Mr. Maudslay has offered reasons for believing that the character in Fig. [6], a, stands for the numeral 20 in a certain class of mural inscriptions.[[21]] He further points out that the character b is not unfrequently united with a, and that it (b) almost alone of the mural glyphs is found with a double set of numerals attached to it as in c. One or both these sets of numerals are at times replaced by the sign a, giving the composites d, e, and f. It is thus evident that a has some numerical or calendar meaning. As a character itself, it is the “cosmic sign,” conveying the idea of the world or universe as a whole, as is seen by the examples to which Mr. Maudslay refers, from various Codices. The cross-hatching upon it means, as I shall show later, “strong, mighty,” and is merely a superlative. It may very well mean 20, as that is the number conveying completeness or perfection in this mythology.[[22]] That it appears on what Mr. Maudslay calls the “Initial Series” of glyphs (which I consider terminals), is explained by the nature of the computations they preserve. Another combination, belonging most likely to a similar class, is the following
where the “cosmic sign” is united as a superfix to the pax and the flint. It has usually been explained as a “phallic emblem,” and by Thomas as “tortillas.”[[23]]
4. The Rhetorical and Symbolic Use of Numbers.
In the old Maya language we find that certain numbers were used in a rhetorical sense, and this explains their appearance in some non-mathematical portions of the Codices and inscriptions. The two most commonly employed were 9 and 13. These conveyed the ideas of indefinite greatness, of superlative excellence, of infinity, etc. A very lucky man was a “nine-souled man;” that which had existed forever was “thirteen generations old,” etc. The “demon with thirteen powers” was still prominent in Tzental mythology in the time of Nuñez de la Vega. Other numerals occasionally employed in a symbolic sense were 3, 4, and 7.[[24]]
All these occur in the Codices as prefixes in relations where they are not to be construed in their arithmetical values, but in those assigned them by the usages of the language or the customs of religious symbolism. Thus, “twenty,” owing to the vigesimal method of numeration, conveyed the associated ideas of completeness and perfection; and as the month of 20 days was divided into four equal parts of 5 days each, by which markets, etc., were assigned, these numbers also stood independently for other concepts than those of computation.
5. The Mayan Methods of Counting Time.
Having ascertained the characters for the numerals, and having learned that these records are mainly time-counts, the next question which arises is: How did the Mayas count time?
About this we have considerable information from the works of the Spanish writers, Landa, Aguilar, Cogolludo, Pio Perez, etc., which has been supplemented by the researches of modern authors.
The Maya system was a complicated one, based on several originally distinct methods, which it was the duty and the aim of the astronomer-priests to bring into unison,—and the effort to accomplish this will chiefly explain their elaborate computations.