denly arrested by a remarkable fortification. It was a stone wall, nine feet in height and twenty in thickness, with a parapet, a foot and a half broad, raised on the summit for the protection of those who defended it. It had only one opening in the centre, made by two semicircular lines of wall overlapping each other for the space of forty paces, and affording a passageway between the parts, so contrived, therefore, as to be perfectly commanded by the inner wall. This fortification, which extended more than two leagues, rested at either end on the bold, natural buttresses formed by the Sierra Madre. The work was built of immense blocks of stone, nicely laid together without cement; and the remains still existing, among which are rocks of the whole breadth of the rampart, fully attest its solidity and size. This singular structure marked the limits of Tlascala, and was intended, as the natives told the Spaniards, as a barrier against the Mexican invasions. The army paused, filled with amazement at the contemplation of this cyclopean monument, which naturally suggested reflections on the strength and resources of the people who had raised it.

"The fruitfulness of the soil was indicated by the name of the country-Tlascala, signifying the land of bread. The mountain barriers by which Tlascala is encompassed, afforded many strong natural positions of defence.*"

The march of the army afterward brought the Spaniards to a point where they could get a view of the whole region, with its lofty mountain peaks, which, lifted their snow-covered heads toward the sky; also the great plateau stretched out toward the sea. To the west of them stood the mysterious pair of volcanoes, like sentinels watching over the scene. Below was the rich valley of Mexico, with its beautiful lakes and many cities.

Prescott says: "The sides of the sierra were clothed with dark forests of pine, cypress, and cedar, through which glimpses now and then opened into fathomless dells and valleys, whose depths, far down in the sultry climate of the tropics, were lost in a glowing wilderness of vegetation. From the crest of the mountain range the eye travelled over the broad expanse of country which they had lately crossed, far away to the green plains of Cholula. Towards the west they looked down on the Mexican valley, from a point of view wholly different from that which they had before occupied, but still offering the same beautiful spectacle, with its lakes trembling in the light; its gay cities and villas floating on their bosom; its teocallis touched with fire; its cultivated slopes and dark hills of porphyry stretching away in dim perspective to the verge of the horizon. At their feet lay the city of Tezcuco, which, modestly retiring behind her deep groves of cypress, formed a contrast to her more ambitious rival on the other side of the lake, who seemed to glory in the unveiled splendors of her charms as Mistress of the Valley."†

See Prescott's "Conquest of Mexico," Vol. I, page 278. + See Prescott's "Conquest of Mexico," Vol II, pages 35-36.

Now, this picture, which our much admired and learned historian has drawn, is very suggestive, for it convinces us that the very scenery and topography which so impressed the Spaniards on their arrival, had also affected that remarkable people which had grown up in the midst of these environments and had developed so strange a civilization in these different regions. It was undoubtedly owing to the fertility of the soil and the resources of the country that the Aztec tribe, who had settled beside the beautiful lake, had grown into a powerful people, and were able to usurp power over all other tribes. This situation had already developed in them an aggressive spirit, so that the native chiefs were in a fair way to become, like the Incas of Peru, the despots who held all the region under their control.

As to the architecture which existed in this region at the time of the conquest, we cannot say that this originated with the Aztecs or Miztecs, or any of the known tribes of the Nahuas, or that they were at all influenced by the scenery or the surroundings, for according to all accounts they were inherited by that mysterious people called the Toltecs, who in turn had received them from the people of the Maya stock, their beginning dating as far back as the Christian era

It appears that architecture in Mexico reached during the prehistoric age, a stage of advancement quite equal to that which prevailed in other parts of the world during the early days of history, and yet it was an architecture which arose during the Stone Age-the structures which were erected, having been brought into their shape by the aid of stone tools alone, and without any of the appliances which other nations seem to have adopted, though a few copper implements, perhaps, were used for the more delicate touchings of prehistoric sculp

ture.

