FoRSTEMANNl SEEIES OF NUMBERS, DRESDEN CODEX 471 



also in picture 7 (page 54b), but only on the black, not on the white, 

 side. 



Figure 10 is that of a nondescript creature. It has a human form 

 and appears to be diving headforemost from the two symbols of 

 the sun and moon, against which it presses its feet. AboA'e the sun 

 and moon syml)ols is a rectangle with the signs of Venus and Jupiter. 

 Instead of a head, or perhaps as a mask over his face, this creature 

 lias that symbol for Venus which is to be found not only on pages 

 ,51 to 58, but also on pages 46 to 50, and above this there is a khid of 

 crown. Between his legs is a symbol which forms a kind of tail and 

 is suggestive of the flint, so often found as the prefix to the Venus 

 sign, only here it is so well formed that it resembles still more the 

 Aztec equivalent, tecpatl. 



Of the glyphs above the ])ictures I can likewise give only an unsat- 

 isfactory account. Tliere are properly always ten of them, among 

 them the two signs for the sun and moon ; j^et the writer has added 

 these sun and moon signs to pictures 1 to 4 only, besides the more 

 elaborate picture 10. From pictures 5 to 9 he has omitted them, as 

 l)eing understood, in order to make the remaining eight larger and 

 clearer. Among the latter are several glyphs of gods, the most dis- 

 tinct being those of A in pictures 1, 5, and 9, and of H in picture 5, 

 besides which there are other uncertain heads, part of them birds' 

 heads, as in pictures 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9. 



The Ben-Ik sign, to which I have ascribed the significance of a 

 lunar m(mth, we see with pictures 4, 8, 9, and tAvice with pictures 

 1 and 10. 



I would like to see the symbol of Mercury with the figure in pic- 

 tures 9 and 10, especially on account of its resemblance to the glyph 

 of Venus. 



Pictures 1, 7, 8, and 10 show hands grasping a glyph (a sign for 

 20 days?). 



The enigmatic numbers before the glyphs occur several times, as a 

 1 in pictures 1 and 10, concerning which I shall sav more directly, 

 a 4 twice in picture 8, and a in picture 3. 



I have already discussed the hieroglyph in picture 10 (Zur Ent- 

 zifferung der Mayahandschriften, IV), for they are very similar to 

 those occurring on page 24. I denote them thus : 



1 6 



2 7 



3 8 



4 9 



5 10 



Of these, 5 is certainly the sign for 7.200. and that for 13X300= 

 4,()80. In 7 and 9, on account of the Ben-Ik, I see two months of 29.5 



