until something has been said about the art and culture of the Maya. [Illustration: FIG. 44.--Huaxtec pottery vase; Tampico. (_After Seler_)] [Illustration: _PLATE XIX_ _British Museum_ TOTONAC POTTERY FROM THE ISLAND OF SACRIFICIOS, VERA CRUZ (Scale: ¼th)] CHAPTER VIII--THE MAYA: TRIBAL HISTORY Having sketched the archæology of Mexico proper, explained as far as possible by what we know of the religion and customs of the early inhabitants, it now remains to consider the region to the south and east which was the scene of a distinct, but related, culture, that of the Maya. The area involved consists of Tabasco, Chiapas, Campeche and Yucatan in Mexico, British Honduras, Guatemala and the northern portion of Honduras. The task is one of far greater difficulty, since the ruined remains scattered over the country give evidence of a higher culture than that which prevailed at the conquest; but of the people who evolved that culture we know nothing except by implication. The sites which show the greatest architectural and artistic development had been abandoned at any rate some considerable time before the coming of the Spaniards, and the early chroniclers were unable to record anything concerning them. In Yucatan alone were traditions preserved which could be brought into relation with the ancient buildings, and then only with the most modern of them, which bear evident traces of non-Maya influence. The area now under consideration is separated geographically from that which formed the subject of the preceding chapters by the Tehuantepec depression; to the east of the latter, the southern section, including the greater portion of Tabasco, Chiapas, Guatemala (except the extreme north), and Honduras, are part of a mountain system which extends, with interruptions, into South America, and may be considered a continuation of the Sierra Madre to the west and north. Campeche, Yucatan and the part of Guatemala excepted above, constitute a sort of annexe to the former, formed of limestone, low-lying, and of comparatively recent elevation from below the sea. Guatemala (including British Honduras) is an elevated plateau with its highest and steepest escarpment on the Pacific side, and sloping less abruptly and in irregular fashion towards the Atlantic. In the south is a volcanic system, giving rise to scenery of particular beauty, especially where it includes such highland lakes as that of Atitlan. The igneous range constitutes the main watershed, and consequently the only rivers of importance, the Usumacinta and Motagua, drain into the Atlantic, while in the low-lying region of Peten a number of lakes are found. In Honduras the mountain system decreases in elevation into hilly country, also with its principal slope towards the Atlantic, traversed in various directions by ridges branching off from the central plateau. The volcanic system extends from Guatemala along the Pacific coast.