Walter Lehmann

“ Geology.—The neck of land which unites the continents of North and South America is not, geologically, the direct continuation of either, but constitutes a third element which is wedged, as it were, between the other two. ”

“ On the other hand the Mayan culture evinces an evident tendency to assimilate heterogeneous elements, obliterating racial distinctions and imposing its own dominant character over a wide area. Oaxaca, the country of the Mixtecs and Zapotecs, became, as was natural from its geographical position midway between Yucatan and Mexico, the meeting-ground where two archaeological traditions which are sharply contrasted in their original homes united.
Central American architecture is characterized by a fine feeling for construction, and the execution is at once bold and aesthetically effective. ”

“ On both sides of the deep depression which crosses Honduras from Puerto Cortez to the Gulf of Fonseca, the strike is commonly from north to south. The depression is probably a “Graben” or trough formed by faulting.
The great volcanoes of Mexico and Central America stand upon the Pacific side of the continent, and it is only where the land contracts to a narrow neck that their products spread over to the Caribbean shore. The extent of the volcanic deposits is very great, and over a wide area they entirely conceal the original structural features of the country. ”

“ The eastern boundary of Central America was usually regarded as identical with that of Costa Rica until 1903, when the republic of Panama was formed out of the northern territories of Colombia; and the more modern definition given above does not command the universal assent of geographers, because it fails to include the whole region up to the natural frontier on the north-west, i.e. the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico. ”

“ Near the frontier of Honduras are the remarkable ruins of Quirigua, which rival Copan in importance and have suffered less from the ravages of the climate. The ruins of temples and palaces contain gigantic stone stelae of very fine workmanship, on which are sculptured human and animal figures representing hieroglyphs of the calendar dates.
Honduras.—Copan, one of the most important seats of Mayan civilization, lies close to the borders of Guatemala. The ruins comprise great buildings, temples, pyramids, &c. and contain sculptures of the highest interest. ”

“ The vast majority of the inhabitants are of mixed Indian and Spanish blood, but the Indian element predominates everywhere except in Costa Rica, where the whites are exceptionally numerous. The Indian races have not shown the same power to adapt themselves to modern civilization as the Mexicans; in some regions there are tribes remaining in a state of complete savagery although before the Spanish conquest their ancestors attained a high level of culture (see below under Archaeology) . The density of population throughout Central America is little more than 25 per sq. ”

“ The bats are so numerous that villages have sometimes had to be left to their undisputed occupancy. In the south-east of Costa Rica the inhabitants are at times compelled to withdraw, with all their live-stock, before the swarms of large migratory vampires which in a single night can bleed the strongest animal to death. ”

“ Chiapas (Mexico) .—The principal site is Palenque, the ruins of which were amongst the earliest of all to attract attention. The style of architecture, with the gigantic vaults and singular comb-shaped gables, distinguishes Palenque from Copan and Quirigua, which it surpasses also in the unequalled magnificence of its sculptures. Five out of the remarkably uniform series of buildings may be specially mentioned. ”

“ The five divisions of “Guatemala” were temporarily incorporated in the Mexican empire during 1822, but regained their autonomy (as Guatemala, Honduras, Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica) on the declaration of a Mexican republic, and in July 1823 combined to form the Republic of the United States of Central America. The Liberal or Federalist party, which was supreme in Honduras, found itself opposed by the Conservatives, including the clergy and former Spanish officials, who were very influential in Guatemala. ”

“ Jurassic beds have been found in Mexico but not in Central America. The Cretaceous system, consisting of a lower series of clays, sandstones and conglomerates, followed conformably by an upper series of limestones, covers a considerable area in Chiapas, Guatemala and Honduras, and is found also in Costa Rica. The upper series contains hippurites. The greater part of the eastern half of the Mexican plateau is also formed of Cretaceous beds. ”

“ In the northern part of Guatemala, on the Pacific coast of the same country, in British Honduras, along the Segovia river, on the Mosquito Coast, and in the basin of Lake Nicaragua and the San Juan river, there are broad stretches of comparatively flat country. The main line of watershed is everywhere nearer to the Pacific than to the Atlantic, except in southern Costa Rica and Panama, where it is almost equidistant from the two oceans. ”

“ Apart from the German agricultural settlements in Guatemala and elsewhere, the foreign population is chiefly confined to the seaports and other centres of commerce, Great Britain, Germany and the United States being largely represented among the wealthier classes of residents; while the foreign labourers are mostly Italians or negroes, with a few Chinese on the Pacific coast.
History.—Central America was discovered by Columbus in August 1502; and part of the territory which is now Costa Rica was conquered by the Spaniards under Pedro Arias de Avila after 1513. ”

“ Although there are numerous relics of Mayan civilization buried in the earth; few ruins are to be seen on the surface. Karl Sapper has described three large ruins: Cuzcatlan near the capital, Tehuacan near S. Vicente, and Zacualpa on the Lake of Güija in the extreme north-west of the country. The ruins show a distinct affinity in style to those of the Mayan buildings in Guatemala, but they are less fine and artistically perfect. ”

