A Possible Solution of the Number Series on Pages 51 to 58 of the Dresden CodexGuthe, Carl E. (Carl Eugen)
Science
A Possible Solution of the Number Series on Pages 51 to 58 of the Dresden Codex
Guthe, Carl E. (Carl Eugen)
Codex Dresdensis Maya
In Table II the apparent mistake in columns 58 and 59 remains as it
occurs in the manuscript, for the reason which Mr. Bowditch gives. In
the case of columns 6 and 7 there seems to be some evidence that there
actually was an error made. The last column on page 53a, which is the
one under discussion, contains no day glyph in the first day series. The
glyph should have been that of Ahau. There is distinct evidence, altho
very faint, that a glyph was once there. Moreover, the smooth coating
which covered the material of the manuscript page is not broken. There
are other obliterated glyphs in these pages of the manuscript, but few
in which the surface, although unbroken, still contains a faint, almost
continuous outline of a glyph. The glyph, then, was probably erased. The
writer of the manuscript had probably completely finished column 6 and
started column 7 before he detected the error. He began to erase the
part that was wrong, then realized what an amount of alteration would be
necessary, and finally compromised by making the difference come between
columns 6 and 7 instead of columns 5 and 6. This hypothesis in regard
to the manner in which the erasure was done may be wrong, but the
erasure still stands as a strong evidence to show that the 178 should
have occurred in column 6 rather than after it.
Finally there appears to be an error in the totals of the series, for
the upper number series records as a total 11,958 days and the day
series 11,959 days, although there is strong reason for believing that
the series should record 11,960 days. This discrepancy in the totals
will be referred to again.
In general, then, the apparent irregularities in the manuscript fall
into two great classes, those which are corrected in the next column or
are easily detected because of their disagreement with the record in the
other two series, and those which are not obviously due to carelessness.
The latter will be considered under the solutions. The former may be
dismissed as clerical errors not affecting the solution. In this group
are two of the irregularities in the lower numbers (columns 26 and 50),
and all eight in the upper numbers, seven of which occur in the first
third of the manuscript. The six errors in the day series, and the
transposition of columns 6 and 7, also belong in this class.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account