MAN FROM THE FARTHEST PAST 
are in reality only religious or, to use a modern expression, 
Civic, centerss./)l he cities themselves, the homes of the 
common people, built of highly perishable materials, must 
have stretched for considerable distances about these 
groups of pyramids, sanctuaries, and so-called ‘“‘palaces”’ 
of cut stone and concrete and stucco. Traces of these 
humbler dwellings, in the shape of vast numbers of low 
mounds, still occur in the depths of the tropical forests, 
which have long since resumed their primeval sway. There 
are also remains of boundary walls and even paved roads, 
suggesting a former numerous population and a lively 
commercial and social life. 
It is noteworthy that with few exceptions, as at Tuloom, 
on the eastern coast of Yucatan, no evidence exists to 
suggest that the Mayas ever fortified their cities. Nor do 
they bear any sign of having been destroyed by violence. 
They were not primarily commercial or military or even 
political communities in our sense, but were first and 
foremost religious centers, and ee sacred character 
doubtless helped protect them from molestation. Further- 
more, during the greater part of their history there.seem 
to have been no foreign foes capable of threatening them 
seriously. 
The civilization that produced them was essentially re- 
ligious, artistic, and intellectual in nature, rather than war- 
like. Nevertheless, as the Spaniards found to their cost, 
the Mayas could fight, and fight well, and it may be that 
in the days of their prime they felt their armies afforded 
them the: protection which some people might seek in 
fortifications. 
Be that as it may, their civilization perished, but its 
influence spread far and wide over the surrounding regions 
in somewhat the same way as did that of the Greeks in the 
Old World. And the Mayan people themselves remain, 
an industrious, cleanly, hospitable, and often highly 
talented race, forming a valuable element in the present- 
day population of Central America. 
[ 336 | 
