ce, its buildings exhibiting
the most elaborate and profuse employment of the serpent for symbolical
decoration. One inference from this might be that the serpent was the
totemic animal of the ancient builders of this city. The foregoing rapid
review of the native chronicles of Yucatan shows that even the foundation
of Mayapan was comparatively recent; that the peninsula had, in turn,
harbored powerful tribes who had drifted thence from the southwest and
Mexican warriors whose aid had been sought by consecutive rulers of
Chichen-Itza. We see that Yucatan was the meeting ground for Maya- and
Nahuatl-speaking people and that the tendency was to leave the peninsula
in search of a more favorable soil and climate as soon as opportunity was
afforded.

Since the cradle of the Maya civilization is evidently not to be looked
for in Yucatan, let us follow the clue afforded by the native traditions,
transport ourselves to some of the most important ruined cities of Central
America and endeavor to wrest from their monuments some knowledge of the
social organization of their ancient inhabitants. In order to institute
this search under the most favorable circumstances, I ventured to apply
for guidance to Mr. A. P. Maudslay who has made a more thorough, prolonged
and extensive study and exploration of these ruined cities than any other
person. Upon my request to formulate his opinion as to the respective
antiquity and chief characteristics of the most noted sites, this
distinguished explorer has most kindly authorized me to publish the
following note.

"But for a brief note in Nature (28th April, 1892), I have never
classified the ruins or attempted to give proofs of differences in age of
the monuments, but roughly you may safely class them as follows: I am
inclined to look on the Motagua river group as the oldest. The Yucatan
group is certainly the youngest. Of course there are many other smaller
differences between the groups and much overlapping. Whichever group may
be the oldest the art is there already advanced and the decoration has
taken forms which must have occupied many kinds of workers to
conventionalize from natural objects."

1. On Motagua River, Quirigua, Copan. Large monolithic stelae and altars
with figures and inscriptions carved on all four sides in rather high
relief, some groups pictographic. No weapons of war portrayed in the
sculpture.

2. On Usumacinto River, Menche, Tinamit, Palenque, Ixkun. Stelae are
usu