Chapter V 



THE INSCRIPTIONS 



The present chapter will be devoted to the interpretation of texts 

 drawn from monuments, a process which consists briefly in the appli- 

 cation to the inscriptions ^ of the material presented in Chapters III 

 and IV. 



Before proceeding with this discussion it will fii-st be necessary to 

 explain the method followed in designating particular glyphs in a 



Fig. 66. Diagram showing the method of designating particular glyphs in a text. 



text. We have seen (p. 23) that the Maya glyphs were presented in 

 parallel columns, which are to be read two columns at a time, the 

 order of the individual gly]^h-blocks ^ in each pair of columns being 

 from left to right and from top to bottom. For convenience in refer- 

 ring to particular glyphs in the texts, the vertical columns of glyph- 

 blocks are lettered from left to right, thus. A, B, C, D, etc., and the 

 horizontal rows numbered from top to bottom, thus, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. 

 For example, in figure 66 the glyph-blocks in columns A and B are 

 read together from left to right and top to bottom, thus, Al Bl, A2 

 B2, A3 B3, etc. When gh^)h-block BlO is reached the next in order 



1 As used throughout this work, the word "inscriptions" is applied only to texts from the monuments. 



2 The term glyph-block has been used instead of gljph in this connection because in many inscriptions 

 several dilTerent glyphs are included in one gl\-ph-block. In such cases, however, the glyphs within the 

 glyph-block follow j)recisely the same order as the glyph-blocks themselves follow in the pairs of columns, 

 that is, from left to right and top to bottom. 



156 



