297 
Tolteck^ Acolhiian, Azteck^ and Tlascalteck 
race. It is true^ that five old ages of one hun- 
dred and four years each^ form, within a year 
nearly, the J ulian period ; and that the double 
of the period of Meton is almost equal to three 
indictions (tlalpilli) of the Mexican year; but 
no multiple of thirteen is exactly equal to the 
number of days contained in a period of two 
hundred and thirty-five lunations. The period 
of Meton contains five hundred and thirty-three 
small cycles and a half of thirteen days, while 
that of Calippus contains two thousand one hun- 
dred and thirty-four and one thirteenth. The 
knowledge of these periods was useful to the 
nations of Asia, who, as well as the Peruvians, 
the Muyscas, and the other tribes of South Ame- 
rica, had lunar years: but it must have been ab- 
solutely indifierent to the Mexicans, the pretended 
reckoning of the Moon (metzlapohualli) being 
only an arbitrary division of a great period of 
thirteen astronomical years into three hundred 
and sixty-five small periods of thirteen days, each 
of which has perceptibly the same duration as 
the sleep or vigil of the Moon. 
The Mexicans were in possession of annals, 
that went back to eight centuries and a half be- 
yond the epocha of the arrival of Cortez in the 
country of Anahuac. We have already explain- 
ed how these annals presented, in their sub- 
