The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-04-05
A TASK FOn PIIILoLoGysTs.

4" - hoAA n VIA
cat efforts are being now made by
pliiologsts to solve the problem of the
Maya language and to read the inscriptions
obtained from the stone monuments found
scattered throughout Yucatan. They are
supposed to record details in the early his
tory of the nation or give IN account Of
their mythology. A Maya tablet has been
in Washington q number of years, IN un-
deciphered mystery to all who have looked
upon it, and Professor Baird, the secretary,
has at length determined to place it fully
before the eyes of the students of lnguistics,
and if possible make i, yield up the secrets
which it has 80 profoundly kept. Plaster
casts Of it are in preparation, and with pho
tographs and ehgraviugs, reinforced by o
description of the stone which he has pre-
pared, it will no doubt be made to assist
in unfolding the mystery of the Maya
hieroglyphics which have been so long un-
deciphered, or practically so. ..
It was presented to the old National In
stitution of Washington by Mr.. Charles
Tussell, of Philadelphia, and the reception
of it was recorded in the bulletin Of the in
stitute as follows:-''December u, 1S42-A
boxcontaining hieroglyphical slab of stone
from Palonque, Central America, from
Charles Russell, Consul of the United States
ut Lagua, Isia del Carmen, Mexico" Its
dimensions may be roughly stated nt six
feet high and three feet wide, the thick
ness being four or FIVE inches. Its face is
divided into 1877 spaces of an irregular
quadrangular shape, forming what may be
called cartouches or shields on which are
incised grotesque representations of the
human hand or eye or some other feature,
but in most cases the figure is entirely ar
bitrary. The late Dr. Berendt, who spent
many years investigating the Maya Ian
guage in Central America, when in this
city few years ago, reported the exist
enoe Of an additional slab, of which our
Washington stone forms q part, and of
this the institution has secured an engrav-
ing, 60 that the whole subject will be pre-
sented TO scholars.
While tne Maya Is still spoken by all the
Indian tribes Of Yucatan and adjoining
provinces, and there are religious books,
such rs hymns, catschisms and psaltera,
extant in it, yet being written with our
alphabet, they can In no way be used in in
terpreting these ancient characters. The
Indians themselves were SO terrorized and
downtrodden by the Spaninrds from their
first inroads into the country that they have
become degenerate, surly and grossly ig-
norant. They still, however, cling most
pcrtinaciously to speaking their own Ian
Guage, and for the more perfect communi-
cation the Spanish residents also speak it.
In the early years Of Spanish domination,
the bishops gathered together vast piles of
the Maya books, idols, images, sacred ves-
sells and temple furniture, forming vast
holocaust in the public squares of the great
cities, and destroyed every evidence attain
able by them of Indian history and mytho-
logy. One of these bishops, Landa by
name, says Of their books '"They con-
tanned nothing which had not superstitions
and falsities of the devil we burned them
all, at which they were exceedingly sor-
rowful and troubled They called it an
atae-da.ts, and similar outrages were perpe-
trstcd in Mexico. ...
There are now known but three manu-
scripts in the Maya character namely,
the Mexican manuscript No. 3 of the I'm
perial Library at Paris the Dresden Codex
and the Manuscript Troano. OF the first
nothing is known. as il hos not been in-
vestigatad except to make IL eertain that
the characters correspond with those of
the sculptnred tablets. The others have
been studied to some extent by scholars,
but with results which have not been
accepted as satisfactory. - lrashiaylon Str.