The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 2, Civilized Nations: The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume 2

In Short

This volume presents a systematic examination of the indigenous civilizations of Mesoamerica, focusing primarily on the Nahua and Maya branches. The narrative traces the evolution of human society from primitive conditions to complex states, examining how geography, resource distribution, and social organization fostered high culture in Anáhuac, Yucatan, and Guatemala. Rather than tracking a singular plot, the work charts the structural mechanics of these empires: their forms of government, judicial codes, military organizations, domestic life, agricultural practices, calendar systems, religious rituals, and architectural monuments. It follows the historical arc of these peoples through their traditions, from early Toltec and Maya roots to the heights of Aztec and Quiché power, culminating in their sudden disruption upon European contact. The volume has endured as a foundational text in nineteenth-century American ethnology, praised for its vast synthesis of Spanish chronicles, indigenous traditions, and early colonial records into a comprehensive comparative survey.

The Story

The work opens with a theoretical investigation into the nature of human progress and the mechanisms that elevate societies from savagism to civilization. Progress is framed not as an inherent property of the isolated individual, but as a vital social energy operating through fixed laws when human beings unite. Environmental factors, such as continental geography, climate, and available food supplies, interact with social drivers like association, division of labor, government, and even war to catalyze intellectual and political development. This framework is then applied to Mesoamerica, establishing a primary geographical and cultural division between the Nahua nations of northern and central Mexico and the Maya cultures occupying the regions south of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.

Focusing first on the Nahua sphere, the volume outlines the physical geography of the region, contrasting the torrid, disease-ridden coastal regions (tierra caliente) with the temperate interior plateaus (tierra fría and tierra templada). The historical trajectory of the Valley of Mexico—Anáhuac—is traced through successive waves of dominant peoples. It begins with the shadowy early eras, passes through the legendary Toltec period celebrated for its advancement in arts and agriculture, transitions through the rule of the warlike Chichimecs, and culminates in the rise of the Aztec Empire. The Aztec system of government is examined in detail, revealing a sophisticated feudal and monarchical structure where supreme authority was vested in a king, supported by a powerful council of nobles, judicial bodies, and a well-defined military hierarchy. The noble order of the Tecuhtli is highlighted as a central institution requiring rigorous initiation rites and significant wealth to maintain.

Daily existence within Nahua society is reconstructed from the top of the social hierarchy to the bottom. Royal courts, such as that of Montezuma, are depicted in their full complexity: elaborate palatial etiquette, specialized wardrobes designated for specific state functions, and lavish banquets supplied with delicacies brought from afar by swift relays of couriers. The narrative explores the economic foundations of this empire, detailing the intricate tax systems, land tenure rules, vibrant market squares like those of Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco, and the use of primitive currencies such as cacao beans, woven mantles, and copper axes. The technological accomplishments of the Nahuas are surveyed through their stone architecture, irrigation works, chinampas or floating gardens, vibrant dyeing processes using cochineal, and expert craftsmanship in metals, feathers, and precious stones.

Religious life and intellectual systems form a critical stage of the inquiry. The complex Aztec calendar, dividing the year into eighteen months of twenty days plus five extra unnumbered days (nemontemi), is analyzed alongside their hieroglyphic picture-writing. The volume details the elaborate series of public festivals, fasts, and sacrificial rites dedicated to a vast pantheon of deities, including Tezcatlipoca, Huitzilopochtli, and Centeotl. Domestic customs regarding birth, marriage, legal penances, and elaborate funeral ceremonies—where the deceased were cremated alongside sacrificed servants and buried with personal possessions—illustrate how deeply religious obligations permeated every aspect of social life.

