The Dresden Maya Codex essentially consists of almanacs divination calendars in the form of tables based on a day ritual calendar Tzolk'in and astronomical tables with absolute time indications according to the so-called Long Count, which began in BC Gregorian calendar.
With the help of the almanacs the Mayan priests prophesied the fate for the individual days of the Tzolk'in, which were ruled alternately by 20 deities.
Thus it was prophesied whether a day would be favourable or unfavourable for sowing, harvesting, trade, hunting, warfare, marriage, birth, health etc. Depending on this, the gods were called upon, rites were performed and sacrifices were offered. The calculations of planetary orbits and eclipses recorded on the astronomical tables were eventually used for astrological purposes, as in many other cultures.
The codex can be divided into 13 different chapters, often extending over several pages. Most pages are divided into sections by red-brown lines, which in research are designated by lower case letters. Apart from short hieroglyphic texts and columns of numbers, the manuscript contains about partly coloured drawings, mainly of figures of gods.
Page in places hardly recognizable due to water damage : Sacrifices and clothing of the gods. Page 3a shows the sacrifice of the hero Jun Ajaw. He lies tied up and undressed on his back with his body open on a sacrificial stone under a tree, on top of which sits a bird of prey with an eyeball of the victim in its beak. Jun Ajaw and his twin brother Yax Balam, sons of the maize god, sacrificed themselves for the resurrection of their dead father.
