CLXVIir ADMINISTRATIVB REPORT [eth. ann. 20 



mouths, when the days of the year are uumbered in a hier- 

 archy of weeks and months. The number of weeks in a 

 month and the number of mouths in a year vary greatly. 

 The months and years are counted off and the seasons are 

 indicated by the appearance of stars as signs of the zodiac. 

 Now, these numbers, together with the signs of the zodiac, are 

 arranged in calendars, and the pi-incipal events of each festival 

 are recorded under the caleudric signs or [)icture-writings. 

 Great ingenuity is needed to symbolize the principal events of 

 the festival. The season of the festival and the events of the 

 festival are all recorded in picture-writings until the shaman 

 becomes deft in picture language. The records which have 

 been discovered among tribal men are usually called codices. 

 They are recorded on various things, such as papyrus, fiber of 

 the maguey plant, birch-bark, and the skins of animals; espe- 

 cially are calendars painted on the walls of temples. 



These records made from time to time through century after 

 century become very highly developed. When a concept is 

 given a sign it becomes more and naore conventionalized until 

 its character as a picture is lost. In this stage a curious 

 phenomenon is observed. An ideoglyph is read as a word 

 instead of as a pictorial event. This is the stage in which 

 Chinese writing is to be seen at present. Now, when a glyph 

 is read as a word, the interesting phenomenon of which we 

 have spoken is this: Words have different meanings, the same 

 word may express different concepts, and the glypli may 

 be read by speaking the word and attaching to it any meaning 

 which the spoken word represents. In this early society words 

 are mysterious things supposed to be properties or qualities of 

 things, rather than signs of things. When such glyphs 

 become signs of spoken words they are signs of sounds. 

 They become signs of word-sounds, then signs of syllabic 

 sounds, and ultimately signs of alphabetic sounds; and thus 

 picture-writing is developed into alphabetic writing. 



In the higher civilization written language is founded on 

 alphabets as spoken language is founded on sounds; but prim- 

 itive written languages do not consist of graphic signs designed 

 to represent sounds. The written languages produced in jjrimi- 

 ti^■e time have distinct words as ideographs; they also have a 



