THOMAS] COPAN INSCRIPTIONS STELA J 779

MaiicLslay's photograph of this third

row

as published ^{in his} plate 65is, so far as the first group, whichincludes the date mentioned, is

concerned, too

dim

and imperfect to determine the gh'phs with even a reasonable degree of certainty, l)ut as

Mr Goodman

had original photographs,and Maudslay's drawingsare

more

complete, theoriginal inscription

may

have been clearer than the published photograph (autotype).

From

the drawing, the

Ahau symbol

is seen to be ofthe usual form, butthe attached numeral, if it be such,is a face character similar to the second

form

of 10 given ^l)y

Mr

Goodiuan.

The number

13overthe

month symbol

isof the usual

form

(balls ordotsand lines);

the

month symbol

is incomplete, l)ut the remaining portion, as given

inthe drawing, with the exception of thecap piece, which islike that ofChen, ^is

more

like Yax,Zac, or Ceh.

The symbol

for8daysinthe reckoning isseparate

from

the chuen symbol.

The number

over the chuen is a face form, the

same

as that noticed above as 10.

The

10

Lamat which

follows isdistinctand of the usual form. It isfollowed inmiediatelyby aglyph with the usual numeral

symbol

for 9 attached.

Although Mr Goodman

says •'month date not given," this glyph resemblesalmost exactly that in the inscription on theback, which he

callsUo, but whichis

more

likeChen.

The

only objectiontoassuming

ittobea

month

symliolisthat

Lamat

is neverthe itthdayof themonth, butsimilarerrors in thisrespect have been observed. Itistruethatif

we

^{count 8days,} 10 chuens(

=

208 days)

from

10

Ahau

13Chen,

we

^will

reach 10

Lamat

16

Pop

^of the following year; but the test is never satisfactory withoutthe

month

and dayof themonth, exceptincase of continued series, as in thecodex,

where

the error, if one is made, can becorrected b}'the precedingor following diflerences. Letusinthis case changethe

number

attached to theglyph following 10

Lamat

to 11,and ^call the

month

Chen, which it

most

resem))les. Counting back

we

vary but one ^{da}^}

from

10

Ahau,

but the

month

^will be Kayal).

Thisseries istherefore not sufficiently certain todecide positivelj-that

Mr Goodman's

assignment of the numV)er 10 to the face glyph over the

Ahau symlwl

is correct, but

we

arejustified in acceptingthis face character as a numeral, as characters denoting or 20 are never attached tosymbols representingparticular days.

STELA J

One

ofthe

most

importantinscriptions at

Copan

is that on the north and south faces of Stela.1. the two sides forming one series. This is

shown

in platesxliii*/and ^{XLIII/^} whichareasnearlyaspossiblecopies ofMaudslay'sdrawings, thesel)eingselected ratherthan the autotype, which in

some

places is a little dim.

As

theglyphs areall

numbered

except the

upper two

on the north side,

marked A

and B, they ^will be cited ))y the nunil)ers.

A

^slight glance over the inscription is sufficient tocall attention to

780 MAYAN CALENDAR SYSTEMS

[eth.ann.19 the fre(}uent ivpotition of the ^so-ciilled ahuutime or minieral symbol.

By

beifiiiiiinji'witli y'lyph 1 and foUowinj^

down

the tirsttwo cohimns and then

down

the seeond

two

as niim))ered. ^it will he seen thatthey have numerals attached, heoiiuiinji' with 1 and proceedin<r in regular order, 2, 3, ete,

up

to Ui. 'I'he remaining iuunl)ei's. 17-20, do not appearto have been given on the Stela.

As

^{jNIr(xoodman's} conuuent on this in.seription reveals his

method

of ascertaining numeral characters, itprobably will be best togive it in full:

First

Ahau —

³⁰⁰ Days

Second(jhiph

—

^{Theupper cliaracter is one} meaninj; beginning, orfrom^tliebegin- ning,a.sweiiavelearnedfrom its use elsewherewith directiveand])eriod signs, so therewillbe nonecessityfor speaking of it again. The inference isplainthat the charactersunder^itrepresent thenumberofdaysintht^singleahauthat has passed.

Theyconsist ofaconii)Ositesign surmounting two0]»posedcoils

—

^{thecoil, however,}

not beingasplain in tliis particular instance as in succeedingones.

We

havelong suspectedallformsiifthecoil, where ^it went beyond a merecurve, tobeindicative of9,and the subtixoftheahausyml)olhas pretty well satisfiedusofit. Now,these areidenticalwiththecoilsin tluit sul)lix,Init tlieyhavenot thecenter])iecebetween them wliichthere uuiltiplies them by4. Hence,these must stand for 18 simply, oneofthecommonest constituents of 360,the aliau number of days. Inthat case theotherfactormust be20, rejiresentedbythecompositecharacter above.

