XXVI INTEODUCTION. 



says Dr. Valentini, is in the Maya acli; in other words, it begins Avitli the 

 vowel a. So for the sound A;«, the Indian gave the sign of the da)^ named 

 kimich. 



Such is Di'. Valentini's theory of the formation of Laiida's alpliabet; 

 and not satisfied with lashing with considerable sharpness those who have 

 endeavored by its aid to decipher the Manuscripts and mural inscriptions, 

 he goes so far as to term it "a Spanish fabrication." 



I shall not enter into a close examination of Dr. Valentini's supposed 

 identification of these figures. It is evident that it has been done by run- 

 ning over the Maya dictionary to find some word beginning with the letter 

 under criticism, the figurative representation of which word might bear 

 some resemblance to Landa's letter. When the Maya fails, such a word is 

 sought for in the Kiche or other dialect of the stock; and the resemblances 

 of the pictures to the supposed originals are sometimes greatly strained. 



But I pass by these dubious methods of criticism as well as several 

 lexicographic objections which might be raised. I believe, indeed, that Dr. 

 Valentini is not wrong in a number of his identifications. But the conclu- 

 sion I draw is a different one. Instead of proving that this is picture- 

 writing, it indicates that the Mayas used the second or higher grade of 

 phonetic syllabic writing, which, as I liave before observed, has been shown 

 by M- Aubin to have been developed to some extent by the Aztecs in some 

 of their histories and connected conipositions (see above page xxviii). There- 

 fore the importance and authenticity of Landa's alphabet are, I think, vin- 

 dicated by this attempt to treat it as a "fabrication."^ 



Landa also gives some interesting details about their books. He writes: 



"The sciences that they taught were the reckoning of the years, months, 

 and days, the feasts and ceremonies, the administration of their sacraments, 

 the fatal days and seasons, their methods of divination and prophecie.s, 

 events about to happen, remedies for diseases, their ancient history, together 

 with the art of reading and writing tlieir books with characters which were 

 written, and pictures which represented the things written. 



"They wrote their books on a large sheet doubled into folds, which 



' Dr. Viilcutiiii's article was i>ublislicil iu tbo J'niciTcliiiijs of Ihc American Antiquarian Society, IbSO, 

 and also separately. 



