Note 1051 — Chapter III · (continued 2)

The fact is, that widely distinct estimates have been held, some dating them back into the remotest antiquity, and others making them later than the Conquest. Bancroft (iv. 362) collates these statements. Cf. Dr. Earl Flint in Amer. Antiquarian, iv. 289. Morelet identifies them with the Toltec remains, supposing them to be the work of that people after their emigration, and to be of about the same age as Mitla. Charnay (Anc. Cities of the New World, p. 260) claims that Cortes knew the place as the religious metropolis of the Acaltecs. On the question of Cortes’ knowledge see Science, Feb. 27, 1885, p. 171; and Ibid. (by Brinton) March 27, 1885, p. 248.