Hieroglyphics — Roads and AATells — Comparisons — Antiquity of the Monuments — Conclusions 140 CHAPTEE VI.

ANTIQUITIES OF TABASCO AND CHIAPAS, RUINS OF PALENQUE. Geographical Limits — Physical Geography — No Relics in Tabasco — Ruins of Palenque — Exploration and Bibliography — Name; Nachan, CONTENTS. V PAGE. Culhuacan, Otolum, Xibalba — Extent, Location, and Plan — The Palace — The Pyramidal Structure — AValls, Corridors, and Courts- Stucco Bas-Reliefs — Tower — Interior Buildings — Sculptured Tab let — Subterranean Galleries — Temple of the Three Tablets — Tem ple of the Beau Relief — Temple of the Cross — Statue — Temple of the Sun — Miscellaneous Ruins and Relies — Ruins of Ococingo — Winged Globe — AVooden Lintel — Terraced Pyramid — Miscella neous Ruins of Chiapas- -Custepeques, Xiquipilas, Laguna Mora, Copanabastla, and Zitala — Huehuetan — San Crist6val — Remains on the Usumacinta — Comparison between Palenque and the Cities of Yucatan — Antiquity of Palenque — Conclusion 286 CHAPTEE VII.

ANTIQUITIES OF OAJACA AND GUERRERO, Nahua Antiquities — Home of the Zapotecs and Miztecs — Remains in Tehuantepec — Fortified Hill of Guiengola — Petapa, Magdalena, and Laollaga — Bridge at Chihuitlan — Cross of Guatulco — Tutepec — City of Oajaca and Vicinity — Tlacolula — Etla — Penoles — Quilapan — Ruins of Monte Alban — Relics at Zachila — Cuilapa — Palaces of Mitla — Mosaic AA7ork — Stone Columns — Subterranean Galleries — Pyramids — Fortifications — Comparison with Central American Ruins — Northern Monuments — Quiotepec — Cerro de las Juntas — Tuxtepec — Huahuapan — Yanguitlan — Antiquities of Guerrero. . . . 366 CHAPTEE VEIL ANTIQUITIES OF VERA CRUZ. Physical Features of the State — Exploration and Reports — Caxapa and Tuxtla — Negro Head — Relics from Island of Sacrificios — Eastern Slope Remains — Medelin — Xicalanco — Rio Blanco — Amatlan — Orizava — Cempoala — Puente Nacional — Paso de Ovejas — Huatusco — Fortifications and Pyramids of Centla — El Castillo — Fortress of Tlacotepec — Palmillas — Zacuapan — Inscription at Atliaca — Consoquitla Fort and Tomb — Calcahualco — Ruins of Misantla or Monte Real — District of Jalancingo— Pyramid of Papantla — Mapilca — Pyramid and Fountain at Tusapan — Ruins of Metlaltoyuca — Relics near Panuco — Calondras, San Nicolas, and Trinidad 425 CHAPTEE IX.

ANTIQUITIES OF THE CENTRAL PLATEAUX. Anahuac— Monuments of Puebla— Chila, Teopantepec, Tepexe, Tepeaca, San Antonio, Quauhquelchula, and Santa Catalina — Pyramid of Cholula— Sierra de Malinche— San Pablo— Natividad— Monuments of Tlascala— Los Reyes— Monuments of Mexico— Cuernavaca, Xochicalco, Casasano, Ozumba, Tlachialco, Ahuehuepa, and CONTENTS. VI PAGE. Mecamecan— Xochimilco, Tlahuac, Xico, Misqnique, Tlalmanalco, and Culhuacan— Chapultepec, Remedios, Tacuba, and Malinalco— City of Mexico — Tezcuco— Tezcocingo— Teotihuacan— Obsidian Mines— Tula— Monuments of Queretaro— Pueblito, Canoas, and Ranas — Nahua Monuments 464 CHAPTEE X. ANTIQUITIES OF THE NORTHERN MEXICAN STATES. The Home of the Chichimecs— Michoacan— Tzintzuntzan, Lake Patzcuaro, Teremendo, Aniche, and Jiquilpan — Colima — Armeria and Cuyutlan— Jalisco— Tonala, Guadalajara, Chacala, Sayula, Tepatitlan, Nayarit, Tepic, Santiago Ixcuintla, and Bolafios — Guanajuato — San Gregorio and Santa Catarina — Zacatecas — La Quemada and Teul — Tamaulipas — Encarnacion, Santa Barbara, Carmelote, Topila, Tampico, and Burrita — Nuevo Leon and Texas — Coahuila — Bolson de Mapimi, San Martero, Durango, Zape, San Agustin, and La Brefia — Sinaloa and Lower California — Cerro de las Trincheras in Sonora — Casas Grandes in Chihuahua 568 CHAPTEE XI.

