Chapter I: The Maya 1

Habitat 1
History 2
Manners and customs 7

II. The Maya hieroglyphic writing 22

III. How the Maya reckoned time 37
The tonalamatl, or 260-day period 41
The haab, or year of 365 days 44
The Calendar Round, or 18,980-day period 51
The Long Count 60
Initial Series 63
The introducing glyph 64
The cycle glyph 68
The katun glyph 68
The tun glyph 70
The uinal glyph 70
The kin glyph 72
Secondary Series 74
Calendar-round dates 76
Period-ending dates 77
U kahlay katunob 79

IV. Maya arithmetic 87
Bar and dot numerals 87
Head-variant numerals 96
First method of numeration 105
Number of cycles in a great cycle 107
Second method of numeration 129
First step in solving Maya numbers 134
Second step in solving Maya numbers 135
Third step in solving Maya numbers 136
Fourth step in solving Maya numbers 138
Fifth step in solving Maya numbers 151

V. The inscriptions 156
Texts recording Initial Series 157
Texts recording Initial Series and Secondary Series 207
Texts recording Period Endings 222
Texts recording Initial Series, Secondary Series, and
Period Endings 233
Errors in the originals 245

VI. The codices 251
Texts recording tonalamatls 251
Texts recording Initial Series 266
Texts recording Serpent Numbers 273
Texts recording Ascending Series 276

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List of Tables

Page
TABLE I. The twenty Maya day names 37
II. Sequence of Maya days 42
III. The divisions of the Maya year 45
IV. Positions of days at the end of a year 48
V. Relative positions of days beginning Maya years 53
VI. Positions of days in divisions of Maya year 55
VII. Positions of days in divisions of Maya year according to
Maya notation 55
VIII. The Maya time-periods 62
IX. Sequence of katuns in u kahlay katunob 80
X. Characteristics of head-variant numerals 0-19, inclusive 103
XI. Sequence of twenty consecutive dates in the month Pop 111
XII. Comparison of the two methods of numeration 133
XIII. Values of higher periods in terms of lowest, in inscriptions 135
XIV. Values of higher periods in terms of lowest, in codices 135
XV. The 365 positions in the Maya year 141
XVI. 80 Calendar Rounds expressed in Arabic and Maya notation 143
XVII. Interrelationship of dates on Stelæ E, F, and J and
Zoömorph G, Quirigua 239

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ILLUSTRATIONS

Page
PLATE 1. The Maya territory, showing locations of principal cities
(map) 1
2. Diagram showing periods of occupancy of principal southern
cities 15
3. Page 74 of the Dresden Codex, showing the end of the world
(according to Förstemann) 32
4. Diagram showing occurrence of dates recorded in Cycle 9 35
5. Tonalamatl wheel, showing sequence of the 260 differently
named days 43
6. Glyphs representing Initial Series, showing use of bar and
dot numerals and normal-form period glyphs 157
7. Glyphs representing Initial Series, showing use of bar and
dot numerals and head-variant period glyphs 167
8. Glyphs representing Initial Series, showing use of bar and
dot numerals and head-variant period glyphs 170
9. Glyphs representing Initial Series, showing use of bar and
dot numerals and head-variant period glyphs 176
10. Glyphs representing Initial Series, showing use of bar and
dot numerals and head-variant period glyphs--Stela 3, Tikal 178
11. Glyphs representing Initial Series, showing use of bar and
dot numerals and head-variant period glyphs--Stela A (east
side), Quirigua 179
12. Glyphs representing Initial Series, showing use of
head-variant numerals and period glyphs 180
13. Oldest Initial Series at Copan--Stela 15 187
14. Initial Series on Stela D, Copan, showing full-figure
numeral glyphs and period glyphs 188
15. Initial Series on Stela J, Copan 191
16. Initial Series and Secondary Series on Lintel 21, Yaxchilan 207
17. Initial Series and Secondary Series on Stela 1, Piedras
Negras 210
18. Initial Series and Secondary Series on Stela K, Quirigua 213
19. Initial Series and Secondary Series on Stela F (west side),
Quirigua 218
20. Initial Series on Stela F (east side), Quirigua 220
21. Examples of Period-ending dates in Cycle 9 223
22. Examples of Period-ending dates in cycles other than
Cycle 9 227
23. Initial Series, Secondary Series, and Period-ending dates
on Stela 3, Piedras Negras 233
24. Initial Series, Secondary Series, and Period-ending dates
on Stela E (west side), Quirigua 235
25. Calendar-round dates on Altar 5, Tikal 240
26. Initial Series on Stela N, Copan, showing error in month
coefficient 248
27. Page 12 of the Dresden Codex, showing tonalamatls in all
three divisions 254
28. Page 15 of the Dresden Codex, showing tonalamatls in all
three divisions 260
29. Middle divisions of pages 10 and 11 of the
Tro-Cortesiano, showing one tonalamatl extending across
the two pages 262
30. Page 102 of the Codex Tro-Cortesiano, showing tonalamatls
in the lower three divisions 263
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31. Page 24 of the Dresden Codex, showing Initial Series 266
32. Page 62 of the Dresden Codex, showing the Serpent Numbers 273

