Loading your reading…

Essays of an Americanist: I. Ethnologic and Archæologic. II. Mythology and Folk Lore. III. Graphic Systems and Literature. IV. Linguistic.Brinton, Daniel G. (Daniel Garrison)

Philosophy

Essays of an Americanist: I. Ethnologic and Archæologic. II. Mythology and Folk Lore. III. Graphic Systems and Literature. IV. Linguistic.

Name: Essays of an Americanist: I. Ethnologic and Archæologic. II. Mythology and Folk Lore. III. Graphic Systems and Literature. IV. Linguistic.
Author: Brinton, Daniel G. (Daniel Garrison)

Brinton, Daniel G. (Daniel Garrison)

America -- Antiquities; Indians

THE WRITING AND RECORDS OF THE ANCIENT MAYAS                    230–254

     1. Introductory—Phoneticism in Maya and Aztec writing. 2.
     Descriptions by Spanish writers; by Peter Martyr; by Las
     Casas; by Alonso Ponce; by Lizana; by Aguilar; by Buena
     Ventura; by Cogolludo; by Soto-Mayor; by Landa; facsimile
     of Landa’s alphabet; critiques on it; conclusions. 3.
     References from native sources; Maya words for “writing,”
     “book,” “calendar,” etc.; a prophecy of Ahkul Chel
     translated. 4. The existing Codices; the Dresden Codex; the
     Codex Peresianus; the Codex Troano; the Codex Cortesianus;
     the mural paintings and inscriptions.

 THE BOOKS OF CHILAN BALAM                                       255–273

     High civilization of ancient Mayas; destruction of their
     literature; modern Books of Chilan Balam; signification of
     this name; contents of the Books; specimen of the
     prophecies; linguistic value; opinion of Pio Perez; length
     of the Maya year-cycles; hieroglyphs of the months and
     days; the 13 _ahau katuns_; medical contents of the books.

 ON THE “STONE OF THE GIANTS.”                                   274–283

     Location of the Stone near Orizaba; its figures; refer to a
     date in February, 1502; translation of the hieroglyphs, and
     identification of the date as that of the death of the
     Emperor Ahuitzotzin; the stone a sepulchral tablet.

 NATIVE AMERICAN POETRY                                          284–304

     Nature of poetry; principle of repetition; Eskimo nith
     songs; other Eskimo songs; a Pawnee song; Kioway love
     songs; a Chipeway serenade; Aztec love songs; war-songs of
     the Otomis; of the Aztecs; of the Qquichuas; prophetic
     chants of the Mayas. Faculty of poetry universal.


                                PART IV.

                               LINGUISTIC.

 INTRODUCTORY                                                    305–307

 AMERICAN LANGUAGES, AND WHY WE SHOULD STUDY THEM.               308–327

     Indian geographic names; language a guide to ethnology;
     reveals the growth of arts and the psychologic processes of
     a people; illustration from the Lenâpé tongue; structure of
     language best studied in savage tongues; rank of American
     tongues; characteristic traits; pronominal forms; idea of
     personality; polysynthesis; incorporation; holophrasis;
     origin of these; lucidity of American tongues; their
     vocabularies; power of expressing abstract ideas;
     conclusion.

 WILHELM VON HUMBOLDT’S RESEARCHES IN AMERICAN LANGUAGES         328–348

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Essays of an Americanist: I. Ethnologic and Archæologic. II. Mythology and Folk Lore. III. Graphic Systems and Literature. IV. Linguistic.

No reviews yet