1. IIKI VyX V IMj 



t.ryxyiiyt.i^K. AWU ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



<.3 



life IS depicted. The subjects are too numerous to mention, and such was 

 the multitude of tigures and objects, that a month would not have sufficed 

 for delineating them. Unfortunately these beautiful paintings are fast has- 

 tening to decay, and every day adds to their approaching obliteration, from 

 the visits of Indians. 



The pervading type of the architecture in the central parts of America and 

 Yucatan, consists in first constructing immense pyramidal mounds, or ter- 

 races, of greater or less height, and on these placing their sacred edifices and 

 palaces. Whether these mounds, or, as some call them, pyramids, (and by 

 the Indians they are called teoealli,) are in general solid, or contain in all 

 cases passages and apartments, remains yet to be ascertained. lu the few 

 that have been opened, by accident or design, small arched rooms have been 

 found. The buildings are generally long, low, arched, and of a single itorv 

 a plan frequently adopted by the Spaniards on account of the shocks of earth- 

 quake to which many parts of the country are exposed. In a few instances 

 buildings of two and three stories were met with. The teoealli before-men- 

 tioned are found in great numbers throughout the country. They are fre 

 quently of large dimensions, of a pyramidal form, but do not terminate in a 

 point hke the Egyptian structures. They have on their summits platforms 

 o( sufhcient extent for their temples, which contained statues of their deities 

 and in front was seen conspicuous the sacrificial stone or altar, convex on its 

 upper surface so as to raise the chest of the human victim 



Mr. Catherwood thought there could he but one opinion as to the altars 

 Idols, and sacnhcial stones at Quirigua and Copau, having been constructed 

 and used for these dismal rites. Indeed the channels cut on the upper sur- 

 faces of these sacrificial stones left no ioubt on his mind as to the uses to 

 winch they were applied. 



Another and not less distinguishing, feature than their mounds and pyra- 



mids are the arched rooms found in all their buildings; he called it an arch 



heoaiise it has all the appearance of one, and answers most of its purposes 



and the inveutors were on the very threshold of discovering the true principles 



of the arch It invariably consists of stones overlaying each other from 



opposite walls, untd the last meet over the centre of the room, or what is 



still more commonly the case, when the last stones approach within about 



12 inches of each other, a flat stone is laid on the top, covered either with 



solid masonry or concrete. The joints of the stones are all horizontal. The 



roofs have a slight inclination to throw ofl' the rain, and are cemented. This 



foriii of arch appears at first sight original, and is so in as much as regards 



the Indians, but the same principle was used in the earliest times by the 



Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Etrurians, and would, in all probability, suir- 



gest Itself to any people who had to construct a stone roof over a space too 



wide for them to cover with flat stones. He lia.l been indebted to Mr. Ainslev 



a short time ago for a sight of his beautiful drawings of Etrurian remains 



and among them is shown an arch, which, if he had met with it in Central 



America or Vicatan, he should have undoubtedly taken for one of the usual 



arches of the country. It is at a place called Cervetri, and forms a part of 



the Galassi tomb. The finding similar arches in Etruria and Yucatan, and 



not very dissimilar pyramids in the latter country and Egypt, was no proof to 



lus miml that a communication must have anciently existed between the 



resuUs'"*" ™""'™'' ^'™"*' necessities may well have produced similar 



As regards analogies in architectural ornaments in the new and old world 

 the same argument applies. The one most frequently met with, and per'. 

