297 



Tolteck, Acolhuan, Azteck, and Tlascalteck 

 race. It is true, that five old ages of one hun- 

 dred and four years each, form, within a year 

 nearly, the Julian period ; and that the double 

 of the period of Meton is almost equal to three 

 indictions (tlalpilli) of the Mexican year; but 

 no multiple of thirteen is exactly equal to the 

 number of days contained in a period of two 

 hundred and thirty-five lunations. The period 

 of Meton contains five hundred and thirty-three 

 small cycles and a half of thirteen days, while 

 that of Calippus contains two thousand one hun- 

 dred and thirty-four and one thirteenth. The 

 knowledge of these periods was useful to the 

 nations of Asia, who, as well as the Peruvians, 

 the Muyscas, and the other tribes of South Ame- 

 rica, had lunar years : but it must have been ab- 

 solutely indifferent to the Mexicans, the pretended 

 reckoning of the Moon (metzlapohualli) being 

 only an arbitrary division of a great period of 

 thirteen astronomical years into three hundred 

 and sixty-five small periods of thirteen days, each 

 of which has perceptibly the same duration as 

 the sleep or vigil of the Moon. 



The Mexicans were in possession of annals, 

 that went back to eight centuries and a half be- 

 yond the epocha of the arrival of Cortez in the 

 country of Anahuac. We have already explain- 

 ed how these annals presented, in their sub- 



