CENTEAL AMEEICAN HIEROGLYPHIC WRITING. 



711 



result. In the Maya, with the few exceptions which will be mentioned 

 later, the glyphs, so far as determined, are to a large extent s3^mbols 

 (not phonetic characters), used to denote numbers, days, months, etc. 

 Hence the only means so far discovered by which to test an interpre- 

 tation is the demonstrable relation of one character to another, thus: 

 Having a vsymbol known to be that of Monday, another to be that for 

 7, another to be that for the month of March, and another for the 

 number 120, and linding them placed in an inscription in the order: 

 Monday, March 7, 120, and this followed b}' two imperfect or unknown 



characters and 5, thus ? ? 5, and having ascertained that the 



intermediate numbers, as the 120 in this case, indicate the number of 



Yaxkiii. 



Chen. 



Zac. 



Ceh. 



Kayab. Cumhu. 



Fig. 4. — The symbols of the months. 



Uuyeb. 



days from the tirst date to a second, we count 120 days from Monday, 

 March 7, which brings us to Tuesday, eTuly 5. This gives us Tuesday 

 and July as the two unknown or doubtful characters of the terminal 

 date. Just as it is necessary, in the example given, to understand, in 

 part at least, our Gregorian calendar, so is it necessary to understand 

 the Maya calendar in attempting to decipher the Maya hieroglyphs. 



The Maya years consisted uniformly of 365 days, no reference to or 

 evidence of bissextile years (corresponding to our leap year) having 

 been found in the codices or inscriptions. The}' were divided uni- 

 formly into 18 months of 20 days each, and a supplemental month of 

 5 days following the 18th. Each of these months had a name and a 



SM 1903 46 



