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Article THE RUINED CITIES IN CENTRAL AMERICA. ← Page 4 of 7 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Ruined Cities In Central America.
noble endui-ing of the Mexican and Peruvian races , have been made great capital of by both dramatist and novelist . We have called the subject of this paper " The Ruifled Cities of Central America , " but do not mistake the meaning as applying to
towns or districts in ruins , but to buildings of colossal structure , showing great architectural design , and evidencing knowledge superior to a barbaric people . These ruins are discovered in the depths of forests , far removed from the modern dwellings of the Mexican people . These structures have doubtless been temples erected in
honour of some deity , or the residence of kings , chiefs , or nobles amongst a highly civilized race , who flourished in those parts ages before the discovery of Weinland by the hardy Norsemen and sea rovers , or the discovery on scientific principles by Christopher Columbus ; for we are told these ruins stand in the interior of vast
forests , where the axe of the pioneer had to be used to cut a way through the climbers and creepers that had made an almost inpenetrable barrier . These ruins were unknown to the people of the adjacent district , and in this solemn solitude , ' mid giant trees , stand these memorials of a past and entirely unknown people . These buildings are in the province of Yucatan , and were known to a few Indians as "Las Casas de Piedra" ( the stone houses ) .
Botanists tell us that the trees which grow in these deserted ruins are of second growth , their predecessors having grown , flourished and decayed . Now a place must be neglected and little frequented if grass grows in the streets , but if herbs and shrubs grow therein the place may be considered deserted altogether ; and if high and
longlived trees grow , flourish and decay , and similar trees succeed , how long is it since the arm of the workman wielded the hammer or guided the chisel as he sculptured the strange and eccentric figures and shapes which embellish the stone lintels and facings of these wonderful buildings ? It would exceed the limits of a single paper to attempt to follow
out all the theories , conjectures and theses that might be written on this subject . I can do no more than follow out the opinions of those who have examined the subject . In the American Magazine , " The Century , " Edward S . Holden , in an article on the "Hieroglyphs of Central America , " g ives a solution of these mysterious figures , to a certain
sense satisfactory , inasmuch as they form a key to the reading—a series of meanings to letters in stone . They point to a system of mythology , or a kind of Pantheon , pointing to apotheoses or incarnations of certain deities , who were objects of worship to these primitive people . Though this solution be correct , it throws no light on the history of the
mysterious past . There are no records of battles fought or victories gained , and prisoners led in captive triumph , like those described in 2 A
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Ruined Cities In Central America.
noble endui-ing of the Mexican and Peruvian races , have been made great capital of by both dramatist and novelist . We have called the subject of this paper " The Ruifled Cities of Central America , " but do not mistake the meaning as applying to
towns or districts in ruins , but to buildings of colossal structure , showing great architectural design , and evidencing knowledge superior to a barbaric people . These ruins are discovered in the depths of forests , far removed from the modern dwellings of the Mexican people . These structures have doubtless been temples erected in
honour of some deity , or the residence of kings , chiefs , or nobles amongst a highly civilized race , who flourished in those parts ages before the discovery of Weinland by the hardy Norsemen and sea rovers , or the discovery on scientific principles by Christopher Columbus ; for we are told these ruins stand in the interior of vast
forests , where the axe of the pioneer had to be used to cut a way through the climbers and creepers that had made an almost inpenetrable barrier . These ruins were unknown to the people of the adjacent district , and in this solemn solitude , ' mid giant trees , stand these memorials of a past and entirely unknown people . These buildings are in the province of Yucatan , and were known to a few Indians as "Las Casas de Piedra" ( the stone houses ) .
Botanists tell us that the trees which grow in these deserted ruins are of second growth , their predecessors having grown , flourished and decayed . Now a place must be neglected and little frequented if grass grows in the streets , but if herbs and shrubs grow therein the place may be considered deserted altogether ; and if high and
longlived trees grow , flourish and decay , and similar trees succeed , how long is it since the arm of the workman wielded the hammer or guided the chisel as he sculptured the strange and eccentric figures and shapes which embellish the stone lintels and facings of these wonderful buildings ? It would exceed the limits of a single paper to attempt to follow
out all the theories , conjectures and theses that might be written on this subject . I can do no more than follow out the opinions of those who have examined the subject . In the American Magazine , " The Century , " Edward S . Holden , in an article on the "Hieroglyphs of Central America , " g ives a solution of these mysterious figures , to a certain
sense satisfactory , inasmuch as they form a key to the reading—a series of meanings to letters in stone . They point to a system of mythology , or a kind of Pantheon , pointing to apotheoses or incarnations of certain deities , who were objects of worship to these primitive people . Though this solution be correct , it throws no light on the history of the
mysterious past . There are no records of battles fought or victories gained , and prisoners led in captive triumph , like those described in 2 A