364 ANIMAL FIGURES IN THE MAYA CODICES 



glyphs in the codices for the month Kankin show the same 

 element (text figs. 8-10). 



The Nahua day sign Itzcuintli signifies dog and corre- 

 sponds to the Maya Oc (PI. 36, figs. 9-11). This in turn is 

 considered by many to stand for the dog as the animal of 



FIG8. 8, 9, 10. 

 GLYPHS FOR MAYA MONTH KANKIN (RIBS OF DOG). 



death and signifies the end. The sore, cropped ears of the 

 domesticated dog are supposed to be represented in this 

 sign, Oc. Nahua and other day signs for Itzcuintli (dog) are 

 shown in PL 36, figs. 4, 6, 13. 



Bear (Ursus machetes; U. horriaeus). In northern 

 Mexico, in Chihuahua and Sonora, occur a black bear {Ursus 

 machetes) and the Sonoran grizzly (C7. horriaeus). It is 

 unlikely that the Mayas had much acquaintance with these 

 animals since they range more to the northward than the 

 area of Maya occupation. Stempell has identified as a bear, 

 a figure in Dresden 37a (PI. 35, fig. 3). This represents a 

 creature with the body of a man walking erect but with the 

 head apparently of some carnivorous mammal, as shown by 

 the prominent canine tooth. This appears as a tonalamatl 

 figure. The resemblance to a bear is not very clear. Less 

 doubt attaches to the figure shown in PI. 35, fig. 4, which 

 seems almost certainly to depict a bear. The stout body, 

 absence of a tail, the plantigrade hind feet, and stout claws, 

 all seem to proclaim it a bear of one of the two species above 

 mentioned. This picture is found in connection with one 

 of the warriors shown in the bas-relief of the Lower Chamber 

 of the Temple of the Tigers at Chichen Itza. It seems clearly 

 to designate the figure in much the same way as figures are 



