ARCHITECTURE, ANCIENT AMERICAN. No historical sketch of aboriginal American archi tecture is possible with our lack of reliable data as to the history of the American races and their relation to each other. The tribes whom we are ac customed to group under such heads as "Mound Builders" and "Cliff Dwellers" (for illustration see these titles), although far from being the earliest inhabitants of our continent, never pro duced any works that enter the domain of art, though some of the "pueblos" show careful con struction and plan, especially in Arizona and New Mexico; for example, Casa Grande (q.v. for illustration) ; Chihuahua ; and Bonito. The peo ples of Maya and Nahuatl nationality who found ed the confederacies of Mexico, Central America, Peru, and other South American States, devel oped an architecture that may fairly be compared with that of Farther Asia, especially India. But no sure historic records of the age of these monu ments gives an earlier date than the Twelfth Century A.D. ; though plausible conjecture goes back to the Fifth Century n.e. for the earliest Maya examples. The earliest ruins are those of the Mayas, and among them we can distinguish local variations and historic development; for example, those of Chiapas, of which the most im portant are at Palenque, differ from those in Yucatan, which are much later. The ruins at Copan, in Honduras. form the connecting link between the Palenque style and that found at Uxmal, Chichen-ltza, lzamal, and other ruined cities of Yucatan. Guatemala also has monu ments of the Palenque, and later types, at Utat I•n, calmsna1, Tikal, etc. The fortified city of Tenampua, in Honduras, is especially interesting. It is important that the Maya ruins of Central America are the more monumental the nearer they approach the frontier of Yucatan. The arrangement of the buildings is according to one general scheme: they rise from a mound, sur mounted by a platform on which the building or buildings stand. This mound is entirely or partly natural, cut into terraces about five feet high or lines of stone steps. The lines of the mound are made by rubble, and retaining walls, faced either with colored stucco, or large slabs (Palenque), or with dressed stone (Chichen-Itza and Uxmal). The separate buildings rise from a base in the form of a truncated pyramid, and the chambers and passages are covered with vaults formed of the triangular corbel arch of projecting horizontal courses. Among the most impressive structures are the pyramids; one at lzanial is between 700 and 800 feet long, and con tains several chambers. They usually rose in front of each temple. These pyramids were crowned by shrines, and bear some resemblance to Buddhist buildings in India. The greatest variety of monuments is at Chichen-Itza. There was a lavish use of decorative sculpture either as integral part of the architecture, or in the form of accessory steles. pillars. obelisks, statues. The famous "Tablet of the Cross" from Palenque is the most tasteful simple piece. An idea of the way in which the Maya buildings were grouped is given by the ruins of Palenque, Uma land, and Chichen-Itza. For illustrations, see these titles.
The Mayas suffered from invasions of Nahuatl peoples in the Sixth Century A.D., but though more recent, the Nahuatl monuments appear not to have survived so well; perhaps because this people preferred the less durable material of adobes. cemented together with mortar, to the stonework of the Mayas. This is exemplified in the Pyramid of Cholula, originally crowned by a magnificent temple destroyed by Cort6s. It measures 1440 feet square—an area nearly four times that of the Pyramid of Cheops; its height was 177 feet, and it was divided into four ter races. Ruinsof debated character occur at Noehi ealco. in Mexico, Huatusco, and C'eutla. Here, as with the Mayas, the truncated pyramid is the main form of substructure. It is curious that even less remains of the Aztec monuments, erected only during the two centuries preceding the Spanish Conquest. Probably it was because, being the centres of civilization at that time, they bore the brunt of Spanish vandalism, while the older cities, long since deserted, remained immune and often unknown. Perhaps slightly earlier than the Aztec domination are the cities of the Zapotecs in Central America. whose capi tal, Mitla, was captured and ruined by Aztecs e.1500 A.D. The palace at Mitla has called forth the most enthusiastic praise for the beauty of its masonry. the symmetry of its proportions, and the classic restraint of its or nament. This palace consists of an interior quadrangle, 130x 120 feet, surrounded on three sides by mounds crowned by other buildings. It is built not entirely of dressed stones, as at Palenque, but of faced rubble, as in Yucatan. The main hall was supported by six columns, supporting heavy beams, a most unusual arrange ment. It must be remembered that the manual labor of facing the masonry and exeenting the sculptured decoration in all these buildings of Central America and Yucatan. was vastly in creased by the lack of metal implements. We finally come to Peru. which is studded with ruins of the greatest interest, bold in construction and massiveness. though lacking in that richness of sculptured ornament so characteristic of the styles thus far mentioned. Pachaeamae. Chimu, Tingnanaco, Titicaca. and Cuzco are the most important sites. The fortresses are of especial interest ; also great engineering works, such as aqueducts, reservoirs, and bridges. The temples. called lumens. are composed of truncated pyra mids, usually of stone. That of Obispo is 150 feet high, with a base 580 feet square, covering eight acres. Some of these pyramids served as sepulchres, like one near Obispo, surrounded by an inclosing wall 14 feet high. Another at Moche was 800 x470 feet. and about 200 feet high. The palaces were built, of adobes. and were formed of an irregular series of buildings on a terraced mound. That at Chimu is typical. The ruins at. Tiaguanaeo are perhaps. the earliest, and belong to a civilization prior to that of the Incas. Most remarkable are the numerous erect monoliths comparable to the Celtic monoliths in the Alediterranean (e.g. Malta), and in England (e.g. Stonehenge). For books of reference, consult the bibliography un der ARCII:EOLoGy, AMERICAN.