28 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



[bull. 28 



to the west, south, east, and north. But the argument which leads 

 him to this assertion is obviously incorrect. It is true that the Mexi- 

 cans oenerally arranged the seciuence of the cardinal points in the 

 direction opposite to the course of the hands of a clock, as is shown in 

 figure 2. But as for the double page 41 and 42 of the Cortes codex, on 

 which Cyrus Thomas rests his assertion, the glyphs of the cardinal 

 points ii to <l there inscril)ed within the quadrants do not refer, as 



&^^-^ 



r^^ 



s 



^ 



m 





Fig. 1. Syml)ols of the cardinal points, colors, etc. 



Professor Thomas states, to the dates written in the left-hand corner of 

 the quadrants (1 Ix, 1 Cauac, 1 Kan, 1 Muluc), but to the whole series 

 of days which are denoted in the said quadrants, partl}^ by their gU^phs, 

 and partly by the dots connecting the gl^'phs. 



In the quadrant containing the cardinal point of a^ figure 1, are 

 recorded the days from 1 Imix (1 I) to 13 Chicchan (13 V), that is, the 

 whole first quarter of the tonalamatl, the days beginning at the innei 

 left-hand corner and followino- one another over the outer left-hand 