ANTIQUITIES OF ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO. Area enclosed by the Gila, Rio Grande del Norte, and Colorado — A Laud of Mystery — AVonderful Reports and Adventures of Missionaries, Soldiers, Hunters, Miners, and Pioneers — Exploration — Railroad Surveys — Classification of Remains — Monuments of the Gila Valley — Boulder- Inscriptions — The Casa Grande of Arizona — Early Accounts and Modern Exploration — Adobe Buildings — Ariew and and Plans — Micellaneous remains, Acequias, and Pottery — Other Ruins on the Gila — Valley of the Rio Salado — Rio Verde — Pueblo Creek — Upper Gila — Tributaries of the Colorado — Rock-Inscriptions, Bill AA'illiams' Fork — Ruined Cities of the Colorado Chiquito — Rio Puerco — Lithodendron Creek — Navarro Spring — Zufii Valley — Arch Spring — Zufii — Ojo del Pescado — Inscription Rock — Rio San Juan — Ruins of the Chelly and Chaco Cafions — Valley of the Rio Grande— Pueblo Towns, Inhabited and in Ruins— The Moqui Towns — The Seven Cities of Cibola — Resume, Comparisons, and Conclusions 615 CHAPTEE XII.

ANTIQUITIES OF THE NORTHWEST. General Character of North-western Remains — No Traces of Extinct or of Civilized Races — Antiquities of California — Stone Implements — Newspaper Reports — Taylor's AVork — Colorado Desert — Trail and Rock-Inscriptions— Burial Relics of Southern California — Bones of CONTENTS. VII PAGE. Giants — Mounds in the Saticoy Valley — New Almaden Mine — Pre- Historic Relics in the Mining Shafts— Stone Implements, Human Bones, and Remains of Extinct Animal Species— Voy's Work— San Joaquin Relics— Merced Mounds — Martinez— Shell-Mounds round San Francisco Bay, and their Contents — Relics from a San Francisco Mound — Antiquities of Nevada— Utah— Mounds of Salt Lake Valley — Colorado — Remains at Golden City — Extensive Ruins in Southern Colorado and Utah — Jackson's Expedition — Mancos and McElmo Cafions — Idaho and Montana — Oregon — Washington — Mounds on Bute Prairie, and Yakima Earth-work — British Columbia — Deans' Explorations — Mounds and Earth-works of Vancouver Island — Alaska 687 CHAPTEE XIII.

WORKS OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS. American Monuments beyond the Limits of the Pacific States — Eastern Atlantic States — Remains in the Mississippi Valley — Three Geographical Divisions — Classification of Monuments — Embankments and Ditches — Fortifications — Sacred Enclosures — Mounds — Temple-Mounds, Animal-Mounds, and Conical Mounds — Altar- Mounds, Burial Mounds, and Anomalous Mounds — Contents of the Mounds — Human Remains — Remains of Aboriginal Art — Implements and Ornaments of Metal, Stone, Bone, and Shell — Ancient Copper Mines — Rock-Inscriptions — Antiquity of the Mississippi Remains — Comparisons — Conclusions 744 CHAPTEE XrV. PERUVIAN ANTIQUITIES. Two Epochs of Peruvian Civilization — Aboriginal Government, Religion, and Arts — Contrasts — The Huacas — Human Remains — Articles of Metal — Copper Implements — Gold and Silver Vases and Ornaments — Use of Iron unknown — Aboriginal Engineering — Paved Roads — Peruvian Pottery — Ruins of Pachacamac— Mausoleum of Cuelap — Gran-Chimu— Huaca of Misa— Temple of the Sun— Remains on the Island of Titicaca— Chavin de Huanta— Huanuco el Viejo — Cuzco — Monuments of Tiahuanaco — Island of Coati JSTATIVE RACES of t 1 1 < • PACIFIC STATES slmv. in-4' the loca lion of ANCIENT MONUMENTS Scale 7 3 O O moo f/S Statitt* miles to a,n inch,. THE NATIVE RACES OF THE PACIFIC STATES. ANTIQUITIES.

