52 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 60 



is 100 B. C. The next recorded date found on the small sculpture 

 called the Leyden stone is IGO years later, or GO A. D. 



The fact that 2,000 years ago the people of eastern Mexico had 

 advanced so far toward the civilized state as to have 

 Giyphic Chronology perfected a system of writing warrants the conclu- 

 sion that the occupancy of the continent covers a 

 much longer period, the length of wdiich, however, may never be 

 determined. Already so many of the dates have been read that the 



periods of many of the greater 



cities of the olden time are known 



' ' and the outlines of Maya history 



/ covering a period of 20 centuries 



I J ^ are clearly made out. The correct- 



\ ness of these readings is confirmed 



\ by observed characteristics of the 



; \ ; \ art of the several culture centers 



\ ''' which indicate progressive develop- 



: ment in close accord with the 



• giyphic chronology. The present 



status of the researches in this 



y \ fascinating field may be learned by 



reference to the works especially of 



Morley ^ and Spinden.- 



In the present work, however, it 



is not the purposeful records of 



the tribes which must re<xuve par- 



..._ ' ticular attention, but rather the 



Fig. 20 Jade statuette from Vera Cruz Mex- fortuitous reCOrds— WOrks of the 

 ICO, with giyphic date corresponding to 100 



B.C. (\) hands designed for various . pur- 



poses, used and left by the wayside, and more especially those asso- 

 ciated with geological formations. The data to be drawn upon in 

 this field is vast in extent and of various grades of 

 ciassiflr.itioii of ehronoloo-ical value, ranii'ino- from the merelv sug;- 



Chronologic Data _ ' !^ )-< ,' t-? 



gestivo to the decisive and convincing. The cate- 

 gory of data available to the Americanist in determining meas- 

 urable periods of time as well as relative antiquity may be grouped 

 as follows: 



1. Historical (Written) 



Data embodied in written history which, with the exception of the 

 tales of the Norsemen and meager native giyphic records, are chiefly 

 post-Columbian. 



^ Morlcy. An Introduction to the Study of the Maya Hieroglyphs. 

 " Spindeu, A Study of Maya Art. 