 fectly abke in Greece and Yucatan (which he would call the twisted rone or 

 stood " *" "'■"»'"''"' •''^e'y '<> be found wherever rope making was under- 



Copau may be called the City of Idols, as it abounds with monolithic 

 statues of Indian deities. The city stood on the bank of a river, and was 

 surrounded by walls ; that on the river side is stil! from CO to 90 feet in 

 height in some places The remains of a vast temple or collection of temples 

 he scattered about with innumerable fragments of mutilated ornaments and 

 statues. The statues are generally about 12 feet in height and four feet 

 square, the front and back having representations of human figures, habited 

 in a most singular manner, with towering head-dresses of feathers and skins 

 .h/f!"." ;. "e'^''V?'^°?'='' «'"' necklaces, the ears with ear-rings, and 

 the feet with sandals, hke those of the ancient Romans. The sides are carved 

 with lueroglyph.es, which no one has yet been able to decipher. They were 



hIKi '■/''"? "■■"• "° 'l""'"^ of "^''ed buildings here, though no 

 doubt such formerly existed, but immense pyramidal inounds and terraced 

 waUs are met with to a great distance in the surrounding forests 



Qmrigua is the next place of interest in this part of the country. It is in 

 many respects similar to Copau, hut probably more ancient. It consists of 

 ruined mounds and terraces, with many colossal statues, deeply buried in 

 the entanglement of a tropical forest. Some of the statues are 2C feet i" 



numl' n 1 • '"^^ "k"'' "" '""'P'"'" '' '" '"^ ""ef- ""'1 as «""»! there are 

 numerous hieroglyphics. 



At Ocosingo the arch was met with, before alluded to, with the usual 

 accompaniments of mounds and terraces, and an ornament over one of the 

 doorways not unlike the winged globe of Egypt. 



Palenqne, in Chiapas, the most southern province of Mexico, is better 

 known than any other of the ruined American cities. It was prol,;!, y aban 



Mexico to Honduras, as no mention is made of it in his despatches. The 

 principal building is called the palace. It stands on an artificial mound 

 tT^ ^:"' '1^1,^ 2«0f'- -'J ^^(^- ''igl.. with staircases on 1 e fL^ides: 

 The building Itself measures 228 x 180ft., 25ft. high, and of one story The 



front and rear have each H doorways, and eleven on each end. The piers 

 dividing the doorways still present traces of admirable stuccoes, which were 

 painted. The interior is divided into three court-yards, with a tower in one 

 ot them. Every part appears to have been elaboratelv decorated with sculp- 

 ture m stone, stuccoes, and paintings. In several i>( the apartments Mr 

 C_atlierwood noticed that the walls had been painted several times, as traces' 

 ol earlier subjects were discernible where the outer coat of paint had been 

 destroyed. The paintings were of the same nature as the frescoes of Italy 

 water colours app ied to cement. The other buildings are inferior in size tj 

 he palace but all on high mounds, richly decorated with numerous stone 

 tablets of hieroglyphics, and sculpture of figures, well executed, which have 

 awakened a lively interest in the antiquarian world. The whole is shrouded 

 in the de^pths of a tropical forest, which has to be cleared away at every fresh 

 visit of the traveller. ' 



Next came the ruins of Uxraal, which for their vast extent, their variety 

 and being for the most part in good preservation, may claim precedence of 

 any other remains of antiquity in Yucatan. (Of these a plan and view will 

 be found in Vol. VI. of the Journal, p. 135.) 



The Casa de las Moiijas, or House of the Nuns, is a building forming four 

 sides of a square, and enclosing a court-yard about 300ft. each way Each 

 of the four buildings presents a difi-erent design, so also do the rear fronts 

 and the ends, presenting no less than sixteen diti'erent fai,>ades 



The Grand Teocallis, called by the Indians the House of the' Diviner stood 

 to the eastward of the last-mentioned building, and within a hundred yards 

 of It. The pyramidal part rose to the height of 100ft. above the plain 'with 

 two noble flights of stairs leading to the platform on the top. ' 



