﻿194 
  SOUTH 
  AMERICAN 
  INDIANS 
  [B. 
  A. 
  B. 
  Bull. 
  143 
  

  

  carelessness 
  and 
  by 
  personal 
  or 
  political 
  prejudice. 
  It 
  is 
  most 
  im- 
  

   portant 
  to 
  weigh 
  the 
  antecedents 
  of 
  all 
  this 
  old 
  material 
  and 
  use 
  it 
  

   with 
  discrimination. 
  

  

  Many 
  of 
  the 
  more 
  important 
  Spanish 
  chroniclers 
  have 
  been 
  trans- 
  

   lated 
  into 
  English, 
  mostly 
  by 
  Sir 
  Clements 
  Markham 
  and 
  P. 
  A. 
  

   Means 
  (see 
  references 
  in 
  Means, 
  1928), 
  aud 
  so 
  are 
  available 
  to 
  

   persons 
  who 
  do 
  not 
  read 
  Spanish. 
  It 
  is 
  wisest, 
  however, 
  to 
  consult 
  

   the 
  original 
  text 
  even 
  when 
  an 
  English 
  translation 
  does 
  exist, 
  for 
  much 
  

   often 
  depends 
  on 
  details 
  of 
  wording, 
  and 
  none 
  of 
  the 
  translations 
  is 
  

   entirely 
  accurate. 
  Means' 
  translations 
  are 
  generally 
  reliable, 
  but 
  

   Markham's 
  are 
  so 
  poor 
  as 
  to 
  be 
  nearly 
  worthless 
  for 
  anything 
  but 
  a 
  

   hasty 
  impression 
  of 
  the 
  author's 
  meaning. 
  The 
  frequently 
  cited 
  trans- 
  

   lations 
  into 
  French 
  by 
  Henri 
  Ternaux-Compans 
  are 
  even 
  worse. 
  (See 
  

   remarks 
  in 
  Means, 
  1928, 
  pp. 
  325, 
  409, 
  and 
  passim.) 
  

  

  Many 
  of 
  the 
  chronicles 
  remained 
  in 
  manuscript 
  until 
  modern 
  times, 
  

   and 
  a 
  few 
  very 
  important 
  ones 
  have 
  not 
  yet 
  been 
  printed 
  in 
  full. 
  

   Modern 
  editions 
  from 
  such 
  manuscripts 
  vary 
  considerably 
  in 
  accuracy. 
  

   The 
  Spanish 
  of 
  the 
  manuscripts 
  is 
  usually 
  full 
  of 
  abbreviations 
  and 
  

   inconsistencies 
  of 
  spelling, 
  and 
  the 
  frequent 
  occurrence 
  of 
  Quechua 
  

   words 
  makes 
  editing 
  especially 
  difficult. 
  Only 
  a 
  few 
  really 
  good 
  

   critical 
  texts 
  exist 
  (Avila, 
  1939; 
  Castro, 
  1936; 
  Sarmiento, 
  1906; 
  

   Estete, 
  1918), 
  but 
  the 
  partially 
  modernized 
  versions 
  of 
  Marcos 
  Jimenez 
  

   de 
  la 
  Espada 
  and 
  a 
  few 
  other 
  conscientious 
  editors 
  are 
  adequate 
  for 
  

   most 
  purposes. 
  Cheaply 
  printed 
  editions 
  have 
  also 
  been 
  published 
  

   in 
  Lima 
  by 
  H. 
  H. 
  Urteaga 
  and 
  Carlos 
  Romero. 
  

  

  Of 
  all 
  works, 
  ancient 
  or 
  modern, 
  the 
  "Historia 
  del 
  Nuevo 
  Mundo," 
  by 
  

   the 
  Jesuit 
  Father 
  Bernabe 
  Cobo, 
  written 
  about 
  1653 
  and 
  published 
  

   in 
  1890-95 
  in 
  four 
  volumes, 
  is 
  still 
  the 
  best 
  and 
  most 
  complete 
  de- 
  

   scription 
  of 
  Inca 
  culture 
  in 
  existence. 
  It 
  is 
  so 
  clear 
  in 
  its 
  phrasing 
  

   and 
  scientific 
  in 
  its 
  approach 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  pleasant 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  profitable 
  

   to 
  work 
  with. 
  As 
  Father 
  Cobo 
  explains, 
  it 
  is 
  based 
  in 
  part 
  on 
  per- 
  

   sonal 
  research 
  in 
  Cuzco 
  about 
  1610 
  and 
  at 
  Juli, 
  Lima, 
  and 
  other 
  

   places, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  manuscript 
  works 
  of 
  Juan 
  Polo 
  de 
  Ondegardo 
  and 
  

   Crist6bal 
  de 
  Molina 
  of 
  Cuzco, 
  both 
  painstaking 
  investigators 
  whose 
  

   value 
  can 
  be 
  checked 
  from 
  manuscripts 
  surviving 
  independently 
  of 
  

   Father 
  Cobo's 
  work. 
  He 
  also 
  used 
  the 
  records 
  of 
  several 
  government 
  

   investigations 
  of 
  Inca 
  customs, 
  and 
  the 
  published 
  works 
  of 
  such 
  men 
  

   as 
  Cieza 
  de 
  Le6n 
  (Cieza, 
  1554, 
  bk. 
  1), 
  Garcilaso, 
  Acosta, 
  and 
  others. 
  

   Two 
  whole 
  volumes 
  of 
  Cobo's 
  work 
  are 
  devoted 
  to 
  geography, 
  ethno- 
  

   botany, 
  animals, 
  rocks, 
  fish, 
  and 
  similar 
  material. 
  The 
  only 
  serious 
  

   fault 
  in 
  Cobo's 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  Inca 
  is 
  that 
  he 
  made 
  the 
  mistake 
  of 
  

   following 
  Garcilaso 
  in 
  dating 
  the 
  Chanca 
  war 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  Yahuar 
  

   Huacac's 
  reign 
  instead 
  of 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  Viracocha's, 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  central 
  

   history 
  of 
  the 
  Inca 
  is 
  somewhat 
  distorted. 
  Cobo 
  also 
  wrote 
  a 
  work 
  

  

  