Part 4

The number series on these pages record an eclipse calendar, that is, a series of dates by means of which the occurrence of eclipses was foretold. This calendar is composed of three identical parts, with the exception of one 148-day group which occurs six months earlier in the last third than in the other two. Each third is composed of 23 unequal subdivisions which represent the twenty-three eclipse seasons, expressed in lunar months, in 3986 days. The upper number series records this calendar, and its total of 11,958 days is only .39 days less than 69 eclipse seasons.

In order to make it more intelligible this eclipse calendar is accompanied by a probably more generally known lunar calendar, which may have been altered slightly to conform to the requirements of the eclipse calendar it accompanies. This lunar calendar is contained in the day series just below the eclipse calendar. It also is recorded in three divisions agreeing closely with the eclipse calendar. One hundred and thirty-five lunar months of 30 and 29 days complete 3986 days, .63 days less than 135 synodical revolutions of the moon. This error which amounts to more than one day when repeated once, necessitates the addition of an extra day in the lunar calendar every other third, which was done in the manuscript in the first and last third, making the total recorded by the lunar calendar 11,960, two days more than the eclipse calendar, and .11 days more than 405 synodical revolutions of the moon. This period of 11,960 days may have been used as a cycle, the zero day of which is 12 Lamat.

Each third of the lunar calendar consists of 30-and 29-day months arranged in alternating sequence, with intercalary days added by the substitution of a 30-day for a 29-day month when the error arising from the nonconformity of the moon’s revolution reaches more than one day. In order that the lunar calendar might agree with the eclipse calendar more closely, these months were recorded in groups of five and six.

The months in each third of the series were divided into three groups, which are the same in each third. The first two groups contained 47 months each, and completed the first sixteen dates of the third. The last group was one of 41 months, which was represented by the last seven dates of the third. An intercalary day was added in the 32d month of each of the 47-month groups to correct the accumulating error, thereby causing the 6th and 14th subdivisions of the third to be of 178 days. In the first and last third the 40th month of the 41-month group also contained an intercalary day for the same reason, making the 23d subdivision 178 days, but in the last column of the record this extra day is added by going from the middle to the lower line of day signs. Each of the 47-and 41-month divisions began and ended with a month of thirty days.

The numerical series of these pages of the Dresden record, then, an eclipse calendar which is referred to a lunar calendar. This solution explains all the irregularities of the series except those which seem clearly to be clerical errors of the scribe.

Only the numerical and calendrical series on these pages have been considered. No attempt has been made to explain the hieroglyphs, the pictures, or the first two pages, which, although showing a close association to the long series, are nevertheless a unit in themselves.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOWDITCH, C. P. 1910. The Numeration, Calendar Systems and Astronomical Knowledge of the Mayas. Cambridge.

FÖRSTEMANN, E. 1886. Erläuterungen zur Mayahandschrift der Königlichen öffentlichen Bibliothek zu Dresden. Dresden. 1898. Zur Entzifferung der Mayahandschrift, VII. Dresden. (Trans. in Bull. 28, Bur. Am. Ethnol., pp. 463-72.) 1901. Commentar zur Mayahandschrift der Königlichen öffentlichen Bibliothek zu Dresden. Dresden. (Trans. in Papers of the Peabody Museum, Vol. IV, No. 2.)

MEINSHAUSEN, MARTIN. 1913. Über Sonnen- und Mondfinsternisse in der Dresdener Mayahandschrift. Zeit. für Ethnol., Bd. XLV, pp. 221-227.

SCHRAM, R. 1908. Kalendariographische und Chronologische Tafeln. Leipzig.

THOMAS, CYRUS. 1888. Aids to the Study of the Maya Codices. 6th Ann. Rep., Bur. Am. Ethnol., pp. 253-371.

PRINTED AT THE HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS CAMBRIDGE, MASS., U. S. A.

PEABODY MUSEUM PAPERS.

VOL. VI, NO. 2, PLATE 1

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES │ │ │ │ * This text has been preserved as in the original, including │ │ archaic and inconsistent spelling, punctuation and grammar, │ │ except as noted below. │ │ │ │ * Where the original work uses text in italics, this e-text uses │ │ _text_. Small capitals in the original work are represented here │ │ in all capitals. │ │ │ │ * Footnotes have been renumbered and then moved to directly below │ │ the paragraph to which they belong. │ │ │ │ * Obvious printer’s errors have been silently corrected. │ │ │ │ * Page 3: Table I was relocated from mid-paragraph (page 4) to │ │ immediately prior to the beginning of the paragraph. │ │ │ │ * Page 5: Table II was relocated from mid-paragraph (pages 6 and │ │ 7) to immediately prior to the beginning of the paragraph. │ │ │ │ * Page 8: "uinal" changed to "Uinal". │ │ │ │ * Page 11: Tables III and IV were relocated from within the │ │ paragraph to immediately prior to the paragraph. │ │ │ │ * Page 11: Table III and Table IV were side-by-side. Table IV was │ │ relocated to below Table III. │ │ │ │ * Page 17: Tables V, VI and VII were side-by-side and Table VII │ │ was relocated to below Tables V and VI. │ │ │ │ * Page 18: Table VIII was relocated from mid-paragraph (page 19) │ │ to immediately prior to the beginning of the paragraph. │ │ │ │ * Page 19: Table IX and Table X were relocated from mid-paragraph │ │ (page 20) to immediately prior to the beginning of the │ │ paragraph. │ │ │ │ * Page 24: Table XI was relocated from mid-paragraph (page 25)to │ │ immediately prior to the relevant paragraph on page 24. │ │ │ │ * Page 24, Table XI: The reference for the asterisk at No. of │ │ Month 32 was not found. │ │ │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