706 MAYAN CALENDAR SYSTEMS [ETH. ANN.19 
Lamat, Ben, and Ezanab. Mr Goodman, howeyer, contends that the 
dominical days used in the inscriptions were Ik, Manik, Eb, and Caban, 
but instead of commencing the numbering of the days of the month 
with 1 and continuing with 2, 3, ete., to 20, he begins the count with 20, 
following it with 1, 2, 3, ete., to 19. In other words, instead of call- 
ing the first day of the month 1, he calls it 20 (these, it must be 
remembered, are not the day numbers, which never exceed 13, but 
the numbers of the days of the month). This system is in fact, as 
will be seen by reference to table + (page 745), the same—with one dif- 
erence, which will be explained hereafter—as using Akbal, Lamat, Ben, 
and Ezanab as the dominical days; for, as will be seen by this table, 
Akbal, in Ik years, though by position the second day of the month, 
is numbered the first precisely as it is in Akbal years in our table 1. 
Another point necessary to settle absolutely the system is to know 
which of the dominical days was placed first in commencing the 
fifty-two year period—in other words, what was the initial day. In 
table 3 it has been assumed first, that the years of this period began with 
1, which has also been assumed by Mr Goodman, and second, that this 
first year was an Akbal year; but Mr Goodman holds that according 
to his system it was an Ik year, which, as has been explained, accords 

with our Akbal year. He expresses also an opinion that Caban was 
possibly the initial day. 
Although this question does not affect the lower time periods, it is 
apparent that it does affect the numbering of the years of the fifty-two 
year period. This subject will, however, be referred to again, 
Turning now to our table 1, we will try to make as clear as possi- 
ble the method of using it so as to avoid the introduction of a multi- 
plicity of tables. The year 1 Akbal written out in full would be as 
shown in table 2. It will be seen that the five figure columns after 
the thirteenth—to wit, the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, 
and eighteenth, numbering from left to right—are precisely the same 
as the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth, and that the five added or 
intercalary days are the same as the first five of the sixth column. 
As the series continued endlessly in this order, I have eliminated in my 
table 1 the last five columns and five added days, using the first, second, 
third, fourth, and fifth, and the first five days of the sixth instead. 
In counting forward (by which is meant to the right), if the number 
of months to be counted is not completed on reaching the last or 
right-hand column, we go back to the first. If, as is frequently the 
case, our count is to be backward over past or preceding months, it must 
then be toward the left, and after reaching the first or left-hand column 
we go to the right-hand column. In other words, it is a continuous 
round in whichever direction we are moying, to the right being for- 
ward in time and to the left backward. 

