Evening star., 1938-12-11
Science Gets First GLIMPSE
Into Curtain of Star Dust
Carnegie Institution Astronomers Report
Use of Red Light to Take Photographs

luminosity, varying with mass and
brightness, long has been used As .
measure OF stellar distances.
From these observations 4 calcu-
lation Of 200, 900, ,000, 900 900 900 miles
was made for the radius Of the suns
orbit in space. 1t traverses this orbit,
the astronomers calculated, with 4
velocity of 296 kilometers a second.
Other observations, reported by
Astronomers Paul w. Merrill and r..
F. Sanford, give strong indication
that the galactic system is rotating
as . whole, the interstellar dust and
atoms in open space moving In the
eternal revolution as well As the
stars.
Ruins Of City Surveyed.
Ruins Of an ancient walled city
nearly six miles in circumference,
buried for centuries under q blanket
Of jungle vines, have just been sur
veyed for the first time, Carnegie
archeologists reported.
A generation before the landing Of
Columbus it was the political capital
OF the new empire" Of the Mayas,
one OF the largest and most impor.
tant cities in the New World, which
had ruled for more than two CEN
turtles over a nourishing civilization.
The city, located in North Central
Yucatan, was known to the early
Spanish chroniclers as "Mayapan. !"
1t was the headquarters of the Maya
confederation Of city states. The
other members were Chicken liza
and Uxmal, at both of which extern
sive excavations have been carried
out by the Carnegie Institution.
Hitherto Mayapan has been known
only from stray references by tray
elers and . few visits by institution
workers. All the reports have been
that the ruins were insignificant In
extent. These were hard to reconcile
with the known importance of the
place In pre-Spanish days.
The Carnegie expedition, led by
r. T. Patton, found 4 6-foot wall.
from 8 to IL feet thick, inclosinR 4
rough oval about 2 square miles
in area. Near the center of this
oval were concentrated ruins of pyr-
amids. platforms, colonnades and
arched buildings, al probably built
ior religious purposes. Rising
through the thick brush were ruins
Of four round towers, presumably
used As astronomical observatories
by the Maya priests, who had at
tanned an advanced knowledge of
the stars and planets. There are
also . number of stelae, or stone
pillars, upon which dates were re-
corded.
Architecture Il Inferior.
Mayapan, the archeologists found.
was built long after the golden age
Of Maya architecture. The archi-
lecture Is far inferior to that of
other large Yucatan cities. In only
= few places did the Indian masons
make any effort to smooth the faces
OF their limestone building blocks.
Instead they covered the faces Of
their structures with stucco. The
place has the characteristics of 4
boom town." The earliest date
found on a stella corresponds to the
year 1l85 and the latest to 1893
presumably covering about the mid
Ole period Of Mayapan's Importance.
The city was supposed to have
been founded, according to Mava
accounts preserved by the spaniards,
BY = semi-mythological Kukulcan
who came out Of the north and
organized the New Empire out Of
the disorganized remnants Of the
old. This Kukulcan is now believed
to have been An actual human being
and probably, in his own right, one
OF the most remarkable figures in
human history. As the memory Of
the real man grew dim, however, he
was confused with q Mexican sod
ana became = supernatural figure,
Kukulcan Bringer Of Peace,
Kukulcan was primarily q bringer
OF peace. Under the dominance of
his new city there was no war in
the land of the Mayas for more than
2OO years, during which time the
people rose to heights of material
prosperity. Chichen Itza remained
the holy CITY," although, from the
ecclesiastical ruins remaining, Maya
pan also had considerable RELIGIOUS
as well As political importance. In
theory the three city states were
equal and this presumably remained
true 50 long as the influence Of
kukulcan was felt.
Eventually, according to the
stories gathered by the Spanish
chroniclers, the rulers of Mayapan
high priests rather than kings-
became more and more domineertng
and finally, early In the 18th Gen.
tury, attacked Chicken Itza and
drove out the inhabitants. Chichen
retaliated . few years later by cap
turing and destroying Mayapan,
thus bringing an end to the long
rule Of peace.
Decline In Prosperity.
From that time on there was
continual pickering between the
States and = continuous decline In
prosperity. When the spaniards
came they found . divided people
who fell an easy prey to gunpowder.
Mayapan is the second walled city
found In the Maya area. The other
was 4 small place which Is not men,
toned in the Spanish chronicles.
The great wall 10 made Of dry laid,
rough blocks Of limestone.
No excavations were attempted
this year. Members Of the expedi-
ton content6d themselves With sur
veying the wall by means Of . line
Of sight cut through the thick brush
just inside and with making some
surveys inddo th0 oval.