on up to four; five was indicated by a single
short straight line, thus, ----; ten, by two similar lines,
[Illustration: Two horizontal lines, stacked]; and fifteen, by three such
lines: [Illustration: Three horizontal lines, stacked]. According to this
system, a straight line and a dot, thus, [Illustration: Dot above
horizontal line], would denote 6; two straight lines and two dots,
[Illustration: Two dots above two stacked horizontal lines], 12; and
three straight lines and four dots, [Illustration: Four dots in a line
above 3 stacked horizontal lines], 19. But these symbols do not appear to
have been used for any greater number than nineteen. They are found of
two colors in all the Maya codices, one class black, the other red,
though the latter (except in a few instances, where the reason for the
variation from the rule is not apparent) are never used to denote a
greater number than thirteen, and refer chiefly to the numbers of the
days of the Maya week and the numbers of the years of the "Indication" or
"week of years." On the other hand, the black numerals appear to be used
in all other cases where numbers not exceeding nineteen are introduced.
As will appear in the course of this discussion, there are satisfactory
reasons for believing that other symbols, quite different from these dots
and lines, are used for certain other numbers, at least for 20 and for 0.

In order that the reader may understand what follows, it is necessary to
explain the methods of counting the days, months, and years in the order
in which they succeed one another. Much relating to this will be found in
a previous work,[269-1] but a particular point needs further
explanation.

According to the older and also the more recent authorities, the Maya
years--there being 20 names for days and 365 days in a year--commenced
alternately on the first, sixth, eleventh, and sixteenth of the series,
that is to say, on the days Kan, Muluc, Ix, and Cauac, following one
another in the order here given; hence they are spoken of as Kan years,
Muluc years, Ix years, and Cauac years.

Writing out in the form of an ordinary counting house calendar the 365
days of the year, commencing with 1 Kan and numbering them according to
the Maya custom (that is, up to thirteen to form their week and then
commencing again with one) they would be as shown in Table I.

TABLE I.--_Names and numbers of the months and days of the Maya system._

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