HISTORY OF THE SPANISH CONQUEST OF YUCATAN AND OF THE ITZAS

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carved stone upon another, fixing them with lime and sand in the
walls of their Temples and the houses of their Priests, as is
to be seen today in the edifices which have been spoken of and
in certain ancient walls of our Convent in Merida, over which
there are cells. In a village called Tixualahtun, which signifies
Place-where-a-carved-stone-is-placed-upon-another, it is said that
there were Archives where were preserved all the events, as is done in
Spain at the Archivo de Simancas.

"The common way of counting their age was by these periods or Katuns,
as, for instance, to say 'I have sixty years' _Oxppelvabil_--'I have
three eras of age,' that is, three stones; for seventy it is three and
a half. Wherever it was known that there were not too many barbarians,
they continued to live by this count, and it was said to be very
accurate, so much so that not only did they know with certainty of an
event, but also of the day and month on which it took place."]