CODEX NUTTALL FACSIMILE OF AN ANCIENT MEXICAN CODEX BELONGING TO LORD ZOUCHE OF HARYNWORTH ENGLAND WITH AN INTRODUCTION BT ZELIA NUTTALL PEABODY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY PjarbarH JKntbfrsttg CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 1902 Sinttasttg Pr£g0: John Wilson & Son, Cambridge, U.S.A. THE GETTY CENTER LIBRARY CONTENTS p ArE Editorial Note .. .. How the Codex was brought to light.. Description of the Codex. 6 Directions for reading the Codex. .. Explanatory Notes . g Resemblance of the Codex to the Vienna Codex. Date of the Sister-codices. Language of the Sister-codices. Observations on the Year-signs in the Codex. Observations on the Day-signs in the Codex.. History of the Conqueror named Eight-Deer, also Tiger's Claw. 2Q Lord Eight-Ehecatl. History of the Lady Three-Flint. . Review of the Contents of the Codex. . NOTE. M s an acknowledgment of Mrs. Zelia Nuttall's indefatigable researches , one of the results of which has been the discovery of the long lost manuscript here published in facsimile , and in recognition of her high attainments in Mexican Archaeology , the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology has given to this ancient Mexican book the name of Codex Nuttall. To the subscribers to the Fund for the Encouragement of Mexican and Central American Research , the Museum is indebted for the means of publishing this valuable Codex. F. W. PUTNAM, Curator of the Museum. Harvard University, December, 1901. HOW THE CODEX WAS BROUGHT TO LIGHT I T was during an informal reception at Casa Villari in Florence, some years ago, that I first learned of the existence of the Ancient Mexican Codex, the facsimile of which I now have the pleasure of presenting to the literary and scientific world. With his characteristic kindliness and interest in all historical research, an inquiry as to the progress of my work in the Florentine libraries was addressed me by my host, Pasquale Villari, Senator and Ex-Minister of Public Instruction, Professor and Historian, whose works on Savonarola and Machiavelli are universally known. The subject of old manuscripts was one of paramount interest to us both. We were soon deep in a discussion of the marvellous wealth of Florentine libraries, in one of which, the Mediceo-Laurentian Library, the original manuscript of the most valuable work in existence on Ancient Mexico, by Friar Bernardino de Sahagun, was preserved. In another, the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, I had just discovered an important Hispano-Mexican manuscript. At this juncture, Senator Villari communicated some facts to me which aroused my keenest interest and made an indelible impression upon my memory . 1 He told me that, more than thirty years previously, he had spent some time examining and studying historical docu¬ ments preserved in the Library of the Monastery of San Marco, around which cluster so many memories of Fra Angelico and Fra Savonarola. It was by chance that, about this time, Signor Villari first became acquainted with an ancient Mexican Codex. One of the friars of San Marco brought it to a salon frequented by Florentine litterati and scholars, in order to obtain an opinion about it. He asked Pasquale Villari, the future historian, whether he could understand and explain the curious manuscript. The friar stated that neither he nor the other 1 At my request, Professor Villari has since sent me a written Museum, considering it of great importance, as it constitutes the account, from which I quote, verbatim, the above facts concerning only forthcoming documentary evidence and proof that the Codex the Codex. I have deposited his communication at the Peabody once belonged to the San Marco Library. I monks could make anything out of it. They had already sent it to be examined by a member of the institution known as the Propaganda Fide in Rome. His reply had been “that the document was probably intended for the amusement of children, but was so foolish that it could only bore them.” With the eye of a connoisseur, Signor Villari saw at a glance that the despised manu¬ script was of great value and interest, being an Ancient Mexican Codex, with occasional words inserted, as if to explain the hieroglyphics. Subsequently, whilst studying in the old library, Signor Villari would now and then pause at the case where the curious document was kept, to look wonderingly at its pages, covered with figures and unknown signs. He examined it with interest and attention, and begged the friar, its custodian, to guard it with the utmost care. Later, a disturbed political period supervened and the monastic orders were suppressed throughout Italy. The library of San Marco became the property of the state and was thrown open to the public. On revisiting the library Signor Villari made inquiries about the Mexican manuscript, but in vain, for it had vanished. He subsequently learned that it had been sold to a wealthy Englishman residing in Florence. On applying to the latter for permission to see the manuscript again, Signor Villari was informed that it was no longer in his possession, and had been given to a friend in England. “ So there the matter ended,” said my host, with an expression of deep regret that Florence should have thus lost so rare a treasure, and one which had doubtlessly been preserved within its walls during centuries. In response to my eager questioning Senator Villari, who had not seen it for over thirty years, and was not a specialist in Mexicana, described the manuscript to me, in detail, with an accuracy and distinctness which revealed his marvellous powers of observation and memory. He suggested, and we discussed, the possibility that the lost Codex might now be preserved in some museum, or even have been published. His mention of explanatory notes, written in Spanish characters, convinced me that it could not have been one of the few well-known Ancient Mexican Codices, for I knew of only one manuscript, painted on skin, which exhibits such notes; namely, the Becker Codex, now in the Imperial Ethnographical Museum at 2 Vienna, which was brought from Mexico by the late Philip Becker of Darmstadt. 1 This manuscript, which has explanations in the Zapotec language, written in Spanish characters, consists of twenty-six pages only, whereas Senator Villari described a much more voluminous Codex. At the time when the above memorable interview took place, I was on the eve of my departure from Florence. During my absence, which lasted a year, I studied the antecedents of all known Ancient Mexican Codices, ascertained that not one of them could possibly be identical with that which had once been the property of the San Marco Library and became more and more deeply convinced that the Codex, as described, must have been an original and one of incalculable importance, on account of explanatory notes inscribed upon its pages. On communicating all this to Senator Villari when I returned to Florence, I ex¬ pressed my eagerness to ascertain if the Codex still existed, and, if so, to rescue it from the oblivion to which it had been consigned for over thirty years. The more we discussed the mode of instituting such a search, the more we realized its difficulties, owing to the existence of certain obvious complications. In addition to the information already given, Senator Villari was able to furnish me with an all-important clue. In possession of this I soon began a search which, in course of time, proved successful, owing to the fact that my written applications for information were responded to with utmost courtesy and good-will. I learned that, about thirty years ago, the Codex was presented as a gift to the Hon. Robert Curzon, 14th Baron Zouche, the well-known author of “Ancient Monasteries of the East,” who had brought together in his library at Parham, County of Sussex, a most interest¬ ing and valuable collection of rare manuscripts “ to illustrate the history of the art of writing.” The catalogue of this collection, limited to an edition of fifty copies, and published in London 1 A copy of this manuscript was published in facsimile in Geneva to the interesting fact that this manuscript is the missing portion of in 1892, by Monsieur Henri de Saussure, under the name of “ Le the Codex Colombino, which was published, in 1892, by the Junta nianuscrit du Cacique .” Dr. Seler of Berlin has drawn attention Colombina of Mexico. 3 in 1849, describes and illustrates the “Materials for Writing, Early Writing on Tablets, Stones, rolled and other manuscripts, Books and Oriental manuscripts, in the library of the Hon. Robert Curzon.” It was in these surroundings that, during one-third of a century, the Codex remained undisturbed and so lost to view that not even a rumor of its existence reached the outer world. It is undoubtedly to this circumstance that the Codex owes the freshness and brilliancy of its coloring and the fact that it is in a more perfect state of preser¬ vation than any other known manuscript of its kind. At the death of the Hon. Robert Curzon, in 1873, the Codex became the property of his son, Robert Nathaniel Cecil George Curzon, Baron Zouche of Harynworth, the present and 15th Lord Zouche, from whom, through the kind mediatorship of Sir Edward Maunde Thompson, K. C. B., the distinguished Director of the British Museum, I obtained permission, not only to study, but also to publish the valuable document, in order to place it within the reach of my fellow-students. It was in June, 1898, at the British Museum, that the long sought for Codex was finally laid into my hands, for inspection, by its custodian, Sir Edward Maunde Thompson. As I eagerly scanned its pages, I found that, whereas the explanatory notes did not fulfil my hopes and expectations, the Codex itself far surpassed them. I soon realized that it was the most superb example of an Ancient Mexican historical manuscript I had ever seen, which, in wealth of detail and interest even excelled its sister, the Vienna Codex. For reasons which are explained on page 11, I was naturally much impressed at finding that the first year date recorded in the Codex was I Acatl, accompanied by the sign 1 cipactli. In order to afford me the desired opportunity of studying it during my stay in Oxford, the Codex was subsequently transferred, temporarily, to the Bodleian Library and deposited there for my particular use. It was within the venerable walls of the most beautiful of old libraries, that I had the pleasure of showing the newly found treasure to Mr. Charles P. Bowditch of Boston, a member of the Faculty of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology. With characteristic enthu¬ siasm and generosity, Mr. Bowditch volunteered to provide the necessary funds for publishing the Codex, in facsimile, through the Peabody Museum, Harvard University, while I offered to assume the responsibility and work of carrying out the publication. Soon afterward, at the 4 Bodleian Library, I held the consultations which were necessary before undertaking so difficult and costly a work as its reproduction in facsimile. This has been admirably carried out by the firm of Messrs. Gilb* Whitehead and Co., of New Eltharn, Kent, S. E. It is with pleasure that I seize this occasion to express my appreciation of the interest and unsparing pains bestowed upon the work by the head of the firm as well as by the excep¬ tionally skilled artists in their employ. Owing to various difficulties, partly arising from the fact that the Codex could not be removed from the British Museum building, the work was much retarded, and, instead of being finished by Nov. i, 1899, as first antici¬ pated, was not completed until April, 1901. One main reason for the delay was the fact that photography could not be utilized, and the entire Codex had to be traced by the hand of an artist, whose accurate and admirable drawing is unsurpassed. An expression of grateful acknowledgment is due to Sir Edward Maunde Thompson, K.C.B., and to Mr. George Warner, the Keeper of the Manuscript Department of the British Museum, not only for the untiring interest taken in the work, but also for their kind super¬ vision and correction of proofs during my absence from England. Students of Mexican archaeology will ever feel themselves to be under a great obliga¬ tion to Lord Zouche for generously authorizing the present publication. 