Plioto by George N. Ltucklin. Jr. 

 VlliW OF THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE TEMPLE COURT AFTER EXCAVATION: CONTRAST 

 WITH THE VIEW SHOWN ON PAGE 348 



ways of this temple is of unusual inter- 

 est. The text on the cornice records the 

 date 9.19.0.0.0:9 Ahau, 19 Mol of Maya 

 chronology, which corresponds approxi- 

 mately to the date 540 A. D.* 



This date doubtless indicates the time 

 at which Temple A was erected or at 

 least dedicated. It marks the close of 

 Katun 19 of cycle 9 of the Maya eraf 

 and is the latest of all dates yet discov- 

 ered at Quirigua. 



The first two hieroglyphics in the east- 

 ern doorway (a and b, on page 356) 

 record the date 9 Ahau 18 Mol. which 

 is exactly 40 days in advance of the date 



♦Authorities differ as to the exact correla- 

 tion of Maya and Christian chronology. The 

 correlation used here is that proposed by the 

 writer. 



t The Maya Katun contained 7,200 days, or 

 approximately ig}4 years. There were 20 

 katuns in a cycle, which was very nearly 400 

 years long. Cycle 9 of Maya chronology was 

 the first historic period of the Maya civiliza- 

 tion. 



presented on the outside. The third 

 hieroglyphic in the middle doorway (c, 

 on page 356) expresses this distance of 

 40 days, and the fifth and sixth hiero- 

 glyphics, e and /. the date 9 Ahau 18 

 Mol, recorded also on the cornice outside. 

 Finally, the seventh and eighth hiero- 

 glyphics in the western doorway, g and 

 h (page 356), declare that this day, 9 

 Ahau 18 Mol, was at the end of Katun 

 19 of cycle 9, thus repeating the infor- 

 mation given on the exterior of the build- 

 ing. 



WHAT DO THE HIEROGLYPHICS HIDE? 



It will be seen from the foregoing that 

 the only Maya hieroglyphics which have 

 been deciphered up to the present time 

 are those which deal with some phase of 

 the calendar, such as day, month, or 

 period, signs, and the like. 



Indeed, all told, the meanings of not 

 more than 50 dift'erent characters have 

 been worked out, leaving in the neighbor- 



353 



