Page:A History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 2.djvu/579

Rh Bk. n. Ch. I. INTEODUCTOEY. 563 BOOK II. ANCIENT AMERICA. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. CHRONOLOGY. DATES. Toltecs arrived in Anahuac. . . . a.d. 648 Toltecs abandoned the country. . . 1051 Chichemecas arrived 1170 Acolhuans arrived about 1200 Aztecs reached Tula 1196 DATES. City of Mexico founded a.d. 1125 Almitzotl conquered Guatemala beginning of 16th century Spaniards arrived 1519 ALTHOUGH considerable progress has been made during the last few years in clearing away the mists that hang over most of the problems connected with American antiquities, much still remains to be done before we can give a distinct or satisfactory answer to many of the questions that arise regarding them. We cannot yet say pos- itively whether the Toltecs, the Aztecs, and other tribes who inhab- ited the valley of Mexico, were successive waves of one great immi- gration from the North, or whether they belonged to different races of mankind. We cannot tell whether thei-e was any connection between the civilization of Mexico and Peru. The historical diffi- culties are far from being settled, and, more than all these, it is still a matter of doubt whether American civilization is wholly original and indigenous, or whether any portion of it was derived from the Old World. The one consolatory fact in all this perplexity seems to be, that the materials certainly do exist by which it can be removed. So soon as any one conversant with such inquiries will undertake the investi- gation on the spot, he will be able to arrange all the buildings into chronological series, and fix at least their approximate dates. He will also be able to say how far the buildings in one province are akin to those in another, and to separate those which belong to other races; and he will be able to tell us whether there is any essential similarity