ANIMAL FIGURES IN THE MAYA CODICES 323 



mann (1902, p. 27) identifies the turtle with the summer sol- 

 stice, as has been noted before, explaining that the animal 

 is slow of motion, and is taken to represent the time when 

 the sun seems to stand still. He bases his theory (1904, 

 p. 423) in part on the fact that the sign for the Maya month 

 Kayab, which is the month in which the summer solstice 

 occurs, shows the face of the turtle (PI. 14, fig. 10). This 

 undoubtedly is correct, but he seems to us wrong in classing 

 as turtles the figure in Dresden 40b (PL 25, fig. 1) with its 

 accompanying glyph (PI. 25, fig. 6). 



The turtle is found in connection with two sun {kivi) 

 signs beneath -a constellation band in Tro-Cortesianus 71a. 

 Resting upon his body are three Cauac signs. The single 

 representation of the turtle in the Dresden Codex is on page 

 49 (PI. 14, fig. 12) where a god is pictured with a turtle's 

 head. The heavy sharp beak indicates that he represents 

 one of the sea turtles previously mentioned. He is shown 

 transfixed by a spear and corresponds to the other figures in 

 the lower parts of pp. 46-50. These all have some connection 

 with the Venus period which is considered in these pages.* 



A number of glyphs representing the turtle are found 

 throughout the codices (PI. 14, figs. 7-10). They are all 

 characterized by the heavy beak. It may be noted that 

 these glyphs are virtually the same as the sign for the first 

 a in Landa's alphabet. As the turtle is called ak or aak in 

 Maya, the reason is clear for the selection of this sign for an a 

 sound. These turtle glyphs often occur alone; one, however, 

 (PI. 14, fig. 7) is found in connection with the swimming 

 turtle in Tro-Cortesianus 17a (PI. 14, fig. 3) . Figs. 7-9 agree 

 in having the small scrolls at the posterior end of the eye. 

 The head shown in PI. 14, fig. 10, has quite a different eye, 

 though otherwise similar. Its resemblance to the glyph on 

 PI. 25, fig. 9, is marked and suggests the parrot. Schellhas 

 (1904, p. 44) gives in his fig. 64, a glyph for the turtle which 

 seems clearly to be a glyph for the parrot (PL 25, fig. 7). 



* See in this connection Seler , 1904. 



