﻿THE 
  FOREMOST 
  ACHIEVEMENT 
  OF 
  ANCIENT 
  AMERICA 
  

  

  121 
  

  

  Courtesy 
  of 
  The 
  Carnegie 
  Institution 
  of 
  Washington 
  

  

  CHICLE 
  HUNTERS 
  RETURNING 
  HOME 
  AT 
  THE 
  END 
  OE 
  THE 
  CHICEE 
  SEASON 
  EARLY 
  

  

  IN 
  THE 
  SPRING 
  

  

  The 
  milk 
  of 
  the 
  chico-sapote 
  tree, 
  from 
  which 
  chewing-gum 
  is 
  made, 
  runs 
  only 
  during 
  

   the 
  rainy 
  season, 
  from 
  June 
  to 
  January, 
  inclusive, 
  during 
  which 
  time 
  the 
  chicle-bleeders 
  are 
  

   in 
  the 
  bush. 
  At 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  season 
  they 
  return 
  to 
  their 
  homes 
  for 
  three 
  or 
  four 
  months, 
  

   to 
  spend 
  in 
  a 
  fortnight 
  all 
  they 
  have 
  so 
  laboriously 
  earned 
  during 
  the 
  past 
  seven 
  or 
  eight 
  

   months, 
  and 
  then 
  to 
  live 
  on 
  credit 
  until 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  the 
  next 
  season. 
  This 
  picture 
  shows 
  

   a 
  group 
  of 
  150 
  chicle-bleeders 
  being 
  picked 
  up 
  at 
  a 
  camp 
  on 
  the 
  San 
  Pedro 
  Martir 
  River, 
  in 
  

   Peten. 
  to 
  be 
  carried 
  down 
  stream 
  to 
  their 
  various 
  villages. 
  They 
  travel 
  with 
  all 
  conceivable 
  

   impedimenta, 
  from 
  an 
  umbrella 
  to 
  a 
  pet 
  monkey, 
  and 
  are 
  of 
  both 
  sexes 
  and 
  all 
  ages. 
  

  

  at 
  considerable 
  length 
  the 
  Aztec 
  graphic 
  

   system, 
  whereas 
  only 
  one 
  authority, 
  

   Bishop 
  Diego 
  de 
  Landa, 
  has 
  written 
  any- 
  

   thing 
  detailed 
  about 
  the 
  Maya 
  writing. 
  

   And, 
  finally, 
  although 
  nearly 
  two 
  score 
  

   Aztec 
  hieroglyphic 
  manuscripts 
  or 
  books 
  

   have 
  come 
  down 
  to 
  us, 
  only 
  three 
  Maya 
  

   ones 
  have 
  been 
  found: 
  The 
  Dresden 
  Co- 
  

   dex, 
  at 
  the 
  Royal 
  Library 
  at 
  Dresden; 
  

   the 
  Tro-Cortesianus 
  Codex, 
  at 
  the 
  Royal 
  

   Academy 
  of 
  History, 
  Madrid, 
  and 
  the 
  

   Peresianus 
  Codex, 
  at 
  the 
  Biblioteque 
  Na- 
  

   tional, 
  Paris. 
  

  

  These 
  several 
  factors 
  have 
  made 
  the 
  

   problems 
  involved 
  in 
  its 
  complete 
  deci- 
  

   pherment 
  more 
  difficult 
  than 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  

   Aztec, 
  and 
  have 
  left 
  us 
  more 
  in 
  the 
  dark 
  

   as 
  to 
  the 
  subjects 
  covered 
  in 
  the 
  Maya 
  

   inscriptions. 
  

  

  The 
  Maya 
  hieroglyphic 
  writing 
  is 
  com- 
  

   posed 
  of 
  about 
  400 
  different 
  characters 
  

  

  or 
  elements, 
  of 
  which 
  probably 
  as 
  high 
  as 
  

   90 
  to 
  95 
  per 
  cent 
  are 
  ideographic 
  rather 
  

   than 
  phonetic, 
  as 
  has 
  been 
  explained. 
  

  

  These 
  four 
  hundred 
  odd 
  basic 
  elements, 
  

   however, 
  are 
  combined 
  in 
  about 
  half 
  as 
  

   many 
  common 
  compound 
  characters, 
  

   about 
  half 
  of 
  which 
  in 
  turn 
  have 
  been 
  de- 
  

   ciphered 
  ; 
  so 
  that 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  fairly 
  claimed 
  

   that 
  the 
  Maya 
  inscriptions 
  no 
  longer 
  are 
  

   a 
  sealed 
  book 
  to 
  us. 
  Although 
  much 
  re- 
  

   mains 
  to 
  be 
  done 
  in 
  this 
  important 
  line 
  of 
  

   investigation, 
  already 
  enough 
  characters 
  

   have 
  had 
  their 
  meanings 
  determined 
  so 
  

   that 
  we 
  begin 
  to 
  catch 
  the 
  general 
  drift 
  

   of 
  these 
  records, 
  even 
  if 
  the 
  details 
  still 
  

   escape 
  us. 
  

  

  MARVELOUS 
  ACCURACY 
  SHOWN 
  IN 
  MAYA 
  

  

  CALENDAR 
  

  

  So 
  far 
  as 
  the 
  Maya 
  inscriptions 
  have 
  

   been 
  deciphered, 
  they 
  deal 
  exclusively 
  

  

  