THOMAS] 



INITIAL SERIES OF QUIRIOUA INSCRIPTIONS 



217 



15 aiv from the Dresden codex, 

 sli.sj;ht variations in detail are 



Symbols for full couut, or 20. 



Copan. The small figures of number 



and represent a common type: the 



numerous and appear to 



have no significance. 

 In figure 145 are shown 



the sj'mbols foi-f nil count, 



or 20, not shown in figures 



143 or 144. A, b, c, and d 



ave more or less common 



in all the codices; e is 



from the Dresden codex; 



/, g, h, and / are from the 



left slab, Tablet of the 



Cross, Palenque. 



The inscription on the east side of Stela C presents some particu- 

 lars worthy of notice (see figure 14G), The prefix to the cj'cle sym- 

 bol is 13 in the ordinary form; those to 

 tlie katun, ahau, and day are of the 

 coil and hand form, above described as 

 indicating full count, or, in other words, 

 naught ; that to the chuen is of the usual 

 form for full count in the inscriptions 

 (see number 3, figure 144). The date is 

 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu with ordinarj' numer- 

 als. Tlierefore the series, according 

 to Goodman's method of writing, will 

 n I PCfbl b£^6(^i(in\ ^^ ?-13-l'0-20-18-20, 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu, 

 Mil >^,^ r .r^-d, NU which is as he gives it, excepting that 



lie places it in his fifty-fourth great 

 cycle. Our method of writing it would 

 be 53-1.3-0-0-0-0, 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu. 

 I give 53 as the great cj^cle, accord- 

 ing to Goodman's method of number- 

 ing these periods, as bj' counting back 

 13 cycles, or 1,872,000 days, from 4 

 Ahau 8 Cumhu we reach 4 Ahau 8 Zotz, 

 the first day of his fifty-third great 

 cycle. His remark in regard to it is: 

 "This date is the beginning of the fifty- 

 fourth great cycle." As he interprets 

 the great cj'cle 54, he virtuallj^ makes 

 the series 54-0-0-0-0-0. It must be 

 borne in mind, as will be seen by ref- 

 erence to my former paper, that instead 



of counting 20 cycles to the gi'eat cycle, following the vigesimal 



system, which I believe to be correct, he counts 13. However, this 



Fig. 146. Part of in.scription on the east 

 side of Stela C, Quirigua. Maudslay, 

 part 11, plate xix. 



