s, and some of these
still offer the best lodging-houses to be found along the routes.
Bridges were of wood, of ropes made from maguey fiber, or of stone. Some
of the latter are still in excellent condition, in spite of the violence
of the mountain torrents which they have spanned for four centuries.

4. _Sculpture._--The Maya race of Yucatan and Central America were much
superior to the prehistoric Peruvians in stone sculpture. Except those
examples already referred to under 1, their artists have apparently
produced nothing to show skill in workmanship, much less fertility of
imagination. That is largely explained by their lack of suitable tools.

5. _Goldsmith's Work._--In this branch of art the ancient Peruvians
greatly excelled, especially in inlaying and gilding. Gold-beating and
gilding had been prosecuted to remarkable delicacy, and the very thin
layers of gold-leaf on many articles led the Spaniards at first to
believe they were of the solid metal. These delicate layers showed
ornamental designs, including birds, butterflies, and the like.

6. _Pottery._--In this department of industrial art the prehistoric
Peruvians showed much aptitude both "in regard to variety of design and
technical skill in preparing the material. Vases with pointed bottoms
and painted sides recalling those of ancient Greece and Etruria are
often disinterred along the coast." The merit of those artists lay in
perfect imitation of natural objects, such as birds, fishes, fruits,
plants, skulls, persons in various positions, faces (often with graphic
individuality). Some jars exactly resembled the "magic vases" which are
still found in Hindustan, and can be emptied only when held at a certain
angle.

7. Though ignorant of perspective and the rules of light and shade,
these ancient Peruvians had an accurate eye for color. "Spinning,
weaving, and dyeing," to quote Sir C. R. Markham, "were arts which were
sources of employment to a great number, owing to the quantity and
variety of the fabrics.... There were rich dresses interwoven with gold
or made of gold thread; fine woolen mantles ornamented with borders of
small square plates of gold and silver; colored cotton cloths worked in
complicated patterns; and fabrics of aloe fiber and sheep's sinews for
breeches. Coarser cloths of llama wool were also made in vast
quantities."

[Illustration: The Quipu.]

8. The _quipu_ (i e., "knot").--Without writing or even any of the
simpler forms of pi