Union and American. [volume] (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1875-1877, 1876-07-27
Prehistoric America.


ly be deemed a reflex of special
activity on our part, for prior to
the voluminous compilation by
Bancroft of San Francisco. moth :
ing of value had appeared in this
country sicce Stephens explora>
tion is in Yucatan. Moreover, the
m aterials amassed by Mr.. Ban-
croft, while presenting-an exhaus~
t i've summary Of the information
accessible in books, are not skill
fully co>ordinated or carefully
graded with respect to weight and
authority, neither are the precise
problems to be solved and the true
methods of elucidation distinctly
enunciated. All this was done,
however, by the Congress of So
called AZ ericanisteS, whose last
meeting was held at Nancy, and
whose report, lately published, con.
stitutes a digested programme of
the work to be accomplished.
Confining ourselves to the oon,
tiuent of North America, we find.
three nations whose vestiges may
be expected to reward scientific in
vestigation. These dominant ra.
ces are the Mound Builders of the
Ohio and Mississippi valleys, the
Nahuas, whose principal monu>
ments are encountered on the plat
eau of Anahuac, and the Mayas,
whose progressive development
seems to have eliminated in Hon.
duras and Yucatan. These GEN.
of civilization were apparent indie
pendent of one another, and what
is actually known respecting them
may be stated in a few words.
The basins Of the Mississippi
and its eastern tributaries present
three or four successive terraces
formed by the alluvial deposits Of
the streams. Now, the tumuli, of
which thousa nd have been discol.
cred between Lake Erie and the
Gulf of Mexico, are invariably
placed on the highest of the levels
and from this circumstance some
arch@ologiSts have sought to ap~
proxlmate the date of their con-
struction, 1t is noteworthy that
these mounds in certain cases ex-
hibit correct geometrical shapes,
squares, and circles, for example,
as regular as if they had been
traced by a modern engineer. Else
where they represent in relief the
colossal images OF animals or men
here bird with outstretched wings
and there an alligator with twisted
trunk, bent tail and open mouth.
in the act of swallowing q smaller
eg g-shapcd mound. Some of these
tumuli are considerable size, one
in Illinois measuring at the base
$50 feet by 480, and reaching
height of ninety feet above the
soil. They seem TO have served
in many instances as fortresses, in
others as places of sacrifices. Be-
sides bones, various objects have
been disinterred, indicating a cer>
tain stage of progress in the arts.
Among these may be mentioned
cut fints, earthenware Of graceful
shapes, and pipes elaborately carv-
ed. Silver and copper were like.
wise employed by the Mound
both metals being prob
ably derived from the mines of
Lake Superior.
There existed then in the Miss.
issippi basin numerous people
dwelling under the same laws and
the same religion, since remains
identical in character are found
throughout an extensive
territory. They were apparently
an agricultural race, since nomads
erect no permanent structures.and
moreover the region which they
elected to inhabit is the most fer-
tile of North America. For their
epoch they were manlfestly civiliz-
ed, yet their work, like certain
Egyptian monuments, ,evinces more
perseverance than artistic skill. |
That they were religious, is dem,
oustrated by many edifces which
can only have subserved purposes
1f worship and their cruelty may |
be inferred from the fact that the
Of their altars
abounds invcstiges Of human sac.
rlhcess This substantially sums
our knowledge OF the Mound
But when did the ma
tion disappear, and was it the an
Q stor Of the Mayas and Nahuas
who colonizOd Mexico and Central