Page:Here and there in Yucatan - miscellanies (IA herethereinyucat00lepl 0).djvu/129

 employed in one inscription two modes of writing, even three; the figurative, symbolic, and phonetic; neither of them were like that which among the Egyptian writings is called demotic.

By the figurative method, subjects of a purely physical nature could be presented to the mind more surely than by the most perfect phonetic system. In writing the names of persons by this method the signs used are called totems, and are images of the things they take their names from; thus an individual named Fish would be represented as a fish.

By the symbolical method, ideas were indirectly expressed. They consisted for the most part of certain emblems denoting different names given to Deity, the various phenomena of nature, and certain metaphysical conceptions: for example, in the Troano Manuscript the busy bee signifies the activity of volcanic forces.

As among other nations of antiquity, so among the Mayas, the priests and noblemen were the scholars. About the fifth century of the Christian era many of these were put to death; others fled for dear life, to wander in distant lands, because the warlike and blood-thirsty Nahualts of Mexico invaded the country and conquered its inhabitants.

We have reason to hope that at that time the