Today we are going to finish our examination of an Incan civilisation that was a close remnant of the ancient Toltec sub-race of the Atlantan Root Race. We start by looking at their weapons, which were simply constructed. There was scarce need to drill the soldiers in the art of war. Consequently, the army was mainly employed to carry out public works and services. The army supplied all the runners for sending despatches and letters, whether they be official or private. The army also maintained all public works but called in additional labour for new works. In their infrequent wars with less civilised tribes, their motto was: ”You should never be cruel to your enemy, because tomorrow they will be your friend.” They refrained from killing their opponents and endeavoured to make it possible for other tribes to come into the Empire. They used the spear, the sword and the bow, as well as the bolas, which consisted of two stone or metal balls joined by a rope and thrown to entangle the legs of the enemy. Their forts were arranged so that they could roll giant rocks onto their assailants. Charming.
They used iron but did not know how to make steel. More valuable to them were copper and various brasses and bronzes, because these could be made exceedingly hard by alloying them with their remarkable cement. Treated in this manner, even pure copper would take an edge as fine as the best steel, while some of their alloys were harder than any metal we have today. Iron did not blend so effectively with the cement and consequently was not so useful. Their metal work was exceedingly fine and delicate, some of the filigree work being so gossamer-like that it had to be cleaned employing a blowpipe, as ordinary rubbing or dusting would have destroyed it. Some of their engraving was almost too fine to be seen without the aid of magnification.
Pottery they made from clay, which was chemically treated so that it became a rich crimson colour. They then inlaid it with gold and silver in a very delicate manner. The use of colours extended to a broader pallet, which was mixed with clay and their special cement, resulting in a material that was almost as transparent as glass but far less brittle. They could also make thin porcelain which would bend without breaking. Metal-work and pottery to a great extent replaced wood, of which they made very little use.
Painting was a decorative art that was made extensive use of, but it was done on sheets of silicious material, with a delicate, creamy surface. These could be bent and varied in thickness from that of a notepaper to that of a presentation board. Paint brushes consisted of lengths of a fibrous plant, with the end beaten out and cut to a sharp triangle, so that it could be used to paint the finest as well as the thickest lines.
Colours usually came in the form of a powder, mixed with some liquid which dried instantly, so that an application once laid could not be altered. The colours surpassed in delicacy and purity any now employed. By using powdered metals they obtained a rich effect, though we would probably consider it very rustic.
The perspective used in painting was believable and the drawings were an accurate representation of the subject. The completed picture was brushed over with a very quick-drying varnish, which made it practically indelible and impervious to sun or rain for a long time. If you look at the artwork from later civilisations, it is amazing that they are still very chromatic after all these years. I am particularly thinking of the paintings found in Egyptian tombs.
Books were written, or rather illuminated, on the same material and in the same manner as pictures. They consisted of several thin sheets, usually about 18 by 6 inches, strung together by wire or kept in a box 3 to 5 inches deep. The boxes were usually made of a metal resembling platinum, which could be richly ornamented. Printing does not seem to have been known, though a kind of stencil plate was used for copying official notices and the like. Their attitude to books was similar to that of the mediaeval monk and to make a copy of one was a work of merit. The range of their literature was limited. There were a few religious or ethical treatises, and some mystical ones too. The people’s favourite publications were those that were deemed to be directly practical. Official treatises or manuals existed for every trade, handicraft or art, and were kept up to date by appendices. Thus the Peruvian monograph on any subject was a compendium of useful knowledge, giving in condensed form all that was known on the subject.
There was also a class of story-book with a moral purpose, usually describing how a King or other official dealt with an emergency. Many of these were classics, constantly quoted. They were accepted as true, though some of them may have been fiction. Some of the stories had plenty of wild adventures, but there were no love stories. Some of the stories contained humour, though stories in a humorous genre had not been created yet. There was also no poetry, although maxims couched in swinging, sonorous speech, were widely known and constantly quoted.
In their music, they had a pipe and a kind of harp, but their favourite was something like a harmonium. The keyboard was similar to that of a typewriter, an ingenious mechanical arrangement forcing wind against a vibrating tongue of metal to produce sounds. The Peruvian musical scale was that of the Atlanteans, and very different from our own. They had no set pieces, but each performer improvised for themselves. The sound of that does not appeal to me at all. You can still hear this kind of discordant music performed in places like Tibet.
The last cultural tradition to consider would be their sculpture, which was bold, dashing and effective rather than graceful. Their rugged statues were colossal. Fine work was done in bass relief, usually covered with metal.
Children were not allowed to marry, though what constituted a child I do not know. Adults were expected to marry unless there was good reason to the contrary. All marriages were performed on one day in the year, the Governor, after asking a few questions, went through a simple ceremony and pronounced the couple’s man and wife. Sounds like a Moonie wedding. A new allotment of land was then made to suit the changed circumstances of the newly minted couple.
The flesh of animals was not eaten; they consumed the potato, yam, maize, rice and milk. Their principal food was composed of maize flour, mixed with other chemical constituents, and reduced by enormous pressure to a highly concentrated cake. Its components were such that it was a complete food in itself. This allowed a traveller to carry this dried cake on long journeys without risk of spoilage. Think of it as elven bread. It was sucked slowly like a lozenge, or boiled or cooked in various ways. Having little flavour of its own, it was flavoured by pomegranate, vanilla, orange, guava, and so on. It was manufactured in enormous quantities and was very cheap. Many people ate scarcely anything else, though there were plenty of other foods available.
The people of the culture we are examining were fond of pet animals, small monkeys and cats being the favourites, these being bred into many fancy varieties. With cats, they made a speciality of colour and produced one species of cat that had a vivid blue hue. Many citizens were fond of birds. Leadbeater suggested that we may owe the existence of many brightly coloured specimens now found in the jungles of South America, to this original interest in crossing birds to produce varied and assorted new pets. It is also just possible that they captured and bred the species of birds already present. What was reported by our two authors is that the locals showed a great deal of affection towards their pets and cultivated their intelligence and we all know how useful that is in the evolution of any monad.
The national dress of the populace was a loose flowing garment, simple and scanty, usually brightly coloured. A Peruvian crowd on a festal occasion was a brilliant sight. Women usually preferred blue robes. The material was usually cotton, though the fine wool of the llama and vicuna was also used. A cloth of great strength was made from the threads of the maguey; this is a plant from the agave family, which was chemically treated in some way.
As has already been mentioned, calculation was done using an abacus, or calculating frame, like the modern Japanese. A cheaper substitute was a fringe of knotted cord, possibly the original of the quipus, which the Spaniards found in use thousands of years later, by the indigenous Inca population.
So, to summarise our look at this Peruvian culture that flourished 14,000 years ago, we can say that their physical life was very well-ordered. The opportunities for unselfish work and devotion to duty, which were coordinated by a governing class, produced a harmonious society. All levels of ability were rewarded and those that showed greater aptitude were encouraged further.
The scope of public opinion was more homogenous and the sense of duty stronger, than we see now in any society. But it must be remembered that the race we have been examining was an offshoot of a race that had long passed its prime. We, the 5th Root Race, are a comparatively young race and should, in due time, reach a level even higher than that of the Atlanteans, if we don’t exterminate each other or our environment first.
Although many Atlantians were more psychic than we are today, they, mostly, had nothing which could be called classified as esoteric thought, nor any grasp of the great scheme of the universes. Hence, when our Fifth Root Race reaches the same stage of its life, our physical conditions should be as good as those of the Atlanteans and our intellectual and spiritual development should be higher than anything possible to the Peruvian relic of Atlantis, 14,000 years ago. Here’s hoping.