5 HHMHMR DESCRIPTION OF THE CODEX L IKE the nine other Mexican Codices in existence, which constitute the finest remaining specimens of native pictography, 1 the present one is painted on pre¬ pared deer-skin, the strips of which are glued together, at intervals, and form a long, folded band. The surfaces of both sides of the skin are covered with a thick layer of a white substance which presents a smooth, slightly glazed surface. On this the artist first drew the outlines of his figures in black, and subsequently filled these in with color. A careful study of the original reveals that the artist pre¬ pared small quantities of each color at a time, and that he did not always succeed in obtaining exactly the same shade twice. The scheme of color on the obverse is, more¬ over, different from that on the reverse, which presents a greater profusion of detail. The paints employed were so fine and skilfully prepared, that for nearly four centuries they have preserved, undimmed, their exquisite beauty and delicacy. According to Bustamante the native artists purposely withheld from their Conquerors the secret of the knowledge they had attained, through centuries of experience, of manufacturing beautiful and lasting colors from vegetable and mineral substances. The present publication reproduces the exact dimensions 1 The Codices of this category are : I. Vatican Codex No. 3773. II. Borgian Codex. III. Bologna (Cospian) Codex. IV. Fejervary (Mayer) Codex. V. Laud Codex. VI. Bodleian Codex. VII. Selden Codex. of the original. The stiff parchment covers which protect the facsimile have been designed by me in strict accord¬ ance with native methods. Although no traces now exist to prove that the original Codex was once provided with outer covers, we know that such were employed by the Ancient Mexicans. The outer folds of the Laud Codex, preserved at the Bodleian Library, are covered with stiff pieces of deerskin, the originally hairy coating of which appears to have been destroyed by moths. The Vatican Codex (3773) is protected by thin, pol¬ ished wooden boards, one of which is plain, while the other exhibits traces of incrustations. Senor Troncoso has rightly pointed out that the cover on which an inlaid disc of green stone still exists, is attached to the first page of the Codex, and therefore designates its beginning. Experience in handling a folded native book, particu¬ larly one which, like the present Codex, is painted on both sides, with signs in reverse positions, teaches not only the importance of designating the beginning of a Codex, but also the necessity of some external sign which indicates the position of the figures on the first page. VIII. (a) Becker Codex; (b) Colombino Codex. IX. Vienna Codex. The present Codex completes this list as No. X. In order to simplify references to the above Codices, some of which have been recently re-named by Senor Troncoso, it is my intention to cite them in future by the above numbers, — a method I recommend to the consideration of my fellow-workers. MH 6 I have supplied this by having the initial and dominant year and day signs of the Codex (I Acatl i Cipactli) reproduced in color, on the outer cover, to which the first page is attached. In thus using a calendar sign I have followed the precedent afforded by the Selden Manuscript No. 2, preserved at the Bodleian Library, on the outer page of which a year-sign is painted. The cursive native method of designating a year-sign was to combine one of the four chief calendar signs (in the present case Acatl — cane) to what somewhat resembles a monogram composed of an A and an O. The first (like an A) is a reproduction of one of the four painted conven¬ tionalized rays which, on the Cosmical Tablet popularly known as the Calendar stone of Mexico, for instance, radiate at equal distances from the circle, which signifies the whole. The native all-pervading philosophical con¬ ception of the Cosmos as a “ Four in One,” conveyed by the four rays attached to the circle, is conspicuously carried out in the four year-signs of the native Calendar, each of which also symbolizes one of the four elements. The combination of one of the four year-signs and one of the symbolical rays, to a complete circle, clearly expressed the fourth part of the quadruplicate whole. 1 DIRECTIONS FOR READING THE CODEX T HE text of the Codex reads from right to left, there¬ fore, when the book lies closed, with the conven¬ tionalized ray of the year-sign pointing upwards, the left end of the cover is to be raised and carried over to the right, thus disclosing page 1, which begins in the lower right-hand corner. On page 3 an ingenious use of red lines begins. They are employed to form divisions and cause the text to wind up and down the pages in a narrow course which widens, now and then, when a large group of personages and some marked event is depicted. On page 11 a red line is carried in zigzag down the entire page and clearly separates one portion of the text from that which follows, beginning with the group formed by a man and a woman between twin mountains which are covered with snow. The next marked division of the text by means of a continuous line occurs on page 33. When page 43 is reached, the transition to page 44 on the reverse is effected by the following manipulation, which those who intend to study the Codex should not fail to master as soon as pos¬ sible. Close the book so that the cover with the year- sign again lies uppermost and the latter points in the same direction as when the book was first opened. Then turn the book around, without lifting or opening it, until the point of the conventionalized ray points downwards. Then again lift the left end of the cover, let it drop to the right, and page 44 will be disclosed. On looking through the Codex it will be seen that although printed in one, page 19 on the obverse, and page 76 on the reverse occupy two pages each, which will be respectively designated as a and b. On reaching page 84 it will be realized that, although the text seems to 1 See The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World Civili¬ zations, Zelia Nuttall, Peabody Museum Papers, Vol. II, p. 251. have come to a natural end, since it represents a death, funeral offerings, and a ceremonial cremation, the Codex itself must be regarded as unfinished. The last page is only partially colored. It would seem as though the artist’s last touches were those he made in its lower right-hand comer, with the yellow color he had commenced to use on this page. The left upper corner of page 84 is blank, as well as the four following pages, three of which are painted on their other sides. THE EXPLANATORY NOTES S OME European, in a monkish hand-writing, which resembles the Spanish script of the 16th century, has taken advantage of the blank spaces on page 84 and the second page beyond it, to make a note of the native names of the four year-signs of the Mexican Calendar. The fact that he jotted them down in a wrong order (the right one being Acatl, Tecpatl, Calli, and Tochtli) seriously detracts from the value of his other, extremely meagre notes, one of which only (on page 76) gives a suggestive explanation of a hitherto unknown native sign. It is interesting to find that, with a single exception, his notes are confined to the last ten pages of the Codex, which he seems to have erroneously taken for the first, and are in three languages, as follows : — Nahuatl or Mexican On page 84 and blank page beyond : names of four year-signs, in wrong order. Page 84. Name of month Tlacaxipehualiztli, wrongly spelt tlacaxipectli. Page 76. The names of one unknown and one of known native sign : Tlantepuzillamatl and Nauhollin. Spanish Page 83. Ano de . . . numeral partly effaced ; next to year-sign 12 Tochtli. Page 82. Ano de 39, next to year-sign 10 Calli. Page 80. Ano de . . . (remainder indecipherable) next to day-sign 8 tochtli, which thus appears to have been mistaken for a year-sign. Page 77. Ano de 52 de la ultima edad; next to day- sign 11 tochtli, which again appears to have been mistaken for a year-sign. Page 53. The word ano and the numerals 33 and 42, wrongly accompanying a day-sign. Then the detached numerals 42 and 46 equally written next to day-signs. Italian Page 76. In the same handwriting as the Spanish and Nahuatl notes, the words anno nono = the ninth year. An analysis of the above notes seems to prove that they were the result of some ineffectual attempt to decipher the Codex by some one who was familiar with both Italian and Spanish and had learned some Nahuatl names. The circumstance that he noted the native years in a wrong sequence, mistook day-signs for year-signs, assumed that the Codex was to be read from left to right, and began to study it at the wrong end, sufficiently demon¬ strates the regrettable fact that his explanatory notes can mm -- _ be of no serious value to students. On the other hand their writer was convinced that the Codex was in the they clearly establish one significant point, namely, that Nahuatl language. RESEMBLANCE OF THE CODEX TO THAT PRESERVED IN THE IMPERIAL LIBRARY AT VIENNA A NY one acquainted with the beautiful Codex preserved in the Imperial Library at Vienna cannot but recog¬ nize that it is the handiwork of the same artist who painted the present Codex. A close comparative study of the drawing and the texts of both Codices has convinced me that, although the pages of the Vienna Codex are of a larger size, the two manuscripts actually complement each other. In both Codices the year I Acatl accompanied by the day-sign i Cipactli is conspicuous, and occurs more frequently than any other date. What is more, a number of remarkable conventional signs and hieroglyphs occur in both codices and in these only. They constitute a convincing proof that both manuscripts deal with con¬ temporaneous facts and circumstances, besides being the work of the same artist. A research into the past history of these sister-Codices seems, moreover, to yield indications that shortly after the Conquest both manuscripts were in Florence. The Latin inscription on the Vienna Codex states that “ it had been sent by King Emmanuel of Portugal to Pope Clement VII, and since has been in the possession of the Cardinals Hippolytus de’ Medici and Capuanus.” In his Vues des Cordilleres, Humboldt has pointed out the apparent an¬ achronism of the above inscription, noting that King Emmanuel of Portugal died in 1521 and that Clement VII only ascended the papal chair in 1523. Previously to his election, however, Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici, subse¬ quently Clement VII, was the most prominent personage at the papal court, being the nephew of Lorenzo the Mag¬ nificent, and the cousin and chief adviser of Pope Leo X. Like other members of the Medici family, Cardinal Giulio was noted as a collector of rarities, and, all things con¬ sidered, there is no reason why King Emmanuel of Portu¬ gal should not have sent the Codex, before his death, in T521, to the most influential member of the princely Medici, who, a couple of years afterwards, became Clement VII. The apparent anachronism appears to be attributable to the careless, though perfectly natural and explicable allusion to Giulio de’ Medici by the papal title by which he is known to history. The inscription records that the Codex subsequently passed into the hands of another member of the Medici family. The Medicean Archives, which I consulted, fur¬ nish interesting evidence which I intend to publish sepa¬ rately, proving not only that constant correspondence was kept up by means of ambassadors between the courts of Spain, Portugal and Florence, but also that a special interest in all relating to the New World was taken by several Medicean princes. In addition to the valuable Hispano-Mexican manu¬ scripts of the Mediceo-Laurentian Library and the Bibli- oteca Nazionale, which have already been alluded to, the beautiful mitre of feather mosaic made for a Medicean prelate and preserved to this day in the Pitti Palace, furnishes convincing evidence of continued relations with Mexico. 1 It is well known that, until comparatively recent times, all of the priceless specimens of Ancient Mexican Mosaic work, now divided between the Museo Kircheriana, at Rome, and the British Museum, London, were likewise preserved in the Medici palace at Florence. 2 Amongst these are inlaid objects which answer to descriptions of gifts and insignia sent by Montezuma to Cortes shortly after his landing in Mexico, and by the latter from Vera Cruz to Charles V, on July io, 1519. They reached Seville on Nov. 5, 1519, exactly four days previous to the entry of the Spaniards into the City of Mexico, but were not presented to the young Emperor until the spring of 1520. It is well known that Charles V distributed as gifts, to various sovereigns, some of these first curiosities received from the New World. The fact that the name of the Portuguese sovereign, who died in 1521, is inscribed upon the Vienna Codex, constitutes a proof that this must have been among the presents received by Charles V in 1520, for it was not until 1522 that a fresh consignment of rarities was sent by Cortes. These were, however, stolen and lost, and it was only in 1524 that Diego de Soto brought the next notable set of presents from the New World to Spain. The evidence furnished by the inscription is corroborated 1 This mitre was identified and described, for the first time, by me in my paper “ On Ancient Mexican Featherwork,” published in the Report of the Madrid Commission, Columbian Historical Exposition, Madrid, 1892. 2 The small, ancient Mexican, jadeite mask, which now figures in the famous gem collection in the Uffizi Gallery at Florence, may have been included in the unique group of curiosities. by the fact that the only inventory which contains any men¬ tion of native books is that of the first and choicest gifts which were sent by Cortes from Vera Cruz on July 10, 1519, and consisted of the presents which had been previously conveyed to him by Montezuma’s messengers. In this inventory there is the following entry : “ Mas dos libros de bos que aca tienen los indios." (Besides, two books such as the Indians here have.) 1 The closely interwoven chain of documentary evidence and living facts which may be summarized as follows, ap¬ pears to lead to an identification of the Vienna and its sister-Codex with the two native books recorded in the inventory of 1519: 1. It is obvious that the two books mentioned in the inventory of 1519, amongst presents known to have been conveyed to Cortes by Montezuma’s messengers, must have come from one and the same source, at the same time, and been, in all probability, the work of the same scribe. 