406 



of the god Ollin Tonatiuh present twice the 

 number five ; but this explanation appears to 

 me as doubtful, as that which has been at- 

 tempted to be given of the forty compartments 

 surrounding the zodiac, and of the numbers 6, 

 10, and 18, which are repeated toward the edge 

 of the stone. We shall not examine whether 

 the holes made in this enormous stone were 

 made, as Mr. Gama thought, to place wires to 

 serve as gnomons. What is more certain, and 

 highly important to Mexican chronology, is, 

 that this monument proves, in opposition to the 

 opinion of Gemelli and Boturini, that the first 

 day, whatever be the sign of the year, is con- 

 stantly presided by cipactll, a sign which corres- 

 ponds to the Capricorn of the Greek sphere. 

 We may suppose, that near this stone another 

 was placed, which contained the fasti from the 

 autumnal equinox to that of the spring. 



We have now collected under the same point 

 of view all that is hitherto known of the division 

 of time among the Mexican nations, carefully 

 distinguishing what is certain from what is 

 merely probable. We see from what has been 

 explained respecting the form of the year, how 

 imaginary are those hypotheses, by which some- 

 times the lunar years, sometimes years of two 

 hundred and eighty-six days divided into twenty- 

 two months, have been attributed to the Tol- 



