Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/493

MEXICO 475 Piercing the lips and nose for the insertion of various ornaments, and plucking the hairs of the nascent beard, were common practices among the Mexicans. For purposes of record and communication they had a species of pic- ture writing bearing some relation to the Egyptian hieroglyphics. (See HIEROGLYPHICS.) They had five books written in this way : the first treating of the seasons and years; the second of the days and festivals throughout the year; the third of dreams, omens, and other superstitious observances ; the fourth of baptism and the names of children (for they celebrated a baptismal ceremony much like the Christian rite, in which the infant's lips and breasts were sprinkled with water) ; and the fifth of the ceremonies and prognostica- tions used at marriages. Historical knowl- edge was preserved by tradition aided by pic- ture writings ; and there were, besides the mul- titudes of regular chronicles, certain men who kept important events, genealogies, &c., in their memory, and recited them when called upon. Translations of elaborate prose productions seem to show that eloquence and rhetorical effect were aimed at by Aztec scholars ; but no original compositions have been preserved. Songs perpetuating their traditions, recited at the great festivals, formed one of the foremost branches of temple education. Their musical instruments included various kinds of trum- pets, whistles of bone and clay, horns of large sea shells, bamboo flutes, many varieties of drums, and a few stringed instruments. The- atrical performances were given on open ter- races in the market places, the stage being cov- ered with branches of trees ; masks were indis- pensable ; and the performances were insepa- rably connected with the religion. The plays were partly pantomimic and partly recitative. The art of prestidigitation was highly devel- oped. Farces and masquerades were frequently given at the temples by the merchants, disguised as frogs, beetles, birds, butterflies, &c., the en- tertainment ending with dancing. The Mexi- cans had a simple system of arithmetical nota- tion, in which the first 20 numbers were ex- pressed by a corresponding number of dots. The number 20 was expressed by a flag, and larger sums were reckoned by twenties and expressed by repeating the number of flags. The square of 20, 400, was denoted by a plume ; and 8,000, the cube of 20, by a purse or sack. The year was divided into 18 months of 20 days each, and both months and days were ex- pressed by peculiar hieroglyphics. Five com- plementary days were added to make up the 365 ; and for the fraction over of nearly 6 hours, required to make the full year, they added 13 days at the end of every 52 years or cycle, which they called xiuhmolpilli, " the ty- ing up of years." A month was divided into 4 weeks of 5 days each. The epoch from which the Mexicans computed their chronolo- gy corresponded with the year 1091 of the Christian era. They had no astronomical in- struments except the dial, but their skill in the science of astronomy is shown by their knowl- edge of the true length of the year, of the cause of eclipses and of the periods of the solstices and equinoxes, and of the transit of the sun across the zenith of Mexico. Most of their astro- nomical knowledge was derived from the Tol- tecs. The physicians were skilful ; they had knowledge of several thousand plants and of hundreds of species of birds, quadrupeds, fishes, insects, reptiles, and minerals ; but they mysti- fie,d their cures with superstitious ceremonies. The Spanish conquerors attest the dexterity and success of the native surgeons in dressing wounds and in blood-letting. The merchants and military officers had a fair notion of geog- raphy ; maps and charts of certain regions, of rivers, and of the whole coast, were accurately drawn or painted on cloth. Agriculture was in tolerable advancement, the want of ploughs, oxen, and other animals being supplied by sim- ple instruments and assiduous labor. Irriga- tion by means of canals was very efficient. Of the various Mexican implements, almost the only ones described are an axe of copper or bronze, with just the amount of tin alloy to give it the greatest hardness attainable, and knives and swords, razors, and arrow and spear heads, of itztli, or obsidian. They were ex- tremely skilful in the cultivation of gardens, in which they planted fruit trees, medicinal plants, and flowers, with much taste. Among their chief productions were maize, cotton, cacao, the maguey or aloe, chile, &c. The maguey alone furnished the poor with almost all the necessaries of life: paper, thread, needles, cloth, shoes, stockings, and cordage from the leaves, the thickest part of these with the trunk furnishing besides a substantial dish ; and pulque and mezcatl from the fermented juice. From the juice of the maize stalk they prepared sugar; from the cacao they made chocolate (Aztec, chocolatl), which they formed into tablets. In mining and metallurgy they were very expert. They exercised the arts of casting, engraving, chasing, and carving in metal, with great skill; and in looms of simple construction they made mania (cotton cloth) and other tissues, some of which were of exquisite fineness, interwoven with rabbit hair and feathers, their only substitutes for wool and silk, and painted or dyed in most gorgeous colors. With the feathers of birds tastefully disposed on fine cotton webs, they made garments of the utmost magnificence. Buying and selling, there being no shops, were carried on in public squares or market places. Earthenware of every description, and suited for every domestic use, was one of the chief Mexican industries ; and many of the ar- ticles were painted in showy colors and de- signs. No beasts of burden were used, all car- rying being done either by water, chiefly on the lakes, where a marvellous number of vessels were employed, or on men's backs. _ The mari- time commerce was probably very trifling. For