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The present work is the outcome of two lines of study pursued, with more or less interruption from other studies, for about thirty years. It will be observed that the book has two themes, as different in character as the themes for voice and piano in Schubert's "Frhlingsglaube," and yet so closely related that the one is needful for an adequate comprehension of the other. In order to view in their true perspective the series of events comprised in the Discovery of America, one needs to form a mental picture of that strange world of savagery and barbarism to which civilized Europeans were for the first time introduced in the course of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, in their voyages along the African coast, into the Indian and Pacific oceans, and across the Atlantic. Nothing that Europeans discovered during that stirring period was so remarkable as these antique phases of human society, the mere existence of which had scarcely been suspected, and the real character of which it has been left for the present generation to begin to understand. Nowhere was this ancient society so full of instructive lessons as in aboriginal America, which had pursued its own course of development, cut off and isolated from the Old World, for probably more than fifty thousand years. The imperishable interest of those episodes in the Discovery of America known as the conquests of Mexico and Peru consists chiefly in the glimpses they afford us of this primitive world. It was not an uninhabited continent that the Spaniards found, and in order to comprehend the course of events it is necessary to know something about those social features that formed a large part of the burden of the letters of Columbus and Vespucius, and excited even more intense and general interest in Europe than the purely geographical questions suggested by the voyages of those great sailors. The descriptions of ancient America, therefore, which form a kind of background to the present work, need no apology. It was the study of prehistoric Europe and of early Aryan institutions that led me by a natural sequence to the study of aboriginal America. In 1869, after sketching the plan of a book on our Aryan forefathers, I was turned aside for five years by writing "Cosmic Philosophy." During that interval I also wrote "Myths and Myth-Makers" as a side-work to the projected book on the Aryans, and as soon as the excursion into the field of general philosophy was ended, in 1874, the work on that book was resumed. Fortunately it was not then carried to completion, for it would have been sadly antiquated by this time. The revolution in theory concerning the Aryans has been as remarkable as the revolution in chemical theory which some years ago introduced the New Chemistry. It is becoming eminently probable that the centre of diffusion of Aryan speech was much nearer to Lithuania than to any part of Central Asia, and it has for some time been quite clear that the state of society revealed in Homer and the Vedas is not at all like primitive society, but very far from it. By 1876 I had become convinced that there was no use in going on without widening the field of study. The conclusions of the Aryan school needed to be supplemented, and often seriously modified, by the study of the barbaric world, and it soon became manifest that for the study of barbarism there is no other field that for fruitfulness can be compared with aboriginal America. This is because the progress of society was much slower in the western hemisphere than in the eastern, and in the days of Columbus and Cortes it had nowhere "caught up" to the points reached by the Egyptians of the Old Empire or by the builders of Mycen and Tiryns. In aboriginal America we therefore find states of society preserved in stages of development similar to those of our ancestral societies in the Old World long ages before Homer and the Vedas. ... Read more

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No one who is interested in the growth of human ideas or the origins of human society can afford to neglect Maine's _Ancient Law_. Published some fifty-six years ago it immediately took rank as a classic, and its epoch-making influence may not unfitly be compared to that exercised by Darwin's _Origin of Species_. The revolution effected by the latter in the study of biology was hardly more remarkable than that effected by Maine's brilliant treatise in the study of early institutions. Well does one of Maine's latest and most learned commentators say of his work that "he did nothing less than create the natural history of law." This is only another way of saying that he demonstrated that our legal conceptions--using that term in its largest sense to include social and political institutions--are as much the product of historical development as biological organisms are the outcome of evolution. This was a new departure, inasmuch as the school of jurists, represented by Bentham and Austin, and of political philosophers, headed by Hobbes, Locke, and their nineteenth-century disciples, had approached the study of law and political society almost entirely from an unhistoric point of view and had substituted dogmatism for historical investigation. They had read history, so far as they troubled to read it at all, "backwards," and had invested early man and early society with conceptions which, as a matter of fact, are themselves historical products. The jurists, for example, had in their analysis of legal sovereignty postulated the commands of a supreme lawgiver by simply ignoring the fact that, in point of time, custom precedes legislation and that early law is, to use Maine's own phrase, "a habit" and not a conscious exercise of the volition of a lawgiver or a legislature. The political philosophers, similarly, had sought the origin of political society in a "state of nature"--humane, according to Locke and Rousseau, barbarous, according to Hobbes--in which men freely subscribed to an "original contract" whereby each submitted to the will of all. It was not difficult to show, as Maine has done, that contract--_i.e._ the recognition of a mutual agreement as binding upon the parties who make it--is a conception which comes very late to the human mind. But Maine's work covers much wider ground than this. It may be summed up by saying that he shows that early society, so far as we have any recognisable legal traces of it, begins with the group, not with the individual.


