Chapter 20 of 31 · 9833 words · ~49 min read

Chapter I

, the southern cities did not long survive the opening of Cycle 10, and since Initial-series dating did not prevail extensively in the later cities of the north, Initial Series showing 10 cycles are very unusual.

In figure 75, _B_, is shown the Initial Series from the Temple of the Initial Series at Chichen Itza, the great metropolis of northern Yucatan. This inscription is not found on a stela but on the under side of a lintel over a doorway leading into a small and comparatively insignificant temple. The introducing glyph appears in A1-B2 and is followed by the Initial-series number in A3-A5. The student will have little difficulty in deciphering all of the coefficients except that belonging to the kin in A5, which is a head-variant numeral, and the whole number will be found to read 10.2.9.1.?. The coefficient of the day of the terminal date is very clearly 9 (see B5) and the month part, 7 Zac (see A6). We may now read this Initial Series as 10.2.9.1.? 9? 7 Zac; in other words, the kin coefficient and the day sign are still indeterminate. First substituting 0 as the missing value of the kin coefficient, the terminal date reached will be 10.2.9.1.0 13 Ahau 18 Yax. But according to Table XV, position 18 Yax is just 9 days earlier than position 7 Zac, the month part recorded in A6. Consequently, in order to reach 7 Zac from 10.2.9.1.0 13 Ahau 18 Yax, 9 more days are necessary. Counting these forward from 10.2.9.1.0 13 Ahau 18 Yax, the date reached will be 10.2.9.1.9 9 Muluc 7 Zac, which is the date recorded on this lintel. Compare the day sign with figure 16, _m, n_, and the month sign with figure 19, _s, t_. {200}

[Illustration: FIG. 76. The Cycle-10 Initial Series from Quen Santo (from drawings): _A_, Stela 1; _B_, Stela 2. There is less than a year's difference in time between the Chichen Itza Initial Series and the Initial Series in _B_.]

Two other Initial Series whose cycle coefficient is 10 yet remain to be considered, namely, Stelæ 1 and 2 at Quen Santo.[171] The first of these is shown in figure 76, A, but unfortunately only a fragment of this monument has been recovered. In A1-B2 appears a perfectly regular form of the introducing glyph (see fig. 24), and this is followed in A3-B4 by the Initial-series number itself, with the exception of the kin, the glyph representing which has been broken off. The student will readily identify A3 as 10 cycles, noting the clasped hand on the head-variant period glyph, and B3 as 2 katuns. The glyph in A4 has very clearly the coefficient 5, and even though it does not seem to have the fleshless lower jaw of the tun head, from its position alone--after the unmistakable katun sign in B3 we are perfectly justified in assuming that 5 tuns are recorded here. Both the coefficient and the glyph in B4 are unfamiliar. However, as the former must be one of the numerals 0 to 19, inclusive, since it is not one of the numerals 1 to 19, inclusive, it is clear that it must be a new form for 0. The sign to which it is attached bears no resemblance to either the normal form for the uinal or the head variant; but since it occupies the 4th position after the introducing glyph, B4, we are justified in assuming that 0 uinals are recorded here. Beyond this we can not proceed with certainty, though the values for the missing parts suggested below are probably those recorded on the lost fragments of the monument. As recorded in A3-B4 this number reads 10.2.5.0.?. Now, if we assume that the missing term is filled with 0, we shall have recorded the end of an even hotun in the Long Count, and this monument becomes a regular hotun-marker. That this monument was a hotun-marker is corroborated by the fact that Stela 2 from Quen Santo very clearly records the close of the hotun next after 10.2.5.0.0, which the writer believes this monument marks. For {201} this reason it seems probable that the glyph which stood in A5 recorded 0 kins.

Reducing this number to units of the first order by means of Table XIII, we obtain:

A3 = 10 × 144,000 = 1,440,000 B3 = 2 × 7,200 = 14,400 A4 = 5 × 360 = 1,800 B4 = 0 × 20 = 0 A5[172] = 0 × 1 = 0 --------- 1,456,200

In figure 76, _B_, is shown Stela 2 from Quen Santo. The workmanship on this monument is somewhat better than on Stela 1 and, moreover, its Initial Series is complete. The introducing glyph appears in A1-B2 and is followed by the Initial-series number in A3-A5. Again, 10 cycles are very clearly recorded in A3, the clasped hand of the cycle head still appearing in spite of the weathering of this glyph. The katun sign in B3 is almost entirely effaced, though sufficient traces of its coefficient remain to enable us to identify it as 2. Note the position of the uneffaced dot with reference to the horizontal axis of the glyph. Another dot the same distance above the axis would come as near the upper left-hand corner of the glyph-block as the uneffaced dot does to the lower left-hand corner. Moreover, if 3 had been recorded here the uneffaced dot would have been nearer the bottom. It is clear that 1 and 4 are quite out of the question and that 2 remains the only possible value of the numeral here. We are justified in assuming that the effaced period glyph was the katun sign. In A4 10 tuns are very clearly recorded; note the fleshless lower jaw of the tun head. The uinal head with its characteristic mouth curl appears in B4. The coefficient of this latter glyph is identical with the uinal coefficient in the preceding text (see fig. 76, _A_) in B4, which we there identified as a form for 0. Therefore we must make the same identification here, and B4 then becomes 0 uinals. From its position, if not from its appearance, we are justified in designating the glyph in A5 the head for the kin period; since the coefficient attached to this head is the same as the one in the preceding glyph (B4), we may therefore conclude that 0 kins are recorded here. The whole number expressed in A3-A5 is {202} therefore 10.2.10.0.0. Reducing this to units of the first order by means of Table XIII, we have:

A3 = 10 × 144,000 = 1,440,000 B3 = 2 × 7,200 = 14,400 A4 = 10 × 360 = 3,600 B4 = 0 × 20 = 0 A5 = 0 × 1 = 0 --------- 1,458,000

Deducting from this number all the Calendar Rounds possible, 76 (see Table XVI), and applying rules 1, 2, and 3 (pp. 139, 140, and 141, respectively) to the remainder, the terminal date reached will be 2 Ahau 13 Chen. Although the day sign in B5 is effaced, the coefficient 2 appears quite clearly. The month glyph is recorded in A6. The student will have little difficulty in restoring the coefficient as 13, and the month glyph is certainly either Chen, Yax, Zac, or Ceh (compare fig. 19, _o_ and _p_, _q_ and _r_, _s_ and _t_, and _u_ and _v_, respectively). Moreover, since the month coefficient is 13, the day sign in B5 can have been only Chicchan, Oc, Men, or Ahau (see Table VII); since the kin coefficient in A5 is 0, the effaced day sign must have been Ahau. Therefore the Initial Series on Stela 2 at Quen Santo reads 10.2.10.0.0 2 Ahau 13 Chen and marked the hotun immediately following the hotun commemorated by Stela 1 at the same site.

