Page:Vol 3 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/751



Americans present the distinct features of what may be essentially classed as a new race, sprung from the union of the proudest of European peoples, and the most advanced of Americans; the former itself an anomalous mixture, wherein lay blended the physical and mental characteristics of half a dozen nations, from sturdy Goth to lithe and fiery Arab; the other possibly autochthonic, and evolved amidst the rise and fall of mighty empires, whose records are entombed in the most imposing monuments of the continent. While the latter may be divided into two great branches, the Maya and Nahua, originally cradled perhaps within the region drained by the

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