334 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



The Tshis, Gas, and probably the Siamese, have four weeks of seven days and 



three eighths 29^ days. 



The Ahantas, and probably the Sofalese, have two weeks of ten days, and one 



week of nine days and a half 29| " 



The modern European method is to count four weeks of seven days 28 " 



The Ibos and Congoese have seven weeks of four days 28 " 



The ancient Greeks had three weeks of ten days. 30 " 



The Yorubas have five weeks of five days, and one week of four days and 



a half 29^ " 



The Javanese, and probably the Aztecs, had six weeks of five days 30 " 



When we remember that the lunar month is of about twenty- 

 nine days and a half duration, and that twenty-eight and thirty 

 are the nearest numbers to twenty-nine and a half that will divide 

 into an exact number of days, the conclusion is irresistibly forced 

 upon us that with all the above peoples the week was designed to 

 be a subdivision of the lunar month. 



The subdivisions of the lunar month would appear gener- 

 ally to mark the phases of the moon. Naturally, the full moon 

 would mark the termination of one subdivision and the com- 

 mencement of another. Thus, with the Tshis and Gas, the full 

 moon marks the commencement of the third week of seven days 

 and three eighths, and with the Yorubas the commencement 

 of the fourth week of five days, in each case making the lapse 

 of half a month. Where there is a ten-day week, the full moon 

 is not coincident with the commencement of a week ; but the 

 week of ten days, and also that of five, is, like the practice of 

 counting by scores, due to the fact that man has five fingers on 

 each hand, all primitive peoples counting by fingers and toes, or 

 hands and feet. 



The Israelites had a week of seven days, and measured time 

 by moons and nights : therefore, from the analogy of other peo- 

 ples, we conclude that their week was originally a subdivision of 

 a lunar month. When a new moon became visible a new month 

 began, and like the rest of the world they reckoned their day 

 of twenty-four hours from sunset to sunset. They had a lunar 

 year of twelve months, and every two or three years an inter- 

 calary month was added to make it agree with solar time. The 

 luni-solar year now used by the Jews was not introduced till 

 3G0 A. D. 



It is commonly supposed that the week of seven days was in- 

 vented by the Chaldean astronomers from the seven planets, but 

 though it is beyond question that the days of the week derive 

 their names from the planets, yet it by no means follows that the 

 seven- day period owes its existence to the fact that the astrono- 

 mers of Chaldea were acquainted with seven celestial bodies 

 which moved. There is, indeed, no connection between alleged 

 cause and effect no reason why, simply because they knew of 