The student will note also that the date on Stela 2 at Quen Santo is less than a year later than the date recorded by the Initial Series on the Temple lintel from Chichen Itza (see fig. 75, _B_). And a glance at the map in plate 1 will show, further, that Chichen Itza and Quen Santo are separated from each other by almost the entire length (north and south) of the Maya territory, the former being in the extreme northern part of Yucatan and the latter considerably to the south of the central Maya cities. The presence of two monuments so close together chronologically and yet so far apart geographically is difficult to explain. Moreover, the problem is further complicated by the fact that not one of the many cities lying between has yielded thus far a date as late as either of these.[173] The most logical explanation of this interesting phenomenon seems to be that while the main body of the Maya moved northward into Yucatan after the collapse of the southern cities others retreated southward into the highlands of Guatemala; that while the northern emigrants {203} were colonizing Yucatan the southern branch was laying the foundation of the civilization which was to flourish later under the name of the Quiche and other allied peoples; and finally, that as Chichen Itza was a later northern city, so Quen Santo was a later southern site, the two being at one period of their existence at least approximately contemporaneous, as these two Initial Series show.

It should be noted in this connection that Cycle-10 Initial Series are occasionally recorded in the Dresden Codex, though the dates in these cases are all later than those recorded on the Chichen Itza lintel and the Quen Santo stelæ. Before closing the presentation of Initial-series texts it is first necessary to discuss two very unusual and highly irregular examples of this method of dating, namely, the Initial Series from the east side of Stela C at Quirigua and the Initial Series from the tablet in the Temple of the Cross at Palenque. The dates recorded in these two texts, so far as known,[174] are the only ones which are not counted from the starting point of Maya chronology, the date 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu.

In figure 77, _A_, is shown the Initial Series on the east side of Stela C at Quirigua.[175] The introducing glyph appears in A1-B2, and is followed by the Initial-series number in A3-A5. The student will easily read this as 13.0.0.0.0. Reducing this number to units of the first order by means of Table XIII, we have:

A3 = 13 × 144,000 = 1,872,000 B3 = 0 × 7,200 = 0 A4 = 0 × 360 = 0 B4 = 0 × 20 = 0 A5 = 0 × 1 = 0 --------- 1,872,000

Deducting from this number all the Calendar Rounds possible, 98[176] (see Table XVI), and applying rules 1, 2, and 3 (pp. 139, 140, and 141), respectively, to the remainder, the terminal date reached should be, under ordinary circumstances, 4 Ahau 3 Kankin. An inspection of our text, however, will show that the terminal date recorded in B5-A6 is unmistakably 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu, and not 4 Ahau 3 Kankin. The month part in A6 is unusually clear, and there can be no doubt {204} that it is 8 Cumhu. Compare A6 with figure 19, _g', h'_. If we have made no mistake in calculations, then it is evident that 13.0.0.0.0 counted forward from the starting point of Maya chronology, 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu, will not reach the terminal date recorded. Further, since the count in Initial Series has never been known to be backward,[177] we are forced to accept one of two conclusions: Either the starting point is not 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu, or there is some error in the original text. However, there is one way by means of which we can ascertain the date from which the number 13.0.0.0.0 is counted. The terminal date reached by the count is recorded very clearly as 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu. Now, if we reverse our operation and count the given number, 13.0.0.0.0, _backward_ from the known terminal date, 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu, we reach the starting point from which the count proceeds.

[Illustration: FIG. 77. Initial Series which proceed from a date prior to 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu, the starting point of Maya chronology: _A_, Stela C (east side) at Quirigua; _B_, Temple of the Cross at Palenque.]

Deducting from this number, as before, all the Calendar Rounds possible, 98 (see p. 203, footnote 3), and applying rules 1, 2, and 3 (pp. 139, 140, 141, respectively) to the remainder, remembering that in each operation the direction of the count is _backward_, not forward,--the starting point will be found to be 4 Ahau 8 Zotz. This is the first Initial Series yet encountered which has not proceeded from the date 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu, and until the new starting point here indicated can be substantiated it will be well to accept the correctness of this text only with a reservation. The most we can say at present is that if the number recorded in A3-A5, 13.0.0.0.0, be counted forward from 4 Ahau 8 Zotz as a starting point, the terminal date reached by calculation will agree with the terminal date as recorded in B5-A6, 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu. {205}

Let us next examine the Initial Series on the tablet from the Temple of the Cross at Palenque, which is shown in figure 77, _B_.[178] The introducing glyph appears in A1-B2, and is followed by the Initial-series number in A3-B7. The period glyphs in B3, B4, B5, B6, and B7 are all expressed by their corresponding normal forms, which will be readily recognized. Passing over the cycle coefficient in A3 for the present, it is clear that the katun coefficient in A4 is 19. Note the dots around the mouth, characteristic of the head for 9 (fig. 52, _g-l_), and the fleshless lower jaw, the essential element of the head for 10 (fig. 52, _m-r_). The combination of the two gives the head in A4 the value of 19. The tun coefficient in A5 is equally clear as 13. Note the banded headdress, characteristic of the head for 3 (fig. 51, _h, i_), and the fleshless lower jaw of the 10 head, the combination of the two giving the head for 13 (fig. 52, _w_).[179] The head for 4 and the hand zero sign appear as the coefficient of the uinal and kin signs in A6 and A7, respectively. The number will read, therefore, ?.19.13.4.0. Let us examine the cycle coefficient in A3 again. The natural assumption, of course, is that it is 9. But the dots characteristic of the head for 9 are not to be found here. As this head has no fleshless lower jaw, it can not be 10 or any number above 13, and as there is no clasped hand associated with it, it can not signify 0, so we are limited to the numbers, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,[180] 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, and 13, as the numeral here recorded. Comparing this form with these numerals in figures 51 and 52, it is evident that it can not be 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 13, and that it must therefore be 2, 11, or 12. Substituting these three values in turn, we have 2.19.13.4.0, 11.19.13.4.0, and 12.19.13.4.0 as the possible numbers recorded in A3-B7, and reducing these numbers to units of the first order and deducting the highest number of Calendar Rounds possible from each, and applying rules 1, 2, and 3 (pp. 139, 140, and 141, respectively) to their remainders, the terminal dates reached will be:

2.19.13.4.0 5 Ahau 3 Pax 11.19.13.4.0 9 Ahau 8 Yax 12.19.13.4.0 8 Ahau 13 Pop

If this text is perfectly regular and our calculations are correct, one of these three terminal dates will be found recorded, and the value of the cycle coefficient in A3 can be determined.

