File:Bulletin (1915) (14578282800).jpg

Identifier: bulletin571915smit (find matches)
Title: Bulletin
Year: 1901 (1900s)
Authors: Smithsonian Institution. Bureau of American Ethnology
Subjects: Ethnology
Publisher: Washington : G.P.O.
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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efore, as the most obvious period in nature, as well asthe most reliable, has been used the world over as the fundamentalunit for the measurement of longer stretches of time. Table I. THE TWENTY MAYA DAY NAMES Imix Chuen Ik Eb Akbal Ben Kan Ix Chicchan Men Cimi Cib Manik Caban Lamat Eznab Muluc Cauac Oc Ahau In conformity with the universal practice just mentioned the Mayamade the day, which they called Tiin, the primary unit of then- calen-dar. There were twenty such units, named as in Table I; thesefollowed each other in the order there shown. When Ahau, the lastday in the list, had been reached, the count began anew with Imix,and thus repeated itself again and again without interruption,throughout tune. It is unportant that the student should fLx this 37 38 BUREAU OP AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY Maya, conception of the rotation of days firmly in his mind at theoutset, since all that is to follow depends upon the absolute con-tinuity of this twenty-day sequence in endless repetition. CHICCHAN
Text Appearing After Image:
9 AHAU i^ Fig. 16. The day signs i n the inscripti The glyphs for these twenty days are shown in figures 16 and 17.The forms in figure 16 arc from the inscriptions and those in figure17 from the codices. In several cases variants arc given to facilitateidentification. A study of the glyphs in these two figures shows onthe whole a fairly close similarity between the forms for the same MORLET) INTRODUCTION TO STUDY OF MAYA HIEROGLYPHS 39 day in each. The sign for the first day, Imix, is practically identicalin both. Compare figure 16, a and h, with figure 17, a and 6. Theusual form for the day Ik in the inscriptions (see fig. 16, c), however,

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