ded till it joined a range of
mountains.... There was no place we had seen which gave us such an idea
of the vastness of the works erected by the aboriginal inhabitants."<43>

The ruins at Palenque are considered by some to belong to the ancient
period of Maya architecture; those we are now to examine are regarded as
of more modern date. This is at least true with respect to the time of
their abandonment. Though the efforts of explorers in Yucatan have been
attended with rich results, still few places have been fully described.
The country is fairly dotted with sites of aboriginal settlements. In
all probability there are many that are yet unknown. Hidden in tropical
jungles, they are fast falling into meaningless mounds of _debris._
The early Spanish explorers, skirting the coasts of Yucatan, gazed in
astonishment at the views they occasionally obtained of pyramids crowned
with temples and imposing buildings. But this gleam of historic light
was but momentary in duration. It served but to throw a sunset glow over
the doomed tribes and civilization of the Mayas. By the aid of that
dim, uncertain light, we are asked to recognize a form of government and
society which, under the clearer light of modern researches is seen to
bear an equally strong resemblance to institutions more in keeping with
the genius of the New World.

The few travelers who visit the country are generally content to revisit
and describe places already known. This is not strange, considering the
difficulties that have to be overcome. The country swarms with savage
Indians, who are jealous of the intrusions of strangers. We have,
however, this consolation: those ruins already brought to light show
such a uniformity of detail, that it is not probable that any new
developments are to be expected. The ruins that are already known are
sufficient to illustrate all the points of their architecture; and
we can draw from them, doubtless, all that can be drawn from ruins,
throwing light on the civil organization of the Mayas of Yucatan.

Illustration of Plan of Uxmal.--------------------

We can not do better than to describe some of the more important ruins,
and then notice wherein others differ. Examining the map, we see that
Uxmal<44> is one of the first ruins that would meet us on arriving, in
the country. It is more fully described than any other, though perhaps
not of greater importance than those of some other localities. As at
Palenque, while the