Dr de Tschudi on the Ancient Peruvians. 249 



descent from a to 6, (Fig. 6.) will tend continually to give the 

 observed elongated forms of the superficial bands, by cutting 

 the shells of structure obliquely. 



I remain, my Dear Sir, yours sincerely, 



James D. Forbes. 



To the Rev. Dr Whewell. 



On the Ancient Peruvians, By Dr J. J. de Tschudi * 



Communicated by the Ethnological Society. 



During a stay of five years in Peru, spent for the most part 

 in the interior of that remarkable country, I devoted as much 

 of my time as I could spare from my studies in Natural His- 

 tory to the investigation of the condition, past and present, of 

 the aboriginal inhabitants. In the course of these researches 

 I collected many facts connected with their history and man- 

 ners. I have thoroughly examined more than eighty ruins of 

 Indian villages, with, perhaps, half that number of tombs. I 

 have seen and desciibed many of their relics, and have brought 

 to Europe ten mummies of different ages and sexes (six others 

 are still expected) ; and more than thirty skulls of Indians are 

 lying before me, the most beautiful collection that has ever 

 been obtained from that part of America. 



I shall, probably, at some other time have the pleasure of 

 bringing before the Ethnological Society my researches on the 

 great migrations of the nations of the northern division of the 

 New World, together with my views on the different tribes and 

 races : for the present I shall communicate a few general re- 

 marks only. 



The greater part of the old Indian villages in the Sierras of 

 Peru, are situated on steril heights, conical turreted hills, 

 summits of mountains or narrow ridges, and on an eastern 

 exposure. The choice of this latter situation was determined 

 by their religion. It was, in fact, natural that the Indians, 

 who considered their kings to be the offspring of the sun, which 

 they adored as their primary divinity, should have chosen, for 

 the sites of their toAvns and villages, positions from which they 



* Read before the Society, 1844. 



