57(3 BUREAU OP AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY Hull. 28 



actually to be considered the first of the three, because its initial 

 gl3'l)hs correspond with those at the beginning of other inscriptions, 

 while plates lxi and lxii are without such characters, I shall denote 

 the colunnis of plates lx and i.xii by the letters A to U, of plate i-xi 

 by A to (), allowing H, I, and K to succeed one the other in the 

 original way (without a J), and the horizontal rows I shall naturally 

 denote by numbers. 



It can furthermore be proved that plate lxi is in fact the continua- 

 tion of plate LX. 



The day 9X144,000+9X7,200=1,300,800 is given on plate lx at 

 P and Q 6; on the same plate U 2, on the other hand, 10X7,200 is 

 given; on plate lxi A 3 is 11X7,200, and on the same plate (> 2 is 

 12X7,200; that is, they occur in regular periods of 20 years, just as 

 the centuries are sometimes found noted on the margin of our his- 

 torical tables. Evidently 9X144,000 is mentally to be added to each 

 of the last three numbers. Hence they signify the four days 

 1,360,800, 1,368,000, 1,375,200, and 1,382,400; these, however, denote 

 the calendar dates III 17, 3, 4 (year 7 Cauac), I 17; 8, 17 (year 13 

 Tx), XII 17; 8, 12 (year 7 Ix) W X 17; 8, 7 (year 1 Ix). As a 

 matter of fact the first date occurs in plate lx, Q 2 P 3, the third in 

 plate LXI, A B 2, the fourth, although somewhat irregularly written, 

 in plate lxi, G H 1 ; and the second, in plate lx, T U 1, has been 

 destroyed. These dates, judging by the other inscriptions, obviously 

 refer to the present. Let us hope that we shall soon be able to trans- 

 late them into our chronology. According to all appearances they 

 are in the fifteenth century. 



Plate LXI suggests another observation which may be of impor- 

 tance. We find there in not fewer than 6 places a gl3^ph which is 

 not unlike a fist (see 1, plate xliv). With this there are always from 

 4 to 12 other signs, which, from their positions, as well as from their 

 repetition, suggest the idea that we have to deal here with groups of 

 glyphs closely allied in meaning. The 6 groups are as follow : 



I C 5 to C 7, five glyphs. 



II C 8 to E 1 , seven glyphs. 



Ill F 1 to F 6, eleven glyphs. 



IV I 4 to I 10, thirteen glyphs. 



V L 3 to L 9, thirteen glyphs. 



VI M 9 to O 5, thirteen glyphs. 



The total numl)er of glyphs is, therefore, {'>'2, but this inimber, 

 owing to many repetitions, is reduced to about 29 different characters. 

 As all the glyphs of the inscriptions are subject to manifold varia- 

 tions, it is not always easy to distinguish between them. It is possible 

 that there are 28 or 30. I give here a transcription of these characters 

 in the following order: First, those (1 to 3, plate xliv) which occur 6 

 times in these groups; then, those (4 to 9) occurring 3 times; then, 