The terminal date of this Initial Series is recorded in A8-B9 and the student will easily read it as 8 Ahau 18 Tzec. The only difference {206} between the day coefficient and the month coefficient is that the latter has a fleshless lower jaw, increasing its value by 10. Moreover, comparison of the month sign in B9 with _g_ and _h_, figure 19, shows unmistakably that the month here recorded is Tzec. But the terminal date as recorded does not agree with any one of the three above terminal dates as reached by calculation and we are forced to accept one of the two conclusions which confronted us in the preceding text (fig. 77, A): Either the starting point of this Initial Series is not the date 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu, or there is some error in the original text.[181]

Assuming that the ancient scribes made no mistakes in this inscription, let us count backward from the recorded terminal date, 8 Ahau 18 Tzec, each of the three numbers 2.19.13.4.0, 11.19.13.4.0, and 12.19.13.4.0, one of which, we have seen, is recorded in A3-B7.

Reducing these numbers to units of the first order by means of Table XIII, and deducting all the Calendar Rounds possible from each (see Table XVI), and, finally, applying rules 1, 2, and 3 (pp. 139, 140, and 141, respectively), to the remainders, the starting points will be found to be:

7 Ahau 3 Mol for 2.19.13.4.0 3 Ahau 18 Mac for 11.19.13.4.0 4 Ahau 8 Zotz for 12.19.13.4.0

Which of these starting points are we to accept as the one from which this number is counted? The correct answer to this question will give at the same time the value of the cycle coefficient, which, as we have seen, must be 2, 11, or 12. Most Maya students have accepted as the starting point of this Initial-series number the last of the three dates above given, 4 Ahau 8 Zotz, which involves also the identification of the cycle coefficient in A3 as 12. The writer has reached the same conclusion from the following points:

1. The cycle coefficient in A3, except for its very unusual headdress, is almost identical with the other two head-variant numerals, whose values are known to be 12. These three head numerals are shown side by side in figure 52, _t-v, t_ being the form in A3 above, inserted in this figure for the sake of comparison. Although these three heads show no single element or characteristic that is present in all (see p. 100), each is very similar to the other two and at the same time is dissimilar from all other head-variant numerals. This fact warrants the conclusion that the head in A3 represents the numeral 12, and if this is so the starting point of the Initial Series under discussion is 4 Ahau 8 Zotz.

2. Aside from the fact that 12 seems to be the best reading of the head in A3, and consequently that the starting point of this number is 4 Ahau 8 Zotz, the writer believes that 4 Ahau 8 Zotz should be selected, if for no other reason than that another Initial Series has been found which proceeds from this same date, while no other Initial Series known is counted from either 7 Ahau 3 Mol or 3 Ahau 18 Mac.

[Illustration: INITIAL SERIES AND SECONDARY SERIES ON LINTEL 21, YAXCHILAN]

{207}

As we have seen in discussing the preceding text, from the east side of Stela C at Quirigua (fig. 77, _A_), the Initial Series there recorded was counted from the same starting point, 4 Ahau 8 Zotz, as the Initial Series from the Temple of the Cross at Palenque, if we read the latter as 12.19.13.4.0. This coincidence, the writer believes, is sufficient to warrant the identification of the head in A3 (fig. 77, _B_) as the head numeral 12 and the acceptance of this Initial Series as proceeding from the same starting point as the Quirigua text just described, namely, the date 4 Ahau 8 Zotz. With these two examples the discussion of Initial-series texts will be closed.

TEXTS RECORDING INITIAL SERIES AND SECONDARY SERIES

It has been explained (see pp. 74-76) that in addition to Initial-series dating the Maya had another method of expressing their dates, known as Secondary Series, which was used when more than one date had to be recorded on the same monument. It was stated, further, that the accuracy of Secondary-series dating depended solely on the question whether or not the Secondary Series was referred to some date whose position in the Long Count was fixed either by the record of its Initial Series or in some other way. The next class of texts to be presented will be those showing the use of Secondary Series in connection with an Initial Series, by means of which the Initial-series values of the Secondary-series dates, that is, their proper positions in the Long Count, may be worked out even though they are not recorded in the text.

The first example presented will be the inscription on Lintel 21 at Yaxchilan, which is figured in plate 16.[182] As usual, when an Initial Series is recorded, the introducing glyph opens the text and this sign appears in A1, being followed by the Initial-series number itself in B1-B3. This the student will readily decipher as 9.0.19.2.4, recording apparently a very early date in Maya history, within 20 years of 9.0.0.0.0 8 Ahau 13 Ceh, the date arbitrarily fixed by the writer as the opening of the first great period.

Reducing this number by means of Table XIII to units of the first order[183] and deducting all the Calendar Rounds possible, 68 (see Table XVI), and applying rules 1, 2, and 3 (pp. 139, 140, and 141, respectively) to the remainder, the terminal date reached will be 2 Kan 2 Yax. This date the student will find recorded in A4 and A7a, glyph B6b being the month-sign "indicator," or the closing glyph of the {208} Supplementary Series, here shown with the coefficient 9. Compare the day sign in A4a with the sign for Kan in figure 16, _f_, and the month sign in A7a with the sign for Yax in figure 19, _q, r_. We have then recorded in A1-A4[184], and A7a the Initial-series date 9.0.19.2.4 2 Kan 2 Yax. At first sight it would appear that this early date indicates the time at or near which this lintel was inscribed, but a closer examination reveals a different condition. Following along through the glyphs of this text, there is reached in C3-C4 still another number in which the normal forms of the katun, tun, and uinal signs clearly appear in connection with bar and dot coefficients. The question at once arises, Has the number recorded here anything to do with the Initial Series, which precedes it at the beginning of this text?

