94 



THE AECHAIC MAYA INSCRIPTIONS. 



FROM THE BEGINNING OF A GREAT CYCLE. 



The foregoing signs all occur after reckonings from the beginning of a great cycle. 

 From this uniformity of use, and their general likeness, I think there can be no 

 question of their being intended to express that fact. As nearly all the signs of this 

 class are convertible, these might also at times indicate that the reckoning was to the 

 beginning of a great cycle, or simply declare a date to be the commencement of one. 



FROM THE BEGINNING OF A CYCLE. 



The first of these signs follows a reckoning from the beginning of a cycle ; the 

 second, a reckoning to the beginning of one — or rather, it declares the date reached to 

 be so. The other two are not so demonstrable ; but as they are among the most 

 puzzling of the glyphs, and as they always appear to denote some kind of a reckoning 

 from the beginning of a cycle, I put them here in order to focus attention upon them. 



FROM THE PRECEDING DATE. 



As the first three of these glyphs occur only after reckonings from a preceding date, 

 I think their significance is limited to that ; but the last glyph may at times indicate 

 an initial date, as in several instances the date to which it refers is an initial one. The 

 exact limitations of all the other directive signs, as well as this, can be settled only by 

 longer study than I have been able to devote to them. 



