MORLEY] INTRODUCTION TO STUDY OF MAYA HIEROGLYPHS 31 



In taking up the question of the meaning of Maya writing, it must 

 be admitted at the outset that in so far as they have been deciphered 

 both the inscriptions and the codices have been found to deal ])ri- 

 marily, if indeed not exchisively, with the counting of time in some 

 form or other. Doctor Forstemann, the first successful interpreter 

 of the codices, has shown that these writings have for their principal 

 theme the passage of time in its varying relations to the Maya calen- 

 dar, ritual, and astronomy. They deal in great part with the sacred 

 year of 260 days, known to the Aztec also under the name of the 

 tondlamatl, in connection with which various ceremonies, offerings, 

 sacrifices, and domestic occupations are set forth. Doctor Forste- 

 mann believed that this 260-day ])eriod was employed by the priests 

 in casting horoscopes and foretelling the future of individuals, 

 classes, and tribes, as well as in ])redicting coming political events and 

 natural phenomena; or in other words, that in so far as^the 260-day 

 period was concerned, the codices are nothing more nor less than 

 books of prophecv and divination. 



The prophetic character of some of these native books at least is 

 clearly indicated in a passage from Bishop Landa's Relacion (p. 286). 

 In describing a festival held in the month TJo, the Bishop relates that 

 "the most learned priest opened a book, in which he examined the 

 omens of the year, which he announced to all those who were present." 

 Other early Spanish writers state that these books contain the ancient 

 prophecies and indicate the times appointed for their fulfillment. 



Doctor Thomas regarded the codices as religious calendars, or 

 rituals for the guidance of the priests in the celebration of feasts, 

 ceremonies, and other duties, seemingly a natural inference from the 

 character of the scenes portrayed in connection with these 260-day 

 periods. 



Another very important function of the codices is the presentation 

 of astronomical phenomena and calculations. The latter had for 

 their immediate object in each case the determination of the lowest 

 number which would exactly contain all the numbers of a certain 

 group. These lowest numbers are in fact nothing more nor less than 

 the least common multiple of changing combinations of numbers, 

 each one of which represents the revolution of some heavenly body. 

 In addition to these calculations deities are assigned to the several 

 periods, and a host of mythological allusions are introduced, the 

 significance of most of which is now lost. 



The most striking proof of the astronomical character of the codices 

 is to be seen in pages 46-50 of the Dresden Manuscript. Here, to 

 begin with, a period of 2,920 days is! represented, which exactly con- 

 tains five Venus years of 584 ^ days each (one on each page) as well 

 as eight solar years of 365 days each. Each of the Venus years is 

 divided into four parts, respectively, 236, 90, 250, and 8 days. The 



' The period of the synodical revolution of Venus as computed to-day is 583.920 days. 



