MEXICAN HISTORY AND ARCHEOLOGY; 

 ZAPOTEC AKCHITECTURE, ETC., AT MITLA. 



CHAPTER I. 



During the last twenty years, the attention of students has been directed with 

 much zeal to the investigation of American Archaeology. The peopling of our 

 continent, the romantic ideas attached to the remnants of our Indian race, the 

 strangeness of their architectural remains, and sometimes mere curiosity, have been 

 the motives for this labor; yet it is to be regretted that no very definite historical 

 results have been obtained from these studies, and that it is probable the future 

 will be equally barren of scientific certainty. The works of McCulloh, Schoolcraft, 

 Gallatin, Rafinesque, Bradford, Squier, Davis, Lapham, Whittlesey, and others, 

 in regard to the aboriginal remains within the limits of the United States; and 

 the publications of the American Ethnological Society ; the vast repository of Lord 

 Kingsborough's volumes relative to Mexican antiquities; the admirable work of 

 Antonio Gama ; the illustrated publications of Stephens, Catherwood, Norman, and 

 Squier, on Yucatan, Central America, Nicaragua, and Honduras ; the Crania Ame- 

 ricana of Morton, and the Peruvian Antiquities of Von Tschudi, — have presented 

 us, mainly, the physical remains of our ancient continent; but, while they serve 

 to stimulate our curiosity and wonder, they have done very little in elucidating 

 the national antiquity or personal story of our aborigines. After a careful study 

 of all these books, the question may still be properly asked : Who were the Indians 

 of this northern continent and whence did they come? Who were the Toltecs, 

 Chichimecs, and Aztecs of Mexico? What was their origin, and what are the facts 

 and exact chronology of their history? Who built and dwelt in the civilized 

 cities of Yucatan? What was the origin of the wealth, refinement, and polity of 

 Peru? Who were the Araucanians? In fact, excepting the fanciful traditions of 

 the northern tribes at the period of European occupation, and the few scattered 

 "picture writings" and legends of Mexico, we have very little but architectural, 

 image, and utensil remains, to inform us 'how far the inhabitants of the western 

 world had advanced beyond the mere supply of animal wants, towards those higher 

 degrees of intellectual and social progress, in which taste, sensibility, and moral 

 feeling expand into civilization. 



This progress is shown by the traditions or written history of all people who have 



emerged from barbarism. They hunger, and, at first, allay the cravings of appetite 



by the fruits of the earth, or invent the simplest instruments to pursue the chase. 



They suffer from cold, and clothe themselves in the skins of beasts they have 



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