SCIENCE 



NEW YORK, MAY 27. 1892. 



A KEY TO THE MYSTERY OF THE MAYA CODICES. 



I WISH to announce through Science to those interested 

 ia the subject, that I have fortunately discovered, at last, the 

 key which vfill unlock the mystery of the Maya Codices and, 

 probably, of the Central American inscriptions. The progress 

 of decipherment will be slow, but, the clue having been ob- 

 tained, it vfill ultimately be accomplished. I have already 

 determined the signification of some dozens of characters 

 and in several instances ascertained the general sense of a 

 group forming a sentence. 



This discovery settles at the same time several other points. 

 Eirst, it shows that the direction in which the Codices are 

 to be read is as assumed by me in the "Study of the Manu- 

 script Troano," pp. 136-141. Second, that the parts of the 

 compound characters are to be read chiefly in the same way ; 



that is. from left to right and from the top downward. It 

 shows, in the third place, that, although there are a number 

 of conventional symbols, yet the great majority of the char- 

 acters are truly phonetic, and the writing of a higher grade 

 than has been hitherto supposed. Last, it shows that, 

 after all, Landa's statements in regard to the mode of writing 

 and the letters and characters are, to a large extent, correct. 

 For example, his second b is correct if a central dot is in- 

 serted, giving five instead of four. His c is also correct, as 

 are his e, i, and ca, his fc, ku, z, ha, ma, and sign of aspira- 

 tion. The I as given in his example of the mode of writing 

 IS correct. His first x (dz), if placed horizontally and slightly 

 modified, is the symbol for ch'. 



Landa's trouble as to the Maya mode of spelling, where he 

 assumes that Ze is written thus, ele, arises from the fact that 

 the beginning of the symbol for I is so nearly like that for e, 

 that he has mistaken one for the other, thus considering the 

 first part of the I as an e. This can be shown, as symbols 

 for the same word, having the same meaning, are found at 

 one point in the Codex Troano. 



As one result of this discovery, I will introduce here an 

 example, with illustration from page 32 of the Cortesian 

 Codex. In the figure here shown the reader will observe a 

 character in the hand of the human being represented as 

 grasped in the mouth of the serpent and also one from which 

 the serpent seems to rise. The latter is the symbol for cab, 

 which in the Maya language signifies both earth and honey, 

 here undoubtedly earth. The one in the hand of the human 

 figure is a compound symbol for yeb or yeeb, signifying 

 mist, dew, or humidity. We also observe in the eye of the 

 human head a cross, which, like the serpent, is a rain or 

 moisture symbol; thus agreeing with the view which has 

 been advanced in regard to the signification of these sym- 

 bols. 



Without further reference at present to the discovery, I 

 may say that I am preparing specimens of my interpreta- 

 tions and explanations, to be submitted to some of our lead- 

 ing archaeologists and linguists. 



In concluding, allow me to say that if I am correct in the 

 above deductions, which have been reached after careful ex- 

 amination and tests, the Bureau of Ethnology, of which I 

 have the honor to be a member, may claim to have rendered 

 probable the solution of two important questions relating to 

 the pre-Columbian times of ojr continent, to wit: Who were 

 the mound builders ? and. What is the significance of these 

 curious Central American inscriptions and Maya writings 2 



Cyeus Thomas. 



Washington, May 17. 



DR. D. H. STORER'S WORK ON THE FISHES. 



Such of Dr. Storer's papers as have come to my notice, 

 some of the minor articles possibly being overlooked, indi- 

 cate that his activity as an ichthyologist extended over a 

 period of about thirty years, beginning about 1836. His list 

 of publications on the fishes is not a long one, and his stand- 

 ing amongst the workers of his own period, or of later peri- 

 ods, in this department of science, may be determined en- 

 tirely from the latest, his greatest work, " The History of 

 the Fishes of Massachusetts." 



1. The earliest paper noted is entitled "An Examination of 

 the ' Catalogue of the Marine and Fresh-Water Fishes of 

 Massachusetts,' by J. V. C. Smith, M.D.," in Professor Hitch- 

 cock's "Report on the Geology, Mineralogy, etc., of Massa- 

 chusetts." This appeared in Vol. I. of the Boston Journal 

 of Natural History, pp. 347-365, pi. viii., occupying some 

 eighteen pages, and bearing date of May. 1836. 



2. In July. 1839, he published his "Remarks on the 

 'Natural History of the Fishes of Massachusetts,' by J. V. 

 C. Smith, M.D.," in Vol. XXXVI. of SiUiman's American 

 Journal of Science and Arts, pp. 337-349, previously read 

 before the Boston Society of Natural History at its meeting 

 on March 20 of the same year. 



3. His Reports on the Ichthyology and Herpetology of 

 Massachusetts make an octavo of 253 pages and three plates. 

 This was issued in connection with the report on the Birds, 

 by Mr. Peabody. The Report on the Fishes was also pub- 