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"The passionate love with which the Nahuas cultivated song, music and the dance is a subject of frequent comment by the historians of Mexico. These arts are invariably mentioned as prominent features of the aboriginal civilization; no public ceremony was complete without them; they were indispensable in the religious services held in the temples; through their assistance the sacred and historical traditions were preserved; and the entertainments of individuals received their chief lustre and charm from their association with these arts..." ... Read more

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The pages of this book will unfold before you a graphic drama of the golden empire that existed twenty0five hundred years ago. This ancient and powerful civilization, considered by some to have come from the unknown and then to have mysteriously vanished, is perhaps, after all, neither mysterious nor unknown. That the ancient race that peopled these buried empires of South America, did disappear, is certain - but there is every reason to believe that they simply migrated north to Central America, and there were the founders of the great Mayan civilization. Also the forefathers of the Pueblo and the Mound Builders. ... Read more

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This volume presents about 200 Maya glyphs (symbolic figures). Some are ideograms (pictorial symbols representing things, not words); others are phonetic signs. The glyphs express people, animals, things, and such abstract concepts as death. Each one opens a window onto fragments of everyday life, religious beliefs, or even emotions. The complexity of the Maya calendar, mathematical computations, and astronomy reveals a highly-developed civilization. This book also features two-colour drawings of the glyphs, illustrations from reliefs and Spanish codices, and examples of Maya sculpture and paintings. Concluding the book is a chapter on writing systems of the New World, a list of museums to visit, a bibliography, and an index of glyphs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Some errors, but the pictures are fantastic.
As noted in other reviews, there are some errors in this book, but the pictures are fantastic. I looked through most of the Mayan script books in my university library to find nice large images for use as a reference for paintings, and this book was the best I found pictures-wise. I had it checked out consistently during my time at school.

Short and simple
This is up against a lot of competition. Maya civilization has attracted some excellent writers. For an enthralling acount of the decipherment I best liked Michael Coe's "Breaking the Maya Code."For a heavy duty textbook if you have time and dedication go to "Understanding Maya Inscriptions" by John F Harris and Stephen K Stearns, published by the University Museum of Archeology of the University of Pennsylvania. Longhena's book has the advantage of being short and straightforward. Even such a neophyte as myself noticed innacuracies. On page 14 the number thirteen is mislabelled as twenty-three.

A fascinating linguistic tour
Maria Longherna's Maya Script reviews the symbolic written characters of the ancient Maya of Mexico, providing a history of the script and about 200 glyphs and symbols taken from Maya artifacts. A fascinating linguistic tour.

Nice to look at but has errors
This book is certainly well illlustrated, but I found a number of errors. Most were simply captions which had been switched between adjacent glyph illustrations. Therefore do not rely on the glyph identifications in this book. On the other hand, if you do not intend to try find any of the glyphs in real inscriptions, this may not be such a problem. ... Read more

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Exhibition catalog features art and culture of the Pre-Columbian Mayan culture of Mexico and Central America.Over 200 mostly black and white illustrations / photographs of works of art and artifacts (20 color illustrations)Includes bibliography.Softcover. ... Read more

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This unique and extraordinary guide to seven major sites of Maya civilization highlights the pioneering work of two great scholars of ancient America. For readers at every level -- from the casual tourist to the serious student -- The Code of Kings relies on Linda Schele and Peter Mathews's revolutionary work in the decipherment of the hieroglyphs that cover the surfaces of Maya ruins to give us a far clearer picture of Maya culture than we have ever had.

Richly illustrated with line art and the incomparable photography of Justin Kerr and Macduff Everton, The Code of Kings is a landmark contribution to our understanding of the Maya and a phenomenal guided tour of seven of the most awesome and magical spots on Earth. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Are You Into Mayans? Then Buy This.
This woman was amazing.

First she studied studio painting. Then she taught art. Then she got interested in Mayans.

Then she proceeded to, quite meticulously, draw the shapes of their glyphs. Not an easy task. It takes a very good eye to replicate the shape of these things, and she did it seemingly effortlessly. Have you ever tried to write Chinese? Yeah, getting the proportions right in Mayan script is even harder. What a skilled hand.

