File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (17537277234).jpg

Title: The American Museum journal
Identifier: americanmuseumjo14amer (find matches)
Year: c1900-(1918) (c190s)
Authors: American Museum of Natural History
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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A CHAPTER OF ANCIENT AMERICAN HISTORY By Herbert J. Spinden With photographs by the Author THE wreck of human handicraft touches the heart and none of us can fail to invest a ruined city with the purple haze of romance. At least it is safe to say that not a traveler in Yucatan and Central America but has been deeply stirred by the vestiges of ancient empire that lie scattered through the jungle. The ruins of Chichen Itza, long famous on account of their size, accessibility and healthful situation, have been explained by fanciful tales or wrapped in impene- trable mystery ac- cording to the mood or stock of informa- tion of the person descrilsing them. It does not detract from the wonder of this city or the grandeur of its buildings to say that the light of recorded history, somewhat faintly to be sure, shines upon its foun- dation, its periods of brilliancy and deca- dence and its final abandonment. But first let us view the monuments that time has spared. To visit Chichen Itza, which is situ- ated in northern Yucatan not far from Valladolid, we leave the narrow gauge railroad at the station of Dzitas and then jolt for a never-to-be-forgotten fifteen miles over the solid limestone plain in a vehicle called a volan. This
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Atlantean figure carved from a single bloclf. At Chichen Itza occur table altars, consisting of a flat stone carried upon the heads and hands of figures of this sort word volan means in Spanish " they fly" but judging by unhappy experience, "they leave the earth frequently and return with emphasis" would be a better etymology to follow. The volan is a high, two-wheeled cart which travels at top speed behind several mules. It has no seat for the passenger but instead a sort of box, hung from a stiff frame, in which he reclines. As this primitive trans- port lurches along the road, glimpses over the edge of the box may be caught of the tan- gled jungle on either hand wdth here and there a trail making off to some milpa or cornfield. Finally, when misused flesh and bone can hardly stand another bounce, we arrive at the \i\- lage of Piste with its little cluster of palm- thatched huts. A few moments later, on rounding a curve, we flash into sight of a stone temple crowning a lofty pyramid — and about us lie the ruins of Chichen Itza, a cap- ital city of the ancient Maya empire. Northern Yucatan is a limestone plain without streams on the surface, but here and there the roof of a subterranean river has fallen in making huge natural wells called "cenotes". At Chichen Itza there are two cenotes: one, commonly called the Sacred Cenote, was anciently 17

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