CHAPTER I.

ARCHÆOLOGICAL

INTRODUCTION.

. Monumental Archæology— Scope of the A^olume — Treatment of the Subject — Sources of Information — Tangibility of Material Relics — A^agueness of Traditional and AA'ritten Archæology — Value of Monumental Relics, as conveying Positive Information respecting their Builders, as Corroborative or Corrective AA'itnesses, as Incentives to Research — Counterfeit Antiquities — Egyptian, Assyrian, and Persian monuments — Relics proving the Antiquity of Man — Exploration of American Ruins — Key to Central American Hieroglyphics — No more Unwritten History. The present Arolume of the Native Races of the Pacific States treats of monurnental archæology, and is intended to present a detailed description of all ma terial relics of the past discovered Avithin the territory under consideration. Tavo chapters, however, are de voted to a more general vieAv of remains outside the limits of this territory — those of South America and of the eastern United States — as being illustrative of, and of inseparable interest in connection with, my sub ject proper.

Since monumental remains in the Avestern continent without the broad limits thus included are comparatively few and unimportant, I may without exaggeration, if the execution of the work be in any degree commensurate with its aim, claim for this treatise a place among the most complete ever published on American antiquities as a Avhole. In deed, Mr BaldAvin's most excellent little book on Ancient America is the only comprehensive work treat ing of this subject noAv before the public. As a popular treatise, compressing within a small duodecimo volume the Avhole subject of archæology, including, be sides material relics, tradition, and speculation concerning origin and history as well, this book cannot be too highly praised; I propose, hoAvever, by devoting a large octavo volume to one half or less of Mr Bald win's subject-matter, to add at least encyclopedic value to this division of my work.

There are some departments of the present subject in which I can hardly hope to improve upon or even to equal descriptions already extant. Such are the ruins of Yucatan, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, so ably treated by Messrs Stephens, CatherAvood, and Squier. Indeed, not a feAV relics of great importance are known to the Avorld only through the pen or pencil of one or another of these gentlemen, in which cases I am forced to draAV somewhat largely upon the result of their investigations. Yet even Avithin the territory mentioned, concerning Uxmal and Chichen Itza we have most valuable details in the works of M M. "Wal deck and Charnay; at Quirigua, Dr Scherzer's labors are no less satisfactory than those of Mr CatherAvood; and Mr Squier's careful observations in Nicaragua are supplemented, to the advantage of the antiquarian public, by the scarcely less extensive investigations of Mr Boyle.

In the case of Palenque, in some respects the most remarkable American ruin, Ave have, besides the exhaustive delineations of Waldeck and Stephens, several others scarcely less satisfactory or interesting from the pens of competent observers; and in a large majority of instances each locality, if not each separate TREATMENT OF THE SURJECT. 3 relic, has been described from personal examination by several parties, each noting some particulars by the others neglected. By a careful study and comparison of information drawn from all available sources respect ing the seATeral points, the Avitnesses mutually cor roborating or correcting one another's statements, I expect to arrive in each case practically at the truth, and thus to compensate in a measure for that loss of interest inevitably incurred by the necessary omission of that personal experience and adArenture by Avhich antiquarian travelers are Avont to impart a charm to their otherAvise dry details.

Although necessarily to a great extent a compila tion, this volume is none the less the result of hard and long-continued study. It embodies the researches of some five hundred travelers, stated not merely en resume, but reproduced, so far as facts and results are concerned, in full. Very feAV of the many Avorks studied are deAroted exclusively or even chiefly to my subject; indeed most of them have but an occasional reference to antiquarian relics, which are described more or less fully among other objects of interest that come un der the traveler's eye; hence the possibility of condensing satisfactorily the contents of so many volumes in one, and of making this one fill on the shelves of the antiquary's library the place of all, excepting, of course, the large plates of the folio works. Full references to, and quota tions from, the authorities consulted are given in the notes, which thus become a complete index to all that has been written on the subject.

