("Ensayo de un Estudio.")
It is objected that the American edifices are different in form from the
Egyptian, in that they are truncated, or flattened at the top; but this
is not an universal rule.
"In many of the ruined cities of Yucatan one or more pyramids have been
found upon the summit of which no traces of any building could be
discovered, although upon surrounding pyramids such structures could be
found. There is also some reason to believe that perfect pyramids have
been found in America. Waldeck found near Palenque two pyramids in a
state of perfect preservation, square at the base, pointed at the top,
and thirty-one feet high, their sides forming equilateral triangles."
(Bancroft's "Native Races," vol. v., p. 58.)
Bradford thinks that "some of the Egyptian pyramids, and those which
with some reason it has been supposed are the most ancient, are
precisely similar to the Mexican teocalli." ("North Americans of
Antiquity" p. 423.)
And there is in Egypt another form of pyramid called the mastaba, which,
like the Mexican, was flattened on the top; while in Assyria structures
flattened like the Mexican are found. "In fact," says one writer, "this
form of temple (the flat-topped) has been found from Mesopotamia to the
Pacific Ocean.
Pages:
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488