196 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY f bull. 28 



It still remains to discuss the pictures on our pa^e (plate xi), which 

 are on the left of the plan of the city, directly in front of the presid- 

 ing magistrate. Two of them, the two circles, painted bluish green 

 in the original and filled in Avith irregular squares, are perfectly 

 clear. They represent turquoise mosaic and have the phonetic value 

 of Xiutl, that is, " year " (see page 160). We must conclude that the 

 occurrence which is treated of here took place two years before, or 

 else that the trial lasted two years. The other object is not so easily 

 interpreted. It looks like a bag or a bottle-shaped vessel. A stick 

 or pipe is apparently joined to it above, and a fine thread seems also 

 to be fastened to it. The inside is entirely filled with wavy red lines. 

 Although various suggestions occur to me, I do not venture to express 

 a definite opinion in regard to the meaning of this object. 



Fragment VI (plate xi) seems to have belonged to Boturini's col- 

 lection and to be described by him in his Museo Indiano, number 7, 

 section 3. He says there : '^ Otro mapa en una quartilla de papel 

 Indiano, donde se ve pintada la ciudad de Tetzcoco, con unas cifras. 

 que especifican su extension en lo antiguo (''Another map of a quarter 

 sheet of Indian paper, where we see the city of Tezcuco, painted with 

 figures, which specify its size in old times''). Our page, too, is a 

 map in <|uarto (un mapa en una quartilla de papel Indiano), and has 

 a picture of the city of Tetzcoco, and numerals are inscribed upon it, 

 as we have seen, only they do not indicate the size of the city, as 

 Boturini here supposes, but the numl)er of its inhabitants. 



FRAGMENT VII 



This (plate xii) is a strip of agave paper, 25 cm. long and about 

 18 cm. wide, with four rows of writing beginning below at the right, 

 a fifth row being only indicated. 



On the right side of the divisions are circles. One of them, that in 

 the fourth row from the bottom is painted red and contains a ver- 

 ticillate design, a kind of two-armed swastika. This undoubtedly 

 means a Sunday. In accordance with this the circles at the right 

 end of the lower divisions must likewise mean days, and since the 

 progression is upward Ave should have Thursday in the lowest divi- 

 sion, Friday in the second, and Saturday in the third from the bot- 

 tom. In accordance with this, Friday would be characterized by the 

 circle, the upper half of which is painted black. This Avould be 

 comprehensible. It was the clay of Christ's crucifixion and a fast 

 day commanded by the church. Thursday and Saturday Avould be 

 alike designated, to wit, by a circle with a kind of arrow on it. I 

 think that this Avas only a hieroglyph for a Avorking or Aveek day. 



Place cited, p. 5. 