These notes contain also bibliographical notices and historical details of the discovery and successive explorations of each ruin, and other information not without interest and value. That some feAV books containing archæological information may have escaped my notice, is quite possible, but none I believe of sufficient importance to seriously im pair the value of the material here presented. In order to give a clear idea of the great variety of arti cles preserved from the past for our examination, the use of numerous illustrations becomes absolutely essen tial. Of the cuts employed many are the originals taken from the published works of explorers, particularly of Messrs Stephens and Squier, Avith their per mission. As I make no claim £o personal archæological research, save among the tomes on the shelves of my library, and as the imparting of accurate information is my only aim, the advantage of the original cuts over any copies that could be made, will be manifest to the reader.

Where such originals could not be ob tained I have made accuratecopies of drawings care fully selected from what I have deemed the best authorities, always Avith a view to give the clearest possible idea of the objects described, and with no at tempt at mere pictorial embellishment. Confining myself strictly to the description of material remains, I have omitted, or reserved for another volume, all traditions and speculations of a general nature respecting their origin and the people whose handiAvork they are, giving, however, in some instances, such definite traditions as seem unlikely to come up in connection Avith ancient history. This is in accordance Avith the general plan Avhich I adopt in treating of the Native Races of this western half of North America, proceeding from the knoAvn to the unknown, from the. near to the remote; dealing first Avith the observed phenomena of aboriginal savagism and civilization when first brought Avithin the knoAvledge of Europeans, as I have done in the three volumes already before the public ; then entering the labyrinthine field of an tiquity from its least obstructed side, I de\Tote this volume to material relics exclusively, thus preparing the Avay for a final volume on traditional and written archæology, to terminate with what most authors have given at the start, — the vaguest and most hopelessly complicated department of the whole subject, — speculations respecting the origin of the American people and of the western civilization.

In the descriptions which follow I proceed geograph- REALITY OF MATERIAL RELICS. 5 ically from south to north for no reason more cogent than that of convenience. From the same motive, much more weighty however in this case, I follow the same order in my comparisons betAveen remains in dif erent parts of the continent, comparing invariably each ruin Avith others farther south and consequently familiar to the reader, rather than Avith more northern structures to be described later. It is claimed by some Avriters that the term antiquities is properly used only to designate the works of a people extinct or only tra ditionally knoAvn. This restriction of the term would exclude most of the monumental remains of the Pacific States, since a large majority of the objects described in the following pages are known to have been the Avork of the peoples found by Europeans in possession of the country, or of their immediate ancestors.

I employ the term, however, in its more common appli cation, includingin it all the Avorks of aboriginal hands presumably executed before natiAre intercourse Avith Europeans, at dates varying consequently with that of the discovery of different localities. Monumental archæology, as distinguished from writ ten and traditional archæology, owes its interest largely to its reality and tangibility. The teachings of material relics, so far as they go, are irrefutable. Real in them selves they impart an air of reality to the study of the past. They stand before us as the actual Avork of hu man hands, affording no foothold for scepticism ; they are the balance - Avheels of tradition, resting-places for the mind Avearied Avith the study of aboriginal fable, stepping-stones on Avhich to cross the miry sloughs of mythic history.

The ruins of a great city represent and recall vividly its original state and the populace that once thronged its streets ; the toAvering mound or pyramid brings before the observer's mind toiling bands of slaves driven to their unAvelcome task by strong progressive masters; temples and idols are but rem nants of religious systems, native fear, superstition, and faith; altars imply victims and sacrificial ceremo nies; sculpture, the existence of art; kingly palaces are the result of a strong government, wars, and con quest ; sepulchral deposits reveal thoughts of another life; and hieroglyphic inscriptions, even if their key be lost, imply events deemed worthy of record, and a degree of progress toAvard letters. What the personal souvenir is to the memory of dead friends, Avhat the ancestral mansion Avith its por traits and other relics is to family memories and pride of descent, what the ancient battle-ground Avith the monu ment commemorating early struggles for liberty is to national patriotism, Avhat the familiar hill, valley, stream, and tree to recollection and love of home, — all this and more are material relics to the study of ages gone by.

