A]S"CIENT CIVILIZATION OF AMERICA. 61 



thinks that the sculptured human figures, fragments of which are 

 found, must have approached in justness of proportien and sym- 

 metry, the Greek models. 



The ruins of Uxmal represent the fourth and last era of the 

 ancient civilization of Mexico and Central America. This brings 

 us down to the time of the Spanish conquest. At that time it had 

 begun to be a ruin which was complete in 1673. 



The most important edifice was named by the Spaniards " Casa 

 del Gobernador." It is 320 feet long, and was built of hewn stone, 

 laid in mortar or cement. The faces of the Avails are smooth up to 

 the cornice. There follows on all four sides, one solid mass of rich, 

 complicated, and elaborately sculptured ornaments, forming a sort 

 of arabesque. 



Before leaving this geological division, mention should be made 

 of the astronomical monument, described by Captain Dupaix. 

 In the Mexican State of Oaxaca, near the village of Mecamecan 

 is an isolated granite rock, which was artificially formed into a 

 kind of pyramid, with six hewn steps facing the east. The summit 

 of this structure is a platform, well adapted to observation of the 

 stars on every side. It is supposed that this yery ancient monu- 

 ment was devoted to astronomical observations. On the south side 

 of the rock are sculptured several hieroglyphical figures, having 

 relation to astronomy. The most striking figure in the group is a 

 man in profile, standing erect, and directing his view to the rising 

 stars in the sky. He holds to his eye a tube or optical instrument. 

 Below his feet is a frieze divided into six compartments, with as 

 many celestial signs carved on its surface. 



Our third geographical division, the valleys of the Mississippi 

 and Ohio Rivers, includes the remains of the ancient people called 

 the Mound-Builders. Their ruins are the most numerous in the 

 south, extending from the Gulf of Mexico, to West Virginia, Ohio, 

 Michigan, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and probably further west. They 

 consist of mounds and inclosures. In these mounds have been 

 found ornaments and implements made of copper, silver, obsidean, 

 porphy, and greenstone, finely wrought. Also, axes, single and 

 double; adzes, chisels, drills, or gravers, lance-heads, knives, bra- 

 celets, pendants, beads, and the like, made of copper; articles of 

 pottery, elegantly designed and finished; ornaments of bone, mica 

 from the Alleghanies, and shells from the Gulf of Mexico. For- 



