1898-99.] DECIPHERING HIEROGLYPHIC INSCRIPTIONS OF CENTRAL AMERICA, 215 
tion. The writer observes that Dr. A, Carroll, of the Polynesian Society 
of Wellington, New Zealand, has presented some translations of the 
Easter Island Tablets, which are said to deal with South American 
history prior to the times of the Incas of Peru, but has not so far 
been able to examine them." If Dr. Carroll’s readings be correct, the 
result rather inverts the order of thought on the subject, and favours De 
Zuniga’s derivation of the South Sea islanders from America.” 
Many of the commoner and almost universal Malay-Polynesian words 
are wanting in Maya, nor are they found in the allied dialects. Such 
are ima, the hand, mata, the eye, /angz, the sky, az, fire, and weh, water. 
But the words that remain evidence as plainly their Malay-Polynesian 
origin, and, with a little trouble, and more extensive vocabularies than 
the writer possesses, the laws of phonetic change governing their permu- 
tations might easily be formulated. Thus, rzczz, the ear, stands to the 
Tagalan ¢ayznga, as uinic, a man, does to the Polynesian tangata. Per- 
haps the fairest way to exhibit relationship is to confine the comparison 
to two dialects, placing the Maya and the Tagala side by side, it being 
kept in mind that the author’s vocabularies of each, and especially of 
the Tagala, are far from complete. 
Maya Tagala Maya Tagala 
enemy ahaual caauay dem. pronoun lai yari 
night akab gaby east likin silangan 
child al aro to leave lukul lacar 
mat bac banig earth luum lupa 
flesh bak paa mother naa yna 
to pay botah bayar south nohol tanghali 
when ca cay lan old nucte matanga 
we ca cami to break pa punitin 
tree che cahuy servant palil bulisic 
to seize chuuc coha coast pay bay-bay 
to sew chuy tahi to call pay ta-wag 
head hol olo fighting puchtun pagaanay 
brave holecan halga *) heart puzcical pozo 
husband ichan asauah to deceive tabzah daya 
hand, arm kab camay to return tulpach toloy 
gold kantakin guinto moon u buan 
to bear koch hatir good utz ygui 
fo come kuchul pan-galing to remain xantal hintay 
aversion kuxil sala ear xicin tayinga 
rel. pronoun Iai alin father yun ama 
These languages have existed apart, with all the Pacific Ocean between 
them, for, at the very least, a thousand years. The wonder, therefore, is 
not to be able to find so few and such distant resemblances, but so 