The narrative then shifts south of Tehuantepec to examine the Maya nations of Yucatan, Chiapas, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Though sharing fundamental cultural affinities with the Nahuas, the Maya traditions reflect distinct historical origins, such as the ancient empire associated with Votan and the later Quiché and Cakchiquel monarchies. The Maya political landscape was defined by hereditary ruling families—such as the Cocomes, Tutul Xius, and Itzas—whose internal rivalries and alliances shaped the history of Yucatan. The study details Maya social institutions, common landholding traditions, architectural techniques seen in their stone chapels and temples, mathematical reckoning, and unique calendar systems. It records their creation myths, preserving the narrative of how the gods fashioned humanity out of yellow and white maize after earlier attempts failed. The volume concludes by documenting the decline and fragmentation of these southern empires, leaving behind ruined stone cities and rich oral traditions that survived the Spanish Conquest.

How It Unfolds

The mechanics of progress The author establishes that civilization arises from social association and natural laws rather than individual willpower or isolated intelligence. Physical environment, climate, and food sources interact with human social needs to force the development of language, law, and complex institutions.

The landscape of Anáhuac The study surveys the geography of Mexico, contrasting the dense, pestilential flora of the coastal tierra caliente with the cool, fertile mountain plateaus. This varied terrain shaped the distribution, trade routes, and military strategies of early aboriginal tribes.

The rise of the Nahuas The historical narrative moves through the sequence of cultures that dominated central Mexico, starting with the cultured Toltecs, followed by the invading Chichimec groups, and culminating in the aggressive expansion of the Aztec alliance.

Power and governance The internal structure of the Aztec state is analyzed, detailing the monarch's absolute yet regulated power, the duties of the nobility, and the strict feudal obligations binding vassals to the crown. Special attention is given to the military order of the Tecuhtli, which required candidates to undergo severe physical trial and public expenditure.

Palace life and statecraft The daily routines of Aztec royalty are laid out, highlighting royal banquets, court etiquette, sumptuary laws governing dress, and the extensive network of couriers bringing fresh provisions to the capital from distant coasts.

Commerce and industry The work examines the economic machinery of the empire, describing bustling regional markets, systems of barter and primitive currency, agricultural innovations like floating gardens, and advanced techniques in dyeing, weaving, and stonemasonry.

Law and social order The legal codes of the Nahua nations are detailed, revealing strict judicial processes and harsh penalties for crimes such as theft, treason, rape, and unnatural acts, balanced by protective customs regarding marriage and property division.

Time and picture-writing The volume investigates the intellectual achievements of the central nations, explaining their 365-day calendar system, their methods of recording history through painted codices, and the devastating loss of indigenous archives caused by early colonial burnings.

Ritual and sacrifice The religious calendar is reconstructed through its sequence of monthly festivals, public processions, bloody acts of self-mortification, and human sacrifices offered to ensure agricultural abundance and the preservation of the cosmic order.

The Maya realm The focus shifts south to the Maya cultures of Yucatan and Guatemala, outlining their early traditions under mythical leaders like Votan, their political divisions into regional dynasties, and their distinct linguistic branches.

Creation and sacred traditions The author records the religious lore of the southern nations, including the Quiché creation accounts from the Popol Vuh, where the creator deities successfully fashion the first human beings out of ground yellow and white corn.

Southern customs and final days The survey closes with an examination of Maya daily life, communal land practices, architectural construction, private rituals, and burial customs, ending as these regional powers fracture into smaller lordships prior to European arrival.

The People

• Hubert Howe Bancroft serves as the central organizing intelligence of the text. He seeks to compile, categorize, and synthesize every available historical and ethnographic record regarding the indigenous inhabitants of the Pacific states into a single, objective scientific inventory. His effort is constantly challenged by conflicting historical sources, missing citations in early manuscripts, and the total destruction of primary native archives by early Spanish ecclesiastics. Through rigorous comparative analysis, he attempts to extract an accurate picture of native life from heavily biased colonial accounts.
• The Aztec Monarchs (exemplified by Montezuma) represent the pinnacle of Nahua political and religious authority. Desiring absolute domestic obedience, military triumph, and the favor of the gods, they operate within rigid palace etiquette and sumptuary laws. Their power is constrained by the duty to feed and protect their people, maintain expensive religious cults, and satisfy the ambitions of a proud, highly organized nobility.
• The Order of the Tecuhtli consists of the elite military and civil leaders of the Nahua states. They seek political influence, high seats in council, and military command. To achieve this status, candidates must possess significant wealth and endure grueling public initiations, fasts, and physical penances, ending up as the dominant aristocratic class across Anáhuac.
• The Maya Begetters and Creators (Tepeuh and Gucumatz) are the central divine figures of southern traditional lore. They desire to create conscious beings who will honor, foster, and sustain them on earth. After failing with earlier materials, their efforts succeed when they discover maize in the land of Paxil, using ground corn to fashion the flesh and blood of the first true human ancestors.