2. In the Vienna and its sister-Codex we have, at the present day, two of the finest examples of Mexican pic¬ tography in existence, which conspicuously bear the same date (t Acatl = 1519 Jul. Cal.) and are unquestionably the work of the same artist. 3. The two books entered in the inventory of 1519 were received, in the spring of 1520, by Charles V, who is known to have distributed to various sovereigns some of the other curiosities from the New World. 4. The inscription on the Vienna Codex testifies that prior to 1521, it had passed into the hands of King 1 Coleccion de documentos ineditos para la Historia de Espana, Vol. I, p. 464. ■HWi Emmanuel of Portugal, and had in turn been presented by him to Giulio de’ Medici, afterwards Clement VII. These facts afford strong evidence that the Vienna Codex was one of the two “ native books ” received by Charles V in 1520. 5. The same inscription records that the Vienna Codex passed from the possession of Clement VII into that of another ecclesiastical member of the Florentine Medici family. A natural inference is that it must also, at one time, have been in Florence, in which city other rarities, specified in the inventory of 1519, were stored in the Medici palace until a short time ago. 6. The fact that, until recently, the present Codex was preserved in Florence, undoubtedly links its history to that of the Vienna Codex. It therefore seems that the DATE OF THE S already mentioned, the first year-sign in the present Codex and that which occurs with greater fre¬ quency than any other in both Codices, is I Acatl, accom¬ panied by the day 1 Cipactli. It is well known that the year I Acatl of the Mexican Calendar is the year 1519 of the Julian Calendar. Consequently the date which is most prominent in both Codices is precisely that of the year 1519, in which Cortes landed in Vera Cruz, whence, on July 10, he forwarded two native books, with other rarities. To me the day-sign 1 Cipactli, in combination with the year-sign I Acatl, is of particular interest and importance. I shall never cease to marvel at the strange concatena¬ tion of circumstances by which a Codex, exhibiting as its initial date the year I Acatl and day 1 Cipactli, should sister-Codices not only had a common origin, but also a somewhat analogous history, both having Florentine associations. In conclusion : it is certain that in the Vienna and its sister-Codex we possess two manuscripts of the same authorship, and bearing the same date. Historical evi¬ dence points to the conclusion that they are identical with the “ two native books ” recorded in the inventory of 1519. Let us now examine how far the sister-Codices them¬ selves yield internal evidence in support of the view that they date from the time of Montezuma, and are in the Nahuatl language, as assumed by the unknown individual who annotated one of them. SISTER-CODICES have been brought to light by the investigator who, in 1894, had demonstrated that the day 1 Cipactli, in the year I Acatl, coincided with the date of the vernal equinox, March 12, in the year 1519 Jul. Cal. The re¬ construction I published in 1894 in my Note on the Ancient Mexican Calendar System (communicated to the Tenth International Congress of Americanists, Stockholm) is reproduced here, without alteration (Table I). It is based on the important historical dates which were recorded by the Spaniards and Mexicans alike in their respective calendars. Thus Bernal Diaz states that the entry of the Spaniards into the City of Mexico took place on Nov. 8, 1519. Chimalpahin records that this memor¬ able event occurred on the day 8 Ehecatl, the eve of the 10th day of the month Quecholli, in the year I Acatl. 1 TABLE RECONSTRUCTION IN WHICH THE MEXICAN YEAR I ACATL BEGINS WITH A DAY CORRESPONDING TO MARCH 12 AND THE YEARS II TECPATL AND III CALLI WITH MARCH 11 JUL. CAL. A. D. 1519. A. D. 1520. LEAP-YEAR. A. D. 1521. A.D. 1522. YEAR I ACATL Months? Days: Cipactli Ehecatl Calli 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 e > ^ 5 a a 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 1 ED 2 .9 3 10 4 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 YEAR II TECPATL Cuetzpalin 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G - _ _ a COATL 6 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 - a > ► > > > X X X 3 X X X X X X Hiquiztlt 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1- 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 S 2 9 3 10 4 Mazatl 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 Tochtli 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 S 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G YEAR hi CALLI ATL 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 T 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 - a _ ITZCUINTLI 10 4 11 5 12 0 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5’ 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 I 8 - a > > > > > X a X X X X £ £ X OZ0MATLI 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 .12 G 13 7 1 8 2 -9 .3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 S 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 ii T) Malinalli 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 S 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 Acatl 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 Ocelotl 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 0 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12. G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 8 Quauhtli 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 0 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 S 2 9 3 10 4 11 ~) 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 ft 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 COZCAQUAUHTLI 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 m 1 (HI 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 S 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 Ollin 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 Tecpatl 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 S 2 9 3 10 4 0 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 Quiahuitl 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 XOCHITL 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 Cipactli 10. 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 m 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 Ehecatl 11 .5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 ft 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 Calli 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 •8 2 9 3 10 4 Cuetzpalin 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 Coatl 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 m 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G Miquiztli 11 5 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 G 13 7 Mazatl 12 G 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 0 13 ( 1 S NOTE THE DAY 8 EHECATL, YEAR I ACATL, CORRESPONDS TO NOV. 9. 1519. 7 C0ZCAQUAUHTL1, YEAR II TECPATL, TO MAY 21. 1520. 8 COZCAQUAUHTLI, YEAR II TECPATL, TO JUNE 30. 1520. 11 TECPATL, YEAR III CALLI, TO APRIL 28. 1521. 8 CIPACTLI,.YEAR III CALLI, TO MAY 22. 1521, 3 ATL, YEAR III CALLI, TO MAY 80. 1521. 1 COATL, YEAR III CALLI, TO AUGUST 13. 1521. Tochtli 13 ATL 1 ITZCUINTLI 2 7 1 8 2 9 '3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 8 2 9 [HJ10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 18 2 0 3 10 4 11 OZQMATLI 12 Malinalli 13 ACATL 1 OCELOTL 2 Quauhtli 3 Another date of extreme importance for purposes of re¬ construction is that of the final surrender of Quauhtemoc, the last of the Mexican rulers, which, according to the Mexicans, took place on the day i Coatl, of the year III Calli. Spanish chroniclers record the date as Aug. 13, 1521. It was after noting the prominence of the combina¬ tion-date, 1 Cipactli, I Acatl, in the newly discovered Codex, and the fact that it occurs eight times therein, that I verified how, in the Vienna Codex, the same date is repeated no less than twenty-one times,— a cir¬ cumstance I had previously overlooked. The follow¬ ing complete list of the year-dates which occur in the Codex and Table III showing how often each year-date TABLE II Complete list of the Mexican years, in the order in which they are recorded in the Codex. The years included in the first five columns occur on the obverse of the Codex; those on column VI on its reverse. I II III IV V VI 1 Acatl 1 cipactli 9 Calli 2 Tecpatl 11 Calli 9 Calli 2 Acatl 1 Acatl 1 cipactli 2 Acatl 7 Acatl 5 Acatl 8 Calli 6 Acatl 7 Tecpatl 2 Tochtli 4 Tecpatl 8 Acatl 7 Calli 6 Acatl 7 Tecpatl 11 Tochtli ) 7 Tecpatl 11 Acatl 5 Acatl 1 Acatl 3 Acatl 12 Acatl J 10 Acatl 1 Acatl 1 cipactli 8 Calli 5 Acatl \ 3 Acatl 4 Calli 3 Tecpatl 8 Acatl 1 Tecpatl 6 Tecpatl 5 Calli 10 Tecpatl 7 Tochtli 5 Acatl 5 Tecpatl 7 Calli 5 Acatl 1 Acatl 1 cipactli 4 Calli 12 Calli 7 Acatl 7 Calli 12 Tecpatl 5 Calli 7 Tochtli 6 Tecpatl) 7 Acatl 8 Tochtli ( 5 Calli 12 Tochtli 10 Calli 7 Calli > 6 Tochtli 8 Tochtli / 5 Calli 8 Calli 8 Tecpatl 10 Calli 9 Tecpatl 9 Acatl \ 12 Tecpatl 5 Calli 5 Acatl 12 Acatl 6 Tecpatl ) 10 Tecpatl ro Calli 1 Acatl r cipactli 3 Acatl 3 Acatl 7 Calli i 10 Calli r2 Tecpatl 12 Tecpatl 3 Acatl 13 Tecpatl 10 Calli 11 Calli / 6 Tochtli 2 Acatl 12 Tecpatl 13 Acatl 12 Acatl 12 Tochtli 13 Tochtli ) 13 Tecpatl 1 Acatl 1 cipactli 7 Tochtli 7. Acatl 1 Acatl 1 cipactli* 13 Tochtli 1 Acatl i cipactli 9 Tecpatl 5 Tecpatl 6 Acatl 7 Tecpatl 2 Calli 9 Tecpatl 12 Calli 1 Acatl 9 Tecpatl T 3 occurs in this as well as in the Vienna Codex, will enable the reader to verify the conspicuous frequency, in both Codices, of the date I Acatl, i Cipactli. It is scarcely necessary to emphasize how strongly the prominence of this date, in both Codices, supports the view advanced by Boturini in 1745, and demonstrated by me TABLE III Showing the number of times each of the 52 years of the Mexican calendar cycle occurs in the Codex and in the Vienna Codex. The asterisks designate the years which occur the same number of times in both Codices. 1 Acatl In Codex In Vienna Codex Tecpatl In Codex In Vienna Codex Calli In Codex In Vienna Codex Tochtli In Codex In Vienna Codex i Acatl occurs IO 22 1 Tecpatl occurs 1 * I* 1 Calli occurs O 2 1 Tochtli occurs O 7 2 11 11 3 4 2 a ll I* 1 * 2 a ii I 2 2 a c; I* I* 3 u ti 5 * 5* 3 “ I 0 3 11 a 0 5 3 a 11 O I 4 a it O 3 4 ii 11 I 2 4 '.1 it 2 O 4 11 a O 3 5 it 11 6 8 5 11 a 2 9 5 11 it s 11 5 11 11 O I 6 11 ti 3* 3* 6 11 a 3 4 6 it it O 3 6 a 11 2 6 7 a u 4 22 7 11 ti 4 s 7 ii 11 5 2 7 11 a 3 O 8 it ll 2 8 8 n a I 5 8 11 11 3 5 8 it 11 2 5 9 n (( I* I* 9 it a 4 2 9 11 a 2 O 9 it 11 O IO 10 ll ll I 3 10 it 11 2* 2* 10 a it 5 8 10 a a O* 0* 11 11 11 I* 1 * 11 ii ti 0 I 11 it 11 2 O 11 ti it I 2 12 ti it 3 * 3* 12 11 11 7 3 12 11 11 2 O 12 11 it 2 O 13 a ii 1 * I* 13 11 11 2 I 13 11 ti O* 0* 13 a 11 2 l6 Total 40 35 Total 29 36 Total 27 38 Total 13 52 1 The year-signs which do not occur in the Codex are : Those which do not occur in the Vienna Codex are: 4 Acatl 3 Tochtli 3 Tecpatl 13 Calli 11 Tecpatl 4 Tochtli 4 Calli 7 Tochtli 1 Calli 5 Tochtli 9 Calli 10 Tochtli 3 Calli 9 Tochtli 11 Calli 12 Tochtli 6 Calli 10 Tochtli 12 Calli 1 Tochtli 13 Calli The two year-signs omitted in both Codices alike are io Tochtli and 13 Calli. 14 . in 1894, that the Ancient Mexicans associated the begin¬ ning of their solar year with the vernal equinox. 