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Introduction
[279]
LIST OF PLATES
| Plate. |
| 1. |
Mollusca: Fasciolaria gigantea, Oliva. |
| 2. |
Insecta: Honey bee (Melipona). |
| 3. |
Insecta and Myriapoda. |
| 4. |
Arachnoidea, Arachnida, Crustacea. |
| 5. |
Myriapoda, Pisces. |
| 6. |
Pisces. |
| 7. |
Amphibia. |
| 8. |
Amphibia, Reptilia. |
| 9. |
Reptilia: Rattlesnake (Crotalus). |
| 10. |
Reptilia: Serpents. |
| 11. |
Reptilia: Serpents. |
| 12. |
Reptilia: Iguana, Lizards. |
| 13. |
Reptilia: Crocodile. |
| 14. |
Reptilia: Turtles. |
| 15. |
Aves: Herons, Frigate-bird. |
| 16. |
Aves: Ocellated Turkey (Agriocharis ocellata). |
| 17. |
Aves: King Vulture (Sarcorhamphus papa). |
| 18. |
Aves: King Vulture (S. papa), Black Vulture (Catharista urubu). |
| 19. |
Aves: Vultures. |
| 20. |
Aves: Harpy Eagle (Thrasaetos harpyia). |
| 21. |
Aves: Yucatan Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus mayensis). |
| 22. |
Aves: Yucatan Horned Owl (B. v. mayensis). |
| 23. |
Aves: Yucatan Screech Owl (Otus choliba thompsoni). |
| 24. |
Aves: Quetzal (Pharomacrus mocinno). |
| 25. |
Aves: Blue Macaw (Ara militaris). |
| 26. |
Aves: Parrots, Turkeys. |
| 27. |
Aves: Miscellaneous. |
| 28. |
Various animals. |
| 29. |
Mammalia: Armadillo and miscellaneous. |
| 30. |
Mammalia: Deer, Hare. |
| 31. |
Mammalia: Yucatan Deer (Odocoileus yucatanensis). |
| 32. |
Mammalia: Yucatan Peccary (Tayassu angulatum yucatanense),
Yucatan Deer (O. yucatanensis). |
| 33. |
Mammalia: Yucatan Peccary (T. a. yucatanense). |
| 34. |
Mammalia: Jaguar, Puma. |
| 35. |
Mammalia: Jaguar, Coyote, Bear. |
| 36. |
Mammalia: Dog (Canis). |
| 37. |
Mammalia: Dog (Canis). |
| 38. |
Mammalia: Leaf-nosed Bat (Vampyrus or Phyllostomus). |
| 39. |
Mammalia: Monkey (Cebus) and miscellaneous. |
[281]
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT
| Fig. |
|
|
|
| 1. |
|
Top of Altar T, Copan (Maudslay, I. Pl. 95) |
320 |
| 2. |
|
Pottery whistle from Uloa Valley, Honduras, representing a vulture.
Peabody Museum Memoirs. I. No. 4, fig. 15 |
332 |
3.
4.
5.
6. |
|
Glyphs of Maya month Moan showing moan-bird
characteristics |
339 |
| 7. |
|
Quetzal from the bas-relief of the Temple of the Cross,
Palenque |
341 |
8.
9.
10. |
|
Glyphs for Maya month Kankin (Ribs of dogs) |
364 |
11.
12.
13.
14. |
|
Glyphs for Maya month Zotz (Bats) |
365 |
| 15. |
|
Pottery whistle from Uloa Valley, Honduras (Peabody Museum
Memoirs, I, No. 4, fig. 14), representing an ape |
366 |
16.
17.
18.
19. |
|
Glyphs for Maya day Chuen |
367 |
20.
21.
22.
23.
24. |
|
Glyphs of God C. (Schellhas, Peabody Museum Papers, IV, No. 1) |
368 |
[282]
[283]
INTRODUCTION.
The various peoples inhabiting Mexico and Central America in early
pre-Columbian times were accustomed to record various events, especially
in regard to their calendar and the religious ceremonials in relation to
it, on long strips of skin or bark. These were usually painted on both
sides and folded together like a screen. Several of these codices are
still in existence from the Nahua and Zapotec areas in Mexico, but only
three have come down to us from the Maya region which is included in the
peninsula of Yucatan, the states of Tabasco and Chiapas in Mexico, and
portions of Guatemala and Honduras. These three manuscripts are the
Dresden Codex in the Royal Public Library at Dresden, the
Tro-Cortesianus (formerly considered to have been two, the Troano and
the Cortesianus) in the National Archaeological Museum at Madrid, and
the Peresianus in the National Library at Paris. These pre-Columbian
manuscripts have all been published in facsimile. (See bibliography.)
These remains of a once extensive literature show evidence not only of
considerable intellectual attainments on the part of their authors but
also of a high degree of artistic skill in the drawings and
hieroglyphics. The frequent occurrence in these manuscripts of
representations of animals showing various degrees of elaboration and
conventionalization has led us to undertake the task of identifying
these figures as far as possible and studying the uses and significance
of the several species, a[284] field practically untouched.284-*
Förstemann in his various commentaries on the Maya codices (1902, 1903,
1906), Brinton (1895), and de Rosny (1876) have only commented briefly
upon this side of the study of the manuscripts. Seler (1904a) and some
others have written short papers on special animals. During the
preparation of this paper there has appeared a brief account by Stempell
(1908) of the animals in the Maya codices. The author has, however,
omitted a number of species and, as we believe, misidentified others. In
making our identifications we have given the reasons for our
determinations in some detail and have stated the characteristics
employed to denote the several species.
We have not limited ourselves entirely to the Maya manuscripts as we
have drawn upon the vast amount of material available in the stone
carvings, the stucco figures, and the frescoes found throughout the Maya
area. This material has by no means been exhausted in the present paper.
In addition to the figures from the Maya codices and a comparatively few
from other sources in the Maya region, we have introduced for comparison
in a number of cases figures from a few of the ancient manuscripts of
the Nahuas and the Zapotecs to the north. The calendar of these two
peoples is fundamentally the same as that of the Mayas. The year is made
up in the same way being composed of eighteen months of twenty days each
with five days additional at the end of the year. There is therefore a
more or less close connection as regards subject matter in all the
pre-Columbian codices of Mexico and Central America but the manner of
presentation differs among the different peoples of this region.
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