FIGURE 1. Itzamna, chief deity of the Maya Pantheon 16
2. Kukulcan, God of Learning 17
3. Ahpuch, God of Death 17
4. The God of War 17
5. Ek Ahau, the Black Captain, war deity 18
6. Yum Kaax, Lord of the Harvest 18
7. Xaman Ek, the North Star God 19
8. Conflict between the Gods of Life and Death (Kukulcan and
Ahpuch) 19
9. Outlines of the glyphs 22
10. Examples of glyph elision, showing elimination of all parts
except essential element 23
11. Normal-form and head-variant glyphs, showing retention of
essential element in each 24
12. Normal-form and head-variant glyphs, showing absence of
common essential element 25
13. Glyphs built up on a phonetic basis 28
14. A rebus. Aztec, and probably Maya, personal and place names
were written in a corresponding manner 29
15. Aztec place names 30
16. The day signs in the inscriptions 38
17. The day signs in the codices 39
18. Sign for the tonalamatl (according to Goodman) 44
19. The month signs in the inscriptions 49
20. The month signs in the codices 50
21. Diagram showing engagement of tonalamatl wheel of 260 days
and haab wheel of 365 positions; the combination of the two
giving the Calendar Round, or 52-year period 57
22. Signs for the Calendar Round 59
23. Diagram showing section of Calendar-round wheel 64
24. Initial-series "introducing glyph" 65
25. Signs for the cycle 68
26. Full-figure variant of cycle sign 69
27. Signs for the katun 69
28. Full-figure variant of katun sign 70
29. Signs for the tun 70
30. Full-figure variant of tun sign 70
31. Signs for the uinal 71
32. Full-figure variant of uinal sign on Zoömorph B, Quirigua 71
33. Full-figure variant of uinal sign on Stela D, Copan 71
34. Signs for the kin 72
35. Full-figure variant of kin sign 73
36. Period glyphs, from widely separated sites and of different
epochs, showing persistence of essential elements 74
37. Ending signs and elements 78
38. "Snake" or "knot" element as used with day sign Ahau,
possibly indicating presence of the u kahlay katunob
in the inscriptions 83
39. Normal forms of numerals 1 to 19, inclusive, in the codices 88
40. Normal forms of numerals 1 to 19, inclusive, in the
inscriptions 89
41. Examples of bar and dot numeral 5, showing the
ornamentation which the bar underwent without affecting
its numerical value 89
{xiii}
42. Examples showing the way in which numerals 1, 2, 6, 7,
11, 12, 16, and 17 are _not_ used with period, day, or
month signs 90
43. Examples showing the way in which numerals 1, 2, 6, 7,
11, 12, 16, and 17 _are_ used with period, day, or
month signs 90
44. Normal forms of numerals 1 to 13, inclusive, in the Books
of Chilan Balam 91
45. Sign for 20 in the codices 92
46. Sign for 0 in the codices 92
47. Sign for 0 in the inscriptions 93
48. Figure showing possible derivation of the sign for 0 in
the inscriptions 93
49. Special sign for 0 used exclusively as a month coefficient 94
50. Examples of the use of bar and dot numerals with period,
day, or month signs 95
51. Head-variant numerals 1 to 7, inclusive 97
52. Head-variant numerals 8 to 13, inclusive 98
53. Head-variant numerals 14 to 19, inclusive, and 0 99
54. A sign for 0, used also to express the idea "ending" or
"end of" in Period-ending dates 102
55. Examples of the use of head-variant numerals with period,
day, or month signs 104
56. Examples of the first method of numeration, used almost
exclusively in the inscriptions 105
57. Signs for the cycle showing coefficients above 13 110
58. Part of the inscription on Stela N, Copan, showing a number
composed of six periods 115
59. Part of the inscription in the Temple of the Inscriptions,
Palenque, showing a number composed of seven periods 115
60. Part of the inscription on Stela 10, Tikal (probably an
Initial Series), showing a number composed of eight periods 115
61. Signs for the great cycle and the great-great cycle 118
62. Glyphs showing misplacement of the kin coefficient or
elimination of a period glyph 128
63. Examples of the second method of numeration, used
exclusively in the codices 131
64. Figure showing the use of the "minus" or "backward" sign
in the codices 137
65. Sign for the "month indicator" 153
66. Diagram showing the method of designating particular
glyphs in a text 156
67. Signs representing the hotun, or 5-tun, period 166
68. Initial Series showing bar and dot numerals and
head-variant period glyphs 174
69. Initial Series showing head-variant numerals and
period glyphs 183
70. Initial Series showing head-variant numerals and
period glyphs 186
71. Initial Series on Stela H, Quirigua 193
72. The tun, uinal, and kin coefficients on Stela H, Quirigua 194
73. The Initial Series on the Tuxtla Statuette, the oldest
Initial Series known (in the early part of Cycle 8) 195
74. The introducing glyph (?) of the Initial Series on the
Tuxtla Statuette 196
75. Drawings of the Initial Series: _A_, On the Leyden Plate;
_B_, on a lintel from the Temple of the Initial Series,
Chichen Itza 197
{xiv}
76. The Cycle-10 Initial Series from Quen Santo 200
77. Initial Series which proceed from a date prior to 4 Ahau
8 Cumhu, the starting point of Maya chronology 204
78. The Initial Series on Stela J, Quirigua 215
79. The Secondary Series on Stela J, Quirigua 216
80. Glyphs which may disclose the nature of the events that
happened at Quirigua on the dates: _a_, 9. 14. 13. 4. 17
12 Caban 5 Kayab; _b_, 9. 15. 6. 14. 6 6 Cimi 4 Tzec 221
81. The Initial Series, Secondary Series, and Period-ending
date on Altar S, Copan 232
82. The Initial Series on Stela E (east side), Quirigua 236
83. Calendar-round dates 241
84. Texts showing actual errors in the originals 245
85. Example of first method of numeration in the codices
(part of page 69 of the Dresden Codex) 275