1 The fact that, in the calendar cycle current at the time of the Con¬ quest, the day Cipactli coincided with the vernal equinox and ruled the year and all its “ months ” once every four years, may explain, in part, the importance of the sign Cipactli, as transmitted by Sahagun and Duran. The latter (Historia, Vol. I, pp. 321, 333) relates that the Mexican rulers were always “ crowned ” on a Cipactli day, which was the first of the month. This combina¬ tion could only occur, every four years, in a cycle con¬ stituted like that shown in my reconstruction, Table I. LANGUAGE OF THE SISTER-CODICES r I 'HE Nahuatl names inscribed in the Codex, in monk- ish script, record their writers’ conviction that it was in the language of Montezuma. Quite apart from this, however, the sister-Codices furnish the most convincing proofs that they are both in Nahuatl, and a product of the art school which developed a highly conventionalized form of pictography, and was situated in the City of Mexico. Any one can verify this assertion by comparing the draw¬ ing of the conventionalized calendar signs sculptured on the Calendar Stone of Mexico and those painted in the sister-Codices. The mere fact that the forms of the sculptured and painted signs are identical suffices to prove that the writer of the Codex employed the Calendar of the Nahuatl-speaking central government, whose seat was in the ancient capital. As far back as 1887, on studying the Vienna Codex, I ascertained that a number of its hieroglyphs were 1 In his Idea de una nueva Historia General de la America Septentrional, on p. 137, Boturini states :“.... the native sages . . . combined the commencement of the civil year with the vernal equinox, which was the principal and dominating period of the year. . . .” In his chapter on the “Natural year” (p. 57) Boturini points out that the appearance of verdure, coinciding with the period of the vernal equinox, caused this date to appear as the natural beginning of the primitive year. composed of the identical phonetic elements which are found combined in the Nahuatl local names contained in the Mendoza and other Codices, which unquestionably came from the ancient capital of Mexico. A few examples, such as the following, selected at random from a large number recorded in my note-books, will suffice to verify this statement. On plates 9 and 10 of his Atlas, as Nos. 88, 90, and 5 7, the distinguished Mexican historian, Orozco y Berra, records the conventional signs which represent an obsidian mirror, a spindle, and the native tennis-court, and respect¬ ively express the Nahuatl words: tezcatl, malacatl, tlachtli. On page 39 of the Codex which was painted in the City of Mexico by order of the Viceroy Mendoza and bears his name, we find two of the above signs combined to form a local name. The town, designated in the Spanish text as tlach-malacac, for instance, is recorded by a native draw¬ ing composed of the tennis-court — tlachtli and the spindle = malacatl. In the Vienna Codex, on pages 13 and 22, there are two instances of the combination, in a single sign, of the tlachtli , the malacatl, and the tezcatl. In the present Codex there are numerous examples of the employment of the above signs singly, in combination with each other or with other signs. *5 See, for instance, in sign-groups expressing local names, the tlachtli on pp. 8, 12, 44, 45, and 74; the tezcatl on p. 45 ; the malacatl , inserted in mountains on pp. 11 and 48. Another conventionalized sign which occurs in the Mendoza Codex expresses the word icpac. It represents wound cotton thread = icpatl and resembles a spider’s web. In the Vienna and the Becker-Colombino Codices, and on pp. 6, 7, 12, 23, 31, and 38 of the present Codex, the identical icpatl sign occurs in groups expressing local or personal names. A complete presentation of the signs and combinations of signs which occur in the last-cited three Codices and in recognized Nahuatl Codices alike, must necessarily be postponed and will be published later. The foregoing material will suffice, for the present, to show that the view that the Codex is in the Nahuatl language rests on a solid foundation of facts. OBSERVATIONS ON THE YEAR-SIGNS IN THE CODEX A N examination of Table II teaches that, with five exceptions, the years are recorded without regard for their chronological order. The exceptions, which are designated by brackets, are of particular value because they furnish additional proof of the correctness of the method of reading the Codex from right to left. The two years : VI Tecpatl followed by VII Calli and equivalent to the years 1472 and 1473, Jul. Cal., are recorded three times, twice by themselves and once in the broken series (V Acatl to XII Tochtli, i. e. 1471-1478 Jul. Cal.) on the reverse of the Codex. (See pp. 26, 42 and 44 to 84.) Table III demonstrates the interesting fact that twelve of the fifty-two calendar years which constitute the native cycle do not occur in the Codex. A similar omission of nine calendar years is noticeable in the Vienna Codex. The years X Tochtli and XIII Calli do not appear in either Codex. Another curious correspondence between the Codices, designated by asterisks on Table III, consists of the repe¬ tition of ten calendar years the same number of times in both Codices. Assuming, as most probable, that the years recorded in the Codex belong to the cycle preced¬ ing the year I Acatl = A. d. 1519, we find that the earliest date recorded is II Tecpatl = a. d. 1468, which appears once, on page 13. The same date occurs once only in the Vienna Codex. The time covered by the dates inscribed in the Codex may thus be said to extend from 1468 to 1519; a period of fifty-one years. References to twelve intermediate years being omitted, 1 it follows that forty calendar years only are enumerated, many of these being, however, repeated a number of times. When such repetitions occur a difference in the colors of the accompanying numerals is generally observ¬ able. This employment of the four colors in combina¬ tion with each of the four year-signs is remarkable and must be significant, because each of the latter was par- 1 The years which do not appear in the Codex are, according to the Jul. Cal., 1469, 1470, 1482, 1483. 1485, I49°> ! 493> 1 S 02 ’ W 1506, 1510, and 1516. Their native names are given in foot-note 1, page 14. 16 . ticularly associated with one element, one cardinal point and a single color. Owing to the all-pervading quadruplicate division of the cosmos and of the state, it is evident that cursive refer¬ ences could be made to each celestial or terrestrial quarter by means of their respective colors. It is therefore reasonable to suppose that the colors of the numerals convey an indication of the quarter, direc¬ tion, or division connected, in some way or other, with the dates recorded. My investigations lead me, indeed, to strongly suspect that, as the application of the quadruplicate division to time was but one feature of the all-pervading system, the elemental signs themselves, with variations or modifica¬ tions, may have also been used to designate the four celes¬ tial or terrestrial quarters. OBSERVATIONS ON THE DAY-SIGNS IN THE CODEX T HE same differentiation in the coloring of the nu¬ merals is observable in those which accompany the day-signs. Table IV exhibits the number of times that each day- sign is repeated in the Codex. The thirteen numerals in the first column connect with the twenty day-signs, the names of which, in their usual order of succession, are printed at the top of their respective columns. It is recalled here that the Mexican day-cycle of 260 days was formed by each of the twenty days being re¬ peated thirteen times, each time in combination with a different numeral. The result was that each of the 260 days had its specific appellation. The table shows that twenty-nine days of the cycle do not appear in the Codex at all. On the other hand, a number of the days are repeated ten or more times, as indicated on Table IV by under¬ lining. The same remarkable lack of sequence or chronological order noted in the case of the year-signs also extends to the day-signs. A noteworthy exception, which furnishes a valuable indication of the order in which the Codex is to be read, is furnished by a group, consisting of eight consecutive days, beginning, on page 68, with : 4 Ehecatl; bottom of page, in compartment 2, fol¬ lowed by 5 Calli; on conventionalized mountain, in upper half of compartment 3. 6 Cuetzpalin; on mountain, lower half of compart¬ ment 3. 7 Coatl; on mountain lower half, compartment 4. 8 Miquiztli; on mountain, upper half, compartment 4. 9 Mazatl; p. 69, upper half, compartment 1. 10 Tochtli; lower half, compartment 1. 11 Atl; upper half, compartment 2. Another remarkable series consists of eleven day-signs which follow each other in right order, with progressive numeration. The series begins in the centre of page 72 with the days 13 Mazatl, followed by 1 Tochtli, 2 Atl, 3 Izcuintli, 4 Ozomatli. The day 5 Malinalli, which should follow, is omitted here, but 6 Acatl, the next in order, occurs, fob lowed by the omission of 7 Ocelotl. The next day, 8 Quauhtli, is inscribed in the upper right-hand comer of page 73, followed by 9 Cozcaquauhtli, 10 Oliin, 11 Tecpatl and 12 Quiahuitl, in correct order of succession. It will be seen that the signs of the above days accompany a series of conventionalized sign-groups expressing the names of localities. In this connection it is interesting to note that, to this day, there exist in Mexico towns named after the Ancient Mexican calendar days and numerals, such as Macuil- TABLE IV Showing the number of times that each day-sign is repeated in the Codex .1 Acatl = Cane Ocelotl = Tiger Quauhtli = Eagle Cozcaquauhtli = Vulture Ollin = Motion Tecpatl = Flint Quiahuitl = Rain Xochitl = Flower Cipactli = Alligator Ehecatl = Wind Calli = House Cuetzpalin = Lizard Coatl = Serpent Miquiztli = Death Mazatl = Deer Tochtli = Rabbit Atl = Water h/j 0 Q jl C 3 Ozomatli = Monkey Malinalli = Tree Moss 1. 2 2 8 3 2 3 11 3 19 4 4 6 2 2 4 7 2 ..... . 4 3 3 s 4 2 2 6 3 2 2 3 3 2 7 s 5 4 3. 3 I 4 2 4 19 2 S 4 4 2 I 3 2 3 2 2 . . 4. 2 9 2 I s 4 4 2 7 4 4 3 7 5 s 6 I 4 3 5. 4 s 2 5 I 4 9 3 s 2 2 I 4 2 I s 2 6. 8 2 3 2 I 2 I 2 3 4 4 5 3 9 s I 2 7. 7 2 s I 7 I 9 21 3 s I s II 4 I 2 2 2 s s 8 . I s 2 7 2 I 2 2 l6 I 2 4 3 29 3 3 I I I 9. 1 2 3 2 TO I 2 8 6 ji6 9 2 6 5 4 I 7 6 10. 13 3 3 I 1 3 3 TO 6 6 3 s 3 2 I 4 2 I 2 6 11. 3 I 2 2 I 2 8 I I I 4 2 2 r 7 I I I 12 ..... . 6 2 4 I I 2 3 I 7 9 2 s I 2 2 3 3 2 3 13. 2 I 4 2 2 3 2 I I 2 2 I 6 4 3 1 The 13 numerals in the first column connect with the 20 day-signs, the names of which, in their order of succession, are printed at the tops of their respective columns. Thus the number 2 printed at the top of the Acatl column, indicates that the day 1 Acatl occurs twice in the Codex. The Mexican day-cycle consisted of 13x20 = 260 days, each of the 20 days being repeated 13 times, each time with a different numeral. xochitl = 5 Flower, Chicomexochitl = 7 Flower, “ Cuatro Venados ” = 4 Deer (Chiapas) ; Chiconquiaco = 7 Rain (Hidalgo) ; Ometochco = 2 Rabbit, Nauhcalpan = 4 House (Mexico) ; Chiconquauhtla =: 7 Eagle? (Puebla) ; Chicomocelo = 7 Ocelot], Chiconcuac = 7 Rain or Eagle? (Morelos). A striking feature of the present Codex, and one which opens fresh lines of research, is the prevalent association of individuals with day-symbols. In a limited number of cases the personages depicted are also accompanied by a composite sign which ex¬ presses a name or title in picture-writing. Remarkable illustrations of the latter method are to be found on pp. 6 and 7 and between pp. 54 and 68. It is noteworthy that, whereas many persons figure in association with day-signs only, or with both day-signs and individual names, there is a lack of instances in which, as in manuscripts painted after the Conquest, persons are designated by individual name signs only. The association of day-symbols with individuals in the Codex strongly corroborates my view that the twenty symbols were not merely names of years and days, but also designated the gentes or subdivisions of the Mexican com¬ monwealth. 1 It would therefore appear that the Mexican mode of designating individuals was similar to that of the Cakchiquels, of whom the late Daniel G. Brinton wrote : “ . . . each person bore two names ; the first, his individual name, the second that of his . . . family or lineage. . . .” There is a frequent recurrence in the Cakchiquel annals 1 See The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World Civil¬ izations, Peabody Museum Papers, Vol. II, 1901, pp. 253 and 242, where the method of changing the names of children is discussed. of such strange appellations as “nine deer,” “ two monkey,” these being . . . the days of the year. . . .” 2 Dr. Brinton states that, amongst the Cakchiquels, each individual bore through life the name of the day of his birth. The Mexican ceremonial system of re-naming children and adults appears, however, to indicate that each assignment to a class, involving a change of occupa¬ tion, was accompanied by a corresponding change of name or title. The number of the divisions of the Mexican common¬ wealth was identical with that of the 20 day-symbols and the avowed purpose of the calendar was the regulation of all communal life. There exists historical evidence showing that, in An¬ cient Mexico, individuals bore day-names as appellations. The existence of localities bearing the day-names of an . obsolete Calendar system, appears to be a survival of ancient conditions. The numerous instances of individuals and localities associated with day-signs, contained in the present Codex, constitute a mass of fresh evidence which tends towards establishing the conclusion that, at one time, a numerical classification prevailed throughout Ancient Mexico, and that each gens, its chieftain and its place of residence, were associated with one of the twenty day-symbols, a number, and a date, according to an all-pervading system or scheme. Whether this conclusion be accepted or not, the unexplained fact remains that the present Codex exhibits: 1. Day-signs combined with year-signs, which constitute exact dates according to the native calendar; Annals of the Cakchiquels, Philadelphia, 1885, Preface, p. 32. 