The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1876-07-20
PRGHIgTC2IC AMERICA.

IS exciting growing attention in Europe
! This movement Of antiquarian research
can scarcely he deemed reflex of spec
ial activity on our part, for prior to The
volaminoHs compilation by Bancroft of
San Franchises, nothing of value had ai-
peared in this country since Stephens
explorations in YGcatan. Moreover,the
materials amassed by Mr. Bancroft,
while presenting an exhaustive summary
OF the information accessible in books,
are not skiifully eo-ordinated OF carefully
graded with respect to weight and au-
! thority, neither are the precise problems
to be solved and the true methods of
eiucidation distinctly cnunciated All
this was done. however, by the COZ, gross
of so-c;lled ABacy'icanistes, whose last
meeting was held at. Nancy, aud whose
report, lately published, constitutes
digestea programme OF the work to be
accomplished.
Coniining ourselves to The continent
| OF North America, We find three nations
whose vestjges may be expected to re-
! ward scientific investigation. These
| dominant races are the Mound Builders
of the Ohio and Elississippi Valleys, the
Nahuas, whose principal monuments are
encountered on The plateau of Anahuac,
| and the Mayas, whose progressive de-
;londuTas and Yucatan The centers of
civilization were apparently Independent
| of one another, and what is actually
| known respecting them may be stated
/ III !: few words.
The basins OF the Mississippi and its
| eastern tributaries present three or four
successive terraces formed by the alluv-
ial deposits of Tie streams. Now, the
trlnuli, of which thousands have been
discovered bet woen Lake Erie and the
Gulf of Mexico, are invariably placed on
the highest Of these levels, and from
/ this circumstance some archMologists
have sought to approximate the date of
! their construction. 1t is noteworthy
| that these mounds III certain cases ex-
| hibit correct geometrical shapes, squares,
and circles, for example, as regular us
| If they had been traced by modern
engineer. Elsewhere they represent in
relief lie colossal images Of animals or
men, here 4 bird with outstretched wings,
and there all alligator with twisted trunk,
| bent tail, and open mouth, N the act of
swallowing q smaller egg shaped mound.
/ Some of these tunuli arc OF considerable
size, one in Illinois measuring at the
base G60 feet by $50, and reaches a
| height OF 50 feet above the soil. They
seem to have served in many instances
as fortresses, in other places of sacrifice.
Besides bones, various objects have been
disinterred, indicating a certain stage OF
| progress III the arts. Among these may
be mentioned cut fints, earthenware OF
/ graceful shapes, and pipes elaborateiy
carved. Silver and copper were like
wise employed by the Mound Builders,
both metals being probably derived from
the mines OF Lake Superior.
There existed then in the Mississippi
basin a numerous people dwelling under
the same laws and the same religion,
since lennains identical in character are
! found dispersed throughout an extern
si7o territory. They were apparently
an agricultural race, since nomati5 erect
no permanent structures, and moreover
the region which they elected to inhabit
is the most fertile of North America
For their epoch they were 'manifestly
civilized, yet their work, ike certain
Egyptian monuments, evinces more per-
severance than artistic skill. That they
| were religious is demonstrated by many
edifices which can only have subservcd
purposes of worship, and their cruelty
may be inferred from the fact that the
neighbo1hood Of their affairs abounds in
vestiees Of human sacrifices. This sub
stanjiaily sums our knowledge of the
Mound Builders. But when did the na-
ton disappear, and was it the ancestor
OF the Mayas and Nahuas who colonized
Mexico and Central America ? That is
one of the problems which still awaits
solution. Doubtless the pyramidal form
| of certain earthworks is but vague in
dex of relationship, since the Same ar
chitecturai type is encountered in the
Nile valley nj the dawn of another civil
ization. And again, if ali the primitive
races of North America were Of one
| L hot tI,n IN
terrnediaie territory of Arkansas, Louis
lana. and Texas reveals 10 traces of mi
grafton?
The origin ard history Of the flourish
ing nation which confronted Cortes on
the plateau of Mexico have hitherto re-
maincd in1peRetratable to ameteur and
iitful research. 1t is yet questionable
whether the cradle of the race may be
| detected in the ctJsas graadGs, or the
abodos OF the Pueblo Indians of New
Mexico and Arizona. 1t seems, hnwev-
er, that about the fifth century OF cur
| era Anahuac or the ssland of waters. =
was occupied by the Toltecs, q branch
OF the Nahua stock, to whom Aztec tra-
| dit;on ascr:betl the finest Mexican mon
umenss. The Toitecs were prosperous,
rich, and in many respects enlightened.
AT al events, the civilization which they
bequoathed to succeeding races was lit
tie inferior to that of the Spanish con-
querors. Gradually exhausted by re-
/ paatei famines and destructive civil wars,