The Casa del Gobernador, or House of the Governor, is next in importance 

 riiis immense building is constructed entirely of hewn stone, and measures 

 320ft. in front, by 40ft. in depth. The height is about 2Gft. It has 11 

 doorways in front and two at the ends. The apartments are narrow, seldom 

 exceeding 12 ft., just large enough to swing a hammock, which was. and still 

 IS, the substitute for beds throughout the country. Some of the rooms are 

 long, measuring 60 ft. and 23 ft. high. There does not appear to have been 

 any internal decorations, nor are there anv windows. The lower part of the 

 edifice IS of plain wrought stone, but the upper part is singularly rich in 

 ornament. Taking the frout, the ends, and the rear of the building, we have 

 a length of 712 ft. of elaborate carving, on which traces of painting are still 

 visib e. The peculiar arch of the country has been employed in every room 

 the lintels of the doorways were of wood, a more costly but less durable 

 material than stone, and from its hardness more difficult to be worked Un 

 fortunately they have all decayed, and the masonry they supported has' fallen 

 down, and much of the beauty of the building is thus destroyed. The Casa 

 Uel Gobernador stands on three terraces, the lowest is 3 ft. high 15 ft wide 

 and 575 long; the second is 20ft. high, 250ft. wide, and 545ft. long; and 

 the third IS 19ft. high, 30ft. broad, and StiOft. long. They are all of stone, 

 and in a tolerable state of preservation. These are the principal buildings at 

 ijxmal, and the others are much inferior in size and preservation 



At Kabah, in addition to richly decorated facades, some very curious in- 

 ternal decorations were found. At Zayi an immense edifice of three stories 

 in height. (Of Zayi a description and engraving will be found in Vol. VI.. 

 p. 135.) At Labnah a handsome gateway. At Bolonchen a natural curiosity 

 in a deep subterranean well, the descent to which is by long ranges of 

 ladders of dangerous construction. At Tuloom a walled city. At Izamal 

 some large mounds, and a colossal head. And, finally, at Ake a collection of 

 large stones on a high mound, not unlike a Druidical monument. 

 „ ; „.^ '■??*'■'' '° 'he age of these monuments, Mr. Catherwood differed from 

 Del Rio, Du Paix, Lord Kingsborough, and VValdeck. The growth of tropical 

 trees has not been sufficiently studied to make them a safe criterion to judge 

 of the age of such monuments. The accumulation of vegetable mould to the 

 depth of 9 ft. IS another proof that has been adduced in favour of their high 

 antiquity, and doubtless in a northern chmate would indicate a remote age 

 but not so in the tropics ; vegetation there is so rank and rapid, that within less' 

 than twelve months from the first visit to Uxmal. Mr. Catherwood found the 

 whole place so overgrown with shrubs and small trees, that nothing but the 

 high Tescalli were visible, and the outUne of the other monuments and a 

 thick deposit of vegetable mould covered the places they had so short a time 

 before cleared away. Mr. Catherwood met with no physical marks surely 

 indicating a high antiquity ; on the contrary, the whole course of his obserl 

 yations led him to form an opposite opinion. It is also proved by undoubted 

 testimony that many of the buildinirs, now in ruins, were in use by the 

 Indians at the time of the Spanish invasion. He did not think he should be 

 safe in ascribing to any of the monuments (which still retain their form) a 

 greater age than from 800 to 1,000 years, and those which are perfect enough 

 to he delineated he thought it likely were not more than from 400 to 600 

 years. The roots of trees, and the tropical rains, are the chief elements of 

 destruction, and daily and hourly is the work going on. Another century 

 will hardly have elapsed before the whole of these interesting monuments 

 will have become undistinguishable heaps of ruins. 



If it be so difficult to determine the age of the monuments, it can scarcely 

 be less so to ascertain who were their architects. At all events it is probable 

 that the Tolteques and their descendants erected the buildings we have been 

 considering this evening. The Mexicans, or Aztecs, adopted the arts and 

 civilization of their predecessors, and used the same method of astronomical 

 calculation. 



Air Tite observed that the greatest resemblances to the American styles 

 he had observed, were in the buddings of Ceylon aud Java, described in the 



