The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-04-26
HAS LOST ATLANTIS
BEEN DISCOVERED?
Evidences of Ancient Race Are
Found in Mexico
TIE AzTECS ANTEDATED
Fragments of Pottery Clay, Dolls and
other Remains Found Near City
of Mexico Give Rise to New
Theory About Atlantis

| San Antonio, April 25.-tSpec1al) J
Has the Atlantis of the ancients beer
found? This is the question Prof Wi
litm Niven is very much interested II
after having examined the gravel pit:
near Atzcapotzalco in which large de
posits of siliconized fragments of pot.
terry, clay dolls, images and statuars
were found. So far Professor Niver
has not been able to go into the mat
ter with any degree of thoroughness
but he is convinced that the remains
found antedate the civilization of the
Aztecs. The fragments are found in
a gravel deposit at a depth of from
| to 10 feet and are considerably wa
ter worn. The fact that the gravel
stratum is covered by several feet of
volcanic matter, especial scoriae, attests
to the great age of the pottery and
may possibly lead to the conclusion
that the Atlanteans met a fate sim
liar to that of the Pompeiians.
According to Herodotus and other
ancient writer's Atlantis was a land
with a wonderful climate and very fer
tile soil and its people enjoyed high
state of civilization. Little was known
of the country outside of tnis and its
general geographical location was in
dicated by the statement that it lay
| beyond the Pillars of Hercules-the
modern Gibraltar and Ceuta. The the
DRY accepted heretofore is that At
| lantis was a big island in the At
lantic, the body of water named after
it, which in the course of time became
engulfed by, the waters of the ocean,
all rema lining visible of it today be-
ing the Canary and Madeira islands
a rather odd feature of this is that the
word Atlantis is as good a member of
the language of the Anahuans, Mex
icos most ancient people, as it is in
that of the old Greeks.
Professor Nivens views on the sub
ject are discussed by George A. Schrein-
er in the following interesting article:
schriner's Argument
To say at this time that the gravel
and brick clay pits at Atzocapotzalco in
the City of Mexico basin have given
to light the remains of the civilization
of mythical Atlantis is somewhat I'M
justified. But in naming the fashion
ers of pottery and other clay wares
that have been found in them, At
lanteans, Prof. William Niven may have
hit the nail squarely on the head, for
there is much to support this theory.
In Nahuatl, Atlantis is as good a word
as it is in ancient Greek, the Ian
guage that first acquainted us with
the name of this mysterious country
and did little else. Herodotus tells
Us that beyond the Pillars of Hercules
there was once upon a time, as the
| fable starts, a country very rich in
everything-a land full of happiness.
other travellers and writers of his age
mention the fact that Atlantis could
not be found although many who went
TO dwell in this paradise ventured far
beyond the Happy Isles, now known as
the Canaries and Madeiras. Others
again express the belief that Atlantis
had been swallowed up by the ocean
| it named and that the rock masses
forming the Canary and Madeira groups
were merely the highest peaks of the
sunken continent standing, as it were,
as silent sentinels over a glory that
had departed forever.
This is about all we know of Atlantis
the Fair At its best the information
is meager and has been partly dis
proved through photographic surveys
made in the vicinity of the Canaries
and Madeiras.
Teneriffe. the greatest of the
Canary islands, has been shown to be
of volcanic origin; in fact, its volcano
| is still very much alive and the 9th
ers owe their existence to the same
force. That Atlantis could be found
in tn ose regions, as the statement of
the old writer's indicated, is therefore
| TO be dismissed as a myth
Passed Into History
| But that Atlantis existed and had
probably passed into gray antiquity
long before the Ayran race left Bac-
| tria cannot be doubted, for had not
| the historians of his time placed alb
solute confidence in the accounts of this
| mysterious country Herodotus would
not have mentioled it. What is more
from his casual mention of the fact
We must conclude that whatever tn ere
was still known of Atlantis in his DAYS
was common property.
But the question now is, could the
high plateau of Mexico been the home
| of the Atlanteans? There are several
factors that would seem in favor of
| liio lHeIe Is one all important one
and that is pathological in character
1t is a we'll known fact that the Ana
huans, Mexican people occupying a
rather high place in progress and who
made room for the Toltecs and Aztecs
later on, had form of speech in which
| tt and "tlan" and similar combina
lions of consonants and vowels pre-
| dominated. The same Is true of the
Aztec and Toltec languages. 1t is quite
possible that this is merely coincidence
but If 1t is we may say that 1t Is >.
| rather remarkable one.
| The second factor is one of about the
same weight. The fragments of pottery
| and statuary found in the gravel pits
had been buried long enough to have be-
come siliconized and form a solid forma-
tioE at a depth of from seven to ten
feet, being covered by gravel and CLAY
deposits and above these by volcanic
ashes. to the surface of which belong
the Toltec and Aztec periods in Mexico
| The great antiquity of the remains
discussed is for these reasons we'll es.
tablshed. While pottery and iodls of thu
Aztecs are found on the same site in
| great quantities on and near the surface
those of the provisional Atlantans are
found beneath the volcanic deposits and
firmly imbedded in stratum of grave
and clay that may, prior to some mighty