The Prehistoric World or Vanished races Part 39

But this plain is almost dest.i.tute of easily defended positions; which fact has an important bearing on the purpose for which the great mound was erected. At a distance it presents all the appearance of a natural hill. The casual observer would not believe it was entirely the work of men. "In close proximity," says Mr. Bandelier, "the mound presents the appearance of an oblong conical hill, resting on projecting platforms of unequal length. Overgrown as it is with verdure and partly by trees, and with a fine paved road leading to the summit, it looks strikingly like a natural hill, along whose slopes the was.h.i.+ng of the rains and slides have laid bare bold bluffs, and into whose bulk clefts and rents have occasionally penetrated."

Ill.u.s.tration of Pyramid of Cholula.------------

This celebrated mound or pyramid has lately been the subject of a very careful study by Mr. Bandelier. The ill.u.s.tration we present gives us a very good idea of the present appearance of the mound. The ma.s.s is probably solid throughout, and if there is a natural hill in its center, it must be a very small one. The height of the central higher ma.s.s is very nearly two hundred feet.<33> The present appearance of the summit is entirely due to the Spaniards. At the time of the conquest the summit was convex; the friars had it leveled in order to plant a cross. The area of this upper platform is not far from two-thirds of an acre. It is now paved and surrounded by a wall.

In the ill.u.s.tration we detect the appearance of terraces. These are level areas, not all of the same height; neither do they extend entirely around the mound. In fact, the present appearance indicates three projections, or ap.r.o.ns, surrounding and supporting a conical hill, and separated from each other by wide depressions. This central mound, with its three projections, rests upon a very extensive platform, which was probably cross-shaped. This platform seems to have been about twelve feet high, and covered an area of at least sixty acres.

The object for which this great pile was erected is a topic that has exercised the thoughts of many scholars. Some have supposed it was a burial mound. Some years ago, while in constructing a road from Pueblo to Mexico, the first terrace or story was slightly dug into, and disclosed a chamber, which contained two skeletons, two idols, and a collection of pottery. Yet, before deciding it to be a burial mound, it will be necessary to show the presence of tombs near the center.

We have referred to the results of Mr. Bandelier's explorations. He made a very thorough study of this great pyramid--more complete than any that had hitherto been made--and his results should have corresponding weight. He finds that the materials of which the adobe brick is composed are exactly the same as that of the surrounding plain. This does away with one old tradition, that the bricks were manufactured at a distance, and brought several leagues to their destination by a long line of men, who handed them along singly from one to another.

From the manner in which the bricks are laid, and from their variation in size, he concludes that the structure was not all erected at one time, but that the mound is the acc.u.mulation of successive periods of labor. From this it follows that it was built to serve some purpose of public utility, and not as a token of respect for some individual.

Wherever found, these great works show the same evidence of not being all completed at once. This was true of the North; we shall also find it true of the South. Charney noticed the same thing in the house at Tulla.

Nothing is more natural than that an Indian community would increase their buildings as the tribe increased.

Mr. Bandelier's final conclusion in regard to the purpose of its erection is one of great interest, but not at all surprising. "If we imagine the plateaus and ap.r.o.ns around it covered with houses, possibly of large size, like those of Uxmal and Palenque,<34> or on a scale intermediate between them and the communal dwellings of Pecos and many other places in New Mexico,<35> we have then, on the mound of Cholula, as it originally was, room for a large aboriginal population. The structure, accordingly, presents itself as the base of an artificially elevated, and therefore, according to Indian military art, a fortified, pueblo."

But this does not remove from it the air of mystery. Long-fallen indeed are the communal walls. It was not simply a few years ago that these pueblo-crowned terraces were reared. The date of its erection is hid in the dim traditions of the past. The traditions of the Nahua tribes, who came at a far later date, speak of it as even then standing on the plain. Scattered over the plain are other ruins of a somewhat different nature from the general ruins in the valley. These may be the ruins of works erected by the same cla.s.s of people as built the mounds.

Especially is this thought to be true of ruins found on the slopes of neighboring volcanoes.

To the south-west of Cholula are the ruins of Xochicalco, which, by some, are p.r.o.nounced to be the finest in Mexico. There are many points of resemblance between this ruin and Tezcocingo. The meaning of the word is "Hill of Flowers." The hill is a very regular, conical one, with a base nearly three miles in circ.u.mference, and rises to a height above the plain of nearly four hundred feet.<36> The hill is considered to be entirely a natural formation; but it probably owes some of its regular appearance to the work of man. Around the base of the hill had been dug a wide and deep ditch. When Mr. Taylor visited the place, the side of this moat had fallen in, in many places, and in some quite filled up--but it was still distinctly visible.<37> The whole surface of this hill was laid off into terraces.