Destroy* such relics in the case of the individual, the family, and the nation, and imagine the effect on our interest in a past, which is, however, in nearly every instance clearly recorded. What would be the conse quence of blotting from existence the ruins that stand as monuments of a past but vaguely known even in the most favorable circumstances through the medium of traditionary and Avritten annals? Traditional archæology, fascinating as its study is and important in its results, leaves always in the mind a feeling of uncertainty, a fear that any particular tradition may be in its present form, modified willfully or involuntarily in passing through many hands, a distortion of the orig inal, or perhaps a pure invention; or if intact in form its primary signification may be altogether misunder stood.

And even in the case of written annals, more definite and reliable of course than oral traditions, we cannot forget that back beyond a certain time impossible to locate in the distant past, history founds its statements of events on no more substantial basis than popular fable. It is true that false reports may be made respecting the discovery or nature of ruined cities and other monuments ; and relics may be collected and exhibited COUNTERFEIT ANTIQUITIES. 7 which havre no claim Avhatever to antiquity. Indeed it is said that in some parts of Spanish America, Aztec, Chichimec, or Toltec relics, of any desired era since the creation, are manufactured to order by the ingenious natiAæs and sold to the enthusiastic but unwary anti quarian. To similar imposition and like enthusiasm may be referred the long list of Roman, Greek, Scan dinavian, Tyrian, and other old-world coins, medals, and inscriptions, whose discovery in the NeAV World from time to time has been reported, and used in support of some pet origin-theory.

Yet practically these counterfeit or fabulous antiquities do little harm; their falsity may in most cases be without difficulty detected, as will be apparent from several instances of the kind noted in the folloAving pages. There are, as I have said, feAV ruins of any importance that have not been described by more than one competent and reliable ex plorer. The discovery of wonderful cities and palaces, or of movable relics which differ essentially from the Avell-authenticated antiquities of the same region, is not accepted by archæologists, or by the public generally, Avithout more positive proof of genuineness than the representations of a single traveler Avhose reliability has not been fully proved. The study of ancient monuments, in addition -to its high degree of interest, is moreover of great practical value in the development of historical science, as a source of positive information, as a corroboration of an nals otherwise recorded, and as an incentive to con tinued research.

It contributes to actual knowledge by indicating the various arts that flourished among the peoples of antiquity, the germs of the corresponding arts of modem times. The monuments show not alone the precise degree of excellence in architecture and sculpture attained by the particular people Avhose Avork they are, but by an examination of their differences they throw much light on the origin and growth of these and other arts, Avhile by comparison with the works of other peoples better known they serve to es tablish more or less clearly national affinities. And not only do they illustrate the state of the fine and useful arts, but also to a great extent public institu tions and private customs. Temples, idols, and altars reveal much of religious rites and priestly power; weapons, of warfare; implements, of household habits; ornaments, of dress; tombs and sepulchral relics, of burial ceremonies, regard for the dead, and ideas respecting another life.

When, in addition to their indirect teach ings respecting the arts and institutions of their builders, antique monuments bear also inscriptions in written or legible hieroglyphic characters, their value is of course greatly increased; indeed under such circum stances they become the very highest historic authority. It is, hoAvever, in connection Avith the other branches of the science, written and traditional, that material relics accomplish their most satisfactory results, their corroborative evidence being even more valuable than the positive information they convey. For instance, tradition relates wondrous tales of the wealth, poAver, and mighty deeds of a people that long ago occupied Avhat is noAV a barren desert or a dense forest. These tales are classed Avith other aboriginal fables, interesting but comparatively valueless; but some wandering ex plorer, by chance or as the result of an apparently absurd and profitless research, discovers in the shade of the tangled thicket, or lays bare under the drifting desert sands, the ruins of a great city Avith magnificent palace and temple; at once the mythic fable is transformed into authentic history, especially if the traditional statements of that people's arts and institutions are confirmed by their relics.

