l, a blotch of which is on the
serpent's nose, I take for the clay or paste out of which the vessel is
being formed, or to be formed. In the division immediately below is a
representation of what appears to be some step in the manufacture of
vessels. May this not be correctly interpreted by _kancab_, "la terra
roja o amarilla," or "red clay?" Henderson gives _cancan_ as an
equivalent term of _kankan_. As I have not seen a copy of the colored
edition of this codex, I can not say whether this interpretation is
borne out by the color of the shading. If this interpretation be
correct, the serpent figure must be used symbolically or as a true
rebus.

In Tro. 9*c an individual is represented lifting what is supposed to be
honey or honeycomb out of a box-shape object on which is the _caban_
symbol. This symbol is presumed to indicate the contents--"honey." If
this supposition be correct, then, as _cab_ is the Maya name for
"honey," we have in this coincidence in sound and glyph another
indication of pboneticism. Support is given to this interpretation by
the fact that this is found in what is known as the "bee section," and
that on the upper division of the same plate the same figure, with the
_caban_ symbol upon it, is seen in the hands of an individual who holds
it to a bee.

As the character when used otherwise than a day symbol is frequently,
perhaps most generally, drawn with a suffix, as shown in LXVII, 18, I
suggest that it is possible it is a conventional method of representing
earth or soil. By reference to the Borgian Codex, plate 11, also 19a and
61b, it will be seen that where earth is introduced into the picture it
is indicated by heavy and wavy lines, as shown in LXVII, 19. This bears
a very strong resemblance to the suffix of LXVII, 18. The corkscrew or
root figure is added as appropriate, as an element, in forming an earth
figure. Such, I am inclined to believe, is the origin of the symbol
which, when used to indicate anything else than earth, is used
phonetically or ikonomatically. The figure shown in LXVII, 20, from
Dres. 30a, which Seler calls a serpent, is merely the representation of
a clay image and the seat or oratorio in which it is placed. It is
probably from something of comparatively small size, burnt in one piece.
The mark of the earth symbol, to distinguish the substance of which it
is made, is certainly appropriate. In Tro. 6b we see another on which is
quite a different symbol, indicating, as w