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POLITICAL DIVISIONS] evidence of this is to be found, not only in the character of their constructions, but in the circumstance that a tribe closely akin to the Mayas (the Huastecos) still occupies a retired mountain valley of Vera Cruz, entirely separated from their kinsmen of the south, and that a dialect of the Maya language is still spoken in northern Vera Cruz. There is evidence to show that the Aztecs adopted the civilization of the Toltecs, including their religion (Quetzalcoatl being a god of the Toltecs and Mayas), calendar and architecture. Perhaps the most remarkable of the Mexican races are the Mayas, or Maya-Quiché group, which inhabit the Yucatán peninsula, Campeche and parts of Tabasco, Chiapas, and the neighbouring states of (q.v.). The remarkable ruins of Palenque, Uxmal, Chichenitza, Lorillard, Ixinché, Tikal, Copan and Quirigua, with their carved stonework and astonishing architectural conceptions, show that they had attained a high degree of civilization. They were agriculturists, lived in large, well-built towns, cultivated the mountain sides by means of terraces, and had developed what must have been an efficient form of government.

The Mistecas, or Mixtecas, and Zapotecas, who occupy the southern slopes of the central plateau, especially Puebla, Morelos, Oaxaca and Guerrero, form another distinct race, whose traditional history goes back to the period when the structures now known as Mitla, Monte Alban, Xochicalco and Zaachila were built. Their prehistoric civilization appears to have been not inferior to that of the Mayas. They were an energetic people, were never subdued by the Aztecs, and are now recovering from their long subjection to Spanish enslavement more rapidly than any other indigenous race. The Otomis comprise a large number of tribes occupying the plateau north of the Anáhuac sierras. They are a hardy people, and are the least civilized of the four principal native races.

The Totonacs inhabit northern Vera Cruz and speak a language related to that of the Mayas; the Tarascos form a small group living in Michoacán; the Matlanzingos, or Matlaltzincas, live near the Tarascos, the savage Apaches, a nomadic group of tribes ranging from Durango northward into the United States; the Opata-Pima group, inhabiting the western plateau region from Sonora and Chihuahua south to Guadalajara, is sometimes classed as a branch of the Nahuatlaca; the Seris, a very small family of savages, occupy Tiburon Island and the adjacent mainland of Sonora; and the Guaicuros, or Yumas, are to be found in the northern part of the peninsula of Lower California In southern Mexico, the Chontales, Tapijulapas, Mixes and Zoques inhabit small districts among and near the Zapotecas, the first being considered by Belmar a branch of that family. The Huavis inhabit four small villages among the lagoons on the southern shore of Tehuantepec and have been classed by Belmar as belonging to the Maya stock. The census of 1895 gave these Indian races an aggregate population of nearly 4,000,000, of which nearly 3,450,000 belonged to the first four groups. Three of these four had made important progress toward civilization. Some of the others had likewise made notable progress, among which were the Tarascos, Totonacs and Zoques.

The builders of (q.v.), in Chihuahua, evidently belonged to the Pueblo tribes of Arizona and New Mexico. As for the builders of Quemada, in Zacatecas, nothing positive is known. The ruins apparently are of an earlier period than those of Mitla and Xochicalco, and have no inscriptions and architectural decorations, but the use of dressed stone in the walls, rather than adobe, warrants the conclusion that they belonged to the civilization of southern Mexico.

Of the half-breed element which has become so important a part of the Mexican population, no safe estimate can be made. Education, industrial occupation, commercial training and political responsibility are apparently working a transformation in a class that was once known chiefly for indolence and criminal instincts, and many of the leaders of modern Mexico have sprung from this race. Settled government, settled habits, remunerative employment and opportunities for the improvement of their condition are developing in them the virtues of the two parent races. Brigandage was formerly so common that travel without an armed escort was extremely dangerous; under President Diaz, however, not only has such lawlessness been repressed but the brigands themselves have been given regular employment as rural guards under the government. This class is also furnishing the small traders of the towns, overseers on the plantations and public works, petty officials, and to some extent the teachers and professional men of the provincial towns.

Political Divisions.—The republic of Mexico is politically divided into 27 states, one federal district, and three territories. The states are generally subdivided into distritos (districts) or partidos, and these into municipios (municipalities) which correspond to the townships of the American system. The state of Nuevo Léon, however, is divided into municipios only, while some other states use entirely different titles for the divisions, the larger being described as departamentos, cantons and municipios, and the smaller as partidos, directorias and vecindarios rurales. The Federal District consists of thirteen municipalities. The territory of Lower California is divided into two large districts, northern and southern, and the latter into partidos and municipios—the larger divisions practically forming two distinct territories.

The states and territories, with their areas, capitals and populations, are as follows:—