Five of these terraces, paved with blocks of stone laid in mortar, and supported by perpendicular walls of the same material, extend, in oval form, entirely around the whole circ.u.mference of the hill, one above the other. From the acc.u.mulation of rubbish, these terraces are not easy to detect in all places. Probably, at one time, there was some easy means of access from one terrace to the other, but they have disappeared--so that now the explorer has to scramble up intervening slopes of the terraces as best he can. It is probable that defensive works once protected these slopes.

Mr. Mayer says: "At regular intervals, as if to b.u.t.tress these terraces, there are remains of bulwarks shaped like the bastions of a fortification."<38> "Defense seems to have been the one object aimed at by the builders." The top of the hill is leveled off. Some writers represent that a wall of stone was run along the edge of the summit but others think that the whole top of the hill had been excavated, so as to form a sunken area, leaving a parapet along the edge. This summit-platform measured two hundred and eighty-five feet by three hundred and twenty-eight feet. Within this area were found several mounds and heaps of stones. The probabilities are that it was once thickly covered with ruins. In the center of this sunken area are the remains of the lower story of a pyramid, which the inhabitants in the vicinity affirm to have been once five stories high.

To judge from the ruins still standing, this must have formed one of the most magnificent works of aboriginal skill with which we are acquainted.

This cut gives a general idea of the ruins from the west. We presume the broken appearance presented by this side is in consequence of the removal of stones by planters in the vicinity for their own use. It seems they have used this monument as a stone-quarry. This pyramid, or the first story of it, was nearly square--its dimensions being sixty-four feet by fifty-eight.

Ill.u.s.tration of Xochicalco.-----------

The next cut is an enlarged drawing of the north-west corner seen in the first drawing. Notice the grotesque ornamentations on it. The ornaments are not stucco-work, but are sculptured in bas-relief. As one figure sometimes covers parts of two stones, it is plain they must have been sculptured after being put in position. The height of this front is nearly fifteen feet. In the left-hand corner of this sculpture will be perceived the bead of a monstrous beast with open jaws and protruding tongue. This figure is constantly repeated in various parts of the facade. Some have supposed it to be a crocodile. The rabbit is another figure that constantly reappears in portions of the wall.

Ill.u.s.tration of Enlarged View of Ruins at Xochicalco.----

We can scarcely realize the labor involved in the construction of this pyramid and the terraced slope. Some idea may be formed of the immense labor with which this building was constructed from measurements made of several of the ma.s.ses of porphyry that compose it. One stone was nearly eight feet long by three broad. The one with the rabbit on is five feet by two and a half. When it is recollected that these materials were not found in the neighborhood, but were brought from a great distance, and borne up a hill more than three hundred feet high, we can not fail to be struck with the industry, toil, and ingenuity of the builders, especially as the use of beasts of burden was, at the time, unknown in Mexico. Nor was this edifice, on the summit, the only portion of the architect's labor. Huge rocks were brought to form the walls supporting the terraces that surrounded the hill, a league in circ.u.mference, and the whole of that immense ma.s.s was eased in stone. Beyond these terraces, again, there was still another immense task in the ditch, of even greater extent, which had to be dug and regularly embanked.<39>

Now, what was the object of all this labor? This must have been the center of a large settlement. It seems that the surrounding hills--or, at least, some of them--were also terraced. Mr. Taylor says: "On the neighboring hills we could discern traces of more terraced roads of the same kind. There must be many miles of them still remaining." In a Mexican book we are told "adjoining this hill is another higher one, also covered with terraces of stone-work in the form of steps. A causeway of large marble flags led to the top, where there are still some excavations, and among them a mound of large size." Mr. Latrobe, from the top of the "Hill of Flowers," saw that it was the center towards which converged several roads, which could be traced over the plain. The road he examined was "about eight feet in breadth, composed of large stones tightly wedged together." It is extremely probable that in Xochicalco we have another instance of a strongly fortified hill, on the top of which was their pueblo, arranged around their teocalli, or temple.<40>

In our description of this ruin we must not forget to mention some curious underground chambers, excavated in the hill itself. On the northern slope, near the foot, is the entrance to two galleries, one of which terminated at the distance of eighty feet. The second gallery is cut in solid limestone, about nine feet square, and has several branches. The floors are paved with brick-shaped blocks of stone. The walls are also, in many places, supported by masonry, and both pavement, walls, and ceilings are covered with lime-cement, which retains its polish, and shows traces, in some parts, of having had originally a coating of red ocher. The princ.i.p.al gallery, after a few turns, finally terminated, or appeared to, in a large room eighty feet long, in which two pillars were left to support the roof. In one corner of this room there was a dome-shaped excavation in the roof, from the apex of which a round hole about ten inches in diameter extended vertically upwards.

