July 22, 1892.] 



SCIENCE. 



45 



doubled, or combined with n. Not satisfactorily tested as 

 yet, though m is certainly the chief phonetic element. 



18 (a, b). iW' (?). — Although not thoroughly traced, lam 

 satisfied that this character, which is the symbol of the day 

 Muluc, has m as its chief phonetic element, generally with 

 o or u. The part representing the c is omitted from the day 

 symbol, but is found in the little ring and loops in 18b. The 

 form of the contour of a character is generally of no signifi- 

 cance as it may be round, square, or deeply notched without 

 any change in its meaning. 



19. P or Pp (?). — Although I have not tested this satis- 

 factorily, I am certain from my examinations that its pho- 

 netic equivalent is p usually pp. There are some variations 

 found chiefly in the lower portion. The p and b appear to 

 be interchangeable in the Codices even in the same word; 

 for example in the Dresden Codex 48c, we find the b char- 

 acter in the symbol for the month Pop, while on 50b it is 

 replaced in the same month symbol by our No. 19. 



20, 21, 22. I". —These characters (20, 2L and 22) appear to 

 have t as their chief phonetic element, varied according to 

 the markings in the upper portion. No. 20 is also varied by 

 the marks in the lower or middle circle. 



23. Th\—ls followed by e and i. 



24. Tz\ — I am also inclined to believe that the two 

 streamers or lines which extend upward in characters, as in 

 the symbol for the month Tzec, indicate the presence of this 

 sound. 



25. Z\ Za. — Varied according to the markings in the 

 wings and circle. 



26. O (dz). — Sometimes z. 



27. y. — The index to the variations in the signification 

 if there be any, which is doubtful, will probably be found 

 in the length and form of the stem. 



28. Bal or bil (?). — -This is the symbol for the day Acbal. 



29. Ch (?). — Usually followed by o or m when not ter- 

 minal. Is the symbol for the day Chuen. 



30. Call. — The signification of the appendage so often 

 found attached below this symbol has not been ascertained. 



31. W. — Sign of aspiration, the open ends always turned 

 toward the character with which it is connected. 



32. Kin. — Sometimes without the wing. The latter ap- 

 pears to be used for ?i, the circle for hi. 



33. Kal. — If the separate elements are represented, it is 

 probable the section with the dotted line stands for the fcand 

 the curved line with the two little teeth for the I. 



Having submitted samples of my interpretation to Dr. H. 



T. Cresson of Philadelphia subsequent to the first notice, in 

 Science, of my discovery, I am much pleased to learn that 

 he has reached a similar determination as to some of these 

 letter symbols by an independent method. As I was not 

 aware until the publication of the article mentioned, that he 

 was at work on the Maya characters, this agreement in our 

 conclusions is highly gratifying, and serves to strengthen 

 both in the conviction that we are making genuine progress 

 in the solution of this difficult problem. 



I give here a few interpretations of groups of compound 

 characters to illustrate the combinations of the letter sym- 

 bols. 



Fig. 2 represents a group of four compound characters in 

 the upper division of PI. XXII* Codex Troano, to be read in 

 this order: upper left, upper right, lower left, lower right; 

 which we will number in the order given 1, 2, 3, 4. 



The following is probably a substantially correct transla- 

 tion: (1) U-Zabal, (2) U-le, (3) Cutz, (4.) 2-yaxkin: "Set 

 (or literally do the setting of) the snare for the turkey on 

 the second day of Yaxkin." I can give no explanation of 

 the little crosses above the symbol for Yaxkin. The prefix 

 to No. 1 and to No. 2 is the character for u; the upper 

 character in No. 1 appears to be the symbol for z reversed; 

 the band across the lower character the b (possibly inter- 

 changeable with p). The figure below agrees very well 

 with this interpretation. 



The group shown in Fig. 3 is found in the lower division 

 of plate 26 Cortesiau Codex. The characters are taken and 

 numbered in the same order as in Fig. 2. No. 1 is supposed 

 with good reason to be a deity symbol, the name however 

 undetermined. Assuming this to be correct, I translate the 

 group as follows: (Deity) xan yalcab kal-cab, " As " or "in 

 the name of (the deity) slowly gather the swarm of bees 

 and inclose them in a hive." 



The figure below shows a priest wearing the mask of the 

 supposed deity hence we say " as." 



Fig. 4 is a group from the middle division of plate XXXII* 

 Codex Troano. The characters are numbered in the same 

 order as the preceding and are translated as follows: Mulcin 

 ku ci- (god of death) xaan; "Collect together for the 

 temple of the holy god of death palm wood." The picture 

 below represents individuals bearing in their hands what 

 appear to be blocks of wood on each of which is the symbol 

 for che " wood." 



The little character at the forehead in No. 4 is the symbol 