Let us first examine this number before attempting to answer the above question. It is apparent at the outset that it differs from the Initial-series numbers previously encountered in several respects:

1. There is no introducing glyph, a fact which at once eliminates the possibility that it might be an Initial Series.

2. There is no kin period glyph, the uinal sign in C3 having two coefficients instead of one.

3. The order of the period glyphs is reversed, the highest period, here the katun, closing the series instead of commencing it as heretofore.

It has been explained (see p. 129) that in Secondary Series the order of the period glyphs is almost invariably the reverse of that shown by the period glyphs in Initial Series; and further, that the former are usually presented as ascending series, that is, with the lowest units first, and the latter invariably as descending series, with the highest units first. It has been explained also (see p. 128) that in Secondary Series the kin period glyph is usually omitted, the kin coefficient being attached to the left of the uinal sign. Since both of these points (see 2 and 3, above) are characteristic of the number in C3-C4, it is probable that a Secondary Series is recorded here, and that it expresses 5 kins, 16 uinals, 1 tun, and 15 katuns. Reversing this, and writing it according to the notation followed by most Maya students (see p. 138, footnote 1), we have as the number recorded by C3-C4, 15.1.16.5.

Reducing this number to units of the first order by means of Table XIII, we have:

C4 = 15 × 7,200 = 108,000 D3 = 1 × 360 = 360 C3 = 16 × 20 = 320 C3 = 5 × 1 = 5 ------- 108,685

Since all the Calendar Rounds which this number contains, 5 (see {209} Table XVI) may be deducted from it without affecting its value, we can further reduce it to 13,785 (108,685 - 94,900), and this will be the number used in the following calculations.

It was stated (on p. 135) in describing the direction of the count that numbers are usually counted forward from the dates next preceding them in a text, although this is not invariably true. Applying this rule to the present case, it is probable that the Secondary-series number 15.1.16.5, which we have reduced to 13,785 units of the first order, is counted _forward_ from the date 2 Kan 2 Yax, the one next preceding it in our text, a date, moreover, the Initial-series value of which is known.

Remembering that this date 2 Kan 2 Yax is our new starting point, and that the count is forward, by applying rules 1, 2, and 3 (pp. 139, 140, and 141, respectively), to 13,785, the new terminal date reached will be 7 Muluc 17 Tzec; and this date is recorded in C5-D5. Compare C5 with the sign for the day Muluc in figure 16, _m, n_, and D5 with the sign for the month Tzec in figure 19, _g, h_. Furthermore, by adding the Secondary-series number 15.1.16.5 to 9.0.19.2.4 (the Initial-series number which fixes the position of the date 2 Kan 2 Yax in the Long Count), the Initial-series value of the terminal date of the Secondary Series (calculated and identified above as 7 Muluc 17 Tzec) can also be determined as follows:

9. 0.19. 2.4 2 Kan 2 Yax Initial Series 15. 1.16.5 Secondary-series number 9.16. 1. 0.9 7 Muluc 17 Tzec Initial Series of the Secondary-series terminal date 7 Muluc 17 Tzec

The student may verify the above calculations by treating 9.16.1.0.9 as a new Initial-series number, and counting it forward from 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu, the starting point of Maya chronology. The terminal date reached will be found to be the same date as the one recorded in C5-D5, namely, 7 Muluc 17 Tzec.

What is the meaning then of this text, which records two dates nearly 300 years apart?[185] It must be admitted at the outset that the nature of the events which occurred on these two dates, a matter probably set forth in the glyphs of unknown meaning in the text, is totally unknown. It is possible to gather from other sources, however, some little data concerning their significance. In the first place, 9.16.1.0.9 7 Muluc 17 Tzec is almost surely the "contemporaneous date" of this lintel, the date indicating the time at or near which it was formally dedicated or put into use. This point is established almost to a certainty by the fact that all the other dates known at Yaxchilan are very much nearer to 9.16.1.0.9 7 Muluc 17 Tzec in point {210} of time than to 9.0.19.2.4 2 Kan 2 Yax, the Initial-series date recorded on this lintel. Indeed, while they range from 9 days[186] to 75 years from the former, the one nearest the latter is more than 200 years later. This practically proves that 9.16.1.0.9 7 Muluc 17 Tzec indicates the "contemporaneous time" of this lintel and that 9.0.19.2.4 2 Kan 2 Yax referred to some earlier event which took place perhaps even before the founding of the city. And finally, since this inscription is on a lintel, we may perhaps go a step further and hazard the conclusion that 9.16.1.0.9 7 Muluc 17 Tzec records the date of the erection of the structure of which this lintel is a part.

We may draw from this inscription a conclusion which will be found to hold good in almost all cases, namely, that the last date in a text almost always indicates the "contemporaneous time" of the monument upon which it appears. In the present text, for example, the Secondary-series date 7 Muluc 17 Tzec, the Initial-series value of which was found to be 9.16.1.0.9, is in all probability its contemporaneous date, or very near thereto. It will be well to remember this important point, since it enables us to assign monuments upon which several different dates are recorded to their proper periods in the Long Count.

The next example illustrating the use of Secondary Series with an Initial Series is the inscription from Stela 1 at Piedras Negras, figured in plate 17.[187] The order of the glyphs in this text is somewhat irregular. It will be noted that there is an uneven number of glyph columns, so that one column will have to be read by itself. The natural assumption would be that A and B, C and D, and E and F are read together, leaving G, the last column, to be read by itself. This is not the case, however, for A, presenting the Initial Series, is read first, and then B C, D E, and F G, in pairs. The introducing glyph of the Initial Series appears in A1 and is followed by the Initial-series number 9.12.2.0.16 in A2-A6. The student should be perfectly familiar by this time with the processes involved in counting this number from its starting point, and should have no difficulty in determing by calculation the terminal date recorded in A7, C2, namely, 5 Cib 14 Yaxkin.[188] Compare A7 with the sign for Cib in figure 16, _z_, and C2 with the sign for Yaxkin in figure 19, _k, l_. The Initial Series recorded in A1-A7, C2 is 9.12.2.0.16 5 Cib 14 Yaxkin.