2. Day-signs combined with sign-groups expressing names of localities; 3. Day-signs associated with individuals, sometimes alone, sometimes accompanied by a sign-group, expressing an additional personal name or title. While reflection shows what a wealth of meaning could have been conveyed by means of the day and year signs and the elemental colors, it should also be borne in mind that the costume and insignia and mode of painting the face and body clearly revealed not only the age, rank, gens, and residence of each individual, but also his occupation for the time being. As different garments, insignia, and colors were worn during each of the twenty festivals of the year and on ceremonial occasions, it is obvious that an Ancient Mexi¬ can could discern even the period of time associated with the actions of the persons figured in the Codex. Once recognized, the importance of personal decoration, as a means of conveying rank, age, gens, sub-gens, and the performance of some action or ritual pertaining to com¬ munal and religious life, explains not only the extreme care with which the native artists painted each detail of costume, but also the historical records that “ Montezuma wore a different costume every day.” The present Codex acquaints us with series of events in the lives of several personages, and shows us the great variety of costume and insignia they adopted as they rose in rank or performed ceremonial rites. It was only after a prolonged course of close study that I detected the existence of threads of individual history in the Codex and was able to follow them through the intricacies of the winding and crowded text on its obverse. When I reached the reverse my work became compara¬ tively easy, owing to the fact that the pictures on this side are larger in size and fewer in number, and that the text presents a single line of narrative. 1 The limits of the present introduction impose the necessity of describing the contents of the Codex in as brief and clear a manner as possible. I shall therefore first introduce the reader to the most easy and instructive portion of the Codex and give him an opportunity of familiarizing himself with its peculiarities by merely point¬ ing out the main personages, etc., as they appear and re¬ appear on the painted pages. It is fortunate that the following narrative, which can be easily followed, con¬ stitutes at the same time the most important portion of the Codex. THE HISTORY OF THE CONQUEROR NAMED EIGHT-DEER, ALSO TIGER’S CLAW T HE consecutive history of the above personage and of his closest companion, Twelve-Ollin, also Tiger’s . Head, begins on page 44 and occupies the entire reverse of the Codex. Both are represented in the upper left corner of page 44, engaged in sacrificing a native dog, after having performed the same rite on a deer. 1 A similar marked difference in the proportion of the drawings on the obverse and reverse also exists in the Vienna Codex. Above the head of one figure the day-sign Eight-Deer is figured, in connection with the representation of an animal’s claw issuing from a blue disk. Reference to two images of ocelots which occur on page 46, reveals that the claw is that of an ocelot or native tiger. The second personage, engaged in plunging the knife into the victim’s heart, is designated by the severed and bleeding head of an ocelot in combination with the day- sign Twelve-Ollin. Prior to page 44, the above individuals figure on page 26 and on pages 42 and 43, in company with others whose history appears to be linked to theirs. Postponing a description of the representations on pages 26 and 43, let us return to page 44, where the consecutive history appears to begin. At the top of column 2 Eight-Deer figures as seated, wearing an eagle’s head-dress. The fact that his body is painted black shows that he was a member of the priesthood. Further down, in column 2, Eight-Deer is represented in the act of burning incense before a four-branched Capulin or wild cherry tree, on which rests the cosmical symbol which, in pictography, expressed the word teotl = god or divine. The cosmical tree grows from a conventionalized mountain, through a serpent’s head. The simplicity of Eight-Deer’s personal appearance whilst performing the rite of incense- burning and of aiding in the sacrifice of the dog, indicates that, at this period, he was a member of the priesthood and a neophyte, who apparently adopted the title Tiger’s Claw only after performing the above sacred rite. The next picture of Eight-Deer represents him seated in a mountain cave, wearing an ocelot skin, and conferring with a man who assumes an attitude of respect and wears a red beard. The pictures of Eight-Deer beneath, represent him with his chin painted red and a peculiar beard, stand¬ ing on one end of a tlachtli or tennis-court, and perform¬ ing some ceremonial rite. In this case his right hand is concealed in a tiger’s foot, — an interesting detail, because we know that one native ruler is said to have addressed his son, who had distinguished himself by bravery, by the title “ Tiger’s Arm.” In this and all of his subsequent pictures Eight-Deer is represented with a red chin and mouth, and a beard. The image of a temple, in column 4 °f P a ge 45 , is followed by representations of two chiefs bringing tribute. At the top of column 1, page 46, is a person designated as Nine-Ehecatl, dressed in the garb of Quetzalcoatl. After him are the names of seven towns or localities in picture-writing, each represented as pierced by an arrow, the symbol of conquest or of taking possession. Page 47 exhibits six persons offering tribute, and six names of localities. The names of eighteen other places cover pages 48 and 49, in the left upper corner of which Eight-Deer, Tiger’s Claw, appears, in military accoutrement, brandish¬ ing his atlatl or spear-thrower. Facing towards him, on page 50, is a priest bringing a sacrificial bird, and another bearing a lighted torch and issuing from a temple similar to that on page 44, exhibiting the symbol of death and surmounted by a row of skulls and hearts. Above this appears another temple, apparently the same as that figured on page 45. Eight-Deer advances towards it, carrying a deer. The dead body of another deer lies in front of him. Two hieroglyphs follow, the second ex¬ pressing Ocelotepec = Ocelot mountain. Above this our hero appears again, performing some rite in an extraor¬ dinary garb, resembling that of the seated, sleeping, or MM ■ MMH - MMpMWHMHa - «g**?S^8S dead individual in front of the Temple of Death on page 44. At the bottom of column 51, Eight-Deer and his com¬ panion Twelve-Ollin are found together again, both armed with spears and spear-throwers. The names of four towns follow. On a fifth hieroglyph Eight-Deer is seated. On page 52, column 1, he is again represented in the same position, which denotes rulership. In column 2, armed with a lance, spear, and shields, and wearing a red tunic, Eight-Deer is receiving the homage of a man, designated as Four-Ocelot, who is burning incense and holding a sacrificial bird aloft. Beneath this is a remarkable group representing Eight- Deer, divested of military insignia, undergoing the rite of having his nostril pierced by a priest, in order to enable him to assume the mark of chieftainship, the yaca-xiuitl or “ nose-turquoise,” which we find him wearing in all subsequent pictures. 1 On page 53, column 1, his tur¬ quoise ornament is a contrast to the yacameztli or “ nose- crescent” worn by the chief Four-Ocelot, with whom he is again conferring peaceably. At the bottom of column 4 he is pictured as having again resumed his war accoutre¬ ment. Traces of an effaced hieroglyph are visible under this figure, and reveal that in this, as in other instances, the artist committed and rectified an error. The group in the upper half of column 4 is of particular interest. It represents a temple, with a square altar stand¬ ing at the summit of the flight of steps, and a fringed drapery suspended across the temple door. Alongside is a symbolic group consisting of a ceremonial staff, sur- 1 A representation of the performance of the same rite occurs in the Becker Codex, p. XV. mounted by a flint knife and four tassels, above a red scalloped disc displaying five white circles. This staff and a pointed arrow stand on the curious mat, which frequently figures in connection with ceremonial rites. The above temple, seen in profile, with the same staff and arrow group, recurs on page 68. Further representations of the planted staff, which is also met with in the Bodleian Codex (for instance, on page 6), occurs on pages 15 (associated with another kind of cere¬ monial staff and the apparatus for fire-making), 17, 18, 19, and 22 (in front of temples), and 47, where it appears to be used for the phonetic value of its name ; or possibly, as a symbol of the god Macuilxochitl, Five-Flower. The present Codex contains many representations of men, invariably belonging to the priestly caste, who carry the singular staff described above. (See pages 1, 2, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 31, 37, 39, 68.) The evident importance of the staff-symbol, its frequent association with an arrow, and the number of instances in which both appear to be associated with active prepara¬ tion for warfare, suggest that, like the challenge-staffs described in the drama of Rabinal-Achi, which were planted at the border of an enemy’s territory as a declara¬ tion of war, and the arrow held downwards, which con¬ stituted the Mexican declaration of hostilities, the above staff and the arrow may have been carried and planted as symbols of defiance, victory, or established conquest. Immediately following the group consisting of the staff and arrow planted in front of the temple (on page 53), we find (on page 54) the familiar figures of Twelve-Ollin, Tiger’s Head, and Eight-Deer seated and entering into an agreement or pact with the first of a long list of one hun¬ dred and twelve chieftains, all of which face towards him, and apparently participate in the contract entered into by their leader. In the whole range of the native pictography which has escaped destruction, there are no more interesting and in¬ structive pages than those which now follow. They bring vividly before us a council of Ancient Mexican chieftains, each designated by name and displaying a bewildering variety of tribal or individual costume, coiffure, body painting, and insignia, each detail of which has been most carefully executed by the artist. The roll-call of one hundred and twelve chieftains ends as it began, by the picture of the same temple, in front of which the arrow and the staff, symbolizing a five-fold division, are planted. A remarkable series follows, consisting of five chieftains, each standing on the hieroglyph of a town or locality. The lords Eight-Deer and Twelve-Ollin are the first por¬ trayed. Both are in military accoutrement and carry lances. The next three chieftains evidently belong to the priestly caste, and carry ceremonial staffs over their left shoulders. This singular group, which seems to indi¬ cate the establishment of five centres of government, is followed by a strange representation of a fight between an ocelot and an eagle, the symbols of the two principal warrior-casts, respectively called the ocelots and the eagles. A human sacrifice is likewise represented, as well as the immolated body of a dog, the heart of which has been seized by a descending figure. The rest of page 69 is filled by eight local names. Page 70 opens with a pic¬ ture of Eight-Deer bearing his lance, and being met by a priest bearing a lighted torch, and a second holding a sacrificial bird. Behind these figures are three local names, the first of which likewise occurs on page 58. A single combat between Eight-Deer and an adversary wear¬ ing a nose-crescent and designated as Nine-Serpent, occu¬ pies the centre of the page, followed by the execution of a formal contract between Eight-Deer and Four-Ocelot, in which the first evidently insists upon “ two ” of some¬ thing. A priest carrying two bowls comes next, followed by a series consisting of forty-six local names and by the picture of a chieftain, designated as Nine-Water, who stands on the hieroglyph of a locality. Page 75 is filled by the remarkable representation of three chieftains, in boats, crossing a body of water in which an alligator, a ser¬ pent, a fish, a sea-snail, a small bivalve, and a univalvular shell are depicted. A high mountain rises from the water, and a column resting on the edge of the water and reach¬ ing to the starry heaven, represented in the usual conven¬ tionalized manner, conveys the idea of a central pillar, supporting the sky. The leader, in a white boat, is designated as Nine-Water, and appears to be identical with the chieftain of the same name on the preceding page. The first occupant of the second boat, designated as Eleven-Death, curiously resembles our hero Eight- Deer in appearance and dress. A careful comparison of the picture of the warrior be¬ hind him, designated as Nine-Serpent, with that of the chieftain designated as Eight-Serpent, who met Eight- Deer in single combat on page 70, leads to the conclu¬ sion that both are identical, and that in the latter case the extra numeral is missing or has been effaced. On page 76 six localities are figured with the symbol of conquest sticking into them. The interesting cosmical sign, encircled by eight trees, is designated in writing as “ Nauh Ollin.” At the bottom of the column, Eight- Deer reappears, and seems to have killed a chieftain named Nine-Flower on the mountain, which recurs on 23 page 79, in both cases accompanied by the sign Nine Malinalli. Above the latter our hero stands in the attitude of a vic¬ tor, holding the forelock of a weeping warrior, designated as Two-Flower. The latter displays, on his jacket, a glyph, which, were it not for a fifth ball, might be pronounced identical with the familiar hieroglyph of the town of Chaleo, which is to be seen on the thatched roofs of tem¬ ples, on pages 15, 18, and 19. The attitudes of the victor and his prisoner recalls the bas-relief groups which surround the monument known as the “ Stone of Tizoc.” Thirteen chiefs follow, carrying the pantli or banner which was employed to designate the numeral 20 or to denote that its bearer was a merchant or ambassador on a peaceable mission. Some of these wear animal masks. The majority display a peculiar transverse nose-ornament passed through the septum, some exhibiting a pendent turquoise at one side. It is interesting to note that in this campaign, Eight-Deer adopted and subsequently wore this transverse nose-ornament, in addition to the nose- turquoise conferred upon him at an earlier portion of his career. 