habitants, when they were first
discovered, are so intermixed with self-evident fables, and statements
that are undoubtedly exaggerations, that we have a most difficult
task before us. We will first examine the antiquities of this section,
compare them with those found in more northern regions, and then examine
the statements of the early writers as to the customs of the people. We
do not propose to do more than to follow after our leaders in thought,
and try to make plain the conclusions to which they have arrived. We
are not to deal wholly with a prehistoric people, though their origin is
unknown. What we desire to do is to clear away the mists of three and
a half centuries, and to catch, if possible, a glimpse of what was
probably the highest development of prehistoric culture in North America
just before the arrival of the Spaniards.

Mexico was surely a land well adapted to the needs of a prehistoric
people. Along the coasts the ground is low. This constitutes what is
known as the "Hot Country."<3> The greater part of Mexico consists of
an elevated table-land, which rises in a succession of plateaus. As we
leave the coast region and climb the plateau, we experience changes of
climate. If it were level, it would have mainly a tropical climate, but
owing to the elevation we have just mentioned, it has mainly a temperate
climate. The whole plateau region is cut up with mountains. The Sierra
Madre, on the west, is the main chain, but numerous cross-ranges occur.
The result is, a greater part of Mexico abounds in fertile, easily
defended valleys--just such localities as are much sought after by
a people in barbaric culture, constantly exposed to the assaults of
invading foes.<4>

We may as well pass at once to the valley of Anahuac, the most noted in
all the region, and learn of the antiquities of this central section. It
is in this valley that the capital of the Mexican Republic is situated.
All travelers who have had occasion to describe its scenery have been
enthusiastic in its praise. The valley is mountain-girt and lake-dotted,
and in area not far different from the State of Rhode Island. On one
of the principal lakes was located the Pueblo of Tenochtitlan, the
head-quarters of the Aztecs, commonly known as the City of Mexico. When
Cortez first stood upon the encircling mountains, and gazed down upon
the valley, he saw at his feet one of the most prosperous and powerful
pueblos of the New World.

This is not the