YUCATAN, ANTIQUITIES OF. The peninsula of Yucatan, which was divided into a number of independent States, was occupied by the Maya people at the time of the discovery of America. Their most trustworthy tradition states that they entered the country from the northwest, and . this migration was in comparatively recent times. There is evidence to show that the ruined cities of the Maya race, in the State of Chiapas, the Republic of Guatemala, and in Northern Hon duras. are more ancient than the cities of Yucatan. (See MAYA; MAYAN STocK.) Shortly before the Spanish conquest the country was partly overrun by Nalma hordes (see NAHUAT LAN STOCK ) , and the population decimated by famine. pestilence, and intertribal warfare, so that the ancient civilization appears to have been on the wane at the beginning of the six teenth century. In no other part of Mexico are there so many remains of ancient cities to be found, attesting a large population at the time of their building and occupancy. At the present tune the greater part of the country is covered with a dense forest, completely concealing the ruins. Climatie conditions seem to have changed since the pre-Columbian period of occupancy, and many of the ancient cities could not support, at present, a large population. The peculiar conditions with regard to a supply of water evi dently influenced the distribution of the larger centres of population. There are no surface riv ers or lakes, with the exception of several in the southern part of the peninsula. but water is found in rivers flowing underground. which make their way to the surface in eaves, called cenotes. Near these cenotes are found the greatest ruins, and the water supply was obtained in other por tions of the country by the use of bottle-shaped cisterns called chultuns.
The Mayas of ancient times reached the high est level of civilization attained by any of the peoples of the New World. Their magnificent temples and palaces, their complicated system of hieroglyphic writing, and their surprising astronomical knowledge. attest their superiority over the other civilized tribes of ancient Mexico, although, owing to environment, their advance ment along certain other lines was not so marked. Among the most important and best known ruins in Yucatan are Cxmal, Chiehen Itza Labna. Kabah, Mayapan, and Ake. The ancient temples and palaces were massive struetures. but this had no reference to defense; they were so built to insure strength and permanency. None of the buildings had win dows; their interior construction was character ized by the triangular arch, which is known as the Maya arch, in which the inclined surfaces in each apartment or covered space slope in ward from the sides, and sometimes also from the ends, at an angle of from fifteen to forty de grees from the vertical, either meeting at the top in a sharp angle as seen in a few cases at Chicken and elsewhere, or approaching to within a foot or two the narrow way, when they are connected by horizontal slabs and firmly held together by the superincumbent roof masonry. Flat ceilings, supported by modern beams, occur in a very few eases. as at El Meco and Tuloom
on the east shore, but many of the buildings now roofless were probably originally constructed without roofs. Stone beams were used for short spans, as in miniature apartments, narrow open ings, and passageways. The facades in many instances were composed of geometric designs and representations of huge grotesque masks. The material used in the edifices was the common limestone of the country, which was cut and carved with stone tools. Mortar, made of lime and sand, was extensively used the floors and roofs were made of stucco, and all of the stone work in the edifices was covered with a thin coating of the same material, which in many in stances was painted red. In many of the build ings the white surface was covered with mural paintings in various colors, the most famous being the frescoes in one of the temples of ChieWn-Itzli. Many of the lintels of the doors were of wood, which were sometimes carved with symbolic hieroglyphic designs. These wooden lintels have been, in themselves, an element of weakness in the structures. for, had they not decayed, most of the great facades now in ruins would have been preserved. There is a certain lack of unity in the general assemblage of the structures; the common system is seen in the grouping of four edifices about a central court. Some of the ancient buildings were very exten sive, notably the so-called palace of Labna, which shows four periods of construction. The total length of this building is 375 feet, and it for merly eont ained about fifty rooms. The tombs are usually found beneath the cement. floors of the buildings and a re so small that the body must have been doubled lip in order to place it in the ossuary.
On the outskirts of the main group of build in's in these ancient cities were scattered the house sites of the eounnon people who lived then, as the Mayas of the present day, in thatched rooted huts of adobe. Excavations among the house sites reveal the presence of the three-stone fireplaee or koben. which is still used by the Alayas. There are trams of ancient cement road ways. raised a few feet above the surface. lead ing from one town to another. The Mayas ranked among the first in ancient ceramic art; the most interesting specimens which have been exhumed bear incised hieroglyphic inscriptions. The calendar of the Mayas was similar to that of the Nahua: and Zapotecs (q.v.), but their system of hieroglyphic writing, approaching pho 'laicism, bears no resemblance to that of the other Mexican tribes. The nearest affinity is in the recently discovered hieroglyphic writing of the Zapotecs in the valley of Oaxaca. The mod ern Mayas of Yucatan retain no knowledge of the ancient lore of their ancestors. but among the Laeandones of the remote southern frontier of the peninsula it is probable that ceremonies to their ancient gods are still performed. Consult: Bandelier, Notes on the Bibliography of Yuca tan and Central America (Worcester, 1880) : Charnay. Les aneicnnes rifles du nouveau monde (Paris, IS84) ; and the writings of Daniel G. Minton (q.v.).