[Illustration: INITIAL SERIES AND SECONDARY SERIES ON STELA 1, PIEDRAS NEGRAS]

{211}

Passing over the glyphs in B3-E1, the meanings of which are unknown, we reach in D2 E2 a number showing very clearly the tun and uinal signs, the latter having two coefficients instead of one. Moreover, the order of these period glyphs is reversed, the lower standing first in the series. As explained in connection with the preceding text, these points are both characteristic of Secondary-series numbers, and we may conclude therefore that D2 E2 records a number of this kind. Finally, since the kin coefficient in Secondary Series usually appears on the left of the uinal sign, we may express this number in the commonly accepted notation as follows: 12.9.15. Reducing this to units of the first order, we have:

E2 = 12 × 360 = 4,320 D2 = 9 × 20 = 180 D2 = 15 × 1 = 15 ----- 4,515

Remembering that Secondary-series numbers are usually counted from the dates next preceding them in the texts, in this case 5 Cib 14 Yaxkin, and proceeding according to rules 1, 2, and 3 (pp. 139, 140, and 141, respectively), the terminal date of the Secondary Series reached will be 9 Chuen 9 Kankin, which is recorded in F1 G1, though unfortunately these glyphs are somewhat effaced. Moreover, since the position of 5 Cib 14 Yaxkin in the Long Count is known, that is, its Initial-series value, it is possible to determine the Initial-series value of this new date, 9 Chuen 9 Kankin:

9.12. 2. 0.16 5 Cib 14 Yaxkin 12. 9.15 9.12.14.10.11 9 Chuen 9 Kankin

But the end of this text has not been reached with the date 9 Chuen 9 Kankin in F1 G1. Passing over F2 G2, the meanings of which are unknown, we reach in F3 an inverted Ahau with the coefficient 5 above it. As explained on page 72, this probably signifies 5 kins, the inversion of the glyph changing its meaning from that of a particular day sign, Ahau, to a general sign for the kin day period (see fig. 34, _d_). The writer recalls but one other instance in which the inverted Ahau stands for the kin sign--on the north side of Stela C at Quirigua.

We have then another Secondary-series number consisting of 5 kins, which is to be counted from some date, and since Secondary-series numbers are usually counted from the date next preceding them in the text, we are justified in assuming that 9 Chuen 9 Kankin is our new starting point.

Counting 5 forward from this date, according to rules 1, 2, and 3 (pp. 139, 140, and 141, respectively), the terminal date reached will be 1 Cib 14 Kankin, and this latter date is recorded in G3-G4. Compare G3 with the sign for Cib in A7 and in figure 16, _z_, and G4 with the sign for Kankin in figure 19, _y, z_. Moreover, since the Initial-series value of 9 Chuen 9 Kankin was calculated above as 9.12.14.10.11, {212} the Initial-series value of this new date, 1 Cib 14 Kankin, also can be calculated from it:

9.12.14.10.11 9 Chuen 9 Kankin 5 9.12.14.10.16 1 Cib 14 Kankin

Passing over G5 as unknown, we reach in G6-G7 another Secondary-series number. The student will have little difficulty in identifying G6 as 2 uinals, 5 kins, and G7 as 1 katun. It will be noted that no tun sign appears in this number, which is a very unusual condition. By far the commoner practice in such cases in which 0 units of some period are involved is to record the period with a coefficient 0. However, this was not done in the present case, and since no tuns are recorded, we may conclude that none were involved, and G6-G7 may be written 1.(0).2.5. Reducing this number to units of the first order, we have:

G7 = 1 × 7,200 = 7,200 ([189]) 0 × 360 = 0 G6 = 2 × 20 = 40 G6 = 5 × 1 = 5 ----- 7,245

Remembering that the starting point from which this number is counted is the date next preceding it, 1 Cib 14 Kankin, and applying rules 1, 2, and 3 (pp. 139, 140, and 141, respectively), the terminal date reached will be 5 Imix 19 Zac; this latter date is recorded in G8-G9. Compare G8 with the sign for Imix in figure 16, _a, b_, and G9 with the sign for Zac in figure 19, _s, t_. Moreover, since the Initial Series of 1 Cib 14 Kankin was obtained by calculation from the date next preceding it, the Initial Series of 5 Imix 19 Zac may be determined in the same way.

9.12. 14. 10.16 1 Cib 14 Kankin 1. 0.[189] 2. 5 9.13. 14. 13. 1 5 Imix 19 Zac

With the above date closes the known part of this text, the remaining glyphs, G10-G12, being of unknown meaning.

Assembling all the glyphs deciphered above, the known part of this text reads as follows:

9.12. 2. 0.16 A1-A7, C2 5 Cib 14 Yaxkin 12. 9.15 D2 E2 9.12. 14. 10.11 F1 G1 9 Chuen 9 Kankin 5 F3 9.12. 14. 10.16 G3 G4 1 Cib 14 Kankin 1. 0.[189] 2. 5 G6 G7 9.13. 14. 13. 1 G8 G9 5 Imix 19 Zac

[Illustration: INITIAL SERIES (_A_) AND SECONDARY SERIES (_B_) ON STELA K, QUIRIGUA]

{213} We have recorded here four different dates, of which the last, 9.13.14.13.1 5 Imix 19 Zac, probably represents the actual date, or very near thereto, of this monument.[190] The period covered between the first and last of these dates is about 32 years, within the range of a single lifetime or, indeed, of the tenure of some important office by a single individual. The unknown glyphs again probably set forth the nature of the events which occurred on the dates recorded.

In the two preceding texts the Secondary Series given are regular in every way. Not only was the count forward each time, but it also started in every case from the date immediately preceding the number counted. This regularity, however, is far from universal in Secondary-series texts, and the following examples comprise some of the more common departures from the usual practice.

In plate 18 is figured the Initial Series from Stela K at Quirigua.[191] The text opens on the north side of this monument (see pl. 18, _A_) with the introducing glyph in A1-B2. This is followed by the Initial-series number 9.18.15.0.0 in A3-B4, which leads to the terminal date 3 Ahau 3 Yax. The day part of this date the student will find recorded in its regular position, A5a. Passing over A5b and B5, the meanings of which are unknown, we reach in A6 a Secondary-series number composed very clearly of 10 uinals and 10 kins (10.10), which reduces to the following number of units of the first order:

A6 = 10 × 20 = 200 A6 = 10 × 1 = 10 --- 210

The first assumption is that this number is counted forward from the terminal date of the Initial Series, 3 Ahau 3 Yax, and performing the operations indicated in rules 1, 2, and 3 (pp. 139, 140, and 141, respectively) the terminal date reached will be 5 Oc 8 Uo. Now, although the day sign in B6b is clearly Oc (see fig. 16, _o-q_), its coefficient is very clearly 1, not 5, and, moreover, the month in A7a is unmistakably 18 Kayab (see fig. 19, _d'-f'_). Here then instead of finding the date determined by calculation, 5 Oc 8 Uo, the date recorded is 1 Oc 18 Kayab, and consequently there is some departure from the practices heretofore encountered.

