THOMAS] METHOD OF NUMBERING THE AHAUES. 57 



method of counting, their use in this manner shows that they were consid- 

 ex'ed important. 



If the lustres ended with an Ix year, as I have assumed, Ezanab would 

 be the last of the intercalated days. Now as will be seen by carefully 

 examining the calendar for one year as given in Table II, page 8, the num- 

 ber of the last intercalated day will always be the same as the first day of 

 the year. Having thus determined the name and number of the year, and 

 remembering the series as given in the quotation, it was an easy matter to 

 count back to any desired year. Let me illustrate this: Suppose that at 

 the close of an annual feast of Uaycb haah which has ended on Ezanab, an 

 Indian was desirous of determining what year of the cycle had just termi- 

 nated. Knowing the day to be 1 Ezanab, he knows by this that the year 

 was 1 Ix; remembering the numbers of the key, he commences his count 

 with 1, and running back thus: 1, 10, 6, 2, 11, 7, 3, 12, 8, 4, ascertains that 

 the year is the 40th of the cycle (10X4). 



A Httle careful study of this subject will suffice to convince any one at 

 all acquainted with this calendar that by simply knowing the number and 

 name of the last intercalated day of any year will be sufficient to enable 

 him to determine what year of the cycle it is If he forgets the key he can 

 easily find it by the continued subtraction of 4, commencing with 1 3, adding 

 1 3 when the number to be subtracted from is 4 or less than 4. The only thing 

 necessary to be remembered is that the years Cauac, Kan, Muluc, Ix ter- 

 minate, respectively, with the days Akbal, Lamat, Ben, and Ezanab. 



Suppose the last day of a. certain year to be 9 Lamat, this gives 9 Kan 

 as the year; the next year would be 10 Muluc, the next 11 Ix, the last of 

 the lustre. If we remember the ke}^, we count back the following num- 

 bers or lustres: 11, 7, 3, 12, 8, 4, showing that 11 Ix would be the 24th 

 year of the cycle and 9 Kan the 22d. These calculations are based upon 

 the supposition that Cauac was the first year of the cycle, but the same 

 rule will apply with Kan or any other as the first of the series. 



I think it probable that this will furnish an explanation of the phrase 

 "tliey fall in the two days of Ua>/eb haah and return to the end of certain 

 years." The manuscript from which this statement was taken by Perez was 

 evidently written by one not thoroughly familiar with the system. 



