Ernst Förstemann

“ Opposite her sits the dog which we saw on page 13c. Here (in sign 7) , as on page 13c, the hieroglyph of the dog is combined with a Cimi sign, and this hieroglyph is repeated in 8 with the sign c, which is so closely allied to Cimi.
For the third group the god A should have been represented with the woman, as is proved by sign 11 so peculiarly combined with r as a superfix. To this hieroglyph a is added, doubtless referring to the good days, as if merely to fill space.
The hieroglyphs of the fourth group do not, I think, convey a clear idea as to which deity belongs here. ”

“ There are five women in a sitting attitude.
The first woman corresponds exactly to the third figure on page 15b. She is sitting on a bench, the same implement is in her hand and there is also a serpent on her head, for which reason she likewise reminds us of H. The third hieroglyph is hers, and the 4th sign is an Ahau.
The second woman holds in her hand the Kin sign; above it is the Yax sign and above this a little cross between two dots (the numeral 18?) . Compare pages 18c, 19c and 27b, and in the second part, 46b and 50c. I shall venture no opinion regarding the hieroglyphs. ”

“ Since the intention was to close this section on the next page, the space had to be used as economically as possible, and instead of the six pictures to be expected, there is only one and that is the first. It is a woman in whom I observe nothing characteristic except that she has a kind of cloak, which has fallen down over the lower part of her body, and who therefore remains unexplained. ”

“ The second group contains two persons who sit facing each other, but the representation is so obscure and peculiar that it is difficult to determine which is the male figure and which the female. The hair of the person sitting on the right stands up in a manner not found elsewhere. It forms a figure similar to that which is issuing from the mouth of the dog on pages 13c and 21b. The Cimi sign in 5 and the sign c in 7 are familiar, but the infrequent 6=4 remains a puzzle. ”

“ Now, however, the number 1,366,560 contains the statement that 3744 years ago (each year having 365 days) an event must have occurred, which can hardly be anything other (according to the belief of the Mayas) than the creation of mankind. Hence all the historical dates of the Mayas were computed from this starting-point. But how did this event come to have the date IV Ahau 8 Cumhu? ”

“ The sign Xul = conclusion, end, is fittingly added in 18 to the end of this period, as also on page 58. This sign is very common on pages 61 and 62 at the end of the long periods.
From signs 19 and 20 we see that the four parts of the Venus year are also about to be treated of here, that is, the periods of 236, 90, 250 and 8 days respectively, which are discussed on pages 46-50. For 19 is the sign for Venus, and 20 is a hand with a knife as a superfix, which divides the Venus revolution. This hand appears 20 times in like manner on the pages mentioned above. ”

“ The first is an old man walking, who beyond doubt is N, the Uayeyab god, with a staff in his hand and the signs Imix and Kan on his back. He is looking upward and is also pointing upward with his right hand. Of his hieroglyphs only enough of the fourth is visible to enable us to recognize in it the regular sign of N, 5 Zac. The second picture is again an old man walking with a stick, he is baldheaded and hence is probably also N, as on page 12c. ”

“ There are no red numerals, hence the Tonalamatl seems to apply to any one of the initial week days.
Two women are portrayed, both of whom are stretching a hand forward and upward. There are 8 hieroglyphs of which, however, the top row is almost entirely obliterated; 3 and 7 in the lower row are just alike, being the usual sign for woman. ”

“ From 1,352,400 to 1,364,360 is 11,960 days, which period we have already found once on this page by computation. 11,960, however, is equal to 104 × 115 and 46 × 260, i.e., the Mercury revolution and the Tonalamatl combined. 11,960 is again equal to 32 × 365 + 280, and from the year 10 Kan to 3 Kan it is actually 32 years, and from the date 18 Zip to 18 Kayab it is, in fact, 280 days. The day I Ahau must be common to both dates. ”

“ Here we again find the regular red numerals (Roman in my transcription of the text) , which were wanting in the last three Tonalamatls. That they were not added until after the black script and drawings were completed, is evident in several passages of our Manuscript and also in this one, where they have been faintly indicated in black by the scribe (or corrector) . ”

“ The women pictured here have nothing in their hands, which they hold stretched forward, as is usually the case in this section. The first woman carries a vulture on her head. Compare 8a. In regard to it see also Schellhas, "Göttergestalten," p. 31. The hieroglyph of the vulture, which we find repeated on page 17c, 24, 37b, 46, 50, 65, is here hieroglyph 1, usually regarded as the sign of the bat deity, and near it in 4 is q. ”

“ We shall again find the 151,840 on page 51, and Seler ("Quetzalcoatl and Kukulcan," p. 400) finds this same period on a relief of Chichen Itza.
3) 68,900 + 9100 = 78,000, i.e., 100 Mars years or 300 Tonalamatls. The half of this number, or 39,000, we shall find again on pages 69-73 by computation; also the whole 78,000.
4) 68,900 - 9100 = 59,800, i.e., 520 Mercury years of 115 days, or 230 Tonalamatls, or five times the period of 11,960 days, in which these two periods are united. By computation again we find the 59,800 on page 58. ”