200 OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING 



lip, that It might ferve him, as they imagined, inftead of a 

 heart."* 



The copper articles (fig. 9, and 10 10,) deferve par- 

 ticular attention. I have faid, 1 fuppofe that they were 

 ornamental. 



It has long been known, that fome of the American 

 nations mani.ifavflured copper into certain articles, or 

 utenfils. Acofta exprefsiy informs us that the Indians 

 (he means the Mexicans and the I'eruvians) ufed copper 

 for their arms.-f- It would appear, from this learned wri- 

 ter, that after the arrival of the Spaniards in America, 

 the pra£tice of employing copper fell into a kind of difufe. 

 The Indians bufied themfelves in fearching for the more 

 precious metals.;|; It does not appear that the Americans 

 ever employed copper as a medium of commerce. 



The Mexicans and the Peruvians were acquainted with 

 the art of hardening copper, fo as to render it a fubftitute 

 for iron. 



I am not ignorant that one of the ableft antiquaries of 

 the prefent century has ventured to fuppofe, that the art 

 of hardening copper was not known to the Americans 

 with whom the Spaniards became acquainted in the fif- 

 teenth and fixteenth centuries. The Count de Caylus, 

 the gentleman to whom I allude, imagined that the cop- 

 per hatchet, which he examined, was the work of a 

 people more ancient than the Incas, and that they inha- 

 bited the countries of Peru a long time before this race of 

 monarchs. Theangry Mr.DePauw, whois continually dif- 

 fering from almoft every other writer, and who is eter- 

 nally committing miftakes, and hazarding falfe and feeble 

 fpeculations, treats this opinion of Caylus with con- 

 tempt.§ If, however, the Berlin philofopher had re- 



* The Hiftory of Mexico. Vol. I. p. 422. 



f Lib. iv. chap. 3. p. 209 and 210. % Ibid. 



§ R«cberches Pliilolbphiques fur les Americains, Tome II. 



fleded 



