INTRODUCTION 



I 



For a number of years English-speaking- students of aboriginal 

 American history have given much attention to the archeology and 

 especially to the glyphic writing of the semicivilized peoples of 

 middle America. Researches relating to the latter subjecf are of 

 exceptional importance, not only because of their bearing on native 

 history, but on account of their application to the problems of the 

 origin and development of writing in general. Investigations regard- 

 ing the American glyphic system have been greatly stimulated in 

 recent years by kindred researches in various parts of the world, and 

 more especially l)y the remarkable results achieved by Egyptologists, 

 who, through the discovery of the Rosetta stone, have been able to 

 present to the world historic treasures of the greatest value. Although 

 there is no prospect that an American " Rosetta stone" will l)e found, 

 since only one well-advanced system of writing had developed in the 

 New World, the present investigations along this line are w(dl worth 

 the attention of the American Government. 



Among the scholars engaged in the stud}' of the native American 

 writing is Mr Charles P. Bowditch, of Boston, who is earnestly seek- 

 ing to promote researches in this direction. He found that American 

 students who essayed to enter this field were greatly embarrassed by 

 the fact that much of the literature bearing on the subject was pub- 

 lished in foreign languages, and often in forms that placed it beyond 

 their reach. Access to this literature is essential to the success of 

 English-speaking students of the glyphs, and Mr Bowditch resolved 

 to undertake the translation and publication of a numl)er of the more 

 important papers. He advised with Major Powell with respect to pub- 

 lication, and it was arranged that the translations, when completed, 

 should be brought out by the Bureau of American Ethnology. The 

 manuscript translations were furnished in I'JOU, but were not edited 

 or finally presented for publication until 1903. They are now issned 

 in the present bulletin, without modification, save that the illustrations 

 are somewhat difterently assembled. It is considered advisable to 

 present the papers as nearly in their original form as translations per- 

 mit, in order to faithfully recoi-d the state of the researches at the 

 period of their original publication. 



9 