It may be that the architecture and the art should be assigned to what is coming to be called, "the Copper Age." rather than the Stone Age; yet even with this distinction, it is a matter of wonder that a rude uncivilized people could have accomplished so much in this direction. Some maintain that there was a period in Greece and Asia Minor when art and architecture reached a very high stage, and that there was afterwards a decline; the age immediately preceding the opening of history being in reality in advance of that which followed; but here in Mexico there was no decline until the advent of the Spaniards, and the subjugation of the people to their oppressive dominion. It is not strange that the barbaric magnificence of the so-called cities of Mexico surprised the conquerors, and that they compared the palaces and temples which they saw, to the Alhambra and other wonders of architecture in Europe. Nor is it surprising that their descriptions of what they saw should seem like exaggerations, for they were undoubtedly colored and made vivid by an imagination which had been excited by this strange scene into which they had

entered. It is not easy, even at the present day, to look through the mountain scenery upon the modern cities, withou being deeply impressed. But to the discoverers, as they looked down upon those marvelous ancient cities which were scattered through the beautiful valleys and spread along the shores of the silvery lakes, they seemed like the visions of another world. Those cities were laid in ruins, and nearly everything that had been erected by the native races has vanished from the sight. All is modern and new, yet every traveler who visits Mexico, and who examines the remains of the glory which has departed, is impressed with the superiority of the architecture of the prehistoric races.

It will be, then, instructive to take the testimony of a few of those travelers, who have visited Mexico, and give a picture of the scenery and the architecture as they described it. The archæologists may be divided into two classes: the one class is disposed to magnify the excellence of the art and architecture. of Mexico and Central America, and to make the civilization of a superior character. Such take the descriptions of the early historians and writers as literally true, and do not discriminate between that which was imaginative and that which was real. The other class take a theory for their guidance, and enter these provinces with the purpose to prick the bubble of exaggeration, and bring everything to familiar standards, and are inclined to reduce everything down to the level of a rude aboriginal culture, which had not reached even the level of the barbaric races in other countries. Among the first class we will place M. D. Charnay, the famous archaeologist, and Mr. H. H. Bancroft, the historian. In the other class, Mr. L. H Morgan, the famous ethnologist, and Mr. Ad. F. Bandelier. Between the two we may strike a medium, which shall be near the truth, and may be taken as correct.

We begin with Mr. Charnay's description of the ancient ruins which he saw and the summary which he has drawn. He says: "We are filled with admiration for the marvelous building capacity of the people; for unlike most nations, they used every material at once; they coated their inner walls with mud and mortar, faced their outer walls with brick and stone, built wooden roofs, and brick and stone stair-cases. They were acquainted with pilasters, with caryatides, with square and round columns. Indeed, they seem to have been familiar with every architectural device. That they were painters and decorators we have ample indications in the houses of Tula, where the walls are decorated with rosettes, palms, and red and white and grey geometrical figures on a black background.

It is difficult to explain how, with the tools they had, they could cut, not only the hardest substances, but also, build the numerous structures which are still seen in Mexico and Central America, together with the sculptures, bas releaves, statues, and inscriptions, like those which have been discovered.

Clavigero says that stone was worked with tools of hard

stone; that copper hatchets were used by carpenters, also to cultivate the soil and to fell trees.

Mendieta writes that both carpenters and joiners used copper tools, but their work was not so beautiful as that of the sculptors, who had silex implements.

Charnay further says: "It is known that there are copper mines in Mexico, and discoveries have been made which show that these mines were worked in prehistoric times. In one old mine there was found amid the rubbish, 142 stones of different dimensions, shaped like hammers and wedges, the edges of which were blunt or broken. Copper has been found in Chili, Colombia, Chihuahua, and in New Mexico. Before the conquest, the Indians procured lead and tin from the mines, but copper was the metal used in mechanical arts."

Bernal Diaz says: "In my second expedition the inhabitants brought upwards of 600 copper hatchets, having wooden handles, equisitely painted, and so polished that at first we thought they were gold. Copper tablets, varying in thickness and shaped like the Egyptian tau or crescent shaped, were used as currency in various regions. The American tribes had reached the transition point between the polished stone and the bronze period, which was marked by considerable progress in architecture and some branches of science. With them this period lasted longer than in the Old World, owing to their never having come in contact with nations of higher civilization, or with those who possessed better tools."

