had occupied that country, before the Aztec tribes, at a very early period, and it will be seen hereafter, from other evidences, that their antiquity may be carried back still further. 2. Their general resemblance. It is impossible to survey the remains of the monuments of these ancient nations, without perceiving, however much they may vary in minor details, that they proceeded from branches of the same great race; and for this reason all these ruins have been embraced in one general view, without distinction of authorship. A strict and particular analogy it would be unphilosophical to expect; for, notwithstanding the common origin of their authors, they had been separated, probably for many ages, into distinct societies and governments; but yet, from Zacatecas in the north, to Guatemala and Yucatan in the south and east, we can trace certain leading and marked characteristics in the productions of the arts, which tend to give them a general similitude in style and appearance. One of the most common indications of this uniformity, is the presence of enormous pyramids; and when these are absent, or are not to be discerned in the form of perfect pyramids, the same species of structure may be observed in immense pyramidal terraces, which served as the bases of more finished and elaborate buildings,—and this too at widely separated points, for the edifices at Zacatecas bear a striking similarity to those situated at the south of Mexico. Large quadrangles and courts surrounded by buildings--walls covered with cement and paintings--the employment of the Cyclopean arch-extensive aqueducts, broad and paved roads or causeways-the style of sculpture the peculiar form of the figures in the religious or mythological representations, common even to the Mexican manuscripts the evidences of similar astronomical systems, and the use of the same system of hieroglyphics, all indicate a decided analogy in the arts, customs and institutions of these nations. This topic, however, will receive more deliberate attention hereafter; and in the mean time let us proceed to the examination of the aboriginal monuments in South America. CHAPTER VI. ANTIQUITIES IN SOUTH AMERICA. SOUTH AMERICA, at the discovery, presented in the character and condition of its inhabitants, an appearance very similar to that exhibited in the northern continent. Over the greater portion, were scattered numerous families of the Red race, elevated in no respect above a state of barbarism, though still preserving some feeble traces of a lost civilization, in their customs and traditions. All these tribes appeared to be of the same stock, and to be characterized by the same physical and social peculiarities as the North American Indians. In the remaining part, there were several nations which were justly entitled to be considered, at least, as semi-civilized; and among these the Peruvians were pre-eminent. Under the guidance of their enterprising sovereigns, in a career of conquest steadfastly pursued for more than four hundred years, they had subjugated, and retained under their permanent dominion, neighboring tribes and kingdoms, until their empire comprehended northern Chile on the south, and the kingdom of Quito on the north, and extended from the Pacific on the west, to the easterly Cordilleras of the Andes.* Civilization, however, was not confined within these limits: Chile, into which country the restless and * Garcillasso de la Vega, vol. p. 16. Humboldt's Personal Narrative, vol. v. pp. 85, 86. Humboldt's Res., vol. i. p. 177. Yupanqui, the tenth Inca, was compelled to desist from a further prosecution of ambitious Incas had penetrated with their armies, and the northern portion of which they appear to have conquered, was occupied by various tribes far advanced above the savage state; and to the north and north-east of the kingdom of Quito, there were nations, whose attainments in the arts were second only to those of the Peruvians. Of the history of these civilized races we have no knowledge, save such as may be gathered from their traditions, or from the Peruvian chronicles,and the latter are of too suspicious a character for implicit reliance, particularly when they relate to the customs, institutions and condition of those tribes which they conquered, previous to their subjugation. But the ancient remains still visible throughout this territory, after the lapse of so many centuries, afford data for comparison with the monuments of other aboriginal nations, and for important conclusions as to the origin and the migrations of their authors. Mounds. Earthen mounds are found in Colombia, Peru and Chile, similar to those of North America, and like them, containing the bones of the dead, besides articles which disclose to us many proofs of the degree of civilization attained by their builders. The plains of Varinas, about north Latitude 7°, exhibit some of these monuments, consisting of artificial conical hills, which are found between Mijagual, and the Cano de la Hacha. Over the greater part of the country, formerly comprised under the government of the Incas, tumuli are of frequent oc the conquest of Chile, by the valorous resistance of the Purumanco Indians, after having successfully carried his arms as far as the river Mauli, in lat. S. 34° 30'. Ulloa's Voyage, vol. ii. p. 266. Molina's History of Chili, vol. ii. p. 10. currence; they are called Huacas, by the natives, and being sepulchres, have also been made the depositories, according to the aboriginal custom, of much of the riches and treasure of the deceased. Some of them contain galleries, built of stone or brick, and communicating with each other.* The method of forming these mounds appears to have consisted in depositing the body of the dead, without interment, in the place where it was to rest, surrounding it with a tomb of stones and bricks, and then throwing earth upon it until the Guaca had attained the desired elevation. Their usual height is about from fifty to sixty feet, their length from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty feet, and their breadth somewhat less, though there are some much larger; their form is generally oblong. One, about a mile and a half south of Lima, which contained some human skulls, is nearly two hundred feet high. observes, that "the remarkable difference in the magnitude of these monuments seems to indicate that the Huacas were always suitable to the character, dignity, or riches of the person interred." Ulloa A few of these structures require, for the purposes of this investigation, a specific description. The Panecillo of Callo, a few leagues to the south-west of Quito, is a hill composed of volcanic stone, supposed by some§ to be an artificial structure or tumulus, while the more reasonable opinion is, that it is a natural elevation, to which the natives have given a more regular form.|| Its shape is conical, and its height about two hun * Humboldt's Researches, vol. i. p. 102. † Molina, vol. ii. p. 81. Ulloa, vol. i. p. 492. Morton's Crania Americana, p. 226. § Ulloa, and the Natives. |