ADMINISTRATIVE REroRT XLIII 



review has been prepared l)y Dr Thomas, a student of al)orig- 

 inal calendars dnrin<i' nian\' "v^ears. The discussion extends 

 not only to the inscri))ti(Uis of the codices, Init to other Ma^an 

 records, and also to the time systems of both the Mayan and 

 Nahnatlan peoples: and full use is made throughout of the 

 numeral systems tabulated and analyzed in a later paper. 



As is elsewhere noted, recent researches have shown that in 

 primitive life the symbolism of a given stage frequently passes 

 into the conventionism of the next stage; sometimes the pas- 

 sage is so complete that the original symbolism mav be lost, 

 yet in other cases the transitional steps mav l>e traced through 

 researches among cognate, albeit remote, jjeoples. Now, it is 

 signiticant that various germs, or germinal t3"])es, of calendric 

 systems are found in different portions of North America; a 

 well-known type is the "winter count" or annual record of a 

 ])erson. or familv among the plains tribes; another germ is 

 found in the solstitial ceremonies of the pueblo peoples, which 

 denote clear recognition of a seasonal turning point; and it is 

 of no small interest to find that the germinal types are com- 

 bined in such comprehensive calendars as those incorporated 

 in the Mavan inscri]itions, so that the symbolism of the north 

 explains the conventionism of the south. iSuch solstitial cere- 

 monies as those of the Pueblos are especially instructive, for 

 they at once attest the fundamental im])ortance of the symbolic 

 factors and explain the high degree of accuracy attained in the 

 determination of the year — the Hopi winter ceremony, for 

 example, being fixed by a sinijvle oliservation on the setting- 

 sun behind a distant sierra, which would in itself permit a 

 count of year-days, if not the recognition of the bissextile. 



Primitive Numbers 



Recognition of the hununi activities as the basis of ethnic 

 classification has o])ened the way to a fuUei' com[)rehension of 

 tile characteristics and capabilities of l)otli primitive and 

 advance(l peoples; and through this fuller comja-ehension it 

 has been made clear that the es.sential and ilistinctive attri- 

 butes of mankind are fundamentally intellectual. Accord- 

 ingly the activities are properly viewed as the reflection and 