Now, it is to the development of art and architecture in Mexico, during the Stone and Copper Ages, that we would call attention. We have already intimated that this process began far back in the prehistoric period, and in the region far south of Anahuac, among the famous Maya stock, but was transmitted by the Toltecs. As to their origin and early history, we are not at all certain, for there are many things which show that they like the Incas of Peru, had brought in with them a civilization which had been derived, or at least affected by that which prevailed thousands of years before on the Asiatic continent.

The Toltecs were well instructed in agriculture and many of the most useful mechanical arts; were nice workers of metals. They invented the complex arrangements adopted by the Aztecs. They established their capital at Tula, north of the Mexican valley, and the remains of extensive buildings have been discovered by Charnay and others. The noble ruins of religious and other edifices still to be seen, are referred to the people whose name, Toltec, has passed into a synonym for architect. They entered the territory of Anahuac, about 600 A.D.; 400 years later they disappeared as silently and mysteriously as they had entered it. After the lapse of another hundred years, a rude tribe, called the Chichemecs, came down from the northwest. Still later, the Aztecs and Tezcucans entered the land from the north as wild tribes, but rapidly grew into a civilized. people.

EDITORIAL NOTES.

The Ethnological Bureau has lost within a few weeks two of its best and brightest assistants, Mr. F. H. Cushing and Dr. W. H. Hoffman. The gentlemen were at the time that THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN was started young men just commencing their career as archæologists. They have both, made a world-wide reputation for themselves, and have won the confidence and friendship of all their associates and fellow-workers in the department which they represented. Mr. Cushing was always a very courteous gentlemen; self-sacrificing and self forgetful. He may be said to have sacrificed his life in zeal for the science of archæology. Dr. Hoffman was an indefatigable worker and spent much time among the aborigines in collecting their myths, studying their ceremonies, and interpreting their picture-writing. It is with a sense of personal loss that the Editor writes this short notice of their departure.

THE EARLIEST INSCRIPTIONS FROM CHALDEA.-These were pictorial ideographs, suggested by the object represented, but with a secondary meaning. A star represented not only a star, but the sky, and finally the idea of God. A circle represented the sun, the day, and light. Rain is represented by two characters; one of which represents water, and the other sky, which equals sky-water. A tear is represented by the character for water added to that for eye, which equals eye-water. A mountain is represented by three triangles; a range of mountains by six triangles. The ideograms of Chaldea are precisely similar to those of China made up of lines or wedges, read in columns from top to bottom and from right to left. The Babylonian characters are equivalent to Chaldean ideographs, though the Babylonian characters had a phonetic value. The early ideographs are composed of straight lines and are rectilinear. Through such characters many profound truths were made known. One ideogram signifies "Lord is the King of Heaven"; another character means "Evil of heart"; another means "Great Lord, King of mountains and cultivated lands."-Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archæology, December 5, 1899; article by Sir H. H. Howorth.

SAND BURIED CITIES.-A paper on Central Asian antiquities was read by Mr. Rudolf Hoermle, Ph. D., before the International Congress of Orientalists in Rome, October, 1899, describing the sand buried cities in eastern Turkestan and the antiquities and manuscripts found in them. One city, five miles west of the Chinese city Khotan, occupies the site of the Buddhist city of Khotan in the early centuries of our era. It is buried, not in loose, moving sand, but in a compact stratum of loose clay about twentyfive feet thick. Embedded in the stratum were found pottery, coins, seals, figures, and other antiquities. Dr. Sven Hedin has given a description of the place.

Another city, called Aq Safil, or "White Battlements," is one of the proper sand buried cities. Here are the basement platforms of two ancient stupas. At this place manuscripts were found, as well as coins and seals; the manuscripts are of two kinds, those resembling the European book or Indian "Pothi", written in Indian sanskrit characters, and those written in an unknown language and strange characters. The manuscript of the first kind belonged to the period dating about 600 A. D., and those of the second group were dug out from a mound circular in shape, five feet wide, two feet high, situated in "a sand buried graveyard" in the desert of Takla Makan, probably the remains of an ancient stupa or tumulus. In the mound were found two small bronze figures of horsemen, a pillow bag, and in the bag a manuscript, with a copper rivet through it.