Day Symbols of the Maya Year

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The symbol of this day, which is quite uniform in the day series of the codices, is shown in plate Lxrv, In this the essential features appear to be the black spot at the top, the semicircle Of dots around it, and the short perpendicular lines in the lower half. The form on the right slab of the Palenque tablet, and also in the Lorillard City inscription, copied by Charney, is given in plate LXIV, 2. The only particular in which this difiers from the other is that the little circle at the top is crosshatched. The form shown in Lx1v, 3, is found in the Tikal inscription; it shows also the crosshatching in the little circle at the top. This character, however, when combined with other glyphs, and when used otherwise than as a day symbol, sometimes varies from the types given. For example, in the symbol of the month Mae it is as shown in plate LXIV, 4. In this a minute, divided oblong, takes the place of the dark spot at the top, and a double curved line accompanies the circle of dots. Another form is shown in plate LXIV, 5. The only variation in this from the usual type is the introduction of two or three minute circles in the curved line of dots and the divided oblong. Dr Seler is inclined to believe that these are essential variants from the true imix symbol; nevertheless, as m is the chief consonant element both in imiw,_or mono and mac, there appears to be a relation between the form of the glyphs and their phonetic value.

The symbol of this day, which is quite uniform in the day series of the codices, is shown in plate Lxrv, In this the essential features appear to be the black spot at the top, the semicircle Of dots around it, and the short perpendicular lines in the lower half. The form on the right slab of the Palenque tablet, and also in the Lorillard City inscription, copied by Charney, is given in plate LXIV, 2. The only particular in which this difiers from the other is that the little circle at the top is crosshatched. The form shown in Lx1v, 3, is found in the Tikal inscription; it shows also the crosshatching in the little circle at the top. This character, however, when combined with other glyphs, and when used otherwise than as a day symbol, sometimes varies from the types given. For example, in the symbol of the month Mae it is as shown in plate LXIV, 4. In this a minute, divided oblong, takes the place of the dark spot at the top, and a double curved line accompanies the circle of dots. Another form is shown in plate LXIV, 5. The only variation in this from the usual type is the introduction of two or three minute circles in the curved line of dots and the divided oblong. Dr Seler is inclined to believe that these are essential variants from the true imix symbol; nevertheless, as m is the chief consonant element both in imiw,_or mono and mac, there appears to be a relation between the form of the glyphs and their phonetic value.