VIII, 43. alte Bauwerke und Ruinen in Guatemala. 725 



jnany analogies, and also tvith the American gljrphs. Thinking then that I had fnund the 

 primitive elements of these gljrphs, 1 hastened to communirate litis imporlanl fact In Mr. Du- 

 ponceati (in a printed letter directed to ftim in 1828), tvho was Struck wilh the analogy, 

 and was ready to confess that the g/j-phs of Palenque migltt be alphabetical words, allhough 

 he did not be/ieve before that any American alphabets were extant. Hut he could not pursue 

 rnjr connection of ideas , analogies of signs , languages and traditions to the exlent which I 

 desired and now am able to prove. (Es folgt nun p. 41, a m f- 42, b'" eine nähere Entwicke- 

 lung der zwei „libyfchen Alphabete".) Meantime (42,4""") in the column No. 3 of the 

 tubulär view are given 46 Elements of the Glyplis of Otolum or Palenque , a feto of these 

 glyphs being given also in column No. 4. These 46 elements are allngetlter similar or deri- 

 ved from the Lybian prototypes of No. 1 and 2. In sorne cases the'y are absolutely idenlic, 

 and the conviction of their common origin is almost complete, particularly when laken in 

 connection wilh the collateral proofs of traditions and languages. These elements are some- 

 tvhat involved in the grottping, yet they Jituy easily be pereeived and separaled. Sometimes 

 they are ornamented by double lities or otherwise, as monumental letters often are; some- 

 times uniled to outside numbers , represented by long ellipses meaning 10 and round dots 

 meaning unities, ivhich approxirnates to the Mexican System of graphic numeration. Besides 

 these 46 elements, sorne olhers may be seen in the glyphs , tvhich 1 left off, because too in- 

 tricate ; allhough they appear reducible , if a /arger table could have been given. There is 

 hardly a single one that may not be traced to these fnrms or that baffles the actual theory. 

 Therefore the conclusion must oeeur, that such aslonishing eoineidence cannol be (43) casual, 

 but it is the result of original derivation. The following remarks are of sorne imporlance : 

 1. The glyphs of Otolum are tvrilten from top to bottom, like the Chinese; or from side to 

 side indifferenl/y, like the Egyptian and the Demotic Lybian of No. 2 ... . 2. Allhough the 

 mosl common way of tvriting the groups is in rows and each group separated, yet we find 

 sorne framed as it were in oblong Squares or tablels like those of Egypt. See plate 12 of the 

 ivork on Palenque by Delrio and Cabrera. In that 12' A plate there are also sorne singular 



groups resembling our musical notes but if languages shou/d uphold litis theory, the 



certainly will be increased of the Atlantic origins of Otolum. — But shall tve be able to read 

 these glyphs and inscriptions? without positively knoiving in what language they are tvrilten.'' 

 The attempt tvill be arduous, but is not impossible .... We find amnng the ancient dialects 

 of Chiapa, Yucalan and Gualimala the branches of the ancient speech of Otolum ... . / tvill 

 notv merely give a fetv attempts to read sorne of the groups. For instance: 1. The group 

 or tvord on the seal of the sitling man of plate 4 of monuments of Palenque I read UOBAC: 

 being formed by a hand, a longue, a circle, an ear and a crescent, It is perhaps his name. 

 And underneath the seal is an eye tvith a small circle inside, meaning EB. 2. In plate 5 

 is an eye tvith 2 annexed rings, meaning probably BAß, and perhaps the Sun, ivhich is 

 BAP in the Lybian aiphabet. 3. In plate 7 the glyph of the corner tvith a head, a fish 

 and a crescent means probably KIM. 4. The \" glyph of plate 15 is probably BALKE. 

 5. / can make out many olhers, reading ICBE, BOCOGO, PO PO, EPL, PKE etc. If these 

 tvords and others (allhough sorne may be names) can be found in African languages or in 

 those of Central Arnerica, tve shall obtain perhaps the key to the tvhole language of Old 

 Otolum; and next reach Step by Step to the desirabte knotvledge of reading these g/yp/is, ivhich 

 may Cover much historical knotvledge of high Import . Meantime I have open the palh , if 