Since the association of the number 10.10 is so close with (1) the terminal date of the Initial Series, 3 Ahau 3 Yax, and (2) the date 1 Oc 18 Kayab almost immediately following it, it would almost seem as though these two dates must be the starting point and terminal date, respectively, of this number. If the count is forward, we have just proved that this can not be the case; so let us next count the {214} number backward and see whether we can reach the date recorded in B6b-A7a (1 Oc 18 Kayab) in this way.

Counting 210 _backward_ from 3 Ahau 3 Yax, according to rules 1, 2, and 3 (pp. 139, 140, and 141, respectively), the terminal date reached will be 1 Oc 18 Kayab, as recorded in B6b-A7. In other words, the Secondary Series in this text is counted backward from the Initial Series, and therefore precedes it in point of time. This will appear from the Initial-series value of 1 Oc 18 Kayab, which may be determined by calculation:

9.18.15. 0. 0 3 Ahau 3 Yax 10.10 9.18.14. 7.10 1 Oc 18 Kayab

This text closes on the south side of the monument in a very unusual manner (see pl. 18, _B_). In B3a appears the month-sign indicator, here recorded as a head variant with a coefficient 10, and following immediately in B3b a Secondary-series number composed of 0 uinals and 0 kins, or, in other words, nothing. It is obvious that in counting this number 0.0, or nothing, either backward or forward from the date next preceding it in the text, 1 Oc 18 Kayab in B6b-A7a on the north side of the stela, the same date 1 Oc 18 Kayab will remain. But this date is not repeated in A4, where the terminal date of this Secondary Series, 0.0, seems to be recorded. However, if we count 0.0 from the terminal date of the Initial Series, 3 Ahau 3 Yax, we reach the date recorded in A4, 3 Ahau 3 Yax,[192] and this whole text so far as deciphered will read:

9.18.15. 0. 0 3 Ahau 3 Yax 10.10 backward 9.18.14. 7.10 1 Oc 18 Kayab 0. 0 forward from Initial Series 9.18.15. 0. 0 3 Ahau 3 Yax

The reason for recording a Secondary-series number equal to zero, the writer believes, was because the first Secondary-series date 1 Oc 18 Kayab precedes the Initial-series date, which in this case marks the time at which this monument was erected. Hence, in order to have the closing date on the monument record the contemporaneous time of the monument, it was necessary to repeat the Initial-series date; this was accomplished by adding to it a Secondary-series date denoting zero. Stela K is the next to the latest hotun-marker at Quirigua following immediately Stela I, the Initial series of which marks the hotun ending 9.18.10.0.0 10 Ahau 8 Zac (see pl. 6, _C_).

Mr. Bowditch (1910: p. 208) has advanced a very plausible explanation to account for the presence of the date 9.18.14.7.10 1 Oc 18 Kayab {215} on this monument. He shows that at the time when Stela K was erected, namely, 9.18.15.0.0 3 Ahau 3 Yax, the official calendar had outrun the seasons by just 210 days, or exactly the number of days recorded in A6, plate 18, A (north side); and further, that instead of being the day 3 Yax, which occurred at Quirigua about the beginning of the dry season,[193] in reality the season was 210 days behind, or at 18 Kayab, about the beginning of the rainy season. This very great discrepancy between calendar and season could not have escaped the notice of the priests, and the 210 days recorded in A6 may well represent the days actually needed on the date 9.18.15.0.0 3 Ahau 3 Yax to bring the calendar into harmony with the current season. If this be true, then the date 9.18.14.7.0 1 Oc 18 Kayab represented the day indicated by the sun when the calendar showed that the 3d hotun in Katun 18 of Cycle 9 had been completed. Mr. Bowditch suggests the following free interpretation of this passage: "The sun has just set at its northern point[194] and we are counting the day 3 Yax--210 days from 18 Kayab--which is the true date in the calendar according to our traditions and records for the sun to set at this point on his course." As stated above, the writer believes this to be the true explanation of the record of 210 days on this monument.

[Illustration: FIG. 78. The Initial Series on Stela J, Quirigua.]

In figures 78 and 79 are illustrated the Initial Series and Secondary Series from Stela J at Quirigua.[195] For lack of space the introducing glyph in this text has been omitted; it occupies the position of six glyph-blocks, however, A1-B3, after which the Initial-series number 9.16.5.0.0 follows in A4-B8. This leads to the terminal date 8 Ahau 8 Zotz, which is recorded in A9, B9, B13, the glyph in A13 being the month-sign indicator here shown with the coefficient 9. Compare B9 with the second variant for Ahau in figure 16 _h', i'_, and B13 with the sign for Zotz in figure 19, _e, f_. The {216} Initial-series part of this text therefore in A1-B9, B13, is perfectly regular and reads as follows: 9.16.5.0.0 8 Ahau 8 Zotz. The Secondary Series, however, are unusual and differ in several respects from the ones heretofore presented.

[Illustration: FIG. 79. The Secondary Series on Stela J, Quirigua.]

The first Secondary Series inscribed on this monument (see fig. 79, _A_) is at B1-B2. This series the student should readily decipher as 3 kins, 13 uinals, 11 tuns, and 0 katuns, which we may write 0.11.13.3. This number presents one feature, which, so far as the writer knows, is unique in the whole range of Maya texts. The highest order of units actually involved in this number is the tun, but for some unknown reason the ancient scribe saw fit to add the katun sign also, B2, which, however, he proceeded to nullify at once by attaching to it the coefficient 0. For in so far as the numerical value is concerned, 11.13.3 and 0.11.13.3 are equal. The next peculiarity is that the date which follows this number in B3-A4 is not its terminal date, as we have every reason to expect, but, on the contrary, its starting point. In other words, in this Secondary Series the starting point follows instead of precedes the number counted from it. This date is very clearly 12 Caban 5 Kayab; compare B3 with the sign for Caban in figure 16, _a', b'_, and A4 with the sign for Kayab in figure 19, _d'-f'_. So far as Stela J is concerned there is no record of the position which this date occupied in the Long Count; that is, there are no data by means of which its Initial Series may be calculated. Elsewhere at Quirigua, however, this date is recorded twice as an Initial Series and in each place it has the same value, 9.14.13.4.17. We may safely conclude, therefore, that the date in A3-B4 is 9.14.13.4.17 12 Caban 5 Kayab, and use it in our calculations as such. Reducing 0.11.13.3 to units of the first order, we have:

B2 = 0 × 7,200 = 0 A2 = 11 × 360 = 3,960 B1 = 13 × 20 = 260 B1 = 3 × 1 = 3 ----- 4,223

{217} Applying rules 1, 2, and 3 (pp. 139, 140, and 141, respectively) to this number, the terminal date reached will be 10 Ahau 8 Chen, which is nowhere recorded in the text (see fig. 79, A).

The Initial Series corresponding to this date, however, may be calculated from the Initial Series which we have assigned to the date 12 Caban 5 Kayab:

9.14.13. 4.17 12 Caban 5 Kayab 0.11.13. 3 9.15. 5. 0. 0 10 Ahau 8 Chen

Although the date 9.15.5.0.0 10 Ahau 8 Chen is not actually recorded at Quirigua, it is reached on another monument by calculation just as here. It has a peculiar fitness here on Stela J in that it is just one katun earlier than the Initial Series on this monument (see fig. 78), 9.16.5.0.0 8 Ahau 8 Zotz.

The other Secondary Series on this monument (see fig. 79, _B_) appears at B1-A2, and records 18 tuns, 3 uinals, and 14 kins, which we may write thus: 18.3.14. As in the preceding case, the date following this number in B2-A3 is its starting point, not its terminal date, a very unusual feature, as has been explained. This date is 6 Cimi 4 Tzec--compare B2 with the sign for Cimi in figure 16, _h, i_, and A3 with the sign for Tzec in figure 19, _g, h_--and as far as Stela J is concerned it is not fixed in the Long Count. However, elsewhere at Quirigua this date is recorded in a Secondary Series, which is referred back to an Initial Series, and from this passage its corresponding Initial Series is found to be 9.15.6.14.6 6 Cimi 4 Tzec. Reducing the number recorded in B1-A2, 18.3.14, to units of the first order, we have:

A2 = 18 × 360 = 6,480 B2 = 3 × 20 = 60 B2 = 14 × 1 = 14 ----- 6,554

Applying rules 1, 2, and 3 (pp. 139, 140, and 141, respectively) to the number, the terminal date reached will be 8 Ahau 8 Zotz, which does not appear in figure 79, _B_. The Initial Series corresponding to this date may be calculated as follows:

9.15. 6.14. 6 6 Cimi 4 Tzec 18. 3.14 9.16. 5. 0. 0 8 Ahau 8 Zotz

But this was the Initial Series recorded on the reverse of this monument, consequently the Secondary-series dates, both of which have {218} preceded the Initial-series date in point of time, bring this count up to the contemporaneous time of this monument, which was 9.16.5.0.0 8 Ahau 8 Zotz. In view of the fact that the Secondary Series on Stela J are both earlier than the Initial Series, the chronological sequence of the several dates is better preserved by regarding the Initial Series as being at the close of the inscription instead of at the beginning, thus:

9.14.13. 4.17 12 Caban 5 Kayab Figure 79, _A_, B3-A4 0.11.13. 3 B1-B2 [9.15. 5. 0. 0] [10 Ahau 8 Chen][196] [1.14. 6][197] 9.15. 6.14. 6 6 Cimi 4 Tzec Figure 79, _B_, B2-A3 18. 3.14 B1-A2 9.16. 5. 0. 0 8 Ahau 8 Zotz Figure 78, A1-B9, B13

By the above arrangement all the dates present in the text lead up to 9.16.5.0.0 8 Ahau 8 Zotz as the most important date, because it alone records the particular hotun-ending which Stela J marks. The importance of this date over the others is further emphasized by the fact that it alone appears as an Initial Series.

The text of Stela J illustrates two points in connection with Secondary Series which the student will do well to bear in mind: (1) The starting points of Secondary-series numbers do not always precede the numbers counted from them, and (2) the terminal dates and starting points are not always both recorded.

The former point will be illustrated in the following example:

In plate 19, _A_, is figured the Initial Series from the west side of Stela F at Quirigua.[198] The introducing glyph appears in A1-B2 and is followed by the Initial-series number in A3-A5. This is expressed by head variants and reads as follows: 9.14.13.4.17. The terminal date reached by this number is 12 Caban 5 Kayab, which is recorded in B5-A6. The student will readily identify the numerals as above by comparing them with the forms in figures 51-53, and the day and month signs by comparing them with figures 16, _a', b'_, and 19, _d'-f'_, respectively. The Initial Series therefore reads 9.14.13.4.17 12 Caban 5 Kayab.[199]

[Illustration: INITIAL SERIES (_A_) AND SECONDARY SERIES (_B_) ON STELA F (WEST SIDE), QUIRIGUA]

{219}

Passing over B6-A10, the meanings of which are unknown, we reach in B10 the Secondary-series number 13.9.9. Reducing this to units of the first order, we have:

B10b = 13 × 360 = 4,680 B10a = 9 × 20 = 180 B10a = 9 × 1 = 9 ----- 4,869

Assuming that our starting point is the date next preceding this number in the text, that is, the Initial-series terminal date 12 Caban 5 Kayab in B5-A6, and applying rules 1, 2, and 3 (pp. 139, 140, and 141, respectively), the terminal day reached will be 6 Cimi 4 Tzec. This date the student will find recorded in plate 19, _B_, B11b-A12a. Compare B11b with the sign for Cimi in figure 16, _h, i_, and A12a with the sign for Tzec in figure 19, _g, h_. Moreover, since the Initial-series value of the starting point 12 Caban 5 Kayab is known, the Initial-series value of the terminal date 6 Cimi 4 Tzec may be calculated from it:

9.14.13. 4.17 12 Caban 5 Kayab 13. 9. 9 9.15. 6.14. 6 6 Cimi 4 Tzec[200]

In A15 is recorded the date 3 Ahau 3 Mol (compare A15a with fig. 16, _k', i'_, and A15b with fig. 19, _m, n_) and in A17 the date 4 Ahau 13 Yax (compare A17a with fig. 16, _e'-g'_ and A17b with fig. 19, _q, r_). This latter date, 4 Ahau 13 Yax, is recorded elsewhere at Quirigua in a Secondary Series attached to an Initial Series, where it has the Initial-series value 9.15.0.0.0. This value we may assume, therefore, belongs to it in the present case, giving us the full date 9.15.0.0.0 4 Ahau 13 Yax. For the present let us pass over the first of these two dates, namely, 3 Ahau 3 Mol, the Initial Series of which as well as the reason for its record here will better appear later.

