Brinton.] ZUO [Oct g^ 



especiall}^ to those years ■which are assigned to the East, the 

 place of beginning." * This does not explain why these days 

 rather than others were chosen as the " Year-bearers," or as the 

 Dominical days. Nor is it accurate to say that the Calendars, 

 when arranged, as was the custom, with reference to the cardinal 

 points, began at the east. Motilinia tells us those of the Na- 

 huas,at least those which he had seen, began with Tochlli, which 

 was placed to the south ; f and Ordonez y Aguiar, in the scheme 

 of the Tzental Calendar, which he copied from a native original, 

 begins with Lanibat, which he also places to the south ; \ both 

 of these being the eighth day of these calendars. 



According to Dr. Forstemann, who has prosecuted such valu- 

 able researches into the Maya Codices, the Maya years began with 

 Imix until towards the close of the fifteenth or the beginning of 

 the sixteenth century, when the lack of an intercalary day led 

 to a disorder in the reckoning. They then intercalated IT days, 

 and recommenced the regular account with Kan. He is of opin- 

 ion that the Codex Troano shows the older form of reckoning, 

 the Codex Dresdensis the newer.§ 



In some correspondence I have had with Prof. C3'rus Thomas, 

 who has given long and fruitful attention to the study of the 

 Maya Codices, he states his entire agreement with Dr. Forste- 

 mann that the Dresden Codex " follows the usual method of 

 counting by the four-j-ear series as the Kan, 3Iuluc, Ix and 

 Cauac years." As to the statement of Bishop Landa, Dr. 

 Thomas writes me : " As we find several of the time series in the 

 Codices commencing with this day (Imix), it is probable that the 

 Indians in explaining to Landa hit on one of these, thus causing 

 him to believe this to be a rule in counting years." . 



M. de Charence}^ believes that the Aztecs chose the third day 

 of the series, the Ma3'as the fourth day, etc., with which to begin 

 the count, because these numbers were specially sacred in these 

 various nations from mythical associations or historic inci- 

 dents. II 



* Zeltsrhrift fiir Etlmologie, 1888, p. 42. 



t Historia de las Ivdins de la Nueva Espann, Trat. i. 



X Historia del Clelo y de la Ticrra, MS. This singular work is now in a private library in 

 the United States. 



§ See his article, "Zur Maya Chronologie," in the Zeitschrifl fiir Elhnologie, 1S91, pp, 

 141, tqq. 



I Charencey , Des Nombres Symboliqucs chez les Toltcques Occidentaux, p. 19 (1893). 



