ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE AREA OF THE ANDEAN NATIONS.
In the valleys of the Andes, on the lofty plateaus which support their highest peaks, and on the western slopes which descend to the tropical shores of the Pacific, the first explorers came upon nations of a high degree of culture and with well-defined social institutions. These nations were not related in language, nor were they all under one government, but their partial civilization presented many common traits. .Most of them, moreover, did acknowledge the authority of the Incas, a powerful family which for several centuries had ruled the Quichnas and Avmaras, and which had extended their power from the frontier of the savage Aran caniaus in Chili to Quito, and beyond into the Colombian valleys. Here they almost encountered, bnt probably did not reach, the Chibchas or Muvseas, a people in some respects equally advanced.
This South American culture appears to have been indigenous. It
took its rise in the lofty and secluded valleys of the Andes and around the shores of Lake Titicaca and Lake Gnatavita, and was in no wise indebted to the culture of Mexico and Central America, nor, as sonic have main tained, to the civilization of any part of the Old World. Nor, on the other hand, did its influence reach the Isthmus of Panama. There has never been demonstrated any affiliation of culture or language between the semi-civilized tribes of North America and those of South America. The Caribs alone, bold warriors and daring navigators, familiar with the device of sails and venturing without hesitation on distant voyages, appear to have followed up the eastern coast from the shores of the Caribbean Sea as far as to the northern coast of Yucatan, and perhaps to the mouth of the Usumasinta River.