And a skilled author. Both readable and profusely illustrated, The Code of Kings simply rocks. If you dig Mayan script, you will find plenty of it in here. And, best of all, she will teach you what to look for in it -- what it meant, what rituals it once recorded, and what Mayan life was and still is, essentially.

informative but strategically flawed
It is hard to gainsay Linda Schele's awesome work on the Mayan civilization.But the author's strategy of attempting to get the reader to adopt the point of view of the mayan rulers is off putting to me. I might be able to empathize with a grand ceremony, but knowing that ceremony or another ended with some beheadings distances the whole thing for me.

A difficult read
I have been to Guatemala five times and know a fair bit about the history but I was looking for some more insight into what is known about the Mayans and their language.This book was a difficult read for a non-archeologoist.

Code of Kings
I bought this as a gift. This reciepiant loved it. They told me it gives much knowledge on the Maya Langue and the meaning of the the symbols.

A Magnificent Book on the Maya
First, let me make a note: A couple of Mormon readers have been slamming my reviews because I gave negative reviews to some books trying to prove that the Book of Mormon is not a novel.

Oh, well. How about leaving a comment with some mature criticism?

In the case of the present book, perhaps some Mormons don't want people to know that Maya glyphs have been translated and say absolutely nothing about the claims and subjects of the Book of Mormon.

Nevertheless, if you are planning a trip to Mexico or Central America, the "Code of Kings" is essential reading. The following Maya sites are discussed: Tikal, Palenque, Copan, Seibal, Chichen Itza, Uxmal, and Iximche. I have visited most of these sites and the book really helped me appreciate them.

One stela at Copan is particularly interesting. Known as "Stela B," it depicts two huge macaws in the headdress of a Maya king. These macaws were mistakenly identified as "elepant heads" in a crackpot book written in the 1920s.

This identification was always refuted by the experts, and just looking at a drawing of Stela B, it is clear that the "elephant trunks" are actually the beaks of macaws (they have nostrils on the sides, which elephants lack and macaws have). Also, the area is full of the striking birds with their red and blue plumage.

The story might have died there had not the Mormons picked up the elephant-trunk claim and put it in the Book of Mormon in the 1960s and 1970s. A photo of Stela B was among the many examples of "evidence" for the Book of Mormon, which claims that the civilizations of ancient America had "elephants." Actually, there were only wild mammoths, and they were never associated with civilization anywhere in the world.

All the photos from the Book of Mormon were eventually deleted, including one of a "horse" (actually a damaged feathered serpent--a feather being its head).

Now that the glyphs on Stela B have been deciphered, we know that they speak of "macaw mountain" (page 162 in the present book) near Copan and a bird sanctuary today. Regrettably, the glyphs do not speak of "elephant mountain."

Schele and Mathew's masterful 418-page work is a must for anyone interested in the Maya and the many false claims made by Mormons. It doesn't even mention the Book of Mormon, an indication of that book's status in the real world of archaeology.

Highly recommended. ... Read more

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This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

A Tour de Force of Mayan Iconography
As anyone who owns books on the ancient Maya will probably attest, they have a habit of becoming out of date rather rapidly; yesterday's Copan is today's Xukpi and yesterday's King 18-Rabbit is today's Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil. Don't get me wrong, I think this is a good thing. Unlike the vast body of scholarship that Egyptologists can only hope to add a sentence to here or a footnote to there, Mayanists are faced with a field where every turn of the spade yields material that is likely to keep them busy for decades. That is the exciting thing about Mayan studies; every year sees yet more exciting discoveries by both "dirt" archeologists and by "armchair" or more correctly "keyboard" scholars. Every new book on the Maya is welcome and if they are as well written and lavishly illustrated as this one, they are doubly welcome.

Hundreds of brilliant color plates and expert essays.
I've read much of what has been written about Mayan ceramics and can say with confidence that this is the best book on the subject ever written. The essays in it, by top professionals, discuss the forms and functions of theceramics, the meaning of their calligraphy, their basic themes and theplaces particular styles of ceramics come from. Indeed, if you read itcarefully and more than once, you too will be able to decipher theprincipal inscriptions even on pots that are not in the book. There arehundreds of full-color photographs of Mayan ceramic vases and plates inthis book. These vases are decorated with pictures of formed the greatestPre-Columbian civilization. These ceramics depict Mayan textile design,Mayan hair-dressing,Mayan head-dresses, Mayan ceramics (within theceramic paintings), Mayan concepts of design and of the other worlds belowthis one. From them we learn of Mayan myth,Mayan ritual, Mayan daily life,and Mayan art. Leaving aside the great monumental art of sculpture andstucco that adorned major structures, leaving aside the structuresthemselves, and giving credit for a host of varieties of artisticrepresentations ranging from the Tsimshian to the Moche... I think it is anabsolute fact that the art that appears on Mayan ceramics is the best thatAmerica ever created prior to Columbus and arguably the best... period.This book discusses, describes, depicts and defends that incredibleartistic legacy better than any other ever did.

