Atlantis. 203 



attainment in architectural form. In both it is the prominent and 

 pervading feature of the monumental remains. The American pyra- 

 midal structures, like those of Egypt, in most cases faced the cardinal 

 points, and many of the temples and sacred places were alike sur- 

 rounded by walls of earth or stone. The pyramids were often ap- 

 proached by elevated causeways, and the temples were located in the 

 vicinity of water which was used in sacred services. 



Concerning analogies traceable in mere architectural forms, Hum- 

 boldt remarks that they "prove very little in favor of intercom- 

 munication between people, for, under all zones, men have indulged 

 in rhythmic repetitions of the same forms." This remark is quoted by 

 Brantz Mayer, and supplemented with an intimation that such forms are 

 controlled by climatic or. geological necessities rather than by art. If 

 this be true, we should seek the origin of the pyramid, as developed in 

 Mexico, in the volcanic character of a region where the largest base 

 in proportion to height is required to resist the shock of earthquakes. 

 But how will this avail us in tracing the same development in the val- 

 ley of the Nile ? If we are prepared to accept the conclusions of the 

 Astronomer-Royal of Scotland (C. Piazzi Smith), ascribing to the great 

 pyramid of Ghizeh the character of a great original, built by a 

 different race from the Egyptians, and which served them as a 

 model for their later and inferior structures, the solution of the prob- 

 lem is easy. He thinks it not improbable that the science fossilized in 

 the great pyramid originated with a now extinct race, who inhabited 

 islands once existing in the South- Atlantic Ocean, but makes no allu- 

 sion to the Atlantic tradition. 



While it may be true that evidence of analogy in mere architectural 

 forms would be inadmissible— to use a legal phrase— as not of itself 

 tending to prove an intercommunication between nations ; yet, it is 

 claimed, that when a foundation is laid by a distinct tradition of such 

 communication, such evidence becomes not only admissible but highly 

 important. And it may be remarked in connection, that Humboldt no- 

 where mentions the Atlantic tradition, and it does not appear that his 

 attention ever was called to it. But it is not alone the mere coinci- 

 dence of form that offers analogy in the architectural monuments of 

 Egypt and America. Their general spirit and uses were in many cases 

 identical. jNIodern investigations establish the well known form 

 of three stages or terraces, surmounted by a temple, as common 

 on both sides of the Atlantic. 



In the general ideas of ornamentation, as delineated in sculp- 

 ture, there may be likewise traced many striking coincidences. At 

 Copan, on a stone obelisk were chiseled human figures with caps on 



