[1] The fact of the rapid approximation of the European colonists to the American type might, however, be quoted against this view.
[2] It must be borne in mind that the science and arts of the Aztecs were almost immediately lost in consequence of the intolerance of the Spanish Conquistadores.
[4] The temple, with all its purlieus and courts, was named _teopan_; the central pyramid, _teocalli_.
[5] There is reason to believe, however, that the sacrifices of the Aztecs were made not so much for the purpose of placating the gods as for the imagined necessity of rejuvenating them and keeping them alive. Of some of the sacrifices, at least, this is certain.
[6] The veneration of an animal or plant _which does not identify a tribe_ is not 'totemism' but 'naturalism,' or nature-worship.
[7] The evidence of Garcilasso would seem to show that the early Peruvians possessed a totem-system; this, however, would appear to have been by some process totally eliminated. It will be seen that I differentiate between 'naturalism' and 'totemism.' 'Totemism' is the adoption of an animal or plant symbol by a _tribe_ originally for the purpose of identification. It later grows into the belief in blood-kinship with the symbol. 'Naturalism' is the worship of the wind, the sun, or other natural phenomena.
[8] The legend is the basis of some hundred of lines of bookish fustian by Southey, who follows Hakluyt in making Mexico the theatre of the prince's adventures.
[9] _Antiquitates Americanæ._ Were they Picts?
[11] This monumental work, which, apart from its letterpress, is exceedingly valuable in respect of numerous splendid plates representing Aztec MSS., is in nine huge volumes, and was published in London in 1831. Its original price was £175 coloured, and £120 uncoloured. Its noble author sought to prove that the Mexicans were the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.
Passages in italics are indicated by _italics_.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mythologies of Ancient Mexico and Peru, by Lewis Spence