Enough has been said, however, to show that the Aztec and Tezcucan races were advanced in civilization very far beyond the wandering tribes of North America. The degree of civilization which they reached, as inferred by their political institutions, may be considered, perhaps, not much short of that enjoyed by our Saxon ancestors, under Alfred [849-901 A. D.]. In respect to the nature of it, they may be better compared with the Egyptians; and the examination of their social relations and culture may suggest still stronger points of resemblance to that ancient people. [12] H. H. Bancroft says: This, however, I may safely claim; if the preceding pages inform us aright, then were the Nahuas, the Mayas, and the subordinate and lesser civilization surrounding these, but little lower than the contemporaneous civilization of Europe and Asia, and not nearly so low as we have hitherto been led to suppose. [13] John D. Baldwin, writing in 1871, says: We are told repeatedly that the Spaniards employed "Mexican masons" and found them "very expert" in the arts of building and plastering. There is no good reason to doubt that the civilized condition of the country when the Spaniards found it was superior to what it has been at any time since the conquest. [14] Tezcuco and Mexico are both known to be comparatively modern cities, Mexico itself being founded no earlier than 1325 A. D., and Prescott, in speaking of an era of prosperity which followed the triple alliance of the states of Mexico, Tezcuco, and Tlacopan says: The Aztec capital, [Mexico] gave evidence of public prosperity. Its frail tenements were supplanted by solid structures of stone and lime. * * * * The dimensions of which, covering the same ground, were much larger than those of the modern capital of Mexico. [15] His description of the valley of Mexico, and its cities, fields and orchards, when first beheld by the invading Spaniards under Cortez, is as follows: