FORSTEMANN.] INSCRIPTION ON THE CROSS OF PALENQUE 553 



Now, 542=2X260+22=365+177. The day IV 17, actually pre- 

 cedes the day XIII 19 by just 22 days. But the day 8, 18th month is 

 distant 177 days from 20, 8th month of the following year, and there- 

 fore distant 365+177:=542 days from the same day 2 years later. 



A most singular error results if the dates 17 and IS are compared 

 with the intervening period 17. The inscription here reads as follows : 



X 5 W fi: II 18; 4, 12th month. (1 Caiiac-.) . 



X6W7: 1+20+360=381. 



X 10 W 11 : VII 1 ; 17, 8th month. (8 Mnlnc.) 



Now, II 18 to VII 1=83; and 4, 12th month to 17, 8th mOnth=298. 

 The sum of the two numbers is 881, Avhich is recorded as the interval 

 of time between them, wdiile in reality the two dates are separated by 

 16,723=45X365+298 or 64X260+83. It is plain therefore that the 

 characters were engraved on the stone before the computation was 

 completed. 



In one instance the month seems to be omitted. This occurs in F 9. 

 in the date which ends a period in the inscription. I here combine 

 the starting point of the w^hole computation with the sixth date: 



A 16 B 16: I 17; 18, 17th month. (3 Kan.) 



E F 5 and 6: 2+11x30+7X360+1X7,200+2x144,000=297,942. 



E 9: IX 19; completed, 15, 4th month. (1 Muluc.) 



If, since after 18,980 (52X365) days, the dates have the same posi- 

 tion in the year, 15X18,980=284,700 is subtracted from 297,942, 

 13,242 days remain. But 13,242=50X260+242=36X365+102. And 

 the time from I 17 to IX 19 is actually 242; from 18, I7th month to 

 15, 4th month, 102 days; I therefore believe that it is not venturing 

 too much thus to complete the date. 



The passage F 6, moreover, is the only one in the inscription where 

 a multiple of 144,000 really follows the sign for 7,200, as would be 

 expected. Such a multiple of 144,000, indeed, occurs three more times, 

 but in C 5 it is 8X144,000, and here it stands directly before the 

 period beginning with the single days, while in U 2 and V 12 we have 

 nine times and five times this number, but separated in each case from 

 the succeeding period by a glyph (V 2 and U 13, diflfering from each 

 other). Here is a problem to be solved in the future. 



An attempt, however, with the sign IT 2 seems to be successful. Let 

 us compare the thirteenth with the fourteenth date : 



T 17 U 1: VIII 17; 18, 12th month. (11 Muluc.) 



U 2 U V 3 U 4: 9x144,000+18+20+8x360+1X7,200=1,306,118. 



U 7 V 7: III 15; 16, 1st mouth? (2 Kan.) 



That the indistinct last sign denotes the first month is, of course, 

 only a conjecture; also that a line is lacking in the number 11 stand- 

 ing before it. If it is correct then everything agrees, for 1,306,118 — 



