2a.
This first Tonalamatl has the following form:—
| XIII | 5 | V | 12 | IV | 11 | II | 12 | I | 12 | XIII |
| Cauac | ||||||||||
| Chuen | ||||||||||
| Akbal | ||||||||||
| Men | ||||||||||
| Manik. | ||||||||||
The hieroglyphs and the figures show that preparations for a human sacrifice are treated of here and that the subject is, therefore, closely connected with page 3a, where the sacrifice itself is represented.
There are but two pictures of persons, which refer, therefore, only to the first or to the first two subdivisions and which, for lack of space, are wanting for the others. On the left walks the person doomed to sacrifice, his arms are bound on his back, his head is barely visible and his eyes are apparently torn out. There is an object in front of his breast resembling a wreath. Behind this figure crouches a second, who holds an object in his hand which probably represents a rattle. The parallel passage in Cod. Tro. 2b shows the bound prisoner with an axe behind him. Then follows in Tro. 3b the prisoner without a head and behind him the black god with gory lance.
The hieroglyphs—four for each of the five subdivisions—are arranged in the following order:—
| 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 13 | 17 | |
| 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 18 | |
| 11 | 15 | 19 | |||||
| 12 | 16 | 20 | . | ||||
Of these 9, 13 and 17-20 are wholly effaced and 14 for the most part. The very first group refers to human sacrifice, for 1 is a head with an axe affixed to it, 2 contains the hand (i) which so often appears as the sign of grasping, especially in representations of the chase; here it has the same superfix as on page 22a, which on pages 4a-10a and 11a, b, appears as prefix. 3 is the
head of god H, perhaps given here as a symbol of wounding (serpent god?). I am unable to explain the meaning of the dot between two crosses in front of this head; perhaps the sign denotes the day Kan, which is here arrived at by calculation. We find the same hieroglyph on page 3. Sign 4 signifies the death-god A = Cimi, who appears again in 12.
In like manner 2 is repeated in 6 and 14. 7, 11 and 15 (probably also 19) are, however, the familiar cross b; 8 is the head of E with a prefixed knife; the intention here may have been to show that human sacrifice would be likely to have an auspicious influence upon the harvest. 10 and 16 are another unknown head. In 5 we see the familiar Kan-Imix sign, which, for the present, I am inclined to regard as denoting a feast or a sacrificial meal.