* * * * *

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

AGUILAR, SANCHEZ DE. 1639. Informe contra idolorum cultores del Obispado de Yucatan. Madrid. (Reprint in _Anales Mus. Nac. de Mexico_, VI, pp. 17-122, Mexico, 1900.)

BOWDITCH, CHARLES P. 1901 a. Memoranda on the Maya calendars used in the Books of Chilan Balam. _Amer. Anthr._, n. s., III, No. 1, pp. 129-138, New York.

---- 1906. The Temples of the Cross, of the Foliated Cross, and of the Sun at Palenque. Cambridge, Mass.

---- 1909. Dates and numbers in the Dresden Codex. _Putnam Anniversary Volume_, pp. 268-298, New York.

---- 1910. The numeration, calendar systems, and astronomical knowledge of the Mayas. Cambridge, Mass.

BRASSEUR DE BOURBOURG, C. E. 1869-70. Manuscrit Troano. Études sur le système graphique et la langue des Mayas. 2 vols. Paris.

BRINTON, DANIEL G. 1882 b. The Maya chronicles. Philadelphia. (No. 1 of _Brinton's Library of Aboriginal American Literature_.)

---- 1894 b. A primer of Mayan hieroglyphics. _Pubs. Univ. of Pa._, Ser. in Philol., Lit., and Archeol., III, No. 2.

BULLETIN 28 of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1904: Mexican and Central American antiquities, calendar systems, and history. Twenty-four papers by Eduard Seler, E. Förstemann, Paul Schellhas, Carl Sapper, and E. P. Dieseldorff. Translated from the German under the supervision of Charles P. Bowditch.

COGOLLUDO, D. L. 1688. Historia de Yucathan. Madrid.

CRESSON, H. T. 1892. The antennæ and sting of Yikilcab as components in the Maya day-signs. _Science_, XX, pp. 77-79, New York.

DIESELDORFF, E. P. See BULLETIN 28.

FÖRSTEMANN, E. 1906. Commentary on the Maya manuscript in the Royal Public Library of Dresden. _Papers Peabody Mus._, IV, No. 2, pp. 48-266, Cambridge. _See also_ BULLETIN 28.

