812 MAYAN CALENDAR SYSTEMS [ETH. ANN. 19 
his conclusion that, at the time the inscriptions were chiseled and the 
codices formed, the Maya people were in a much more homogeneous 
state and tribal distinctions much less marked than when described by 
the early Spanish writers. Dr Brinton says that ‘*in all the Mayan 
dialects the names [ot the days] belonged already at the time of the 
conquest to an archaic form of speech, indicating that they were 
derived from some common ancient stock, not one from the other, and 
that, with one or two possible exceptions, they belong to the stock 
and are not borrowed words.” Though we can not say positively to 
what tribes the inscriptions of the different districts are to be respec- 
tively attributed, we can safely assert that they are Mayan, and that 
those at Palenque are in what is or was the country of the Tzental 
and Chol tribes; those at Menche (or Lorillard City) in the Lacandon 
country; those at Copan and Quirigua in the habitat of the Quiche and 
Cakchiquel or possibly Chol peoples; and those at Tikal in that form- 
erly occupied by the Itza tribes. The great similarity in the time and 
numeral symbols and the time systems shown by the inscriptions in 
these different localities would seem, therefore, to justify Mr Goodman’s 
assertion ‘‘that—whether a single empire, a federation, or separate 
nations—they were a homogeneous people,” and thus, though these 
records have so far failed to furnish any direct historic data and seem 
likely to fail to furnish any by further investigation, they do form 
indirectly a firm basis in our attempts to trace the past history of this 
people. The next step is to determine the age of the records, for, as 
appears from what has been shown, the history as derived from the 
carly Spanish writers can not be fully relied on, and the traditions can 
be trusted only so far as they agree with the monuments and the lin- 
guistic evidence. That Mr Goodman’s conclusion in reference to their 
age can not be accepted is evident from the quotation given aboye. 
One conclusion which appears to be justified by the foregoing facts 
is that the Maya of Yucatan represent the original stock, or that they 
have retained with least change of any of the tribes the names and 
time system of the calendar, except as to the dominical days. 
NUMERAL SYMBOLS IN THE CODICES 
Before closing this paper I will, for the benefit of those who 
have recently taken up the study of the Maya manuscripts and inserip- 
tions, refer to some symbols found in the codices which probably rep- 
resent numbers. The study of these may, if followed up by further 
investigation in the light of Mr Goodman’s discoveries, lead to fruit- 
ful results in attempts at interpretation of the codices. 
In THE DRESDEN CODEX 
The katun symbol in the ordinary form shown at a, figure 10, is 
very frequently used in this codex, sometimes, as already shown, as 
one of the counters in a numeral series connecting dates, as for 