In Its Own Voice

"Civilization is not an individual attribute, and though the atom, man, may be charged with stored energy, yet progress constitutes no part of individual nature; it is something that lies between men and not within them; it belongs to society and not to the individual; man, the molecule of society, isolate, is inert and forceless."

— On the fundamental necessity of social association for human development.

"Gone is he forever, and his kingdom has lost him. Never again, through all coming time, may we see his face, nor those who come after us. He is gone from our sight forever. Our light is put out; we, whom he illumined, whom he carried, as it were, upon his shoulders, are abandoned, and in darkness, and in great peril of destruction."

— From an Aztec funeral oration addressed to a newly elected king upon the death of his predecessor.

"In Paxil, or Cayala ('land of divided and stagnant waters') as it is called, were the ears of yellow maize and of white. These are the names of the barbarians who went to seek food; the Fox, the Jackal, the Paroquet, and the Crow,--four barbarians who made known to them the ears of the white maize and of the yellow, who came to Paxil and guided them thither."

— From the Quiché account of the divine discovery of maize used to create humanity.

What It's Really About

Beneath its dense encyclopedic gathering of facts, the book is an inquiry into the fundamental laws that govern human progress and social evolution. It challenges the assumption that civilization is the exclusive invention or property of Old World societies, arguing that identical social, environmental, and intellectual forces operate universally across all human populations. By examining the complex political frameworks, legal systems, and artistic achievements of the Nahua and Maya nations, the work asserts that aboriginal American societies independently developed high forms of civil organization that rivaled ancient historical states elsewhere in the world.

The text also wrestles with the paradoxes of human advancement. It demonstrates how high intellectual achievements—such as precise calendar systems, intricate architectural engineering, and refined legal codes—coexisted alongside brutal social practices, absolute despotisms, and violent religious rituals like human sacrifice. It explores the tension between individual agency and environmental determinism, examining how climate, topography, and natural resources both enable and limit human culture. Ultimately, the work serves as a silent lament for lost knowledge, documenting how fragile historical memory becomes when the written records and archives of a civilization are systematically destroyed by conquest.

Why Read It Today

This volume appeals to readers fascinated by indigenous American history, historical ethnology, and the grand intellectual ambitions of nineteenth-century scholarship. Reading it feels like walking through a vast, meticulously organized museum where thousands of scattered historical fragments—Spanish conquest chronicles, monastic reports, indigenous codices, and traditional myths—have been assembled onto a single, sweeping canvas. The prose is clear, authoritative, and surprisingly readable, driven by an earnest effort to weigh evidence dispassionately rather than hype its subject.

The book does present noticeable difficulties for the modern reader. Its sheer length and density require patience, as the author frequently pauses to compare conflicting spellings, calendar calculations, and source accounts across extensive footnotes. Modern readers must also navigate nineteenth-century terminology regarding "savagism" and "barbarism," though the text itself uses these terms within a specific sociological framework rather than as mere slurs. Furthermore, because the work relies on early colonial sources, it occasionally reflects the biases or misunderstandings of Spanish chroniclers who witnessed the aftermath of the conquest.

What stays with the reader is the incredible vividness of daily life reconstructed within these ancient empires. The text leaves unforgettable impressions: the silent speed of runners carrying fresh sea fish across tropical mountains to the emperor's table; the intense, grueling initiation rituals of Nahua knights; the intricate beauty of feather-work mantles dyed with cochineal; and the profound beauty of sacred creation stories that placed corn at the very center of human identity. It remains a monumental effort to restore the vibrant reality of Mesoamerica's civilized nations to the global historical record.