Tliirilijlyjih

—

^{Here we recognize the doul)le} cauac character, which we know

standsfor20 days,fromitsemployment in tliesymbols forthecalendarround and

cycle. Itfollowsthatthe head above .tmust imjily18, but unfortiuiately it istoo mutilatedto clearlymakeoutif it has the characteristics of the ordinary 18faceor

isa variant.

Second

Arau —

720 Days

Secoiiil_{i/jiph

—

^{The same two coils; lience the composite character above them}

heremust denote40.

ThirdgUiph

—

^{The 10-daysign qualitied by} three characters thatshould aggregate 72.

We

should not be able to make them out but for knowledge subsequently gained. Ifyouwilllookdowntotheseventhahauyouwillsee,intliesecond glyph, the under oneof these threecharacters. Itsjiositionthere provesittobe35. The middle numeralisabarwith aband crossing it obliquelyin the center

—

^asignfor

9; but here there are two other partial bands,so thatpresumably itisthreetimes nine, or27.

We

^areyettensliortoftlienecessarytotal. In the topsign, we know

the(ihau stands for4, thehand ordinarily for5; butasthe uprightthumb by^itself means^1, thehand intliispositionevidentlyliasthe valueof6.

Third

Ahau—

1080 Days

Si'roiiilghiph

—

^{One of the coils disappearshere and} a sign for 3takes its place.

.\sthe^S»element, which is an indispensable constituentoftheahautotal, wouldbe

lostl)yaddition,this 3 nuistserveasamultiplier—9X3=27X20=540X2=1,080. The

multiiilication alsoshowsus that the duplicate characterattlieliottomhas herebut asingle value.

Thii-df/lijpli

—

^Thej/rr.rcharacter wliich ^intliemonthsymbol^liasthevalue of4,an outdaring sign wliich in another inscription distinguishesa (ifteenlh katun,and a character that nnist signify 18, to make up the complement of days

—

15x4

=

60X18=1080.

Foinih(jl>i)>li

— We

must infer this to bean arl)itrary sign, equivalent to a third ahau, or three ahaus.

THOMASl

COPAN

INSCRIPTIONS

STKLA

J

781

Fiii-RTii

Ahat—

1440 Pays

Itwilllieobservedtliatthereekunin!,' ofthedays ismissinghere—a^{fact tliat}will

becomeimportantwhen wereach thenextahau.

Second ghipli—Xiiaportionof this is obliterated we willpassitby. Itisawaste oftimetostudy illegible glyphs whenthe missing partisnotrestorablefromwhat

i.sleftorfrom the context.

Tliinlglyph

—

^Sameremarks.

Fifth

Ahau—

1800 Days

Second^(/f(/p?i—18X40=720X2=1,440; ^hencethisglyph should have gone with^the preceding ahau.

Thirdghjph—A^syml)olwhich apjiropriatelydenotes thebeginningof afifthahau inseveral other placesⁱⁿtheinscriptions. Icall attentiontothe peculiar character ofthe wing, orwhateveritmay be termed. Itisnot the ordinary form, signifying 20, butmust havethe valueof36—10x5=50x36=1800.

Sixth

Ahau—

2160 Days

Secondgh/ph—TheundernumberIjeing 4 here,the characterabovethecoils shoul<l represent'30,but instead it represents only 25—18X25=450x4=1800; ^{hence this}

glyjih should have gonewith thefifthahau.

Thirdglgph—The20-daysign again, qualifiedbya characterwhichthe connection requirestobe asign for108—108x20=2160.

Fourthghjph—

An

arbitrarysign, probably,^for6ahausorasixth ahau.

Seventh

Ahau—

²⁵²⁰ Days Secondglyph—18X4=72X^?'=2!S20.

Third gli/ph—

Two

^oi the characters encountered above reappear here, associated witlia knotwhichwe know ^tolieasign for 5 orsome of its multiples. Asneither 10, 15,nor20addedtothe other characterswould form a number that wouldbean evendivisorof2,520,wemustconsiderthisasign for 5andthe characterunderneath

it to represent 60—10+27+5=42x60=2520. ^{The subfix here,} consequently, not- withstanding its resemblance to the character representing72, can haveno value, liutmustservemerelyasapedestal, asitdoes underthedaysymbols.

Eighth

Ahau—

2880 Days Secondglyph—

1

8

X

⁴⁰⁼⁷²⁰

X

⁴

=

2880.

Third^Z.vp/t—18X40=720X4=2880. ^{Tliesubfixiswithoutvalue herealso.}

Fourthglyph—Too^{defacedto justifyanyestimateofit.}

Ninth Ahau

—

3240 Days

Thecomputation, ^iftherewas one, and the equivalents are defaced beyond the possibility of recognition.

