fSrstemann] series OF NUMBERS, DRESDEN" CODEX 



469 



All these pictures are joined at the top to those rectangles of which 

 1 have spoken in my Erlauterungen, page 16, and which always con- 

 tain two or three glyphs, that, with much hesitation, I was inclined to 

 interpret as the symbols of the sun, moon, and planets. No serious 

 contradiction of this theory has thus far ensued. 



As the symbol of Saturn, I indicated in the article mentioned a or 

 h^ figure 109 : These figures are actually found in all of the nine pic- 

 tures wnth the exception of the first, w'hich has no such rectangle, the 

 place, therefore, wheiv the zero point is concealed, according to the 

 true Maya method. 



But I go still farther in my bold hypothesis. The time assigned 

 to Jupiter for its apparent revolution is 397 days. I believe that the 

 Mayas adopted 398 days for the period. In the article mentioned I 

 have taken to be the symbol of Jupiter : c or ^/, figure 109. 



This character occurs in pictures 4, 6, 7, and 9. The numbers 



^ S[ ^1 E 



fa-'^ii© 



/ 



& <& 



o p q r s 



Fio. 109. Glyphs from the Dresden codex. 



belonging to them, reduced for the revolution of Saturn, are 3,986, 

 6,762, 7,972, and 10,748. But in addition I include, as the zero point, 

 the place Avhere the sign has been suppressed, the picture 3, that is, the 

 number 2,776, and I also include picture 10, which is not reached by 

 the revolution of Saturn and has the number 11,958. 



If these numbers are compared with 398, that is, with the appar- 

 ent revolution of Jupiter, then we have the following result : 



3 2,776= 7x398—10 



4 3,986=10X398+ 6 



6 6.762=17X398— 4 



7 7.972=20x398+12 



9 10, 748=27 X 398 + 2 



10 11, 958=30x398+18 



The differences, 10, 6, 4, 12, 2, 18, in comparison with 398, are all so 

 small that the numbers, 2,776, etc., might very well have been consid- 

 ered as approximate multiples of the revolution of Jupiter. Let us 



