Chapter II: Preface: V

INTRODUCTION 1

Foundation of the inquiry--Units of time-reckoning--Risings
and settings of the stars--Phases of climate, of plant and
animal life--Modes of time-reckoning.

CHAPTER I.--THE DAY 11

The day of 24 hours not primitive--Counting of days or
nights--_Pars pro toto_ reckoning--Indications of the sun’s
position--Indications by means of marks etc.--Names for the
parts of the day--Names derived from occupations--Lists of
names--Homeric expressions--Greek and Latin expressions--
Parts of the night--Night measured by the stars--Measures
of time.

CHAPTER II.--THE SEASONS 45

Seasonal points--Small seasons--Winter and summer--Dry and
rainy seasons--Wind-seasons--Four or five seasons--
Sub-division of seasons--Greater seasons--Cycles of seasons
--Agricultural cycles of seasons--Artificially regulated
cycles of seasons--Indo-European seasons--Seasons of the
Germanic peoples--The division of the Germanic year--The
Scandinavian division of the year--The old Scandinavian
week-year--Smaller wind-seasons.

CHAPTER III.--THE YEAR 86

Half-years--Shorter years--The empirical year--_Pars pro toto_
reckoning--The period of the vegetation and the year--
Ignorance of age--Relative age--Designation of years after
events--Series of years designated after events--Designation
of years in Babylonia and Egypt.

CHAPTER IV.--THE STARS 109

Inaccuracy of time-reckoning--The stars in Homer--Observation
of the stars by the Greeks and Romans--Star-lore: N. America
--S. America--Africa--India--Australia--Oceania--Indication
of time from the stars--Observation of the stars: Bushmen
--Australia--N. America--S. America--Africa--East Indian
Archipelago--Torres Straits--Melanesia--Polynesia--The stars
as causes and omens of the weather.

CHAPTER V.--THE MONTH 147

The moon--Counting of months and their days--Indications of
the position of the moon--Salutations to the new moon--
Celebration of the full moon--Other phases--The greater
phases of the moon--Further phases--Days named after the
phases of the moon--Groups of days named after the phases
of the moon--Days counted from the greater phases--Decades--
African systems--The quarters of the moon.

CHAPTER VI.--THE MONTHS 173

Series of months: N. Asia--Siberia--Eskimos--N. America--S.
America--Africa--East Indian Archipelago--Torres Straits--
Oceania.

CHAPTER VII.--CONCLUSIONS 217

Imperfect counting of the moons--Connexion between moons and
seasons--Multiplicity and absence of names of months--Pairs
of months.

CHAPTER VIII.--OLD SEMITIC MONTHS 226

1. _Babylonia._ Sumerian months--Akkadian months--Babylonian
etc. months--2. _The Israelites._ Canaanitish months--
Israelitish months--New moon and months--3. _The
pre-Mohammedan Arabs._ Arabian months.

CHAPTER IX.--CALENDAR REGULATION. 1. THE INTERCALATION 240

Incomplete series of months--Uncertainty as to the month--
Difficulties in reckoning months--Empirical intercalation--
The Jews--Correction of the months by the stars--Correction
of the Batak year--The pre-Mohammedan intercalation--The
Babylonian months and the stars.--The Babylonian intercalation
empirical--Correction of the year by the solstices and
the stars.

CHAPTER X.--CALENDAR REGULATION. 2. BEGINNING OF THE YEAR 267

Uncertainty as to the beginning of the year--New Year
feasts--Beginning of the year--The Israelitish New Year--
The Pleiades year--. _Appendix_: The Egyptian year.

CHAPTER XI.--POPULAR MONTHS OF THE EUROPEAN PEOPLES 282

Month-names: Albanian--Basque--Lithuanian--Lettish--
Slavonic--German--Anglo-Saxon months--The Anglo-Saxon
lunisolar year--Scandinavian month-names--Old Scandinavian
lunar months--Later Swedish moon-months--Finnish
moon-months--Lapp months.

CHAPTER XII.--SOLSTICES AND EQUINOXES. AIDS TO THE
DETERMINATION OF TIME 311

Observation of the solstices and equinoxes--Observation of
the equinoxes by the Scandinavians--Seed-time determined by
the observation of the sun--Devices for counting days, etc.

CHAPTER XIII.--ARTIFICIAL PERIODS OF TIME. FEASTS 324

The market-week in Africa--Greater periods in Africa--The
market-week in Asia--America--Rome--_Shabattu_ and sabbath--
Origin of the sabbath--The sabbath a market-day--Festivals
and seasons--Cycles of festivals--Regulation of the festivals
by the moon--Full moon the time of festivals--Festivals
determined by the course of the sun--Months named after
festivals.

CHAPTER XIV.--THE CALENDAR-MAKERS 347

Calendrical observations by certain gifted persons--The
priests as calendar-makers--Sacral and profane
calendar-regulation.

CHAPTER XV.--CONCLUSION 355

1. _Summary of results._ The concrete nature of
time-indications--Discontinuous and ‘aoristic’
time-indications--The _pars pro toto_ counting of the
periods--The continuous time-reckoning--Empirical
intercalation of months--2. _The Greek time-reckoning._
Early Greek time-reckoning--The Oktaeteris and the
months--Sacral character of the Greek calendar--Influence
of Apollo and Delphi--Babylonian origin of the Greek
calendar-regulation.

ADDENDUM TO P. 78 NOTE 2 370

LIST OF AUTHORITIES QUOTED 371

INDEX 382