Wonderful!
This handsome book covers a wide range of Maya ceramic imagery, and is filled with stunning photographs.The imagery is also broken down by catagory, and is supplimented with explations of glyphs.The accessible text that explores the mythology, culture, iconography, and hieroglyphics on and related to the ceramics.The information is thorough without being overly specialized. ... Read more

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"Excerpt from the book..."

Arabic, and so extensive is their use in Europe and the Americas, that it
is difficult for us to realize that their general acceptance in the
transactions of commerce is a matter of only the last four centuries, and
that they are unknown to a very large part of the human race to-day. It
seems strange that such a labor-saving device should have struggled for
nearly a thousand years after its system of place value was perfected
before it replaced such crude notations as the one that the Roman conqueror
made substantially universal in Europe. Such, however, is the case, and
there is probably no one who has not at least some slight passing interest
in the story of this struggle. To the mathematician and the student of
civilization the interest is generally a deep one; to the teacher of the
elements of knowledge the interest may be less marked, but nevertheless it
is real; and even the business man who makes daily use of the curious
symbols by which we express the numbers of commerce, cannot fail to have
some appreciation for the story of the rise and progress of these tools of
his trade.
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This digital document is an article from Early Civilizations in the Americas Reference Library, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 5353 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Covers the range of topics related to addiction, articles cover everything from binge drinking to the role of genetics in addictive behaviors. Also included are additional articles on media representation, drug use in schools, herbal supplements, and more. ... Read more

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Children are naturally fascinated by history and ancient cultures - all they need is a push in the right direction.With these comprehensive explorations of the world of the Aztecs and Mayas, kids will find themselves learning more about the past - and the men and women who had such a tremendous impact on modern culture than they'd ever imagined.The Aztec and Mayan civilizations are full of mystery, excitement and beauty.This informative exploration shows children how the Aztecs and Mayan lived - the cities they built, their astronomical knowledge and their practice of human sacrifice.Illustrations and text enable children to marvel at their mysterious pyramids and beautiful masks, and learn about a ball game that meant certain death for one of its players.15 interesting step-by-step projects enable children to recreate the past as they learn to make a Mayan backstrap loom, and recreate the amazing Aztec sun stone.This book is ideal for home or school use for children ages 8 to 12. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

My favorite history series
If I was stuck on a deserted island this is the series I would want with me for history.Each book includes a timeline, descriptions of famous people, events, artifacts, etc. as well as hands-on projects. My kids like that they use photographs of the artifacts instead of just drawings. We have used every book in the series and some are better than others.This is one of the good ones! ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Early Civilizations in the Americas Reference Library, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 2016 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Covers the range of topics related to addiction, articles cover everything from binge drinking to the role of genetics in addictive behaviors. Also included are additional articles on media representation, drug use in schools, herbal supplements, and more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Was a Nice Introduction to Maya Glyphs 20 Years Ago.
"Maya Glyphs" is part of the British Museum's "Reading the Past" series that introduces readers to ancient scripts. These are all slim volumes that are intended only to explain in general terms how a script developed, how it works, who used it and how, with examples. Even so, the "Maya Glyphs" volume is weaker than the others in the series, because the script is still in the process of being deciphered, which renders some of this volume obsolete, and because Maya glyphs were extremely complex. It is difficult to convey how they work in such a short space. None of this is the author, S.D. Houston's, fault, but readers may be happier with the more recent "Reading the Maya Glyphs" by Michael Coe, which Houston himself recommends.

"Maya Glyphs" is not without value, however. Maya glyphs are the written version of languages that are 4,000 years old now but which did not achieve literacy until perhaps the third century. Their golden age was during the 3rd-9th centuries, after which the written language declined and was entirely forgotten by the 18th century. During its peak, about 5,000 texts were written in Maya glyphs, either carved or painted. Modern man was ignorant of their meaning until a renewal of interest in the glyphs in the 19th century set epigraphers on the road to deciphering them. When this book was published in 1989, 60% of the glyphs had been deciphered, and points of grammar are still contentious. Houston takes us through the progress of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Then he introduces the reader to the structure of the language, which combines logographs and phonograms. Houston attempts to explain how the glyphs are employed: in compounds, as affixes, main signs, and phonetic syllables. There are also ideographs, which are poorly understood. Scribes could write the same word or syllable many different ways. Houston isn't kidding when he calls Maya glyphs "one of the most complex scripts ever devised". I don't think there was much hope for widespread literacy with this script. It's interesting that the Mayans used their written language to record history, not to make financial accounts, which is often the impetus behind written language. It's not that they didn't like numbers. Mayans were preoccupied with calendars, which the author explains in some detail.

