EEPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1913. 21 



primitive states of development, and the exhibits in the Museum are 

 classified and arranged with the view of conveying all that can be 

 brought out by objective material respecting this subject. 



The hall on the east side of the north wing is devoted to the coun- 

 tries south of the United States. Beginning at the north are casts 

 and originals of ancient Mexican sculptures, utensils, implements, 

 and other objects of stone and clay, followed by corresponding 

 exhibits from Guatemala, Honduras, Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa 

 Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, 

 Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, and the Guianas. Several 

 models of ancient Mexican buildings occupy a part of the central 

 floor space, while casts of relief sculptures and glyphic inscriptions 

 from Mexico and Central America are displayed on the walls. A 

 number of overflow exhibits of minor antiquities belonging to Middle 

 and South America have been provisionally installed in the east range. 



Very special interest attaches to the above exhibits as they repre- 

 sent the highest achievements in various branches of culture attained 

 by any of the American aborigines. The buildings, especially of the 

 Maya race, shown in the models are works of astonishing elaboration 

 of plan, mechanical perfection of construction, and beauty of embel- 

 hshment, and the rehefs and glyphic inscriptions confirm the view 

 that these peoples were advanced to the very thi'eshold of civihzation — 

 a stage of progress corresponding with that of the most advanced 

 nations of the Old World only a few millenniums ago. It is seen that 

 the Aztecs of middle Mexico, the Zapotecs of southern Mexico, and the 

 Incas of South America, while in some respects inferior in advance- 

 ment to the Mayas of Yucatan and Guatemala, were also pressing 

 hard up against the lower frontiers of the civiHzed state. The ancient 

 peoples of northern Mexico, of the Isthmian region, and of northern 

 South America were less advanced, while the gTeat body of tribes of 

 eastern and southern South America, ancient as well as modern, had 

 not risen above the state of primitive savagery. 



The east range, with the exception of a small space allotted to the 

 British possessions, is wholly given up to the archeology of the United 

 States. Forty-five large upright cases, distributed in three series 

 through the entire length of the range, contain representative exhibits 

 for the several States, beginning with Aiizona and New Mexico and 

 ending with New England. On account of the very large body of 

 material from New Mexico, Arizona, and California, a number of 

 cases are devoted to each of these States, while in some instances 

 single cases accommodate the entire representation from two or more 

 States, as Vermont, New Hampshire, Idaho, Montana, Mississippi, 

 and Texas. Accompanying the above, in table cases, are illustrations 

 of special features of exploration and the resultant collections, such 

 as the contents of certain village sites, mounds, cemeteries, pueblos, 



