Aids to the study of the Maya codices / by Cyrus Thomas.

  • Cyrus Thomas
Date:
1888
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Aids to the study of the Maya codices / by Cyrus Thomas. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    apparent, therefore, that eacli group is to be read separately, and, as each repeats in part what is given in the others, it is more than prob- able that they are simply short formulas to be repeated in certain religious ceremonies. This parallelism, though not always so appar- ent as in the case presented, is nevertheless found running through all the codices. The advantage to the attempts at decipherment which results from this fact is evident, as it will often justify the restoration of blurred or obliterated characters, and, what is of still more importance, will enable the investigator to test his conclusions by comparing the different characters and pictures with which they are associated. Although it appears to be well settled that, as a rule, the writing, when in lines, is to be read from left to right — the lines following each other downward and the columns to be read from the top down- ward, but the groups, as before explained, to be read separately—it does not follow that the groups succeed one another from left to right. This has generally been taken for granted, but there are some reasons to doubt the correctness of this conclusion as regards a number of plates and possibly one entire codex. The facts that the lines of numerals attached to the day columns extend to the right and that the written characters, when in lines, follow one another in the same direction lead us to infer that the groups and pictures follow one another in the same order, but the apparent movement of the latter towards the left would seem to indicate that they follow one another in this direction. This infer- ence appears to be confirmed by the following evidence: As is well known, the plates of the Manuscript Troano are to be taken in re- verse order to the paging. Turning to Plate II, we observe in the mid- dle department of the middle division a bound captive or victim, on whose neck a machete is descending to sever the head from the trunk. Turning to Plate III, which properly stands to the left of Plate II, we see a headless trunk covered with blood and the fatal machete near the neck. It is fair to presume that this is the same individual that is figured in the preceding plate, and, if so, that the pictures follow one another toward the left. Placing Plates XV* and XVI* of the same manuscript in the proper relation to each other and carefully examining the figures in the second division, we notice that the idol heads which the artisans are carving approach completion as we move toward the left, those in Plate XV * and the right hand one in XVI* being simply blocked out, while the middle one in the latter plate is completely rounded and is receiving the second ornamental line and the one at the left hand is receiving the third and final line. The female figures in the second division of Plate XIX* indicate the same order, as shown by the increasing girth as we proceed toward the left.