THE VASE OF CHAMA" 



By E. Foi?STEi\tANX 



My friend, Mr Dieseldorff, of Coban, Guatemala, has rendered a 

 most acceptable service to Maya investigation by the discovery and 

 first discussion of this remarkable vessel (Verhandlungen, volume IG, 

 pages 372 to 377 and plate viii). As he is desirous that it should be 

 further investigated by others, I will not withhold my opinion, 

 although I am Avell aware I can add but little and must still leave 

 much in obscurity. 



For the better comprehension of Mr Dieseldorlf's drawing, 1 will 

 first set down the 23 glyphs belonging to the picture in the order 

 in which they occur on the plate (plate xlviii). They are arranged 

 in seven groups, as folloAvs : 



1 4, (') 7 10 12,13 IG 



2 5 8 11 14 17 



3 J) ir> IS 



20 19 



21, 23 



22 



My first remark refers to a certain resemblance between this picture 

 and the lower half of page 60 of the Dresden codex. There we see on 

 the left a personage, spear in hand, enthroned on a serpent, wliicli 

 lies upon the neck of a second personage, v.hose eyes are bandaged. A 

 third personage in warlike dress, arn)ed Avith a spear, leads a fourth 

 toward this group from the right ; this fourth figure is cowering 

 on the ground, with arms bound and e^^es rimmed with black. These 

 four are all gods, and I have already expressed my ideas regarding 

 this picture elsewhere. 



The vase of Chama, on the contrary, for once presents nothing 

 supernatural, but more agreeably, if I may say so, a scene of purely 

 human interest. The picture here clearly refers to the great feast 

 celebrated by the Mayas, as well as by the Aztecs,' every 8 years, 

 that wonderful solar and Venus period of 2,020 days, which I last 

 discussed in my article " Zur Entzifferung der Mayahandschriften, 



« Das Oefiiss von Chama, Vefhandliingen der Berliner GesellschaU tiir Anthropologle, 

 Ethnolosie, und Urgeschichte, pp. 'u'-i and following, published in Ztitschritt fiir Ethnol 

 ogle, 1804, pt. 6. 



(547 



