32 THE INSCRIPTIONS AT COPAN. 
contributions of Thomas are rather in the field of the manuscripts than in 
that of the inscriptions. His commentaries on the codices are particularly 
valuable and in some lines parallel the work of F6rstemann.! 
Although most of his writing preceded the period of precise decipher- 
ment, Dr. D. G. Brinton, of the University of Pennsylvania, also made 
valuable contributions to the general field of Middle American archeology, 
and particularly to its aboriginal history. He published many original 
sources, the Maya Chronicles, the Annals of the Cakchiquels, etc., with 
highly illuminative notes and comments by himself, and with justice he 
may be called the “Father of Maya History,” in which field for many years 
he stood practically alone.* At one time it was the fashion to discredit 
these native chronicles and to regard them as untrustworthy and of little 
consequence, but now the whole trend of Maya research is tending toward 
their complete authentication as reliable sources for the reconstruction of 
ancient Maya history, a position taken and ably defended by Brinton 37 
years ago.® 
The work of Mr. C. P. Bowditch deserves especial mention in this 
section. It was chiefly through his instrumentality that the Peabody Mu- 
seum first entered the field of Maya archeology 30 years ago, and it has been 
largely due to his continued interest and support that investigations have 
been maintained there ever since. In addition to these activities, he has 
made important original contributions to the study of the hieroglyphic 
writing. His first paper on this subject was published in 1900, and during 
the next decade he brought out a number of articles containing much new 
information. The more important results of his researches are to be found 
in his Numeration, Calendar Systems, and Astronomical Knowledge of the Mayas, 
published in 1910, a scholarly presentation of the subject, embodying not 
only all the previous knowledge but also the fruit of his own extensive labors.‘ 

1Thomas’s writings are fairly voluminous. Most of them are to be found in various governmental publica- 
tions, chiefly those of the Bureau of American Ethnology, with which he was connected for many years. His more 
important contributions will be found in the bibliography under the following heads: Thomas, 1882, 1888, 1894, 
1897, 1900, and 1904. 
2Stephens was the first to publish one of these chronicles (1843, vol. 11, pp. 465-469). This particular 
manuscript, the Book of Chilan Balam of Mani, had been discovered at Ticul, Yucatan, by the Yucatecan 
antiquarian, Pio Pérez, just before Stephens’s visit to the country. Realizing its importance, Stephens prevailed 
upon Pérez to allow him to publish the original Maya text and an English translation. A more scholarly 
treatise on the same manuscript is that by Valentini, The Katunes of Maya History (see Valentini, 1879), which 
contains a critical analysis of the chronological data, and an able defense of its historical accuracy. Brinton 
republished the Maya text with an English translation in his Maya Chronicles (Brinton, 1882, pp. 89-135). 
3Brinton, 1882. Brinton’s bibliography is extensive and varied. Chamberlain (1899, pp. 215-225) states he 
wrote over 150 books and articles from 1859 to 1898. His contributions to the study of the Maya hieroglyphic 
writing alone are too voluminous for complete citation here. They cover almost every phase of the subject, and in 
the field of history, as noted above, are without equal. The more important titles will be found in the bibliography 
under the following heads: Brinton, 1882, 18824, 1882), 1885, 1886, 1886a, 1887, 1890, 1894, 1895, and 1896. 
See also Culin, 1900. 
4Bowditch, 1910. ‘The hieroglyphs figured in this book were drawn by Mrs. A. J. Tretheway, whose work 
is both painstaking and accurate, and compares favorably with that of Miss Hunter. Mrs. Tretheway uses a 
heavier line than Miss Hunter, however, and is less prone to overdraw. While this characteristic gives her work 
a less finished appearance than that of Maudslay’s illustrator, it probably makes it correspondingly more accurate, 
particularly in the delineation of texts from the Early and Middle Periods. For Bowditch’s other publications, 
see the bibliography. 
