The Civilization of the Mayas

Perhaps fifteen to twenty thousand years ago man first trod American soil, Crossing from Siberia to Alaska via the Bering Strait. We can guess at the habits of the first invaders of this continent by comparing them with their fellow men who lived at the same period in western Europe—a very hazardous experiment, as the mere fact that two peoples are contemporaneous does not imply that they are on the same cultural level. However, in all probability, there was a general resemblance between Upper Paleolithic man of western Europe and the invader of America, and so he may serve as our type. He lived either out in the open or in the entrances of caves, and dressed in the skins of the animals he slew with his stone- or bone-pointed spear, propelled by a spear-thrower. He employed flint for his weapons, but had not yet learned to polish hard stone. He had no pottery, agriculture, or domestic animals, and depended entirely on hunting for his food; to procure a good bag he almost certainly practiced magic, which would bring in its train a regular guild of sorcerers.