Studies in Central American Picture-Writing / First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the / Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1879-80, / Government Printing Office, Washington, 1881, pages 205-245

by Edward S. Holden

	1980	1981	1982		2020 See 131, 147, 150	2021 See 144	2022	2023	2024 See 163	2025=123
			1983		2030 See 132	2031 See 134, 146, 149	2032 See 1811, 1812	2033	2034 See 124	2035
			1984 131, 147		2040	2041	2042	2043=123	2044 See 131, 147	2045 See 132, 150
				2000	2050	2051	2052	2053	2054	2055
				2001 See 182	2060	2061	2062	2063	2064	2065
				2002=122	2070	2071	2072	2073	2074	2075
				2003=2021 See 130	2080	2081	2082	2083	2084	2085
				2004	2090	2091	2092	2093	2094	2095
				2005	3000	3001	3002	3003	3004	3005
*	1976	1978		2006 See 1902, 1903	3010	3011	3012	3013	3014	3015
	1977	1979		2007 See 182?	3020	3021	3022	3023	3024	3025
				2008	3030	3031	3032	3033	3034	3035
				2009	3040	3041	3042	3043	3044	3045
				2010 See 184	3050	3051	3052	3053	3054	3055
				2011 See 131, 2020	3060	3061	3062	3063	3064	3065
				2012	3070	3071	3072	3073	3074	3075
				2013	3080	3081	3082	3083	3084	3085
				2014

* These four each side of the main stem of the cross. 1976=Ezanab—a Maya day

IV.
IN WHAT ORDER ARE THE HIEROGLYPHS READ?

Before any advance can be made in the deciphering of the hieroglyphic inscriptions, it is necessary to know in what directions, along what lines or columns, the verbal sense proceeds.

All the inscriptions that I know of are in rectangular figures. At Copan they are usually in squares. At Palenque the longest inscriptions are in rectangles. At Palenque again, there are some cases where there is a single horizontal line of hieroglyphs over a pictorial tablet. Here clearly the only question is, do the characters proceed from left to right, or from right to left? In other cases as in the tablet of the cross, there are vertical columns. The question here is, shall we read up or down?

Now, the hieroglyphs must be phonetic or pictorial, or a mixture of the two. If they are phonetic, it will take more than one symbol to make a word, and we shall have groups of like characters when the same word is written in two places. If the signs are pictorial, the same thing will follow; that is, we shall have groups recurring when the same idea recurs. Further, we know that the subjects treated of in these tablets must be comparatively simple, and that names, as of gods, kings, etc., must necessarily recur.

The names, then, will be the first words deciphered. At present no single name is known. These considerations, together with our system of nomenclature, will enable us to take some steps.