Again, the Avritten record of biblical tradition, un satisfactory to some, when not supported by corroborative evidence, narrates with minute detail the history of an ancient city, including its conquest at a given date by a foreign king. The discovery in another land of that monarch's statue or triumphal arch, inscribed Avith his IMPORTANCE OF MATERIAL RELICS. 9 name, title, and a list of his deeds, confirms or invalidates the scriptural account not only of that particular event but indirectly of other details of the city's annals not recorded in stone. In America material relics acquire increased importance as corroborative and corrective witnesses, in comparison with those of the old Avorld, from the absence of contemporary written annals. Be side constituting the only tangible supports of the more ancient triumphs of American civilization, they are the best illustrations of comparatively modern stages of art whose products have disappeared, and by no means superfluous in support of Spanish chroniclers in later times, "very many, or perhaps most of Avhose statements respecting the wonderful phenomena of the NeAV World culture," as I have remarked in a preceding volume, "without this incontrovertible material proof Avould find feAV believers among the sceptical students of the present day."

The importance of monumental remains as incentives to historical study and research results directly from the interest and curiosity which their examination in variably excites. Gibbon relates that he was first prompted to write the annals of Rome's decline and fall by the contemplation of her ruined structures. Few even of the most prosaic and matter-of-fact travelers can resist the impulse to reason and speculate on the origin of ruins that come under their notice, and the civilization to Avhich they owe their existence; and there are probably few eminent archæologists but may trace the first development of a taste for antiquarian pursuits to the curiosity excited at the sight of some mysterious relic. This irresistible desire to follow back remains of art to the artist's hand and genius, prompted the oft-repeated and so long fruitless attempts to decipher the Egyptian hieroglyphics and the cuneiform inscriptions of Persia and Assyria.

These efforts were at last crowned with success; the key to the mysterious wedges, and the Rosetta-stone Avere found, by Avhich the tablets of Babylon, Ninevah, and the pyramids— the Palenque, Copan, and Teotihuacan of the old world — may be read. The palaces, monuments, and statues of ancient kings bear legible records of their lives, dominions, and succession. By the aid of these records definite dates are established for events in the history of these countries as early as tAvo thousand years before the Christian era, and thus corroborations and checks are placed on the statements of biblical and profane history. But the art of interpreting these hieroglyphics is yet in its infancy, and the results thus far accomplished are infinitesimal in comparison Avith Avhat may be reasonably anticipated in the future.

So much for antique monuments and their teach ings — alone and in connection Avith history and tradition — respecting the peoples to whom they OAve their existence. Another and not less important value they have, in connection Avith geology and paleontology, in what they tell us about the age of the human race on the earth. Biblical tradition, as interpreted in former times, asserts the earth and its inhabitants to be about six thousand years old. Geology has enforced a new interpretation, which, so far as the age of the earth is concerned, is accepted by all latter-day scholars; and geology noAv lends a helping hand to her sister sciences in their effort to prove, Avhat is not yet universally accepted as truth, that man's antiquity far exceeds the limit which scripture is thought to establish.

Throughout the successive geologic strata of earthy matter that overlie the solid rocky foundations beloAV, traces of man's presence are found. It is in deposits of peat and alluvium that these traces are most clearly defined and with greatest facility studied. The ex tremely sIoav accumulation of these deposits and the great depth at which human remains appear, impress the mind of the observer Avith a vivid idea of their antiquity. Calculations based on the known rate of THE ANTIQUITY OF THE HUMAN RACE. 11 increase for a definite period fix the age of the loAvest relics at from six thousand to one hundred thousand years according to the locality. But geology tells yet no definite tale in years, her chronology being on a grander scale, and these calculations are to scientific men the weakest proofs of man's antiquity.

As we penetrate, hoAvever, this superficial geologic formation, we find in the upper layers weapons and implements of iron; then, at a greater depth, of bronze ; and loAvest of all stone is the only durable material employed. In all parts of the Avorld, so far as explorations have been made, this order of the ages, stone, bronze, iron, is observæd; although they were certainly not contemporaneous in all regions. With the products of human skill, in its varying stages of development, are mingled the fossil trees and plants of different species which flourished and became locally extinct as the centuries passed away. So animal re mains, no less abundant than the others, indicate suc cessive changes in the fauna and its relations to human life, the animals pursued at different epochs for food, the introduction of domestic animals, and the transition from the chase to agriculture as a means of subsist ence.