Page:A Study of the Manuscript Troano.djvu/10

iv, thoroughly versed in science and general knowledge, but were Indians, who through some influence, whether introduced or indigenous, had made considerable advance in certain lines of art and science. But these lines, as I believe, were few and limited, relating chiefly to architecture, sculpture, painting, and the computation of time.

As an examination of the Manuscript soon satisfied me that it was, to a great extent, a kind of religious calendar, I found it necessary first to discuss the Maya chronological system in order to make use of the numerous dates found in the work—a fact that will explain why so many pages of the first part of the paper are devoted to this subject.

The results of my investigations are summed up at the close of this preface. I find the work consists of two parts: first, a calendar giving the dates of religious festivals running through a long period of time, in all probability a grand cycle of three hundred and twelve years, together with brief formulas; second, an illustration of the habits, customs, and employments of the people. But these two subjects are mingled together throughout the Manuscript; the first including most of the characters or hieroglyphics around the spaces; the second the figures in the spaces. One omission in my paper will be observed by those who are familiar with the subject, that is, the failure on my part to notice and account for, in the Maya chronological system, the surplus days of the bissextile years. This omission on my part has been intentional. I can find no plan by which to insert them in the series, numbering them as the others, without interfering with that order which is essential to the system itself I have therefore proceeded upon the assumption that they are added as uncounted days, and hence interfere in no way with the regular order. If I am mistaken in this conclusion, considerable modification in my tabular arrangement of the years may be necessary, even though the general plan be correct. A very serious drawback to the attempt to explain the written characters or hieroglyphics has been the lack on my part of a knowledge of the Maya language. Such a knowledge I do not claim; therefore, in this part of the work, the best I could do was to quote from the lexicons, as there given, such words as I found it necessary to refer to. The propriety of attempting anything in this direction without this knowledge may be justly