206 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bill. 28 



The third hicroijlypli, which occurs, for instance, in the fifth 

 field of the third row, sliows at the top ii tree (qiiau-itl), below it a 

 jug (coni-itl), and beloAV that the row of teeth (tlan-tli) ; these ele- 

 ments give us the word (juauh-con-tlan, or (juauli-con-tlalli. and the 

 lattei' may perhaps be resolved into quauhtlalli, contlalli. Quauh- 

 tlalli is wood soil. Sahagun says, volume 2,chai)ter 12, section 3: Hay 

 otni manera de lierra fertil, donde se hace muy bien el maiz y trigo, 

 Uamanla ({uauhtlalli, que quiere decir, tierra que esta estercolada con 

 maderos podridos, es suelta, amarilla, y hueca (" there is another 

 sort of fertile soil, in which corn and wheat flourish very w^ell, they 

 call it quauhtlalli, Avhich is to say, earth which has been manured with 

 rotten wood, it is soft, rich, and golden"). And contlalli is clay. 

 Sahagun says, volume 2, chapter 12, section 5 : Hay barro en esta tierra 

 para liacer loza y basijas, es nuiy bueno y muy pegajoso; amasanla 

 con aquellos pelos de los tallos de las espadanas, y 11am ase texoquitl y 

 contlalli : de este barro se hacen comales, escudillas, platos, y toda 

 manera de loza ('' there is clay in this earth for making tiles and 

 pots, it is very good and very easily molded; they knead it with 

 fibers of the shoots of reed mace, and they call it texo(|uitl and con- 

 tlalli: of this clay they make plates, bowls, dishes, and all manner of 

 pottery "). The same eai'th is described in the preceding section 3, as 

 follows: Hay otra (tierra) pegajosa bueiia para hacer barro de 

 i^aredes y suelos para los tla})ancos: es fertil, ])ues se hace bien el 

 maiz y trigo (" there is another kind (of earth) good to mold so as to 

 make clay for walls and floors for the tlapaucos; it is fertile, since 

 corn and wheat do well in it "). 



The three hieroglyphs in the center of the fields would there- 

 fore denote sandy or stony soil, vegetal)le mold, and clayey soil. It is 

 to be noted that the hieroglyphs on the upper side of the fields and 

 those in the middle of the fields always have a certain regular relation 

 to each other, that is, the various domains show a distinct qual- 

 ity of soil. Thus domain 1 has sandy soil; 2 has vegetable mold; 3 

 has sandy soil; in 4 vegetable mold is given in three cases, but in the 

 third field of the fourth row, if it belongs to this domain, is a clayey 

 soil; domain .") has clayey soil; domain 0, likewise partly vegetable 

 mold, partly clay; domain 7 has vegetable mold throughout; domain 

 8, nothing but claye}^ soil. 



On the last page of the Vergara codex, the third of those pages of 

 jthat manuscript which are reproduced in the (lOupil-Boban -atlas 

 (plate 39), the quality of the soil in the fields is likewise stated, and it 

 seems in every case to be partly stoney and partly sandy soil (see a, 6, 

 and (?, figure 45). 



Before every row of fields on our fragment (plate xiii), and also on 

 page 34 of the (ioupil-Boban atlas and in the Vergara codex, there is 

 a drawing of the person who is declared to be the owner of the fields 



