146 APPEND.1X 



the structures above described. — (Himiholdfs Res., Vol., pp. 242, 248 ; fol. plates, 

 No. 17.) Ulloa describes an ancient Peruvian temple situated on a hill near the 

 town of Cayambe, perfectly circular in form, and open at the top. It was built of 

 unburnt bricks, cemented together with clay. — (Ulloa, Vol. I., p. 486.) 



TF.MPLF.S OP POLYNESIAN ISLANDERS, HINDUS, ETC. 



Enclosures ruder in construction, yet nevertheless analogous in form and identi- 

 cal in purpose with those here described, were found among the Polynesian Islanders. 

 The area of their temples was frequently a square or parallelogram, protected by 

 stone walls, within which were pyramidal structures, sometimes of great size. One 

 of these, within the great enclosure of Atehuru, was two hundred and seventy feet 

 long, by ninety-four feet broad, and fifty feet high ; flat on the summit, which was 

 reached by a flight of steps, much after the manner of the Mexican Teocalli. 

 Within the sacred area, and at the base of these pyramidal structures, the idols 

 were placed and their altars erected. Here also were the dwellings of the priests 

 and of the keepers of the idols. The trees and other objects within the walls were 

 sacred. — (^Ellis's Polynesian Researches, Vol. I., p. 340.) In some instances, instead 

 of an unbroken wall, the sacred area was indicated by a series of pyramidal heaps of 

 stones, placed at intervals, so as to constitute the leading points of a square, within 

 which was placed the temple proper. The ruins of a temple of this kind, called 

 Kaili, still exist in the island of Hawaii. — (U. S. Exploring Exped., Vol. IV., p. 100.) 



When we extend our inquiries to the eastern shores of the old continent, we find in 

 India the almost exact counterparts of the rehgious structures of Central America : 

 analogies furnishing the strongest support of the hypothesis which places the 

 origin pf American semi'-civilization in southern Asia. A close and critical com- 

 parison of these monuments, in connection with the systems of religion to which 

 they were respectively dedicated, and the principles which governed their erection, 

 may lead to most interesting and important results. 



In another connection, some of the more obvious analogies will be pointed out ; 

 with no view, however, of establishing dependencies, but for the purpose of illus- 

 tration and elucidation. It is suflicient for our present objects to remark, that the 

 temples of India and of the islands of the Indian seas, both of modern and ancient 

 date, are constructed and enclosed in like manner with those already described. 

 The consecrated area is sometimes of vast extent, equalling if not exceeding in 

 this respect the largest of those which existed in Mexico. These enclosures are 

 square, and usually have their entrances corresponding to the cardinal points. 

 " The general style of these buildings," says Bishop Heber, " is a large square court, 

 sometimes merely surrounded by a low brick wall, with balustrades, indented at 

 the top, with two or sometimes four towers at the angles. In the centre of the 

 principal front is, for the most part, an entrance, often very handsome. In the 

 middle of the quadrangle, or in the middle of one of its sides opposite the main 

 entrance, is a pyramid, which is the temple of the principal deity. The structure 



