MYSTERIOUS CITY DEAD KINGS.

Northland Age, Volume IV, Issue 48, 20 July 1908, Page 7

MYSTERIOUS CITY DEAD KINGS.

Every now and again the world is startled by the rediscovery of some dead city, showing signs of civilisation which, in a few respects, might even put to shame our civilisations of to-day. We have such an example in the amazing discoveries made in the last decade by delvers in what is known as the Usumatsintla Valle}*, on the borders of Guatemala and Mexico. Nothing more astonishing has ever come to light than the remains of this mysterious Mayan metropolis, known as Tikal, which was a crumbling ruin probably five hundred years before Columbus and his Spanish followers set eyes upon America. Was it a contemporary Ninevah or Babylon and Troy ? What manner of people once flourished there ? Exactly when and why was the city abandoned ? Science can hardly as yet reply to these questions. Only enough has been discovered to establish the inhabitants as the most progressive and highly civilized of prehistoric peoplo in America. Books, scientific appliances of an astronomical nature, games corresponding to tennis and baseball, and magnificent carvings in stone and wood have already been found among other evidences of a superior civilisation.

Tikal can only be reached, after arriving at the coast of British Honduras, by paddling for miles up an unpronounciable river and tramping for days through an almost uninhabitable and impenetrable forest, waylaid by venomous serpents and beset by proboscidian insects. The denseness of the jungle which it is necessary to traverse is so great that one may be fifty feet from immense masses of masonry without being aware of the fact. The city known as Tikal covbred an area of at least a league. Evidently a Mayan capital as well as metropolis, the site must have been an ideal one at the time the city and its people flourished. The most striking features of the place are tho temples, tho outer and inner doorways of which are covered with magnificently carved lintels of Chico sapote wood, a wood which has withstood ages of sun and storm. Some of the carvings in this wood reveal a knowledge of drawing and boldness of conception which compare favourablj r with the best Egyptian and also Assyrian work.

There are five of these temples, each standing in the centre of a small plain at the top of a mammoth pyramid, or mound. The lmse of the first temple <*'scovered—the smallest—measures 130 feet across the front and slightly less on the sides. It is built of beautifullycarved stone, being reached by a stone stairway twenty-eight feet broad and projecting nineteen feet from the base of the mound. Measurements taken at the north-west angle from the base of the pyramid to the north-west corner crave 104 feet, the temple itself measuring 41 by 26 feet. It is 50 feet high, with an interior of throe rooms of different floor altitudes. One temple has a doorway guarded by sculptured lions, of themselves seven feet high. Judging from the arrangement of the pyramids and the general plan of the city, there seems to be little doubt that the Ma}’an metropolis was laid out along astronomical lines. The great height of the mounds was undoubtedly due to an evident desire to secure a length of axis, and the fact that all the Tikal temples face the cardinal points further supports the theory. One may trace the sequences of the great structures by their positions, the second, third, and fifth temples facing the rising sun and following one another in order of time, the third one having been built when the erection of the first had impeded tho fairway of the second and so on, in rotation. SCENES OF VIOLENCE. Near this giant quintet, which forms a plaza, wore several crumbled buildings, hardly more than foundations, which were probably tho palaces of tho priests. Before each building or foundation stands a huge carved altar of stone depicting a Mayan chieftain, elaborately arrayed in a tunic, supplemented by a gown and a sort of turban, holding in his hand a mace or sceptre. He is standing in an attitude of triumph over a prostrate victim. Researches thus far have revealed a number of curious paradoxes in the habits and observances of the people. For instance it is assured that the priesthood and soldiery were synonomous, the high priests being in time of war the military leaders. Again, several books, made of chemically prepared three leaves and bearing curious hieroglyphics by way of illustrations, attest to the literary tendencies of the race. On the other hand nearly all the sculpture depicts scenes of violence, as though expressions of latent cruelty. Splendid temples were everywhere equipped with altars evidently constructed for the sacrifice of human offerings. Holidays and calamities were alike marked with human sacrifices, according to the most authentic interpretations.

Prompted by the utter absence of springs and water in the surrounding country, investigations have revealed immense underground aqueducts and chaltunes, or reservoirs, in which immense quantities of water were once stored. There has also been found an immense quadrangular area which may have been used as a stadium where athletic games were played and races run, although as yet no evidence has been discovered of the Mayans having horses. Parallel grooves worn in the stone flooring, however, point to the use of wheeled vehicles, possibly a form of chariot, in contests such as were popular in Byzantium and Rome. The carvings show not only the gods, the religion, the kings and tho impressive national ceremonies of the pre-historic people, but their everyday life, in many instances. In one place a man is shown tilling the soil, while in another he is selling merchandise. Eventually it is hoped to learn their complete history from such writings and drawings as remain. At the base of one stela (a column) [is a highly dramatic scene. Six

captives are bound together with ropes, one of them being a patriach with a box of oharias in his hai ds. Probably he has run amuck in illegally practising sorcery. Another of his prisoners appears to be of high rank, as his teeth are ornately filed and coloured. Fiftythree sacred characters were found on this stone. When they are completely deciphered they will, doubtless, add much to modern knowledge of these lost people.

A curious old document dated 1556, ,and which lies in the U.S. Museum of Natural History, says :

“The older natives in the region today say they remember hearing from their ancestors that in such a place once reigned three lords who were brothers and came from the west. They brought with them a great number of people, and, building towns and cities, ruled them for manj* years with justice and peace.

They were reverent towards their gods and erected many fine temples and buildings. These lords came without any women and lived chastely, one of them eventually disappearing. This caused a change for the worse. The people were divided into fractions and the noblemen were driven away, tho cities w*erc laid waste and the people dispersed, abandoning the fertile plain.—"Pop* ular Science Siftings.’ l