The daily star-mirror., 1923-01-31
maya SECRETS
ARE UNEARTKED
Story of TuIuum, Ancient City Of
Yucatan, Discovered by Car
negie Institute Experts.
find CULTURE OF HIGH ORDER
Excavations Reveal Most Valuable Key
Yet Found to Ancient Maya Civil
ization and Life of Those
"Lcst Tribes"

Washngton.-At last the story Of
Tuluum, the ancient city of the Maya
Indians In Yucatan, which once -four
ished as a center of the most highly
developed culture of America, has
come to light, through an expedition
sent out by the Carnegie institute
III its ruins Tuluum has held for CEN
turies secrets of the Maya people for
which archaeologists have been seek
ing; secrets which they declare are as
valuable as the buried treasures of
Egypt found in the recently opened
tomb of King Tutankhaumen.
The expedition, which has just re-
| turned, was under the direction of DR..
| Sylvanus G. Morely, associate in mid
| die American archaeology in the Car
! negie institute. Extensive excava-
tions were made on the site, and the
results of the work in the form of
photographs, records and relics, in
remarkable state of preservation, are
being shown to the public for the first
time in the Carnegie institute head
quarters here
Key to Ancient Civilization.
AS described by Doctor Morley, the
discoveries made at Tuluum furnish
the most valuable key yet found to
the ancient Maya civilization and to
the life of those 'lost tribes" which
are a mystery and a challenge to eth
nologists.
The Mayas were remarkable peO-
pie in many ways. Their artistic and
mechanical skill is shown in the ex-
quisite jade and feather mosaic work
which is among Doctor Morley's eX-
hibits. The Maya people measured
time by calendar system declared to
be superior to our own, and they
'volved very complicated but sound
stem of mathematics. Records and
tes were kept with an accuracy
hich has made it possible to outline
With some precision the history Of the
city.
On a cliff overlooking the Caribbean
sea, on the east coast of the Yucatan
peninsula, tribe of Maya Indians
who had presumably wandered down
from the Gulf of Mexico built the city
of Tuluum seven centuries ago. They
picked out a site admirably adapted
for defensive purposes-on one side a
sheer cliff above the Caribbean, on
the land side a gentle slope down to
the surrounding territory. The first
thing which the founders OF Tuluum
did, being wise people, was to make
the city practically impregnable by
building on three exposed sides
of land. Tuluum is the only walled |
city ever built by Maya tribes; to
this may be attributed It's 400 years |
OF prosperous existence. The wall, |
which dates from about 1900 A. d., |
was IS feet high and 80 feet thick at |
the base, we'll able to resist the bat
tering of enemy forces, with fully gar
risoned guardhouses at frequent inter
walls.
Then Came the Spaniards.
Tulium, so goes the tale found by [
Doctor Morley In the ruins, grew and
fourished on her promontory above
the Caribbean. Her people were agri-
cultural, but they believed in prepared
ness. Attacks by enemy tribes with
an eye on the treasures stored in in
creaSng quantities in temples and
public buildings were beaten off. The
records tell of a civil war among the
seeds OF future destruction were
planted.
1t is the old story of ruin coming
from within-internal weakness and
iissension making easy the way of
'oreign invaders. These first came in
1913 in the form of Spaniards, cruis-
ng along the coast under the leader
hip of Juan de Grejalva. Finding the
'ity prosperous, they marked it for fu-
ure conquest. Under Montejo they
,ame back in 1912, conquered the
Iayas after a brief struggle and took
'yer the city of 1'uuum for their own
Four hundred years of culture and
accomplishment vanished in less than
century Tuluum crumbled into
uins.
With the lost tribes of the Mayas
the oldest civilization of
forth America, carrying with it much
f rare beauty and artistic value. The
carried on last summer by
DOCTOR Morley have solved problems
rhich have puzzled archaeologists for
ears.
The most provocative of all the dis
Oyeries is evidence that the Maya
eopie had a highly developed litera-
ure of their own.
Austria Osappoints Walters.