42 CALENDAR OF THE DRESDEN CODEX. [ethnoluov 



Referring now to table L* (page 20), and beginning with o Cib, on plate 

 46, the days may be counted, using the intervals at the bottom of the 

 plate — 11 months, 16 days; 4 months, 10 days; 12 mouths, 10 days; 

 and mouths, 8 days — which are given in red symbols in the origi- 

 nal. According to these intervals, 4 months and 10 days must be 

 couuted from 3 Oib, the fourth day of Yaxkin, to reach 2 Cimi, the 

 fourteenth day of Zac. From this point 12 mouths and 10 days must 

 be counted to reach 5 Oib, the nineteenth day of the month Tzec; then 



8 days to reach 13 Kan, the seventh day of the month Xul; next 11 

 months and 16 days to reach 2 Ahau, the third day of the month Cumhu 

 on plate 47 ; and so ou. 



As heretofore explained, the counter under a column indicates the 

 interval between the day over the preceding column and the day over 

 the column under which it stands. As there is a counter under the 

 first (left-hand) column of plate 46, with which the record begins, it 

 must denote that the count commences with a day 11 months and 16 

 days preceding 3 Cib, the fourth day of Yaxkin. It may also be 

 observed in the figure columns between the uj)per and lower lines of 

 month names that the first column is 11 months and 16 days; hence the 

 series must begin with a day 11 months and 16 days preceding that over 

 this column. 



In counting intervals of time, as is well understood, the first inter- 

 val includes the first and last days thereof, while those which follow 

 exclude the last day reached and commence with the following day. 

 Thus, from Sunday to Saturday is seven days; to the next Saturday 

 is seven days, and so on. So it is necessary to commence with 3 

 Cib, the fourth day of Yaxkin, which is marked on the list of days 

 (table 6) with an asterisk, and count back 11 months and 16 days, or 

 236 days. As Yaxkin is always the seventh month of the year, then 

 from the commencement of the year to the fourth day of Yaxkin 

 (including both days) must be 6 months and 4 days, or 124 days. 

 Counting back this number of days from 3 Cib, 10 Ben (the first day 

 of the month Pop) is reached, and this is the first day of the year. 

 This year is, therefore, 10 Ben, according to the system adopted, and 

 by turning to table 3 it is seen that Cib can be the fourth day of the 

 mouth only in Ben years. Counting back the five intercalary days of 

 the preceding year 4 Manik, the last day ot the preceding year proper, 

 and consequently of the months, is next reached. Lamat must, there- 

 fore, be the first day of the months and of the year. One hundred and 

 twenty-nine days being now counted, 107 more remain, and these, com- 

 mencing with 4 Manik, bring us to 2 Ymix, the fourteenth day of the 

 month Mac. The count therefore begins, in fact, with 2 Ymix, which is 

 the fourteenth day of the mouth Mac, the thirteenth month of the year 



9 Lamat. 



That Ymix was generally placed as the first of the series among the 

 Maya tribes is evident from the lists which have been preserved by 



