SKLER] ANTIQUITIES OF GUATEMALA 115 



every reason to believe that the drawing which I reproduce here is an 

 exact copy. Yet I have the impression that the artist, whether man 

 or woman, who painted these characters on the vessel was not con- 

 scious of the meaning of their different elements and lines, and there- 

 fore drew them with an uncertain hand. An exact identification is, 

 of course, only possible in the case of a few. All eight hieroglyphs 

 differ one from another, so the next question is, Where should we 

 begin to read? The relative position of the hieroglyphs shows that 

 they must be read from left to right. I believe we must begin with 

 the hieroglyph which in the drawing provided by Mr Dieseldorff, 

 (our cs figure 26), stands in the first place at the left. 1 will designate 

 this by A. 



I believe that two elements must be recognized in this first hiero- 

 glyph: First, the head of a woman (see the hieroglyph «, figure 27), 

 but having a peculiar element which is contained in the day sign Eb, 

 "broom", 1j\ second, the day sign Manik, c, whose phonetic sound is 

 chi, which is contained in the hieroglyph Chikin, "west". A com- 

 bination of these two elements exists in the hieroglyph 6?, which is 

 found on page 62 of the Dresden manuscript, in combination, to be 

 sure, with a third element which has the form of the day sign Imix. 



The second hieroglyph, b, must, it seems to me, refer to the hiero- 

 glyph ^, which appears in the Dresden codex, page 125, as one of the 

 accompanying hieroglyphs of the death god in place of the hieroglyph 

 y, otherwise indicated in this place. Hieroglyphs b and e are especially 

 characterized as death hieroglyphs by the cross design on the cheek. 



It is possible that hieroglyph d also refers to one of the hieroglyphs 

 accompanjdng the death god, the one of which I have reproduced two 

 variants in g and A. 



The hieroglyphs c and e show the head of a bird which in both cases 

 has a curious projection on the beak. One might think that the great 

 vulture was represented here whose hieroglyph, i^ Z-, is always drawn 

 with a peculiar projection on the beak and which, in fact, is character- 

 ized by a fleshy growth on the cere covering the root of the upper 

 mandible. I believe, however, that, at least in one of the hieroglyphs, 

 it seems to suggest a bird which generally appears accompanying the 

 black god. I have reprodi]jced the whole of this bird in m^ and its 

 hieroglyph, as it is found in the Troano codex, page 4* c\ in /. The bird 

 probably represents the wild fowl of the forest region of the tierra 

 caliente, which was generally called " pheasant'" b}^ the Spaniards, and 

 for which the Maya has the two names cox and mut. The Mexicans 

 designate this bird by the former name, and also by the word cox- 

 coxtli. I believe that this bird nuist be mentioned in connection with 

 a female deity known among the Mayas of Yucatan under the name of 

 Yax cocahmut, in honor of whom feasts were celebrated in the Muluc 

 years, which belonged to the north. From her they feared dryness 