1 On page 7 7, after four local names, the destruction of a great temple is depicted, this signifying a complete victory. The familiar figures of Eight-Deer and his faithful 1 Friar Duran’s Historia contains a description of the investiture of Tizoc as ruler of Mexico in which it is said that “ after crowning him, the lord of Tetzcoco pierced the septum of his nose and passed a green emerald through it, of the thickness of a quill.” (See Vol. I, p. 413, also p. 329.) We learn that the Huaxtecans used to wear nose-ornaments from the fact that when they were conquered by the Mexicans the latter passed cords through the holes which the Huaxtecans had through their noses and thus led them captive. (Duran, Vol. I, p. 343.) allies Twelve-Ollin and Four-Ocelot next appear, in combat with two remarkable masked combatants. The emblems of warfare, the shield and darts, occur twice on page 78. Two warriors on bended knee offer objects, one of which appears to be a gold bell of a well-known type. Finally, close to a temple, we see Eight-Deer and a priest designated as Seven-Dog kindling the sacred fire, a ceremony usually performed at the commencement of the fifty-two year cycle only. On page 79, under the mountain associated with the sign Nine Malinalli, sits a chieftain, accompanied by the signs Eleven Malinalli, and One Death. Above is an extremely interesting group, the counterpart of which is found in the Becker Codex, page IV. Eight-Deer and his ally Four-Ocelot kneel on the summit of a structure. Both hold one hand aloft in a peculiar attitude, and point with the other to a hollow at the summit of a flight of steps. It seems as though blood were trickling from the bowl-like hollow down the steps, and that the blue band with stars beneath the structure associated it with “ heaven.” The next group represents a seated chieftain conferring a blue ribbon, to which three gold bells are attached, to Eight-Deer, who points at the neck ornament and bows his head. Above him is Four-Ocelot, who on this and the next page exhibits a red striped body-painting, other ex¬ amples of which may be seen on pages 4 and 21. The main group on page 80 consists of three warriors, in as many boats, proceeding in the same direction, with uplifted spear-throwers. The surface of the water on which they navigate exhibits great curling waves covered with foam, and in its depths a large shell and a fish are depicted. The third chieftain is designated as Nine-Ollin. His companions are recognizable as Four-Ocelot and Eight- Deer. 24 The group of the three chieftains in boats brings to one’s mind a passage in the beautiful metrical poem in the Nahuatl language which the late Dr. Brinton translated as follows : “ There were Tochin, with many boats, the noble Acolmiztlan, the noble Calocih, Yohuallatonoc, and Cuetz- paltzin and Iztac-coyotl, bold leaders from Tlaxcalla, and Coatzintecuhtli and Huitlalotzin, famed as flowers on the field of battle.” 1 There seems to me to be no doubt that the Ancient Mexican reader of the present Codex recited in beautiful language, and metrical verse, composed by himself or acquired by oral transmission, the history of the native heroes whose deeds are pictured, accompanied by hiero¬ glyphs recording the names of persons or of localities only. By this time those who have followed my outline sketch of the history of Eight-Deer will have realized that the Codex does not contain what might be termed a consecutive, written text, but merely consists of pictorial representation of events, accompanied by such hieroglyphic names which were necessary in order to preserve them exactly and fix them in the memories of the native bards, who would constantly derive inspiration from the painted pages. Returning to our examination of page 8d, we next recognize Eight-Deer seated in the conventionalized repre¬ sentation of the tlachtli or native tennis-court, which was also employed for ceremonial purposes. Although the shield and darts, the symbols of warfare, lie in front of Eight-Deer and his vis-a-vis seated in the tennis-court, it is obvious that an amicable treaty and exchange of gifts is taking place. The two hieroglyphs which follow are particularly interesting because they occur elsewhere in relative proximity to each other. The lower 1 Ancient Nahuatl Poems, XV. one is but a larger form of that at the bottom of column i, page 71. The counterpart of the second is in column 2, page 72. It represents a mountain from the summit of which smoke is rising, while steam issues from an opening lower down. The next page (81) records two deaths: that of Nine-Ollin, the occupant of the third boat on the preceding page, and of Eleven-Death, the occupant of the second boat on page 75, who was evidently sacrificed, as a prisoner of war, in a temple. Elaborate funeral rites were evidently held in honor of Nine-Ollin, whose mummied form, in a decorated scaffolding, is represented at the top of the page. The familiar personage Twelve-Ollin, in priestly array, is setting fire to the funeral pyre with a lighted torch. Opposite to him a priest named One-Water presents the sacrificial bird. A group of funeral offerings follows, and five persons advance, respectively carrying a sacrificial bird and a bag or vessel in the form of a tiger’s foot; a vessel containing a fermented drink with flowers ; a ceremonial, fringed garment; a blue bowl containing “ the drink of life,” or pulque ; and a garland. The hieroglyph of a locality {cf. page 74, column 2) follows at the top of page 82, above our hero Eight-Deer, who, like his companion Twelve-Ollin, appears to have superintended the honors conferred upon Nine-Ollin. The effigy of the latter exhibiting a blue mask, an elaborate head-dress, and a ceremonial garment, is depicted at the bottom of the page, and answers to descriptions given, by various writers, of the funeral effigies which were made of a log of wood, in the hollow of which the cremated remains were preserved. In front of this effigy, which was erected on a structure made of ocotl, or pine wood, memorial services were held at certain dates during four years, at the end of which time the effigy and cremated remains were again burnt and then 25 buried. On page 82 the memorial rite of presenting gar¬ lands and the drink of life to the effigy is represented. The personage offering the blue bowl and stirring its contents is remarkable by the singular richness of his costume. The final cremation of the skull and bones of the dead lord fig¬ ures beneath two hieroglyphs of localities and the year- date Ten Calli, or a. d. 1489. On page 83, we see Eight-Deer continuing his victori¬ ous career and holding a prisoner named Four-Wind. The dates of two consecutive years, Eleven Calli and Twelve Tochtli (1477 and 1478) are inscribed on this page, as well as two local hieroglyphs. The so-called gladiatorial combat which took place at the annual festival Tlacaxipehualiztli is likewise represented by the weeping prisoner attached by a cord to the hollow centre of a circular stone, who is being attacked by two warriors wearing ocelot masks. One of the latter is designated as Eight-Deer, who apparently officiated in this ceremony. On page 84 the same prisoner, clothed in the insignia of Xipetotec, is seen attached to a peculiar form of scaffolding. His heart is pierced by a spear, apparently thrown by the personage who wears a death’s mask, and is depicted at the bottom of the preceding page. The note in European script also connects this sacrifice with the festival Tlacaxipehualiztli. It is interesting to note here that, according to the Codex Telleriano-Remensis, page 24, this mode of killing the victim was adopted for the first time by Montezuma, in 1506. The present Codex apparently yields testimony that this rite was per¬ formed in the year Twelve Tochtli (1478), after a victory gained by Eight-Deer. The book closes with two groups, one representing the immolation of a bird and the burn¬ ing of certain ceremonial offerings and of an arrow, possibly that which entered the victim’s heart, and the other showing the cremation of the skull and bones of the victim. Although these ceremonies form the natural conclusion to the episode depicted, the Codex is, as I have stated before, unfinished, its last page being only partly colored. Let us now examine page 26, on which the first repre¬ sentations of Eight-Deer and of his comrade Twelve-Ollin, occur. The fact that one of his two pictures on this page represents him without and the other with a beard and nose-turquoise, reveals that references were made to two periods of his life in the text which was probably recited by the poet. This view is corroborated by the circum¬ stance that in column 3 Eight-Deer figures for the only time in association with a woman named Twelve-Serpent, who wears the serpent insignia of a Cihuacoatl, is seated opposite to him in a tecpan, or house of government, and offers him a drinking vessel. The date Thirteen-Serpent is placed between them. At the top of column x, in another tecpan, a woman named Nine-Eagle is seated on the stool of chieftainship opposite to a chieftain named Five-Cipactli. The tecpan depicted at the bottom of the page is occupied solely by a chieftainess named Eleven- Water. It is a remarkable fact that, of the twelve individuals represented on page 26, nine are repeated together, in a group, on pages 42 and 43, as well as the year-dates Six Tecpatl = 1472, Seven Calli = 1473, and Ten Calli = 1489, in the same sequence. As pages 42 and 43 immediately precede the consecutive history of Eight Deer’s life, which begins on page 44 of the reverse, and the persons enumerated on these as well as on page 26 are intimately associated with him at differ- ent periods of his career, it would seem as though a re¬ hearsal of the dramatis personae of the history of conquest about to be recited began on page 42. It is a remarkable feature of the present Codex that, whereas two women only are pictured on its reverse, its first forty-four pages contain no less than one hundred and seventy-six representations of women, nearly all of whom appear to pertain to the ruling class and to be fill¬ ing responsible positions, on an equality with men. There is no native manuscript in existence which affords so much valuable material as the present one for the study of the po¬ sition, customs, costume, and face-painting of the women of Ancient Mexico. What is more, it fully corrobo¬ rates the documentary records concerning the existence of gyneocracies and actually pictures chieftainesses en¬ gaged in warfare, or parleying and entering into negotia¬ tions with war-chiefs, or else sharing with men, on terms of equality, such functions as those of high-priest or head- chief. 1 Returning to page 1 of the Codex I shall now enumerate, as an aid in its examination, the persons of prominence on this and the following pages. THE LORD EIGHT-EHECATL T HIS personage is invariably represented with a helmet which simulates an eagle’s head, and a face painted yellow, red, and black. He figures first on the bottom of page 1, in the act of issuing from a cosmical symbol. Behind him stands a priest named Twelve-Cipactli, who carries a staff in his hand, and a bundle of staffs on his back. Eight-Ehecatl’s next picture shows him on a symbol of water with one foot concealed in a central sign. Followed by Eleven-Xochitl, who carries a staff, he receives the homage of four individuals who advance towards him, re¬ spectively carrying a lighted torch, a sacrificial bird, and ceremonial garments. At the top of the page he figures again on the summit of a mountain, on which a monkey and other signs are painted. He is followed by Twelve- Cipactli, bearing a ceremonial staff, and is receiving the homage of four priests, the foremost of which, evidently a neophyte, is designated as One-Acatl and carries a bundle of wood. On page 2 Eight-Ehecatl, with eagle insignia, figures on a mountain, with both of his followers. Six priests advance towards him. One of these (Two-Rain) wears the insignia of the rain god, and another (Five- Flower) blows a conch-shell. While the day-sign Eight- Ehecatl figures in the middle of page 3 and in column 1, page 4, it is only in column 1, page 5, that it appears again in combination with the bird-man. The latter apparently figures in front of the temple at the bottom of the page, and in column 2, where the descending rain-god pours water over his seated figure. We next see him, in festive array, seated opposite to a woman of equal rank. A dec¬ orated bowl stands between them, and behind Eight- Ehecatl is a temple on a mountain combined with an Ozomatli or monkey. 