The morning news., 1889-03-29
VERY ANCIENT AMERICA.
Our History Said to Date back 1000
Years.
From the Philadelphia Times.

can hlstOry"-SO say some OF our leaulnR
,uhlishers. If there be any truth in the
assertion, and coming from so good an au-
tho.ity there must be some, its amount d.
,ends. perhaps, on what is meant by 'Ameri-
rrsn history Some would have it begins
With the Declaration of Independence, other
vonld carry it back to the Roman conquest
of Britain, others again would date it from
tbe days of Columbus, or to the AZtecS, or
the Toltecs, but DIR. LIE Plougson, of Brook
Ivn. would begin it 10000 or II, 900 yea s
600 and he has accumulated a vast mass Of
eyidence in proof of his assertion that the
history Of our country began ITO centuries
ago. - a
and much money in careful investigation
of the evidences of high aid ancient civil
i2stion in Yucatan, relates the New York
Commercial Advertiser, and the light they
have thrown upon some questions shows
testimony that is certainly startling to the
merely superficial student of the history of
of this continent. Ali tho world has long
recognized the fact that state of high
civilization existed here before the inroads
of the Spaniards. The Aztec domination
in Mexico is dated back to the twelfth or
thirteenth century, and that of the Toltecs
TO about the period of the christian era,
both races having migrated, it is supposed,
from the north. Before that all is doubtful.
Monaghan traces have been detected in the
people and indications of Egyptian resem-
blance have been noticed, but there are no
definite ideas on the subject further than
those that have been formulated until now.
THE OLDEST LIVING LANGUAGE.
In the Mayas of YGcatan, Dr. LIE Pom
oeon finds all that remains of the early in
habitants of the continent, and the evi-
dence through traditions, history aid Ian
guage that Central America was i'll truth
the Land of the West" where the ancient
Fgypt;aus believed that the souls of good
men were transported to dwell an ruls
among the blessed According to this the
Mava language is the oil lest living language
In the world, and the one to which must be
traced MANY forms that hitherto lost them
selves in Asia. When the Spaniards in-
vaded the continent they studiouslY das-
troyed as far as they uld II vestges of
native literature, but some Maya manu-
scripts escaped, their office. and fro n these
import mt historic data have been obtained.
The history of the creation. tn allegory
of the tree of knowledge, the account of the
deuge and the subsequent recreation are
Just before us i form more beautiful
even than that of the Bible. The writing,
meme, meme tekeL uphGrSin, is exclaimed in
the Maya tong exactly according to the
interpret alton of the prophet. The roots of
local names in India are found IN the same
language and in tie names Of the Greek
alpha bet. DR.. LIE Plongeon finds a psalm
in Maya which equals anything that has
come to us from the Sanscrit or Hiudoo-
stance. Here, too, we find the original de-
scription of the destruction of Atlantis,
given by Plato as a tradition among the
prizes of Egypt. Thus a. this late dav we
seem to bridge over that 1900 years which
the learned Greek recorded as the period
during which, in consequence OF great cata-
cly,ms, there had been an interruption be-
tween Egypt and the Glands of the west"
THE BIRTHPLACE OF CIVILIZATION.
DR.. LIE PodgeJn's position is this: That in
Central America we have the site of the earli-
est historic civilization, and that to the land
of the Mayas must be traced back the civil
ization, legends, traditio and, to a great
extent, the languages of india of the Chal-
DEANS the Egyptians and others. He re-
CARDS this as fact, not as a
theory; a fact proved by abundant
evidence which he has in his possession a I'd
whi he declares to be irrefragable. Much
of the evide ce was extre nelly valuable.
and all of it is full of interest-so full that
the wonder is that it has not long ag) been
gathered into one Of the great museums,
and put before the word as discoveries in
the line Of true American history. 1t COM
prises sevent seven stereoscopic plates
from Chichen-Itza, nj nilety-five from Uxmal,
seven from Axe, sixty from Yucatan and
Ne
These photographs illustrate houses, ruins,
royal residenc S, tennis courts, funeral
chambers, astronomical observatories and
other buildings of the far distant period
mentioGed.
The archaoIogist will note many points
of interest in them all. The ornamentation
is suggestive of the Greek as well as the In
dian, and the general style Of architecture
points to the type from whic1 the Egyp-
tiaIfs derived their characteristic featu es,
except perhaps the outside ais, which ap-
pear to have been always perpendicular. 1t
would seem that although the kevst ne arch
was unknown, the principle of the dome
was understood. In places where the arch
was needed the walls were found to be in
variably ten feet high, and ten feet again
from the top of that TO the apex. In some
insta C s the walls met; in theirs there was
a short space, covered by fiat stone. The
material was the fine birthstone In which
Yucatan abounds. The ca wings are fine
and sometimes very beautiful and they
were in all instances covered with an ex-
tremely tain coating of fine cement, sup
posed to consist of lime and the juice Of
some plant. 1t was not glaze, although it
would appear that glass was not unknown,
a small but interesting specimen of blue
glass tube having been found in one place
among the debris
Many frescoes were discovered. and Mrs.
16 IlOngeOn has NUMBER OF valuable out
lines from them which show a much higher
artistic excellence than anything of the
kind that has come to us from ancient
Egypt From there it is evident that hu-
man bodies were cremated and funeral urns,
with portions of the body partially cremated
or embalmed, have been found. Axes SINH
lar to those now used in the Pacific islands
and a sort of javelin and shield appear to
have been the chief weapons of war. Ar
row heads are found, but no evidence Of the
bow, and it seems likely that the heads
were in ended for the javelin or short spear,
which can not have been more than four
feet in length.
Sculptured figures are sometimes tinted,
but the colors, although tinted when first
exhumed, faded when subjected to the
rough treatment of the Mexican authorities.
In this collection there are nearly 300 mol
and casts of inscrip ions and ornamental
carvings taken by process which insures
durability as well as accuracy, and, DIR.
lie Plongeon has besides carefully prepared
plans OF the most important buildings, in
Guiding the observatory, castle, msu 5oleum,
and palace at Chichen-Itza, the palace, gov
ernors home and sanctuary or Masonic
temple at Uxmal, some building at AXE,
ana mounds and ancient gnomons at Maya
pan. One of the royal residences con-
talned no less than 100 rooms. BY means
OF these plans, aided by photographs and
numerous castings, it would not be difficult
10 reproduce any of the principle structures,
which thus would illustrate the earlier era