DRESDEN CODEX

Latin Codex Dresdensis, one of several pre-Columbian Mayan hieroglyphic writings to survive the book burnings by the Spanish clergy. It contains astronomical calculationseclipse-prediction tables, the synodical period of Venusof exceptional accuracy. The Maya's reputation as astronomers is based largely on these figures. The codex was acquired by the Schsische Landesbibliothek (Saxon State Library), Dresden, Saxony, and was published by Edward King, Viscount Kingsborough, in Antiquities of Mexico (183048). King erroneously attributed the codex to the Aztecs. The first scientific edition of the codex was made by E. Frstemann (Leipzig, 1880). See also Madrid Codex; Paris Codex.