Where do these people come from?
As the author of this slim book I should probably respond to the annoying review by Kuhn.First of all, the book's length was established by the British Museum Press -- I had nothing to do with this decision. "Maya Glyphs" forms part of a series, all of which are volumes of equal length. Second, the manuscript was prepared in 1988. Obviously I would not write precisely the same book today. The Press has never allowed me to revise the book, and it certainly needs to be replaced.Mike Coe will soon publish, with Mark Van Stone, an introductory volume that should please and instruct readers.Most other books on Maya glyphs cannot be recommended at this time.

Not much value here
Sadly, I can find very little to recommend this book for. Consisting of barely 80 pages, it starts with a short introduction of the nature of Maya writing and its decipherment, both of which you will find in more comprehensive and understandable form in Michael Coe's "Breaking the Maya Code". It then switches very fast to some rather specialist examples completely unsuited for the beginner. In the end, you get 1 (read:one) sample text, and that's about it. On the positive side, which is as thin as the book itself, Houston mentions some interesting details, like the stylistic variations among glyphs of different regions, which are rarely found in other volumes, but these tidbits of valuable information hardly constitute a reason to purchase this book. One for completists only.

More should have been better
A very concise description of maya writing. Really useful for beginnerstrying to understand the mechanics of the mayan writing system. But in somesense it lacks some deepness. It stays on the surface, even though itsauthor is one of the big names on mayan epigraphy. ... Read more

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Constantine Francis Chassebeuf De Volney was born in 1757 at Craon, in that intermediate condition of life, which is of all the happiest, since it is deprived only of fortune's too dangerous favors, and can aspire to the social and intellectual advantages reserved for a laudable ambition.

From his earliest youth, he devoted himself to the search after truth, without being disheartened by the serious studies which alone can initiate us into her secrets. After having become acquainted with the ancient languages, the natural sciences and history, and being admitted into the society of the most eminent literary characters, he submitted, at the age of twenty, to an illustrious academy, the solution of one of the most difficult problems that the history of antiquity has left open for discussion. This attempt received no encouragement from the learned men who were appointed his judges; and the author's only appeal from their sentence was to his courage and his efforts.

Soon after, a small inheritance having fallen to his lot, the difficulty was how to spend it (these are his own words.) He resolved to employ it in acquiring, by a long voyage, a new fund of information, and determined to visit Egypt and Syria. But these countries could not be explored to advantage without a knowledge of the language. Our young traveller was not to be discouraged by this difficulty. Instead of learning Arabic in Europe, he withdrew to a convent of Copts, until he had made himself master of an idiom that is spoken by so many nations of the East. This resolution showed one of those undaunted spirits that remain unshaken amid the trials of life.

Although, like other travellers, he might have amused us with an account of his hardships and the perils surmounted by his courage, he overcame the temptation of interrupting his narrative by personal adventures. He disdained the beaten track. He does not tell us the road he took, the accidents he met with, or the impressions he received. He carefully avoids appearing upon the stage; he is an inhabitant of the country, who has long and well observed it, and who describes its physical, political, and moral state. The allusion would be entire if an old Arab could be supposed to possess all the erudition, all the European philosophy, which are found united and in their maturity in a traveller of twenty-five.

But though a master in all those artifices by which a narration is rendered interesting, the young man is not to be discerned in the pomp of labored descriptions. Although possessed of a lively and brilliant imagination, he is never found unwarily explaining by conjectural systems the physical or moral phenomena he describes. In his observations he unites prudence with science. With these two guides he judges with circumspection, and sometimes confesses himself unable to account for the effects he has made known to us.

Thus his account has all the qualities that persuade--accuracy and candor. And when, ten years later, a vast military enterprise transported forty thousand travellers to the classic ground, which he had trod unattended, unarmed and unprotected, they all recognized a sure guide and an enlightened observer in the writer who had, as it seemed, only preceded them to remove or point out a part of the difficulties of the way.


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he 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 field practically untouched.[284-*] Foerstemann in his various commentaries on the Maya codices (1902, 1903, 1906), Brinton (1895), and deRosny[TN-3] (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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