. The myths of Mexico and Peru. d monuments of the Nile country were so manymeaningless pictures and signs to the learned folk ofEurope, until the discovery of the Rosetta stone ahundred years ago made their elucidation stone bore the same inscription in Greek, demotic,and hieroglyphics, and so the discovery of the alpha-bet of the hidden script became a comparatively easytask. But Central America has no Rosetta stone, noris it possible that such an aid to research can ever befound. Indeed, such keys as have been discoveredor brought forward by scientists have proved for themost
. The myths of Mexico and Peru. d monuments of the Nile country were so manymeaningless pictures and signs to the learned folk ofEurope, until the discovery of the Rosetta stone ahundred years ago made their elucidation stone bore the same inscription in Greek, demotic,and hieroglyphics, and so the discovery of the alpha-bet of the hidden script became a comparatively easytask. But Central America has no Rosetta stone, noris it possible that such an aid to research can ever befound. Indeed, such keys as have been discoveredor brought forward by scientists have proved for themost part unavailing. The Maya Manuscripts The principal Maya manuscripts which have escapedthe ravages of time are the codices in the libraries ofDresden, Paris, and Madrid. These are known as theCodex Perezianus, preserved in the Biblioth^queNationale at Paris, the Dresden Codex, long regardedas an Aztec manuscript, and the Troano Codex, so calledfrom one of its owners, Sefior Tro y Ortolano, found at160 @^^ ^ W3T^^rTinTT^^~^jTn?^. ^ . -1^ m5mBmmmmmm S- l;:^C>^^V^n^ n MA en 5O I ?5 < ^ ^ -G .2:: S THE SYSTEM OF THE WRITING Madrid in 1865. These manuscripts deal principallywith Maya mythology, but as they cannot be deci-phered with any degree of accuracy they do not greatlyassist our knowledge of the subject. The System o£ the Wfiting The Tablet of the Cross gives a good idea ofthe general appearance of the writing system of theancient peoples of Central America. The style variessomewhat in most of the manuscripts and inscriptions,but it is generally admitted that all of the systemsemployed sprang originally from one common square figures which appear as a tangle of facesand objects are said to be calculiform, or pebble-shaped, a not inappropriate description, and it is knownfrom ancient Spanish manuscripts that they were readfrom top to bottom, and two columns at a time. TheMaya tongue, like all native American languages, wasone which, in order to express an idea
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