﻿Vol. 
  XLI, 
  No. 
  2 
  

  

  WASHINGTON 
  

  

  February, 
  1922 
  

  

  AL 
  

   API 
  DC 
  

  

  COPYRIGHT. 
  1 
  922. 
  BY 
  NATIONAL 
  GEOGRAPHIC 
  SOCIETY. 
  WASHINGTON. 
  D 
  C 
  

  

  THE 
  FOREMOST 
  INTELLECTUAL 
  ACHIEVE- 
  

   MENT 
  OF 
  ANCIENT 
  AMERICA 
  

  

  The 
  Hieroglyphic 
  Inscriptions 
  on 
  the 
  Monuments 
  in 
  the 
  

  

  Ruined 
  Cities 
  of 
  Mexico, 
  Guatemala, 
  and 
  

  

  Honduras 
  Are 
  Yielding 
  the 
  Secrets 
  

  

  of 
  the 
  Maya 
  Civilization 
  

  

  By 
  Sylvanus 
  Griswold 
  Morley 
  

  

  Carnegie 
  Institution 
  of 
  Washington, 
  Author 
  of 
  "The 
  Excavations 
  at 
  Quirigua, 
  Guatemala," 
  

   in 
  the 
  National 
  Geographic 
  Magazine 
  

  

  DURING 
  the 
  first 
  millennium 
  be- 
  

   fore 
  Christ, 
  while 
  yet 
  our 
  own 
  

   forebears 
  of 
  northern 
  Europe 
  

   were 
  plunged 
  in 
  the 
  depths 
  of 
  barbarism, 
  

   there 
  developed 
  somewhere 
  in 
  Middle 
  

   America, 
  probably 
  on 
  the 
  Gulf 
  Coast 
  of 
  

   southern 
  Mexico, 
  a 
  great 
  aboriginal 
  civ- 
  

   ilization 
  called 
  the 
  Maya, 
  which 
  was 
  des- 
  

   tined 
  to 
  become 
  the 
  most 
  brilliant 
  expres- 
  

   sion 
  of 
  the 
  ancient 
  American 
  mind. 
  

  

  Somewhat 
  later, 
  probably 
  about 
  the 
  be- 
  

   ginning 
  of 
  the 
  Christian 
  era, 
  the 
  Maya 
  

   seem 
  to 
  have 
  found 
  their 
  way 
  into 
  what 
  

   is 
  now 
  the 
  northern 
  part 
  of 
  Guatemala, 
  

   the 
  Department 
  of 
  Peten, 
  and 
  the 
  States 
  

   of 
  Chiapas 
  and 
  Tabasco, 
  Mexico, 
  and 
  

   here 
  for 
  the 
  next 
  6oo 
  years 
  they 
  flour- 
  

   ished 
  most 
  amazingly. 
  (See 
  the 
  supple- 
  

   mentary 
  map 
  of 
  "The 
  Countries 
  of 
  the 
  

   Caribbean.") 
  

  

  During 
  these, 
  centuries 
  this 
  highly 
  

   gifted 
  people, 
  not 
  inaptly 
  called 
  "the 
  

   Greeks 
  of 
  the 
  New 
  World," 
  were 
  slowly 
  

   fighting 
  upward 
  from 
  savagery 
  through 
  

   barbarism 
  to 
  the 
  threshold 
  of 
  civilization. 
  

  

  Their 
  priests 
  and 
  astronomers 
  were 
  

   gathering 
  from 
  the 
  stars 
  the 
  secrets 
  of 
  

   time 
  and 
  its 
  accurate 
  measure, 
  the 
  revolu- 
  

   tions 
  of 
  the 
  sun, 
  moon, 
  and 
  planets 
  ; 
  their 
  

  

  mathematicians 
  and 
  chronologists 
  were 
  

   devising 
  a 
  calendar 
  and 
  chronology 
  which 
  

   was 
  without 
  peer 
  on 
  this 
  continent 
  and 
  

   excelled 
  by 
  none 
  in 
  the 
  Old 
  World 
  at 
  

   that 
  time 
  ; 
  their 
  builders 
  were 
  develop- 
  

   ing 
  an 
  architecture 
  at 
  once 
  unique, 
  digni- 
  

   fied, 
  and 
  beautiful 
  ; 
  their 
  sculptors 
  were 
  

   carving 
  the 
  most 
  elaborate 
  compositions 
  

   and 
  designs 
  in 
  stone 
  ; 
  their 
  leaders 
  had 
  

   mastered 
  the 
  problems 
  of 
  social 
  and 
  gov- 
  

   ernmental 
  organization 
  and 
  were 
  admin- 
  

   istering 
  the 
  state 
  adequately 
  and 
  well. 
  

   In 
  short, 
  a 
  great 
  national 
  life 
  was 
  quick- 
  

   ening 
  to 
  its 
  fullest 
  expression. 
  

  

  The 
  zenith 
  of 
  their 
  civilization, 
  how- 
  

   ever 
  — 
  indeed, 
  the 
  intellectual 
  climax 
  of 
  

   all 
  civilizations 
  — 
  was 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  

   a 
  hieroglyphic 
  writing 
  which, 
  moreover, 
  

   was 
  the 
  only 
  system 
  of 
  writing 
  in 
  the 
  

   New 
  World 
  worthy 
  of 
  comparison 
  with 
  

   the 
  earlier 
  graphic 
  systems 
  of 
  the 
  Old 
  

   World, 
  such 
  as 
  those 
  of 
  Egypt, 
  of 
  Baby- 
  

   lonia, 
  and 
  of 
  China, 
  for 
  example. 
  

  

  MAYA 
  WRITINGS 
  TRANSFERRED 
  TO 
  STONE 
  

   BEFORE 
  THE 
  BIRTH 
  OF 
  CHRIST 
  

  

  This 
  hieroglyphic 
  writing 
  was 
  doubt- 
  

   less 
  first 
  developed 
  upon 
  wood, 
  fiber- 
  

   paper 
  or 
  skins, 
  but 
  shortly 
  before 
  the 
  be- 
  

  

  