Charles P. Bowditch

“ From this day all the initial series of the inscriptions of Copan and Quirigua, of Piedras Negras and Tikal, so far as we know them, count, except one where this day 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu is itself given. In this place (on Stela C of Quirigua) 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu is reckoned thus: "Grand cycle glyph .13.0.0.0.0.", while in the Temple of the Cross it is declared to be a thirteenth cycle. As this was the beginning date, there is reason to believe that the beginning cycle of a great cycle received the number 13. ”

“ It has long been well known that the Mexican numeration is vigesimal, and, as far as I know, there is no proof that it was ever used in the calculation of long reaches of time. The Cakchiquel numeration is also vigesimal, and Brinton states (Maya Chronicles, p. 44) that the Maya numeration is also vigesimal, giving
But this Maya system is never used in connection with days. Wherever a long number of days is referred to, we find invariably the following system in use:
And this system is, as far as we know, used for nothing else but for reckoning days. ”

“ The chief evidence in favor of giving the 0 or 20 glyph the meaning of 20 is, that this glyph is often drawn with a hand stretching across its lower part, especially when the main part of the glyph is a face. Now the face glyphs which represent the cycle of 144,000 days and the katun of 7,200 days are very similar, except that the cycle glyph has also a hand across its lower part, and the cycle is equal to 20 katuns ”

“ The great cycle glyph in the Chichen Itza date is somewhat injured, but it is apparently of the same character as those found elsewhere. The numbers of the cycle, katun, tun, and uinal periods are 10, 2, 9, and 1, respectively. The number of the kin period is a face which, from the circle of dots around the mouth, is pretty surely 9. ”

“ In the first row of dates, we find that the third date on page 48 is 12 Chen. The number of days at the bottom of the page which need to be counted forward in order to reach the fourth date is 8. If the beginning day of the month were marked by the Mayas with 1, then the last day would be marked with 20, and by adding 8 days to 12 Chen, we should reach 20 Chen. But the date is not 20 Chen. The month is Yax,—the month immediately following Chen,—and the glyph which takes the place of the number has a form resembling two half-circles placed side by side. ”

“ Again in paragraph 9 we read “Bolon Ahau—lay katun yax ulci obispo Fray Fran’co to Ral huli tu uacpiztun ychil ahBolon ahau katun lae,” which Brinton translates “The ninth ahau—in this katun first came the bishop Brother Francisco Toral; he arrived in the sixth year of the ninth ahau katun.” It should be “9 Ahau—in this katun—in Tun 6 of Katun 9 Ahau.” This is the only place in the Maya where the words “ahau katun” appear together. But the context makes it clear that “ahau katun” is not a period of time. ”

“ I give here the first and last terms of a list of the beginning days of the Katuns 13 Ahau in a complete round of 18,720 years occurring after the beginning of the grand cycle called by Goodman Grand Cycle 54, which began with 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu. It is of little consequence what particular number is given to the grand cycle, as the whole series forms a continuous count, and I [133] shall therefore follow Goodman, who gives the number 54 to the grand cycle glyphs common to Copan, Quirigua, etc. ”

“ The followers of Perez, however, insist that the length of the katun was 24 × 365 days. Sr Perez has indeed made this assertion, [2] but he rests his opinion to a great degree on the fact that the naming of the katuns proceeded in the following order, taking their names from the day Ahau with which they began, viz.:
and that by starting with a katun which begins with 13 Ahau and counting forward a period of 24 × 365 days, we should reach another katun beginning with 11 Ahau. ”

“ There is just a possibility that the great cycle may not be 54. If it is 53, the date must be 9 Muluc 12 Muan; if it is 55, the date must be 9 Muluc 2 Yaxkin; but the month number is clearly 7, which eliminates both these great cycle numbers. In order to find a great cycle with the numbers ?. 10. 2. 9. 1. 9, 9. ?. 7. ?, we should have to go back or forward from Great Cycle 54 at least five great cycles, which means over 25,000 years. ”

“ At all events the above discussion of the reckoning will not be useless if it succeeds in bringing out new facts, and no one will be more ready to recognize any new evidence than I shall be, even if the above deductions shall be shown to be erroneous. ”

“ I do not place too much reliance on this, however, for it is hardly safe to argue back from what we at this time would consider the best thing to do, in order to find out what some other nation at some other time would have done. ”

“ In all matters of this kind it is wise, while giving due value to the views of later writers, to place the most dependence for the solution of such questions upon contemporary or nearly contemporary evidence. ”

“ If we accept the second [137] date, 55.9.17.14.11.1., as the true one, Stela 9 must represent a date of B.C. 3814, and in the case of the third date, 57.2.14.13.16.1. in which the period to elapse to the end of Katun 13 Ahau is the nearest to an exact 6 tuns, we should throw back Copan to B.C. 11,250. It is not probable, however, that either of the last two dates is correct, both because of the immense time which would have elapsed and because the monuments show signs of no such age. ”

“ The day number is 9 and the month number is 7. The day glyph is somewhat obscure, but contains a circular frame supported by a knot, while the month glyph is pretty surely Zac. We can then be sure of the following:?. 10. 2. 9. 1. ”