Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-01-28


in civilization. The traditions indicate, that, in
the earlier times, they had been very powerful
and influential, if not supreme. These differ.
ences and peculiarities of the people suggest
that there was a period when Peru, after an i'm
portant career of civilization and empire, was
subjected to great political changes brought
about by invasion and revolution, by which the
nation was, for long time, broken up into sep.
arate states.
The testimony of the monuments confirms the
old Peruvian traditions which say there was a
more ancient empire than that of the incas,
which had in some respects, higher ciyiiza-
ton; and that between the two there was peri
cd of disorder and decline. In the beginning of
the first empire, its capital was at Lake Titicaca,
in the valley of Cuzco, where, according to all
tradition, the Peruvian civilization made its first
appearance. Afterwards, as the empire grew,
the city of Cuzco was built at some distance
north of the lake. The beautiful valley of
Cuzco is the most elevated table land on the con-
tinent, Lake Titicaca being nearly $4,000 feet
above the sea-level. Were it not within the trop-
| les, it would be a region of eternal snow, for it
is more than 1000 feet higher than the beginning
of perpetual snow on Mont Blanc. Near it are
some of the higher peaks of the Andcs,-Sora-
to, Irimani. Gulateiri, and Sahama, The ruins
at Lake Titicaca are older than the Spanish Con-
quest, and may be much older than the advent
of the incas. Consequently, before their time,
there was an ancient history of Peru which can
not be written, and of which but little is known.
INVESTIGATIONS OF MoNTEsINos.
| oF btrG
and one or two by native Peruvians educated in
Spain who knew as little of the ancient times as
the Spaniards themselves. The gold-hunting
marauders who overthrow the incas, gave no at
tention to the antiquities of the country. They
were chiefly interested in the vast amounts of
| gold and silver found in it, and made it their
chief business to Cypress, rob, and destroy the
people. One Spaniard, however, Fernando
Montesinos, had both disposition and opportu-
nifty to study carefully everything relating to
the ancient history of Peru. He went there
sometime after the conquest, in a capacity which
required him to visit every part of the country,
and gave him access to all sources of informa-
ton. Montesinos was well educated, intelligent,
and industrious, and he seems to have had spec
ial aptitude as well as enthusiasm for such in
quiries. He devoted fifteen years to this inves-
| tigation, collecting traditions and national
songs, studying the antiquities, and gathering
| information from the most learned of the ma
tive Peruvians those especially who were most
| skllful in reading and translating the quippuS.
The result was two manuscript works on Peru
which have been preserved in Spain, and
| studied by some of the later historians.
| 1t has been the fashion to depreciate Monte
sinos; and yet, it is admitted that "none equaled
| him in arch geological knowledge of Peru" This
depreciation has been occasioned, partly by the
| fact that he gave the Peruvian civilization a
much greater antiquity than historical critics
have been disposed to accept, and partly be-
cause like all writers on the New World, in
that age, he advanced certain fanciful and I'M
| tenable hypothesis to explain it, AT the pres
ent time, some of the more learned investigators
are giving his works respectful attention. The
value of his discoveries is not affected either by
his hypothesis or his chronology. We may dis
card these and still find in his works important
| information in regard to the ancient history of
Peru, which can be found in no other writer of
that age, and which no other writer had quail
fed himself to give.
According to the information collected by
Montesinos, there were three very distinct Pc
RODS in the history of Peru, previous to the
time of Pizarro, First, there was long period
of civilization and empire, which began in the
remote past with people or community settled
in the valley of Cuzco, and was extended
through the whole country occupied by the later
Peruvians. Second, period of disorder and
decline occasioned by the successful invasion of
semi-barbarous people from the east and
southeast, when many of the arts of civilization
were lost. Third, the period of the meas who
restored civilization and re-established the en-
pire. The date of that semi-barbaran invasion
he places in the first or second century previous
to the Christian Era, and says, the period of
disintegration and disorder lasted over a thou
sand years, during which there was much
change and almost perpetual war between the
several states into which the country was di.
vided. The art of writing in characters was
lost at this time and never afterwards recovered
He estimates that the period of the incas ex-
tended over about five hundred years previous
to the arrival of the Spaniards; and, according
to his doubtful chronology, the old empire
which the semi-barbarians destroyed, began at
Lake Titicaca, more than 1000 years previous to
its overthrow
His theory that Peru was the "Ophir" of the
Hebrew Scriptures, has nothing to do with his
facts; and his attempts to reconstruct Peruvian
chronology and fix ancient dates in Peruvian
history, may be freely criticised without Great
ing reasonable doubt of the substantial cor
rectuess of his general outline of that history.
The monuments bear witness, as all admit that
there was earlier civilization than that of the
incas. MontesinGa finds much other evidence of
the same fact. For this reason, as well as on
account Of his superior knowledge of the an
Equities, his works are important Whoever
undertakes to criticise his facts needs to be his
equal in knowledge of the subject; but critic
thus qualified is not now likely to appear. His
works tell us all that can ever be known of the
ancient history of Peru, for most of the facili-
ties for investigation, which existed in his time,
are no longer possible.
He found in the traditions and the native
songs which had been handed down from an
tiquity, that the Peruvians, in the first grea.
period of their history, had the art of writing in
NH"h"N'0i0' li"u0 paper Vi pIantaln leaves and
called it quetlca, and were more highly skilled
in the knowledge and use of metals than the
incas. But this art of writing was lost in the
dark and troubled period between the old en-
pire and that of the meas. 1t is generally as
sumed that the Peruyians had at no time A
knowledge of iron. The assumption NAV be
correct; but there are some considerations that
make it doubtful. Iron ore was and still is
very abundant in Peru. 1t is impossible to con-
ceiye how the Peruyians were able to cut and
work stone in such mastery
struct their grea' - al
- 'e
s-1. aHa a a.I.e