THOMAS 1 LENGTH or THE AHAU OR KATUN. 29 



without order, and alternate only as on the boundary of the wheel afore- 

 said." 



CogoUudo (Hist, de Yucathan, Lib. IV, Cap. 5) says: 



"They compute their eras and ages, which they write down in their 

 books, by 20 and 20 years and by lustres of 4 and 4. They fix the first 

 year at the east, to which they give the name Cuch-haab. The second, at 

 the west, is called Hiix; the third, at the south, is named Caiiac, and the 

 fourth, Muluc, at the north. Five of these lustres being completed, make 

 twenty years; this is what they call a Katun. They place a sculptured 

 stone upon another stone, equally sculptured, fixed with lime and sand in 

 the walls 'of the temples." 



The Perez manuscript, as is well known, counts twenty years to an 

 Ahau. Most of the recent writers have also decided in favor of the same 

 number. Two or three of the most recent authorities, as Dr. Brinton, 

 Charency, and Rosny, are disposed to follow the opinion of Perez, that it 

 contained twenty-four years. I am satisfied that the opinion which holds 

 twenty-four years to be the number is the correct one, and will now pro- 

 ceed to give the proof I have been able to obtain bearing upon this point. 



First. If I am correct in my interpretation of the numerals, then the 

 groups of years obtained by using these, as heretofore shown, Avill necessa- 

 rily require twenty-four years to the Ahau, no matter with which of the 

 four year-bearing days we begin the cycle; for, althougli these groups con- 

 tain but twenty years there is an interval of four years between each two 

 that is not counted. 



Second. The method of numbering these periods cannot, as I believe, 

 be accounted for on any other supposition. According to all authorities 

 who have mentioned the subject they were numbered, as I have already 

 stated, thus: 13, 11, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1, 12, 10, 8, G, 4, 2, the number 13 being 

 the first, 1 1 the next, and so on. It is not reasonable to suppose that this 

 singular series wasAvholly an arbitrary selection; on the contrary, it is 

 more than probable that it was obtained in some way through the use of 

 the "13 series." If we examine the table of years, No. XVII, we will see 

 that, commence where we may, and divide it into periods of twenty-four 

 years by transverse lines, the first years of these periods taken in the order 

 they come will accord exactly with this series. Take for example the 