1 For documentary evidence concerning the existence of gyne¬ ocracies in Ancient Mexico, see pages 194 and 60, The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World Civilizations. In a monograph, in course of preparation, I shall present a study of Women in Ancient Mexico, with special reference to the present Codex. The next and final picture of Eight-Ehecatl represents him with a hollow sunken mouth, the conventional method employed to denote old age. He is seated in a temple on the “ monkey-mountain ” with which he has been asso¬ ciated throughout. The six elaborately costumed and painted women behind him are particularly noteworthy, and exhibit different seated postures, probably indicative of age, tribe, or rank. The interest of this portion of the text centres on page 3, where an animated warfare takes place, in which women take a prominent part. In column 1, a woman stand¬ ing on a mountain is armed with shield and darts and holds an atlatl or spear-thrower. Beneath her a female warrior, named Nine-Ozomatli, is being seized by her victor, whose body is painted with diagonal stripes of color, — a tribal fashion which is frequently represented in this and the Vienna Codex. At the bottom of column 2 a woman leads a striped captive by a cord bound around his arm. 1 The seizure of two striped prisoners by warriors in Mexi¬ can costume is depicted above, and at the top of column 2 the sacrifice of a striped captive is represented, in com¬ bination with the hieroglyphic names of two localities. The female captive, Nine-Ozomatli, apparently recurs on page 4, column 3, receiving the homage of a man hold¬ ing a banner, and designated as Ten-Death. She next appears in elaborate garb, wearing the symbol of death, a skull, as a helmet, and accompanied by two composite glyphs, one partly formed by a skull, the other by a bird combined with a spindle. She figures again with the same costume and glyphs on page 10 at the top of column 2. The limits of the present introduction forbid my enter¬ ing into a discussion of other interesting portions of the text, which, beginning on page 1, appears to end with the continuous line on page 11. The figures on the remainder of page 11 and on pages 12 and 13 differ in size from the preceding ones, and the text now introduces us to a different set of persons and names. The continuous line on page 33 appears to mark the end of the text, which begins on page n. A remarkable consecutive history, upon the representa¬ tion of which the artist expended his utmost skill and labor, is comprised between pages 11 and 22. A few bare indications will suffice, for the present, to guide and aid the reader. THE HISTORY OF THE LADY THREE-FLINT T HE meeting of the lady Three-Flint and the lord Five-Flower, in the year Seven Acatl (a. d. 1499) is depicted in the upper right-hand corner of page 14. 1 The following extract from the Annals of the Cakchiquels, describing the destruction of the Tukuches, is interesting in this connection : “ There were four women who had armed themselves with lances and bows and taken part in the battle fully equal to four young men. The arrows launched by these heroines struck The line of footsteps traced by Five-Flower issues from a symbol between bands representing the starry heaven, thus suggesting that he was of divine or celestial the very mat of Chucuybatzin. Truly it was a terrible revolt which the chiefs made of old. The chiefs of the battle afterwards set up the images of these women before the buildings of the Zotzils and the Xahils, whence these women had gone forth ” - descent. Above both figures hangs a woman’s triangular shoulder cape, displaying a shell, the emblem of maternity, on a brown field. Page 14 also exhibits one group of four persons and four groups of two persons each. Par¬ ticular attention is drawn to the two purple-faced staff- bearers at the bottom of the page, to the right, and to the two old bearded priests carrying sacrificial bowls. These four individuals recur on page 15, accompanying Five-Flower, who bears a blue ceremonial staff and an incense-bag, and the lady Three-Flint, who follows, holding an animal’s foot surmounted by feathers. The triangular cape, with a painted shell, figures next to her day-sign name. 1 Her next picture represents her in water on which flowers are floating. The lower part of her body is hidden. She wears a serpent head-dress, and the body of a feathered serpent floats behind her. 2 She holds a branch in one hand and a smoking incense burner in the other. An old seated priestess, named One-Eagle, holds a round vase containing a young maize shoot, and appears to be officiating in the sacred rite. We next find the lady Five-Flint, higher up, on the same page. She stands in front of a serpent temple, on the pointed roof of which the hieroglyph of the town of Chaleo 1 The triangular Quechquemitl (lit. shoulder-cape) appears to have been an important and significant article of feminine dress. It may be seen worn by women of highest rank on pages 3, 5 (in this case it appears to be made of ocelot skin, cf. page 29, 31, and 32), 17, 19, 20, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 31, and 32. Triangular capes of identical design are represented as worn by a woman and also as figured next to her day-name, on pages 27, 28, and 29. 2 Other representations of women wearing the insignia of the Cihuacoatl or “ Female Serpent,” may be seen on pages 22, 26, and 32. At the time of Montezuma this female title was borne by his male coadjutor. is painted. She offers burning incense, and now wears the triangular cape with a shell. The lord Five-Flower stands above, in the act of making a blood-sacrifice, by passing a pointed bone through the back of his ear. At the top of page 16, between two hills on each of which a priest is seated, a smoking temazcalli or sweat-house is next seen. Below this group the lady Five-Flint gives birth to a child, on the day Three Flint and the year Three Flint. The serpent insignia and the shell cape figure in this group, in front of which a red triangular cape, with a white border, is painted. Surrounded by four priests the lady, whose serpent insignia floats behind her, next disappears, head foremost, in an opening at the side of a mountain, in the centre of which there is a bath-house, containing the sym¬ bols for salt, water, and a shell. A stream of water containing fish, shells, and a lobster or prawn, issues from the base of the mountain and joins the picture of a large tank, in which the nude figure of the lady Three-Flint is painted under a large shell and a symbolical figure. It is well known that native women always resorted to the tem¬ azcalli after delivery to perform the rite of purification. The priestess, One-Eagle, and three priests assist at the ceremony. At the top, in the middle of the page, the lady and Five-Flower again appear, receiving the homage of two priests, behind whom the instruments for lighting the sacred fire are represented between the two ceremonial staffs of familiar form. In the upper right-hand corner of page 17 we next see the lady Three-Flint wearing an animal helmet and the red cape with a white border, which was conferred upon her in the preceding page. The two rain-priests, who also figure in the centre of page 14, meet her with a lighted torch and a sacrificial bird. The group below represents 29 her kneeling, and the lord Five-Flower in rich attire seated behind her. They appear to have sacrificed a dog and a bird before the two old priests, who also figured in the preceding pages. Under this scene the lady is again visible, in water, offer¬ ing incense to a priest under whom a shell is painted and before whom is a jar with the emblem of the rain-god. These, as well as the priest behind her, are the same as those who attend the purification rite on the preceding page. At the bottom of column 2, page 17, on a plain between two. hills, we see officiating priests and a flat pyramid temple, on the summit of which is a lighted pyre surmounted by a vessel holding the sacred young maize shoot. Above this group is a diminutive representation of the serpent temple depicted on page 15, and two ceremonial staffs are planted in front of it. A priest blowing a conch-shell trumpet and two others with offerings are also there. At the top of the page, in a tecpan or house of government, we see the lord Five-Flower and the lady Three-Flint seated opposite to each other. The priests and priestess in column 1, page 18, appear to belong to the preceding page. A fresh episode in which a priest and a lady, both desig¬ nated as Three-Flint, figure in connection with the lord Twelve-Wind, begins in the second section of page 18. A priest designated as Three-Flint and another named Twelve-Wind, who carries a miniature house on his back, and is characterized by conventionalized puffs of smoke under his eye, descend on a cord which hangs from the supposed centre of the sky. In the open space above this is the familiar cosmical symbol and a man’s and a woman’s head, with the day-signs Four House and Five Serpent, which recur in a similar position on page 21. Below these, in water, is a man wearing the serpent insig¬ nia, in the act of performing the same rite observed by the lady Three-Flint on page 15, in the presence of the priestess One-Eagle. Three priests carry offerings, and Twelve- Wind presents a smoking incense burner to a curious com¬ posite symbol, which figures also on pages 15, 17, and 19, and apparently in connection with the serpent temples. A serpent temple with a flat roof and the Chaleo glyph (cf. Vienna Codex, page 48) and ceremonial staffs complete page 18. Page 19 is double, and constitutes the most elaborate portion of the Codex. The first section contains a curious representation of the blue sky, studded with stars, from three divisions of which three figures descend. In the open space above, pointing at a miniature house and the fire¬ making instruments, we see the lord Twelve-Wind, recog¬ nizable by the smoke symbol under his eye. He is seated between two serpent men and the signs Four and Eleven Cipactli, which recur in an analogous open space above three descending figures on page 21. 1 As on page 18, a cord hangs from the imaginary centre of heaven, and on it the lord Twelve-Wind descends and appears for a second time, walking on its lower end. In both cases his eye is painted with puffs of smoke, and he carries the same miniature house on his back. A priest designated as Three-Flint also descends from heaven under a symbolical receptacle containing water and a shell. The larger section of page 19 is occupied by a great green mountain, which forms the background for a number of pictures of persons engaged in the performance of an extremely elaborate ceremonial. 1 Cf. Vienna Codex, pages 45 and 48 ; Borgian Codex, page 21; and Selden Roll, pages 1 and 2. 3° The flat-roofed temple depicted on page 18 is repeated here, and crowns a pyramidal structure situated on the mountain. A woman stands in front of it under the sign One Death. A small symbolical vessel, containing water and a flint knife, is on the steps of the temple. The jar, decorated with the emblem of the rain-god, which figures in the water ritual on page 17, rests at the base of the temple stairs. A path, with painted footsteps upon it, issues from the base of the temple, and on it advances a procession headed by a priest bearing a lighted torch, followed by another blowing a conch-shell trumpet. The principal figure in the procession is, however, a priest, who carries a woman on his back by means of a red and white burden-strap which passes around his forehead. It was thus that, in Ancient Mexico, a bride was conveyed to the house of the bridegroom, usually by a stalwart matron. A priest carrying a ceremonial garment advances towards this singular group, which is also faced by two seated priests holding offerings. The whole procession wends towards an arch, painted with variegated diagonal bands of color. Under this kneel the lord Twelve-Wind and the lady Three-Flint, while streams of water are poured upon them from above by two priestesses holding painted bowls. The high priestess One-Eagle again presides over this rite, hold¬ ing between her hands a curious curved symbol, resem¬ bling the hieroglyph of the town of Colhuacan. Directly above the two priestesses is a tecpan, in the doorway of which, partly concealed by a colored drapery, the lord and lady are visible. 1 A solemn procession con- 1 Cf. similar representations in the Vatican Codex I and the Borgian Codex. These are discussed in The Fundamental Prin¬ ciples, etc., on page 55. sisting of seven priests and a priestess proceeds along the flat summit of the mountain. Next to the tecpan stand two staff-bearers, facing each other. The scene thus depicted recalls the following passage from the Annals of the Cakchiquels : “ Immediately they gave him, as their chief, the signs of royalty. They seated him on the seat and royal throne. They washed him in the bath, the painted vessel. They clothed him with the robe, the girdle, and green ornaments. He received the colors, the yellow stone, the paint, the red earth, and thus he obtained the signs of royalty from the other families and tribes, as said our ancestors, oh, my chil¬ dren ” (page in). Page 20 commences with the pic¬ ture of the lord Twelve-Wind and the lady Three-Flint, both occuping seats of honor, their equality of rank being thus indicated. The lady wears the serpent head-dress denoting her rank of Cihuacoatl or Woman-Serpent. The greater part of the page' is taken up with representations of tribal plants and of a combat in which the strange people painted with diagonal stripes appear to be the aggressive party. One of them, designated as Eight-Ollin, lies pros¬ trate, and is taken prisoner by Nine-Wind, who wears a Tecpatl helmet. A striped warrior also makes a prisoner designated Four-House, who was evidently put to death, as his mummy appears immediately beneath him. The sign of the first prisoner, Eight-Ollin, is painted under the second mummy. The old priests Ten-Malinalli and Ten-Rain, whom we have seen together on previous occa¬ sions (pages 14, 15, and 17, etc.), appear close to the mummied dead. A composite sign of speech, issuing from Ten-Rain’s mouth, indicates that he sang, on this occasion, the song of Seven-Flower. On page 21 he 31 . . _ ■ ■■**■ • % & & &<& . •■ • ■*■*!