144 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 



I have already stated above, the first day of the first montli (accord- 

 ing to the usual method of calculation) fell on the day 1 Calli. And 

 this is precisely the year designated by the numeral 8 and the sign 

 Calli, in xiuhtonalli ei calli, which corresponds to the year 1521 of 

 our chronology, in Avhich Quauhtemoc surrendered himself and the 

 ruins of the city of Mexico to the victorious Cortes. The last entries 

 of material objects in our inanuscript were made on the feast Och- 

 paniztli of that year, about 37 days after the fall of the city of 

 Mexico. 



I shall now proceed to discuss the nature of these entries of material 

 objects. They begin at the bottom of column c and for the first 28 

 squares are confined to this column alone. From the twenty-ninth 

 square on other entries occur, which fill column d, and from the 

 forty-fifth square on the last column, e, is also filled with entries. 



These entries doubtless record entrance duties or other revenues, 

 which were payable quarterly in equal amounts. They embrace fi.ve 



classes of objects: (1) small square 

 plates, which are always entered by 

 tens; (2) oblong rectangular strips, 

 which occur singly or in pairs; (3) 

 narrow triangular strips, which oc- 

 cur singly, in pairs, or in fours; (4) 

 shallow bowls filled with some pow- 



C dered substance, which are set down 



' ^\\\'..'.'i!.'V'^ ^^:;> ■'■'!;;;.• .\\*;Vi';,':" singly or in pairs, and (5) bundles 



\ / V J \ J of textiles or articles of clothing, 



^j which also occur singly or in pairs. 



Fig. 32. Symbols of gold bars, plates, and All are painted ill the Same brown- 



bowls of gold dust from Mexican codices. i^h-yellow Color, CXCCpt that in claSS 



4 the bowls are frequently distinguished by a darker greenish coloring 

 from the yellow contents. 



The small number of articles of each class which were to be deliv- 

 ered during the quarter leads to the supposition that they were 

 articles of value. Indeed, I am of opinion that class 1 means bars of 

 gold; classes 2 and 3, gold jalates of special forms; class 4, bowls of 

 gold dust ; and class 5, woven coverlets and articles of clothing, which 

 were also used as a medium of exchange, as money. Bars of gold 

 {a and 6, figure 32) , gold plates (c, figure 32) , and bowls of gold dust 

 (c?, figure 32) are enumerated in the tribute list and in the Mendoza 

 codex among the tributes of the cities of Mixteca alta and baja: a is 

 described as " tiles of fine gold, of the size of a plate and as thick as a 

 man's thumb " ; 5 is called " golden tiles, of the size of a consecrated 

 wafer and the thickness of a man's finger " ; 9X c is shown " a small 

 gold plate four fingers wide and three-fourths of an ell long, of the 

 thickness of a sheet of parchment " ; the symbols marked d rej)resent 

 "bowls (jicaras) of gold dust". 