The natives say there are still other excavations. We have seen no good explanation of the uses of these excavations. The labor in constructing them must have been very great. In the province of Oaxaca we shall find several groups of ruins. In all probability those known and described are not more numerous than those unknown. The cla.s.s of ruins represented by Quemada, Tezcocingo, and Xochicalco (that is, a hill strongly fortified, with traces of a settlement on the summit, mounds, foundations of communal houses, and pyramidal structures) are also to be found here. At Quiotepec we have very meager accounts of such a ruin.

The hill is over two miles in circ.u.mference and a thousand feet high.

A running stream has rendered one side of the hill very steep and precipitous, but the other sides are terraced.

One of the terrace-walls at the summit is about three hundred and twenty feet long, sixty feet high, and five and a half feet thick.<41> On the summit of the hill are found great numbers of mounds, foundations of small buildings, as well as ruins of statelier buildings, called by some palaces, but which were probably regular communal structures; also the pyramid base of a temple. At different points near the summit of the hill are three tanks or reservoirs, one of which is sixty feet long, twenty-four feet wide, and six feet deep, with traces of steps leading down into it.

Still further south, near the center of the state at Monte Alban, is a more extensive group of ruins on the same general plan as the one just described. In this case, from the banks of a stream, there rises a range of high hills with precipitous sides. At their summit is an irregular plateau half a mile long by nearly a quarter of a mile wide. M. Charney states that a portion of this plateau is artificial. He represents the whole surface as literally covered with blocks of stone--some sculptured--the ruined foundations of buildings, terraces, and so forth.

He regards it as one of the most precious remains of aboriginal work, and this is the view of Mr. Bandelier also. It is to be regretted that we have not more details of such interesting ruins. We, however, would learn but little new from them. One ruin is spoken of as an immense square court, inclosed by four long mounds, having a slight s.p.a.ce between them at the ends. It is extremely probable that these mounds once supported buildings.

The most celebrated ruin in Oaxaca is Mitla. These are the first ruins we have met that, by their strange architecture and peculiar ornamentation, suggest some different race as their builders. The present surroundings are of the gloomiest character. The country is barren and desert. The valley in which the ruins are located is high and narrow, but surrounded by bleak hills. The soil is dry and sandy, and almost devoid of vegetation. The cold winds, blowing almost constantly, sweep before them great clouds of sand. A small stream flows through this dreary waste, which, during the rainy season, is a raging torrent.

"No birds sing, or flowers bloom," around these old ruins. Appropriately enough, tradition speaks of this as the "Place of Sadness," or "Dwelling of the Dead." As to the extent of territory covered by the ruins, we have not been able to learn further than the general statement that at the time of the conquest they covered an immense area.<42>

Ill.u.s.tration of Wall at Mitla.-----------------

Mr. Bandelier found, besides two artificial hills, traces of thirty-nine distinct edifices, and, as he thinks these are all the buildings that ever stood there, it is manifest that this was not a city in our sense of the word. Two or three of the buildings were constructed of adobe, plastered, and painted red. The others were built of stone. Of these latter the greater part stands upon the ground, but a few are built upon elevated terraces, composed of stone and earth heaped together and faced with stone. In one group of four buildings the terraced foundation contained a bas.e.m.e.nt--in one case, at least--in the form of a cross. The purpose of this cellar or bas.e.m.e.nt left in the artificial foundation is unknown. Some think they were used for burial purposes but it is more likely they were general store-rooms. The arrangement of these buildings was the same as elsewhere. That is, so placed as to inclose a court.

This ill.u.s.tration shows us the method of constructing the walls of the building. We notice two distinct parts. The inner part is built of broken stones laid in tolerably regular courses in clay. There was no mortar used. This inner core is much the same sort of work as the masonry in the pueblos of Arizona. A facing was put on over this inner core, which served both for ornament and for strength. This ill.u.s.tration is a corner of one of these buildings, and gives us in excellent idea of the peculiar ornamentation employed at Mitla. Mr. Bancroft gives us a clear idea of how this facing was put on: "First, a double tier of very large blocks are placed as a base along the surface of the supporting mound, projecting two or three feet from the line of the wall, the stones of the upper tier sloping inward. On this base is erected a kind of framework of large, hewn blocks with perfectly plain, unsculptured fronts, which divide the surface of the wall into oblong panels of different dimensions."<43>

Ill.u.s.tration of Ornamentation at Mitla.------------

It would, then, seem as if the panels were thickly coated with clay.

