ke was excusable among the Spaniards. They were totally
ignorant of the mode of life indicated by these joint tenement-houses.
When they found one of these large structures, capable of accommodating
several hundred occupants, with its inner court, terraced foundation,
and ornamented by stucco work, or sculpture, it was extremely natural
that they should call it a palace, and cast about for some titled owner.

A second class of houses includes public buildings. The Mexicans, when
at the height of their power, required buildings for public use, and
this was doubtless true of the people who inhabited Uxmal and Palenque.
The most important house was the tecpan, the official house of the
tribe, the council house proper. This was the official residence of the
"chief of men" and his assistants, such as runners. This was the place
of meeting of the council of chiefs. It was here that the hospitality
of the Pueblo was exercised. Official visitors from other tribes and
traders from a distance were provided with accommodations here. When
Cortez and his followers entered Mexico they were provided for at the
tecpan. We would not expect to find these public buildings, except in
rich and prosperous pueblos. It has been suggested that the Governor's
House at Uxmal was the official house of that settlement. The large
halls, suitable for council purposes, favor this idea.<6>

A third class of buildings was the teocalli, or "House of God"--in
other words, the temple. These were quite common. Each of the gens that
composed the Mexican tribe had its own particular medicine lodge or
temple. This was doubtless true of each and every tribe of sedentary
Indians in the territory we are describing. "The larger temples were
usually built upon pyramidal parallelograms, square or oblong, and
consisted of a series of superimposed terraces with perpendicular or
sloping sides."<7> It is not necessary to dwell longer on this style of
buildings. We have only to recall the temples of the Sun, of the Cross,
and of the Beau-relief at Palenque; the House of the Dwarf at Uxmal,
and the Citadel at Chichen-Itza, to gather a clear idea of their
construction.

The architecture of a people is a very good exponent of their culture.
Yet all have seen what different views are held as to the culture of the
tribes we are considering. We have, perhaps, said all that is required
on this part of the subject, yet even repetition is pardonable if it
enables us to more cle