“ A whole series of sites is included within the geographical limits of Chiapas, which from the archaeologist’s standpoint must be considered as belonging properly to Guatemala. The country has been quite insufficiently explored.
Oaxaca (Mexico) .—The bulk of the population of the province of Oaxaca is composed of a distinct racial group, best represented by the Zapotecs, who have been for an unknown length of time the intermediaries between the Nahua civilization of Mexico on the west and the Mayan on the east. ”

“ Frosts are not rare above 7000 ft., but snow seldom falls.
Fauna.—The fauna of Central America is more closely connected with the fauna of South than with that of North America. As the region is comparatively small, and its limits conventional, there are comparatively few species that it can claim as peculiarly its own. It is almost entirely free from the presence of animals dangerous to man. ”

“ At Uxmal the buildings consist of five considerable groups, viz.—the Casa del Adivino, which is a step-pyramid 240 ft. long by 160 ft. wide and 80 ft. high, crowned by a temple 75 ft. long by 12 ft. wide; the Casa de Monjas, a striking erection of four oblong buildings on an extensive terrace; the Casa de Tortugas, Casa del Gobernador, and Casa de Palomas, the last of which is a group of six galleries surrounding a court. At Izamal there is a very imposing group of ruins, as yet quite insufficiently explored. ”

“ The gallery-buildings may rise to as much as three storeys, the height, size and shape of the rooms being determined by the exigencies of vaulting. The principle of the true arch is unknown, so that the vaults are often of the corbelled kind, the slabs of the side-walls being made to overlap in succession until there remains only so narrow a space as may be spanned by a single flat stone. ”

“ For a complete survey of this ancient civilization, so far as it has been investigated, it is necessary to include with Central America, properly so called, a considerable portion of the Mexican territories south and east of the isthmus of Tehuantepec. The peoples inhabiting Yucatan, Campeche, Guatemala, Chiapas and Oaxaca present at the first view striking ethnical differences. ”

“ For the bird collector there is a rich harvest. The catalogue of the National Museum at Washington shows that Costa Rica alone possesses more than twice as many species of birds as the whole of Europe. ”

“ Indigo is produced in small quantities; sugar yields two or three crops, and maize as many as four, this cereal supplying a chief staple of food. Plantains, bananas, beans, tomatoes, yams, arrowroot, pine-apples, guavas, citrons and many other tropical fruits are also cultivated, while the extensive primeval forests abound in mahogany, cedars, rosewood, ironwood, rubber, gum copal, vanilla, sarsaparilla, logwood and many other dye-woods, medicinal plants, and valuable timbers. ”

“ The tennis-courts always run north and south, and all the buildings, almost without exception, have a definite orientation to particular points of the compass. Frequently the pyramids constitute one of the four sides of a quadrangular enclosure, within which are contained other pyramids, altars or other buildings of various dimensions. ”

“ Although its forest growths are, on the whole, inferior in size to those of corresponding latitudes in the eastern hemisphere, it is unsurpassed for beauty, luxuriance and variety. In the volcanic districts, the soil is extremely fertile, yielding, where cultivated and irrigated, magnificent crops of sugar, cotton, rice, tobacco, coffee, cocoa and maize. ”

“ The influence of the two separate currents may be detected in the bastard calendar system no less than in the still undeciphered inscriptions. The principal ruins are those of Mitla, the burial city of the priests and kings of the ancient Zapotecs, which bear a quite distinct character, though presenting certain analogies with the Mexican. One of the chief structures is a step-pyramid, rising in three steps to a height of 130 ft., another is a pyramid of brick. ”

“ Insect life is even richer and more varied. Of the Coleoptera, the Camelicorns, the Longicorns, the Curculionids, and the Chrysomelines are said to be best represented, and of the Lepidoptera the prevalent genera are—Ageronia, Papilio, Heliconia, Sphinx and Bombyx. ”

“ North winds are most usual during the dry season. On the Atlantic coast the trade-winds may bring rain in any month, and, owing to the moist atmosphere, the heat is more oppressive. The rainfall may vary in successive years from less than 50 in. ”

“ Inhabitants.—In 1905 the population of Central America numbered about 4,750,000, and this total tends to increase, despite the unhealthy climate of many districts, the terribly high average of infant mortality, and the slow progress of immigration. ”

“ They are the Great Palace, a complex structure of galleries and courts commanded by a three-storeyed tower, the Temples of the Cross, which are galleries constructed on terraces and containing the well-known reliefs, the Temple of Inscriptions, the Sun Temple and the Temple of the Relief. ”

“ The principal summits have an altitude of 12,000 and even, in a few cases, of 13,000 ft., and the general character of the ranges is volcanic, many craters being still active. Large tracts of land remained imperfectly surveyed at the beginning of the 20th century, owing to the unhealthiness of the tropical climate, and the dense underwoods which impede exploration. ”

“ Amongst the various ruins, some of which represent the remains of entire cities, while others are no more than groups of buildings or single buildings, certain types persistently recur. The commonestArchitecture of such types are pyramids and galleries. The pyramids are occasionally built of brick, but most usually of hewn stone with a covering of finely-carved slabs. Staircases lead up to the top from one or more sides. Some pyramids are built in steps. Usually the platform on the top of a pyramid is occupied by buildings, the typical distribution of which is into two parts, viz. ”