Page:A Study of the Manuscript Troano.djvu/71

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thomas]
METHOD OF FINDING DATES INDICATED BY NUMERALS.
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The first I select is found in the lower division of Plate XXVI. The column is as here shown—Fig. 6—the days are Ahau, Eb, Kan, Cib, Lamat.

Fig 6. In addition to these red numerals, we find in the space occupied by the figures five black and five red numerrals, each thirteen. Why there should be five pairs of numerals, each denoting the same number, I confess myself unable to decide; I shall therefore leave this question to be discussed hereafter, if I find any reasonable explanation. According to the interpretation already given, the red numerals indicate the days, the black the months. Hunting out the years as in the preceding example we find them to be as follows:

13 Ahau. 13 Eb. 13 Kan. 13 Cib. 13 Lamat.
Years 6 Cauac. 7 Cauac. 2 Cauac. 3 Cauac. 11 Cauac.
Years 4 Kan. 12 Kan. 7 Kan. 8 Kan. 3 Kan.
Years 9 Muluc. 4 Muluc. 5 Muluc. 13 Muluc. 1 Muluc.
Years 1 Ix. 2 Ix. 10 Ix. 5 Ix. 6 Ix.

These years are marked with a star and the group surrounded by a continuous dark line on the annexed table of years, No. X. For reasons hereafter given I adopt the system which commences the cycle with 1 Cauac.

As Plate XXVII i-elates obviously to the same general subject, I select the left-hand day column of its upper division as our next example. The days are Ahau, Eb, Kan, Cib, and Lamat, the same as in the preceding example, the red or day numeral 11, the black or month numeral 13.

These give us the following years:

Days 11 Ahau. 11 Eb. 11 Kan. 11 Cib. 11 Lamat.
Years 4 Cauac. 5 Cauac. 13 Cauac. 1 Cauac. 9 Cauac.
Years 2 Kan. 10 Kan. 5 Kan. 6 Kan. 1 Kan.
Years 7 Muluc. 2 Muluc. 3 Muluc. 11 Muluc. 12 Muluc.
Years 12 Ix. 13 Ix. 8 Ix. 3 Ix. 5 Ix.

These are also marked on the annexed table with a star, but the group is surrounded by a dotted line. In order to enable the reader to understand