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It belongs to the ancient cyclus of Quetzalcoatl myths, and gives a brief relation of the destruction of Tollan and the departure and disappearance of the Light God, Quetzalcoatl Ce Acatl. The text of the poem is quite archaic, and presents many difficulties. But my translation, I think, gives the general sense correctly. 1. huapalcalli; literally, "the house constructed of beams."
If the existence of the sign 3 Acatl on the pyramid may be considered as certain, it will fit in perfectly with the accounts of the Mexican historians, who state that Xochicalco was built by a king of the Toltec race, and also that the Aztecs adopted the astronomical calendars of years and days in use among the Toltecs.
The year may have been chosen in commemoration of the foundation of Mexico or Tenochtitlán, which historians give as somewhere about 1324 or 1325. The sign 13 acatl would stand for 1323. It is more likely that the date merely refers to the year in which the calendar was put up.
Their reckoning is 1 tochtli, 2 acatl, 3 tecpatl, &c., just as it may be made with the cards thus: ace of hearts, two of diamonds, 3 of spades, 4 of clubs, 5 of hearts, 6 of diamonds, and so on through the pack. The reckoning of days is still more cumbrous.
They had four signs of years, tochtli, acatl, tecpatl, and calli, rabbit, canes, flint, and house; and against these signs they ranged numbers, from 1 to 13, so that a cycle exactly corresponds to a pack of cards, the four signs being the four suits, thirteen of each.
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