GATES, W. E. 1910. Commentary upon the Maya-Tzental Perez Codex, with a concluding note upon the linguistic problem of the Maya glyphs. _Papers Peabody Mus._, VI, No. 1, pp. 5-64, Cambridge.

GOODMAN, J. T. 1897. The archaic Maya inscriptions. (Biologia Centrali-Americana, Archæology, Part XVIII. London.) [_See_ Maudslay, 1889-1902.]

---- 1905. Maya dates. _Amer. Anthr._, n. s., VII, pp. 642-647, Lancaster, Pa.

HEWETT, EDGAR L. 1911. Two seasons' work in Guatemala. _Bull. Archæol. Inst. of America_, II, pp. 117-134, Norwood, Mass.

HOLMES, W. H. 1907. On a nephrite statuette from San Andrés Tuxtla, Vera Cruz, Mexico. _Amer. Anthr._, n. s., IX, No. 4, pp. 691-701, Lancaster, Pa.

LANDA, DIEGO DE. 1864. Relacion de las cosas de Yucatan. Paris.

LE PLONGEON, A. 1885. The Maya alphabet. Supplement to _Scientific American_, vol. XIX, Jan. 31, pp. 7572-73, New York.

MALER, TEOBERT. 1901. Researches in the central portion of the Usumatsintla valley. _Memoirs Peabody Mus._, II, No. 1, pp. 9-75, Cambridge.

---- 1903. Researches in the central portion of the Usumatsintla valley. [Continued.] Ibid., No. 2, pp. 83-208.

---- 1908 a. Explorations of the upper Usumatsintla and adjacent region. Ibid., IV, No. 1, pp. 1-51. {xvi}

MALER, TEOBERT. 1908 b. Explorations in the Department of Peten, Guatemala, and adjacent region. Ibid., No. 2, pp. 55-127.

---- 1910. Explorations in the Department of Peten, Guatemala, and adjacent region. [Continued.] Ibid., No. 3, pp. 131-170.

---- 1911. Explorations in the Department of Peten, Guatemala. Tikal. Ibid., V, No. 1, pp. 3-91, pls. 1-26.

MAUDSLAY, A. P. 1889-1902. Biologia Centrali-Americana, or contributions to the knowledge of the flora and fauna of Mexico and Central America. Archæology. 4 vols. of text and plates. London.

MORLEY, S. G. 1910 b. Correlation of Maya and Christian chronology. _Amer. Journ. Archeol._, 2d ser., XIV, pp. 193-204, Norwood, Mass.

---- 1911. The historical value of the Books of Chilan Balam. Ibid., XV, pp. 195-214.

PONCE, FRAY ALONZO. 1872. Relacion breve y verdadera de algunas cosas de las muchas que sucedieron al Padre Fray Alonzo Ponce, Comisario General en las provincias de Nueva España. _Colección de documentos ineditos para la historia de España_, LVII, LVIII. Madrid.

ROSNY, LEON DE. 1876. Essai sur le déchiffrement de l'écriture hiératique de l'Amérique Centrale. Paris.

SAPPER, CARL. _See_ BULLETIN 28.

SCHELLHAS, PAUL. _See_ BULLETIN 28.

SELER, EDUARD. 1901 c. Die alten Ansiedelungen von Chaculá im Distrikte Nenton des Departements Huehuetenango der Republik Guatemala. Berlin.

---- 1902-1908. Gesammelte Abhandlungen zur amerikanischen Sprach- und Alterthumskunde. 3 vols. Berlin. _See also_ BULLETIN 28.

SPINDEN, H. J. 1913. A study of Maya art, its subject-matter and historical development. _Memoirs Peabody Mus._, VI, pp. 1-285, Cambridge.

STEPHENS, J. L. 1841. Incidents of travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan. 2 vols. New York.

---- 1843. Incidents of travel in Yucatan. 2 vols. New York.

THOMAS, CYRUS. 1893. Are the Maya hieroglyphs phonetic? _Amer. Anthr._, VI, No. 3, pp. 241-270, Washington.

VILLAGUTIERRE, SOTOMAYOR J. 1701. Historia de la conquista de la provinzia de el Itza, reduccion, y progressos de la de el Lacandon y otras naciones de el reyno de Guatimala, a las provincias de Yucatan, en la America septentrional. Madrid.

* * * * *

* * * * * {1}

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE MAYA HIEROGLYPHS

BY SYLVANUS GRISWOLD MORLEY

* * * * *