xxxii 



the deluge of Coxcox, and the first migra- 

 tions of the natives of the Azteck race 

 I have endeavoured to prove the striking 

 analogies which exist between the calendar 

 of the Toltecks, and the catasterisms of 

 their zodiac, and the division of time of 

 the people of Tartary and Thibet ; as well 

 as the Mexican traditions on the four re- 

 generations of the globe, the pralayas of 

 the Hindoos, and the four ages of Hesiod. 

 I have also included in this work, in addi- 

 tion to the hieroglyphical paintings I 

 brought back to Europe, fragments of all 

 the Azteck manuscripts, which are found 

 at Rome, Veletri, Vienna, and Dresden, 

 and of which the last reminds us, by its 

 lineary symbols, of the kouas of the Chi- 

 nese. Together with the rude monuments of 

 the natives of America, the same volume 

 contains picturesque views of the moun- 

 tainous countries, which these people have 

 inhabited ; such as those of the cataract 

 of Tequendama, of Chimborazo, of the 

 volcano of Jorullo, and of Cayambe, 

 the- pyramidal summit of which, covered 

 with perennial ice, is situate directly un- 

 der the equinoctial line. In every zone 



