﻿112 
  

  

  THE 
  NATIONAL 
  GEOGRAPHIC 
  MAGAZINE 
  

  

  Courtesy 
  of 
  The 
  Carnegie 
  Institution 
  of 
  Washington 
  

  

  AT 
  THE 
  RUINS 
  OF 
  IXI,U, 
  IN 
  NORTHERN 
  P^TEN, 
  GUATEMALA 
  

  

  The 
  ruins 
  of 
  Ixlu 
  were 
  discovered 
  on 
  April 
  10, 
  1921. 
  This 
  photograph 
  shows 
  His 
  

   Excellency 
  Dr. 
  Jose 
  Prado 
  Romana, 
  Governor 
  of 
  Peten 
  ; 
  Mr. 
  M. 
  D. 
  Bromberg, 
  vice-president 
  

   of 
  the 
  American 
  Chicle 
  Company, 
  and 
  several 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  Carnegie 
  Central 
  American 
  

   Expedition 
  staff 
  on 
  a 
  visit 
  of 
  inspection 
  to 
  the 
  newly 
  discovered 
  site, 
  standing 
  near 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   stone 
  altars 
  (see 
  illustration 
  on 
  opposite 
  page). 
  

  

  expressing 
  thoughts 
  by 
  graphic 
  symbols 
  

   not 
  exemplified 
  by 
  the 
  writing 
  of 
  any 
  

   other 
  people, 
  ancient 
  or 
  modern. 
  It 
  

   stands 
  at 
  that 
  momentous 
  point 
  in 
  the 
  

   development 
  of 
  the 
  human 
  race 
  where 
  

   graphic 
  symbols 
  representing 
  sounds 
  

   were 
  just 
  beginning 
  to 
  replace 
  symbols 
  

   representing 
  ideas. 
  

  

  Alan's 
  first 
  efforts 
  at 
  writing 
  were 
  

   doubtless 
  as 
  highly 
  realistic 
  as 
  he 
  could 
  

   make 
  them 
  with 
  his 
  clumsy 
  hands 
  and 
  

   still 
  clumsier 
  tools 
  and 
  drawing 
  mate- 
  

   rials. 
  If 
  he 
  wanted 
  to 
  express 
  the 
  idea 
  

   "horse," 
  he 
  was 
  obliged 
  to 
  draw 
  the 
  pic- 
  

   ture 
  of 
  a 
  horse, 
  since 
  he 
  had 
  no 
  symbols 
  

   or 
  characters 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  

   sound 
  of 
  its 
  name 
  could 
  be 
  indicated. 
  

   In 
  short, 
  he 
  was 
  obliged 
  to 
  convey 
  the 
  

   idea 
  of 
  a 
  horse 
  to 
  the 
  brain 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  

   the 
  eye 
  and 
  not 
  the 
  ear 
  — 
  realistically 
  — 
  

   that 
  is, 
  by 
  its 
  picture 
  — 
  instead 
  of 
  phonet- 
  

   ically, 
  by 
  its 
  sound. 
  

  

  This 
  earliest 
  method 
  of 
  expressing 
  

   thoughts 
  graphically 
  has 
  been 
  called 
  

  

  ideographic 
  writing 
  because 
  its 
  symbols 
  

   express 
  ideas 
  instead 
  of 
  sounds, 
  as 
  do 
  

   the 
  characters 
  of 
  our 
  own 
  alphabet. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  obvious 
  that 
  this 
  kind 
  of 
  writing 
  

   has 
  a 
  very 
  limited 
  range, 
  being 
  able 
  to 
  

   express 
  little 
  more 
  than 
  concrete 
  objects, 
  

   and 
  scarcely 
  at 
  all 
  to 
  convey 
  action, 
  save 
  

   only 
  by 
  the 
  clumsy 
  makeshift 
  of 
  pictures 
  

   representing 
  specific 
  acts 
  ; 
  and 
  man 
  in 
  

   the 
  course 
  of 
  his 
  development 
  eventually 
  

   devised 
  a 
  better 
  method 
  of 
  expressing 
  

   his 
  thoughts 
  than 
  by 
  merely 
  drawing 
  

   pictures 
  of 
  them. 
  

  

  BIRTH 
  01? 
  TH£ 
  ALPHABET'S 
  FIRST 
  

   ANCESTOR 
  

  

  At 
  this 
  point 
  we 
  reach, 
  for 
  the 
  first 
  

   time, 
  the 
  introduction 
  of 
  the 
  phonetic 
  

   element 
  into 
  writing 
  — 
  that 
  is 
  to 
  say, 
  

   where 
  a 
  sign 
  or 
  character 
  came 
  to 
  rep- 
  

   resent 
  a 
  sound, 
  a 
  syllable, 
  or 
  a 
  letter 
  and 
  

   ceased 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  picture 
  of 
  an 
  idea. 
  And 
  

   it 
  is 
  precisely 
  at 
  this 
  important 
  turning 
  

   point 
  in 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  writing 
  that 
  the 
  

  

  

  