Tenth

Ahau—

^.3600 Days

Theahausign here^differsfrom ^all the ^rest. It is the symbol used in a Tikal tablet todenote adatetobea tenth ahau.

Secondglyph—Thetwo^coilsdonotappearhere,onlyone; butthatone^isqualified l>yacurve, signifying5. As^itcan not be added withoutdestroying the 9 element,

it mustserve as amultiplier—9X5=45X40=1800X2=3600. The2 signherelooks somethingliketheahaucharacter^for4, but the context requires^ittobe2.

Thirdglyph—Thesymbol thateverywheredenotes a tenthahauoran even10-ahau reckoning,withthe character thatcommonlyconstitutes itscenter placed besideit.

782 MAVA.V CALENDAR SYSTKMS

[eth.akn.19

Eleventh Aiiat

—

^3!(60 Days

Secondglyph

—

^{Thestoneis»obaiUy}iimtilateil thatthisglyphcan not berestored withcertainty. If tlie characters tliat are tolerably preserved be.5,9, and 2. tlie othershould l)e44, butI ilistrusttheir identity.

Tliirdgliiph

—

^There may ^be two glyphs here,though I think not. The 20-day perioil ))eingthefactor toberaised, itrequires 198fora multiplierto bringittothe necessarytotal. The character to the left of it being 1, there is good reasonfor supposingittorepresent73, and the right-hand sign at the topbeing18, itfollows that(herecan be nomultiplication ofthesenumerals, but that they must be added;

hencetheremainingcharactersmustaggri'gate 107. The<-r)mbsign

—

^thoughdupli-

cated here, as inmanyotherplaces, togiveit a more ^{ornamental effect}

—

^probably

represents liut20. That leaves87to be accomitcd for by the remainingcharacter.

Itisa signthat occursmany times, butits central partisseldom twicealike,some- timesbeingasingle bar,sometimestwo,andagainsomethingquitedifferent. Here

ithas theappearance of thespire in the akbalsign, whichstamlsfor 7. On ^either

sideisacombsign for20,raised totwice that valuebyalineof dots. Itispossible, therefore, that thetwotogethermayrepresent80, the particular center partin this instanceraisingthefullvalueofthe characterto87.

TwELiTH AiiAi-

—

^{t:i20 Days}

Second glyph

—

^{Atfirst view}the principal factors appear to be identical with the charactersrei)resenting108and 18. Butthe ball inthe centerofthefirstisdouble, andthereiscrosshatchingon both,which maymodifythemeaning. Thecharacter at the bottom seems to be only a beginning ^sign, thougli its form is somewhat

unu-sual. If the right-hand sign be IS and the subfix nothing, theother character mustrepresent240; but there^istonnmcli uncertaintyinvolvedtowarrantconfidence in thisdeduction.

Tliirilglyph

—

^{Here againwe} are nonplussed.

We

know the bouquet sign for 6 (thesameasthat overthesymbolforZac)and theymixcharacterfor5; butthe^lat- terhasa ])eculiarmarking at the toj), andwe do not knowhowthat may alter its value. The characteroverit may l)e amultipleof 20, asithas the general appear- anceofthe wingsign forthat numberwitha qualifying markat the ^leftpartof it.

Forareason that will bemadeex'ident later on,we ^{will assume that it} rejiresents 120, andtheymixcharacter (i— 120

X

⁶⁼⁷²⁰

X

^6=4320.

Thirteexth Ahat

—

^{4680 Days}

Second glyph

—

^{Here thesigns for 9, 5and 4 are plain, indicating that tlie other}

charactermust be26—9

X

5=45

X

⁴⁼¹⁸⁰

X

^26=4680.

Tliird glyi>h

—

^The chief factor here is a 260-day sign which we encounter else- where. Itconsists oftheahaii sign,doubled invaluebythesurroundingrowof dot«, andinclosed inthe^j/(«i.rcharacter for 5

— 1x2=8 —

5=13, and then multiplied by

20,denoted bythe duplicate combsign below

—

¹³

X

^{20=260. Therearejusteight-}

een(if these periodsin 13 ahaus; hencethe charactertotherightnuistrepresent 18.

Fourlliglyph

—

^.Vbeginningsignbeforeaglyi>h that mnstnecessarilybea symbol

fora thirteenthahauor13ahaus.

ForRTEExrn Ahau

—

⁵⁰⁴⁰ Days

Second glyph

—

^{There is doulit if thiswas} inteii<led for a single glyph, "r ^if two glyphswereartfullyor accidentally mixed up. The characters, moreover, being^.-io nearlyillegiblethat tliereisnocertaintyaboutthem,itwould beuselesst<iattempt asnlution ofthepuzzle.

Tliirdgly/ih

—

A^headthai ajipears to lieacompound^ofthechuenand ahauheads.

Asiti)rol)at)ly rejjresentsanahau, thesign in front ofitmuststandfor 14.