>*■ performs a ritual dance, carrying a prisoner’s head by its hair. On this page the sign Four Cipactli is prominent (cf. page 19, section i), and the lord Twelve-Wind ap¬ pears again in priestly garb, bearing a miniature house on his back. He is escorted by Three-Flint, who, as on pages 18 and 19, section 1, is under the guise of a priest. These two personages recur on page 22 for the last time, in which case it is Three-Flint who carries the miniature house. Here ends all record of the sign Three-Flint, which repeatedly occurs between pages 14 and 18, in association with a woman whose history is linked to that of the lord Five-Flower. On pages 18 and 19, section 1, it is a priest who is designated as Three-Flint, and is asso¬ ciated with the lord Twelve-Wind. On pages 19 and 20, Three-Flint becomes a woman again, and undergoes a ceremonial rite with Twelve-Wind. On pages 21 and 22, there are two instances where the sign Three-Flint designates the priest again. Whether, in the case of the male and female individuals named Three-Flint, we have to deal with distinct per¬ sonalities or the story of a disguise or metamorphosis, such as the native sorcerers were supposed to be able to accomplish, it is impossible to surmise. At the same time it is evident that the text presents a history which is full of dramatic and romantic possibilities. It reveals that the lady Three-Flint attained the rank of Cihuacoatl, and became the consort of two lords, and that her mar¬ riage, lying-in, and installation as Woman-Serpent were attended by the most solemn and elaborate ceremonials, in which priests and priestesses officiated. It may safely be assumed that this inspiring history, the outlines of which were painted in picture and picture¬ writing with so much skill and care, was also clothed in beautiful language and flowery verse, and was recited from memory by the native bards on festive occasions. A fresh theme, also dated One Acatl, One Cipactli, the native New Year’s Day, seems to begin on page 22, and to recount the story of another Woman-Serpent named One-Serpent. She is represented as kneeling by flowing water, and as seated on a flat pyramid temple on the sum¬ mit of a mountain opposite to a similar structure on which a chieftain rests. Deep water containing shells, in what appears to be a tank or reservoir, lies between the two pyramids, and the pictures may possibly record the build¬ ing of some ancient water-works. Page 22 and those which follow, contain numerous representations of male and female chiefs, standing or seated opposite to each other, sometimes installed in tecpans and engaged in amicable negotiations. Terms of perfect equality appear to exist between the sexes. An exceptional instance is that of a woman who, on page 24, is represented as kneeling in the tecpan, whereas the man to whom she is speaking is seated. The arrow sticking in the corner of the building above her indicates conquest, and her attitude may show that she was a supplicant and belonged to a conquered tribe. Two other exceptional representations of kneeling women and seated men occur on page 41. Throughout the Codex the attitudes of the hands and fingers appear to be extremely expressive, and it is regret¬ table that our ignorance of Ancient Mexican sign language debars us from interpreting the gestures which, in many cases, appear to express numerals and forms of agree¬ ment. Page 25 contains particularly interesting pictures of a man named Two-Water and a woman Ten-Cipactli, who 32 WBBS&i also appear to have been interested in water. They first stand on the opposite banks of a sheet of water in lively discussion. Subsequently they may be seen seated in opposite temples with water-vessels in front of them. In the centre of page 25, seated in a tecpan with a chieftain, we see a woman, who also figures at the top of page 24 and is designated as One-Vulture. In both cases her skirt displays the face of the rain-god, Tlaloc. On page 26, as already stated, there is a summary of all of the persons who are represented again on pages 42 and 43 and then figure in the consecutive history which occupies the entire reverse of the Codex. On page 33 that part of the text which apparently begins on page 22 comes to a close, the page being divided by a continuous line. The next history is dated year One Tecpatl, day One Tecpatl, and begins with the picture of a personage designated as Seven-Rain, who stands in a temple holding a staff surmounted by a hand with an uplifted finger. Three Yope symbols are on the roof of the temple, and the person in it wears the emblem of Xipe, the flayed skin of a human victim and the mask of the rain-god. Special attention is called to the singular red and white head-dress worn by the two men and one of the women who stand in front of the temple on page 33. Two other examples of the same remarkable head-dress occur on pages 34 and 35. The sign Seven Rain, associated with the personage in the temple on page 33, occurs on page 14, where two priests, respectively designated as Seven-Rain and One-Rain, stand on a twin mountain. These persons recur together on page 36, accompanied by Four and Seven-Serpent. The same group is repeated on page 37, where it advances along a path. Four and Seven-Serpent are figured twice on the same page. One and Seven-Rain appear once on page 38 and twice on page 39, where their story ends, appar¬ ently with their arrival at a triple mountain. An interest¬ ing group of four men and four women occupies page 40. On page 41 there are six men and two tecpans, each con¬ taining a seated man and a kneeling woman. Page 42 introduces us again to the set of characters depicted on page 26, amongst whom is the lord Eight-Deer, whose his¬ tory fills the reverse of the Codex. REVIEW OF THE CONTENTS OF THE CODEX T HE foregoing indications and description of the main features of the text will have shown that the latter is mainly pictorial, and that ikonomatic writing is employed only for the registration of personal and local names. It is also evident that the text consists of several parts of unequal lengths, which deal with different people and episodes. The greater part of the reverse of the Codex consists of the simple enumeration of chieftains and conquered localities. Other parts of the text appear to furnish material for the chants or songs, such as were improvised or committed to memory by the native bards who were famed for their choice and beautiful language and flowing verse. 1 1 Although beings of celestial descent are sometimes figured, it is obvious that the text deals with real persons and is mainly historical. Priests are represented wearing, as was customary, the insignia of some of the chief divinities, such as the rain-god, Tlaloc (pages 21, 22, 25, 26, 30, 34, 36-39), or of Quetzalcoatl (pages 38, 47, 66), yet the text is certainly not of a religious nature. 33 It is, of course, impossible to present, within the limit of an introduction, the result of my attempts to identify the local and personal names contained in the Codex by carefully comparing them with all of those printed in other native manuscripts or mentioned in historical documents. Postponing the publication of my investigations in these lines, which are as yet far from being finished, I shall merely state that I shall publish at intervals, and in the same form as the present introduction, short papers embodying the results of my observations and analysis of the contents of this and the Vienna and other Codices. In conclu¬ sion, I will now refer to certain passages of Friar Diego Duran’s Historia, because they convey valuable information concerning the conditions existing in Mexico about the period dealt with in the Codex, i. e. 1468—1519. The friar relates that, just as mediaeval Spanish literature abounds with descriptions of the military exploits of its national heroes, such as the Cid and Count Fernan Gonzales, so Mex¬ ican history, of the time of Montezuma I, rehearsed and described the great, valiant warriors who, with excessive exertion and difficulties, had conquered, subjugated, and exacted tribute from a number of towns, cities, and prov¬ inces, thereby increasing the wealth and power of Mexico and causing its name to be feared and reverenced. (Vol. II, p. 208). The dominion of Mexico was, indeed, considerably ex¬ tended during the reign of Montezuma I, which, according to Duran, began in 1440. The Chaleos and Cuetlaxtecas were conquered, and just before his death, which, according to various writers, occurred in 1469 or 1471, he was lead¬ ing a campaign against the province of Tlatlauhquitepec. Under his successor, Axayacatzin, who died in 1481, re¬ bellion and warfare were general. After a hard struggle Tlatelolco was subdued and destroyed by the Mexicans who also conquered the Matlaltzincos. The aggressive policy of Tizoc and Ahuizotl is well known_the latter extended his conquests as far south as Tehuantepec, and imposed heavy tributes upon the coast tribes. The titles of some of the leaders of this memor¬ able campaign are recorded, but not their names. Friar Duran tells us that the Mexican historical records are so incomplete that it was even a matter of doubt whether the Tetzcocan ruler Neza-Ualpilli had ever led his forces in person, notwithstanding the fact that a picture ex¬ isted which represented him fully equipped and holding a prisoner by the forelock. A scroll beneath displayed this inscription: “ Here, in the war of Huexotzinco, Nezahualpilli took this captain prisoner” (Vol. II, p. 398). The native historian Ixtlilxochitl also relates that at this period (a. d. 1500), “the Mexican warriors were so eager to subjugate lands and people that they considered themselves as idle and cowardly if they were not engaged in some campaign or conquest ” (Chap. LXV.). Speaking of the conquest of the Huaxteca, in which the warriors Xochiquetzalli and Acapioltzin distinguished them¬ selves, the native historian states, that besides relating in their songs the conquests and adventures of the leader, the poets of that time praised not only his heroic deeds but also those of his brothers. Under the reign of Montezuma II, various wars of conquest were also waged, but the names and titles of their successful leaders have not been handed down to us. It may yet be possible to positively identify Eight-Deer and other heroes whose exploits are commemorated in the present Codex, and to precisely localize the events which 34 BBitsassmsm *■« - wsm '■ -V.. ..ftV are pictured therein. Even if attempts to do this should not prove to be entirely successful, we know, at the present time, quite enough to realize that, during the period dealt with in the Codex, Mexican history could well have fur¬ nished inspiration for songs of conquest and adventure. While the Codex thus causes us to keenly realize how little we know concerning the history and literature of Ancient Mexico and the names of its national heroes, it supplies us with a wealth of fresh knowledge, especially concerning the dress, ceremonial observances, and posi¬ tion of women. It also furnishes testimony of incalculable importance to all interested in the history of the develop¬ ment of the art of writing, for it definitely proves that, even in such a high order of historical document as this, the native scribes did not attempt to write out sentences by means of the ikonomatic method, but employed this merely for the recording of personal and local names. The Codex constitutes, therefore, a most interesting and instructive demonstration of a transition stage in the evolution of native writing. In this the simple pictorial presentation of events is made to convey a wealth of in¬ formation to the initiated, by means of such accessories as details of costume, symbolical signs and colors, and in¬ dividual positions, while the names of persons and locali¬ ties were definitely and permanently recorded by rebus signs. It is obvious that a full and complete interpretation of this composite text and its rehearsal in flowing sentences could only have been made by a skilled scribe or impro- visatore, or one who had memorized the verses pertaining to the pictorial text. A fresh poignancy is added to a regret, universally felt, when it is realized that amongst the countless native books which served as fuel for the bonfire which was lighted, by order of the Bishop Zumarraga, in the square of Tetzcoco, there were doubtlessly many as beautiful as this, the last addition to the brief list of Codices known to be in existence at the present time. 35 u-BZvm X-L-k iVJivvtS i _ 1 llLU ; . —„ i in hi ionn UJLWii'iiu 1 1 m l r ooc§° iTrmnyiiHjti) I * Jr+ [KltlUVU S311M OOCOQ m2 m Inf •/ KTy % • v' ]uf HM — / 1 L— L