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 Central America (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 Casas Grandes (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.
From the records made at the time of the Spanish conquest, and from the antiquities found in the abandoned cities of prehistoric Mexico, it is certain that the Indians lived in substantial houses, sometimes using dressed stone, inscriptions and ornamental carvings on the more pretentious edifices; they cultivated the soil, rudely perhaps, and produced enough to make it possible to live in large towns; they made woven fabrics for dress and hangings, using colours in their manufacture; they were skilful in making and ornamenting pottery, in making gold and silver ornaments, and in featherwork; they used the fibres that Nature lavishly provided in weaving baskets, hangings, mats, screens and various household utensils. Copper was known to them, and it is possible that they knew how to make cutting instruments from it, but they generally used stone axes, hammers and picks, and their most dangerous weapon was a war-club into which chips of volcanic glass were set. Many of these primitive arts are still to be found in the more secluded districts, and perhaps the best work in pottery moulding in Mexico to-day is that of uneducated Indian artists.
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:—
| Name. | Area, sq. m. |
Pop. 1900. |
Capital. | Pop. 1900 |
| Aguascalientes | 2,950 | 102,416 | Aguascalientes | 35,052 |
| Campeche | 18,087 | 86,542 | Campeche | 17,109 |
| Chiapas | 27,222 | 360,799 | Tuxtla Gutierrez | 9,395 |
| Chihuahua | 87,802 | 327,784 | Chihuahua | 30,405 |
| Coahuila | 63,569 | 296,938 | Saltillo | 23,996 |
| Colima | 2,272 | 65,115 | Colima | 20,698 |
| Durango | 38,009 | 370,294 | Durango | 31,092 |
| Guanajuato | 11,370 | 1,061,724 | Guanajuato | 41,486 |
| Guerrero | 24,996 | 479,205 | Chilpancingo | 7,497 |
| Hidalgo | 8,917 | 605,051 | Pachuca | 37,487 |
| Jalisco | 31,846 | 1,153,891 | Guadalajara | 101,208 |
| Mexico | 9,247 | 934,463 | Toluca | 25,940 |
| Michoacan | 22,874 | 935,808 | Morelia | 37,278 |
| Morelos | 2,773 | 160,115 | Cuernavaca | 9,584 |
| Nuevo León | 23,592 | 327,937 | Monterrey | 62,266 |
| Oaxaca | 35,382 | 948,633 | Oaxaca | 35,049 |
| Puebla | 12,204 | 1,021,133 | Puebla | 93,152 |
| Querétaro | 3,556 | 232,389 | Querétaro | 33,152 |
| San Luis Potosí | 25,316 | 575,432 | San Luis Potosí | 61,019 |
| Sinaloa | 33,671 | 296,701 | Culiacán | 10,380 |
| Sonora | 76,900 | 221,682 | Hermosillo | 10,613 |
| Tabasco | 10,072 | 159,834 | San Juan Bautista | 10,543 |
| Tamaulipas | 32,128 | 218,948 | Ciudad Victoria. | 10,086 |
| Tlaxcala | 1,595 | 172,315 | Tlaxcala | 2,715 |
| Vera Cruz | 29,201 | 981,030 | Jalapa | 20,388 |
| Yucatán | 35,203 | 309,652 | Mérida | 43,630 |
| Zacatecas | 24,757 | 462,190 | Zacatecas | 32,866 |
| Distrito Federal | 463 | 541,516 | Mexico | 344,721 |
| Territories:— | ||||
| Baja California | 58,328 | 47,623 | La Paz | 5,046 |
| Tepic | 11,275 | 150,09 | Tepic | 15,488 |
| Quintana Roo | — | — | Santa Cruz de Bravo | 276 |
| Islands | 1,420 | — |