Into this clay was then driven small, smoothed blocks of wedge-shaped stones, in such a way as to cover them with geometrical ornamentations, which, though not absolutely symmetrical, present a striking and agreeable appearance. Each section of the wall presents a different pattern, but this difference is so slight that the general effect is harmonious.<44> This mosaic ornamentation is found in some of the inner facings of the walls as well. In general, however, the walls on the inside were covered with mortar and painted.

Ill.u.s.tration of Hall at Mitla.-------

Some of the blocks of stone forming the bas.e.m.e.nt, the framework of the panels, and the lintels of the door are of great size, and the lintels were in some cases sculptured. One of the largest rooms at Mitla is represented in the preceding cut. The peculiar feature about it is the range of columns seen in the drawing. The inner plastering has fallen, exposing the rough wall. The columns are simple stone pillars, having neither chapter nor base. It is generally supposed that these pillars supported the roof. As in the pueblo buildings to the north, as well as the Toltec house at Tulla, the roof was probably formed of the trunks of small-sized trees laid close together and covered with clay and cement.

We have as yet not seen any thing in these ruins sufficiently striking to justify the somewhat extravagant a.s.sertion made about them. The ornamentation is indeed peculiar and tasteful, but aside from that, we see no reason to speak of them as magnificent structures. The buildings are low and narrow; the rooms are small, dark, and illy ventilated.

"Light could only have been admitted from one side, and the apertures for this purpose were neither lofty nor broad." Mr. Bandelier fittingly characterizes the ruins as the "barbaric effort of a barbarous people."

Those scholars who think we have in Mexico the ruins of a highly civilized, powerful empire, regard these ruins as in some way set aside for mourning purposes of the royal family. "According to tradition,"

says Mayer, "They were... intended as the places of sepulture for their princes. At the death of members of the royal family, their bodies were entombed in the vaults beneath; and the sovereign and his relatives retired to mourn over the departed scion in the chambers above these solemn abodes, screened by dark and silent groves from the public eye."

Another tradition devotes the edifices to a sect of priests, whose duty it was to live in perfect seclusion, and offer expiatory sacrifices for the royal dead who reposed in the vaults beneath.<45>

With all due respect to traditions, we think a much more reasonable explanation can be given. One reason why Mitla has been regarded as such an important place, is because it has been a.s.sumed that there were no other ruins like it, especially in Mexico. This, according to Mr.

Bandelier, is a mistake. He examined one or two quite similar ruins in the near vicinity, and at another place he found a group of ruins in every way worthy of being compared to Mitla, but he was not able to examine them. So we must either decide there were a number of these "Sepulchral Palaces," or else adopt some simpler explanation. But still stronger is the fact, that at the time of the conquest, Mitla was an inhabited pueblo. We have the account of a monk who visited it in 1533.

He mentions in particular the ornamentation of the walls, the huge doorways, and the hall with the pillars. It is extremely probable that if it was devoted to any such purpose, some mention would have been made of it. We think Mr. Bandelier is right when he concludes that these structures are communal buildings, but little different from others.

As for the other ruins in Oaxaca, we will not stop longer to examine them. At Guingola, in the southern part of the State, was found a ruined settlement. The princ.i.p.al ruins were located on the summit of a fortified hill, which, from a brief description, must have been much like those we have already described.

We will now turn our attention to the Gulf-coast. The whole coast region abounds in great numbers of ruins. It is in this section, however, that tribes of people belonging to a different family than the Nahua tribes, were living at no very distant time in the past. So it is not doubted but that many of these ruined structures, perhaps the majority of them, were the works of their hand. When Cortez landed on the coast, in the neighborhood of Vera Cruz, he was received by the Totonacas. These were a Nahua tribe, but both to the north and south of them were Maya tribes.<46> We will, however, describe the ruins in the present State of Vera Cruz under one head.

We notice, on the coast, the Gulf of Tampico, into which pours the river Panuco. From an antiquarian point of view, this is a most interesting locality. It was here that a feeble remnant of De Soto's disastrous expedition found a refuge in 1543. And it was here that, at a far earlier period, according to the dim, uncertain light of tradition, the ancestors of some of the civilized nations of Mexico made their first appearance; of this, more hereafter. Certain it is that, commencing at this river, we find ourselves in a land of ruins.

It is to be regretted, however, that our information is not definite in regard to them. We are told, in general terms, of a great field of ruins, but in the absence of cuts, can scarcely give a clear description of them. On the northern bank of the Panuco, Mr. Norman found at one place the ground "strewn with hewn blocks of stone and fragments of pottery and obsidian."<47> They were found over an area of several square miles. Many of the blocks of stone were ornamented with sculpture. They imply the presence, in former times, of some kind of buildings. We can not form an opinion as to the number, style, etc. Mr.

Norman regards them as the ruins of a great city, the site of which is now covered with a heavy forest.