PAPERS

OF THE

PEABODY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND
ETHNOLOGY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY

VOL. IV.—No. 3.

ANIMAL FIGURES

IN THE

MAYA CODICES

BY

ALFRED M. TOZZER, Ph.D.

AND

GLOVER M. ALLEN, Ph.D.

Cambridge, Mass.
Published by the Museum
February, 1910

Salem Press:
The Salem Press Co., Salem Mass.
1910.

NOTE

It has been thought desirable, for the advancement of the study of Maya hieroglyphs, that the interpretation of the conventionalized animal figures, which so frequently occur in the Maya codices, should be undertaken. The Peabody Museum Committee on Central American Research therefore requested Dr. A. M. Tozzer to prepare a paper on the subject, and to secure the valuable cooperation of Dr. Glover M. Allen, a zoologist familiar with the animals of Mexico and Central America, to aid in the identification of the various species of animals which under varying forms are used in connection with the glyphs.

While it is possible that some of the determinations given in this paper may require further confirmation, it is evident that the combined studies of Dr. Tozzer and Dr. Allen cannot fail to be useful to students of the Maya hieroglyphic writing.

F. W. Putnam.

Harvard University,
August, 1909.

KEY TO THE PRONUNCIATION OF MAYA WORDS

The vowels and consonants have their continental sounds with the following exceptions:—

ă	like u in hut
ai	like i in island
k	(Beltran’s c) ordinary palatal k
q	(Beltran’s k) velar k
	(Beltran’s ɔ) ts explosive or fortis
ɔ	(Beltran’s tz) ts non-explosive
š	(Beltran’s x) like sh in hush
tš	(Beltran’s ch) like ch in church
	(Beltran’s cħ) ch explosive
	(Beltran’s pp) p explosive
t	(Beltran’s tħ) t explosive

LIST OF PLATES