In B17-A18a is recorded another Secondary-series number composed of 3 kins, 13 uinals, 16 tuns, and 1 katun, which we may write thus: 1.16.13.3. The student will note that the katun coefficient in A18a is expressed by an unusual form, the thumb. As explained on page 103, this has a numerical value of 1. Again, our text presents another irregular feature. Instead of being counted either forward or backward from the date next preceding it in the text; that is, 4 Ahau 13 Yax in A17, this number is counted from the date following it in the text, like the two Secondary-series numbers in Stela J, just discussed. This starting date recorded in A18b B18a is 12 Caban 5 Kayab, which, as we have seen, is also the date recorded by the Initial Series in plate 19, _A_, A1-A6. We are perfectly justified in {220} assuming, therefore, that the 12 Caban 5 Kayab in A18b-B18a had the same Initial-series value as the 12 Caban 5 Kayab in plate 19, _A_, B5-A6, namely, 9.14.13.4.17. Reducing the number in B17-A18a, namely, 1.16.13.3, to units of the first order, we have:

A18a = 1 × 7,200 = 7,200 B17b = 16 × 360 = 5,760 B17a = 13 × 20 = 260 B17a = 3 × 1 = 3 ------ 13,223

Remembering that this number is to be counted forward from the date 12 Caban 5 Kayab, and applying rules 1, 2, and 3 (pp. 139, 140, and 141, respectively), the terminal date reached will be 1 Ahau 3 Zip, which is recorded in A19. Compare the coefficient of the day sign in A19a with the coefficient of the katun sign in A18a, and the day sign itself with the profile variant for Ahau in figure 16, _h', i'_. For the month sign, compare A19b with figure 19, d. But since the Initial-series value of the starting point is known, we may calculate from it the Initial-series value of the new terminal date:

9.14.13. 4.17 12 Caban 5 Kayab 1.16.13. 3 9.16.10. 0. 0 1 Ahau 3 Zip

Passing over to the east side of this monument, the student will find recorded there the continuation of this inscription (see pl. 20).[201] This side, like the other, opens with an introducing glyph A1-B2, which is followed by an Initial Series in A3-A5. Although this number is expressed by head variants, the forms are all familiar, and the student will have little difficulty in reading it as 9.16.10.0.0. The terminal date which this number reaches is recorded in B5-B8; that is, 1[202] Ahau 3 Zip, the "month indicator" appearing as a head variant in A8 with the head-variant coefficient 10. But this date is identical with the date determined by calculation and actually recorded at the close of the inscription on the other side of this monument, and since no later date is recorded elsewhere in this text, we may conclude that 9.16.10.0.0 1 Ahau 3 Zip represents the contemporaneous time of Stela F, and hence that it was a regular hotun-marker. Here again, as in the case of Stela J at Quirigua, the importance of the "contemporaneous date" is emphasized not only by the fact that all the other dates lead up to it, but also by the fact that it is expressed as an Initial Series.

[Illustration: INITIAL SERIES ON STELA F (EAST SIDE), QUIRIGUA]

{221}

[Illustration: FIG. 80. Glyphs which may disclose the nature of the events that happened at Quirigua on the dates: _a_, 9. 14. 13. 4. 17 12 Caban 5 Kayab; _b_, 9. 15. 6. 14. 6 6 Cimi 4 Tzec.]

We have explained all the dates figured except 3 Ahau 3 Mol in plate 19, _B_, A15, the discussion of which was deferred until after the rest of the inscription had been considered. It will be remembered in connection with Stela J (figs. 78, 79) that one of the dates reached in the course of the calculations was just 1 katun earlier than the date recorded by the Initial Series on the same monument. Now, one of the Initial-series values corresponding to the date 3 Ahau 3 Mol here under discussion is 9.15.10.0.0, exactly 1 katun earlier than the Initial-series date on Stela F. In other words, if we give to the date 3 Ahau 3 Mol in A15 the value 9.15.10.0.0, the cases are exactly parallel. While it is impossible to prove that this particular Initial Series was the one which the ancient scribes had in mind when they recorded this date 3 Ahau 3 Mol, the writer believes that the coincidence and parallel here presented are sufficient to warrant the assumption that this is the case. The whole text reads as follows:

9.14.13. 4.17 12 Caban 5 Kayab Plate 19, _A_, A1-A6 13. 9. 9 Plate 19, _A_, A10 9.15. 6.14. 6 6 Cimi 4 Tzec Plate 19, _B_, B11b-A12a [9.15.10. 0. 0] 3 Ahau 3 Mol Plate 19, _B_, A15 [9.15. 0. 0. 0] 4 Ahau 13 Yax Plate 19, _B_, A17 9.14.13. 4.17 12 Caban 5 Kayab Plate 19, _B_, A18b B18a 1.16.13. 3 Plate 19, _B_, B17 A18a 9.16.10. 0. 0 1 Ahau 3 Zip Plate 19, _B_, A19 (repeated as Initial Series on east side of monument) 9.16.10. 0. 0 1 Ahau 3 Zip Plate 20, A1-B5-B8

The student will note the close similarity between this inscription and that on Stela J (figured in figs. 78 and 79), a summary of which appears on page 239. Both commence with the same date, 9.14.13.4.17 12 Caban 5 Kayab; both show the date 9.15.6.14.6 6 Cimi 4 Tzec; both have dates which are just 1 katun in advance of the hotuns which they mark; and finally, both are hotun-markers, Stela J preceding Stela F by just 1 hotun. The date from which both proceed, 9.14.13.4.17 12 Caban 5 Kayab, is an important one at Quirigua, being the earliest date there. It appears on four monuments, namely, Stelæ J, F, and E, and Zoömorph G. Although the writer has not been able to prove the point, he is of the opinion that the glyph shown in figure 80, _a_, tells the meaning of the event which happened on this date, which is, moreover, the earliest date at Quirigua which {222} it is possible to regard as being contemporaneous. Hence, it is not improbable that it might refer to the founding of the city or some similar event, though this is of course a matter of speculation. The fact, however, that 9.14.13.4.17 12 Caban 5 Kayab is the earliest date on four different hotun-markers shows that it was of supreme importance in the history of Quirigua. This concludes the discussion of texts showing the use of Secondary Series with Initial Series.

TEXTS RECORDING PERIOD ENDINGS

It was explained in