for investigation which existed in his time are no longer
possible. It may, however, be useful to consider that the main fact in
his report on the subject is no more "original and distinct" than the
testimony of the monuments around Lake Titicaca. The significance of
this testimony is now generally admitted. There _was_ a period in the
history of Peruvian civilization much earlier than that of the Incas, a
period still represented by these old monuments which, so far as relates
to this point, are as "novel" and "original" as Montesinos himself.

That the civilization found in the country was much older than the Incas
can be seen in what we know of their history. Their empire had grown to
be what Pizarro found it by subjugating and absorbing a considerable
number of small states, which had existed as civilized states before
their time. The conquest of Quito, which was not inferior to the Valley
of Cuzco in civilization, had just been completed when the Spaniards
arrived. The Chimus, subjugated a few years earlier, are described as
even more advanced in civilization than any other Peruvian community.
The small states thus absorbed by Peru were much alike in manners,
customs, manufactures, methods of building, and general culture. It is
manifest that their civilization had a common origin, and that to find
its origin we must go back into the past far beyond Inca-Rocco, the
first of his line, who began the work of uniting them under one
government.

Moreover, there were civilized communities in that part of the
continent which the Incas had not subjugated, such as the Muyscas on the
table-land of Bogota, north of Quito, who had a remarkable civil and
religious organization, a temple of the sun built with stone columns, a
regular system of computing time, a peculiar calendar, and who used
small circular gold plates as coin. They were described by Humboldt.

The condition of the people composing the Peruvian empire at the time of
the Conquest bore witness to an ancient history something like that
reported by Montesinos. There were indications that the country had
undergone important revolutionary changes before this empire was
established. The Peruvians at that time were not all one people. The
political union was complete, but there were differences of speech, and,
to some extent, of physical characteristics. Three numerous and
important branches of the population were known as Aymaraes, Chinchas,
and Huancas. They used d