I have shown above that the right portion of No. 20 of the list is Landa's letter B, and also that in the lower division of Plate 65, Dresden Codex (see Fig. 378), it signifies "footsteps" or the act of walking. As the Maya word _Be_ signifies "journey," "wood," "march," and also "journeying" and "marching," it is possible that this symbol is also phonetic, although apparently only a modified form of the footprint. This supposition is strongly supported by the fact that it is found in numerous and varied relations, single and in combination. The symbol for 20 (_Kal_), No. 1 of the preceding list, is apparently phonetic. This view appears to be confirmed by its use otherwise than as a numeral symbol at several points in the text of the Manuscript Troano. For example, in the third division of Plate XVII* it appears in this form, [Illustration: Hieroglyph] while immediately below is the representation of an idol head in a vessel covered with a screen or basket, as shown in Fig. 388. The Maya verb _Kal_ signifies to "imprison" or "inclose," which is certainly appropriate to what we see in the figure. As the symbol is over each of the three similar figures in the division, it is probable that it is intended to denote something relating to or observable in them. In the second division of Plates XV* and XVI*, same codex, is this symbol, [Illustration: Hieroglyph] several times repeated, and below each the figure of a priest or deity at work, each carving, with a machete or hatchet, the head of an idol. The probable signification is "Give twice twenty strokes with a machete," and hence is but partially phonetic. [Illustration: FIG. 388. Wooden idol in vessel with basket cover.] Other examples bearing on this question may be found, but these are believed to be sufficient to warrant the belief that at the time these codices were written Maya culture had reached that stage where the idea of phoneticism was being introduced into the writing. Yet it is certain, and even susceptible of demonstration, that a large portion, perhaps the majority, of the characters are symbols. The more I study these characters the stronger becomes the conviction that they have grown out of a pictographic system similar to that common among the Indians of North America. The first step in advance appears to have been to indicate, by characters, the gesture signs. FOOTNOTES: [345-1] See Chapter VI, Study of the Manuscript Troano, by Cyrus Thomas. [354-1] Unfortunately the scrolls were overlooked in preparing the cut. [358-1] Relacion de las cosas de Yucatan, p. 308. [365-1] See Plates XVI*_b_ and XVII*_c_, Manuscript Troano. [365-2] Study of the Manuscript Troano, pp. 141-161.