134 THE ARCHAIC MAYA INSCRIPTIONS. 



them arc personifications — the breastplate in each case denoting the number of days 

 typified. The date between the two individuals facing each other, 6 Caban-10 Mol, is 

 one that occurs on other altars and on a stairway, and must be one to which particular 

 importance was attached. — The top of the altar has an inscription reading regularly. 

 Between the first two dates, 5 Caban-15 Yaxkin and 8 Ahau-18 Yaxkin, the distance 

 in the annual calendar is but 3 days, but I think one of the intermediate characters 

 indicates it to be one or more calendar rounds in addition ; as it does in the next 

 instance, where 5 Ben-11 Muan is indicated to be only 7 chuens and 12 days distant — 

 the 12 is a mistake ; it should be 13, the dates being 153 days apart. An unintelligible 

 reckoning follows, succeeded by a 17th katun sign and 6 Ahau-13 Kayab, the date 

 probably being indicated to be the one beginning the 5th ahau of the 17th katun of 

 the 9th cycle. The next and last date is 5 Kan-13 Uo (it should be 12 Uo, because 

 Kan cannot fall on the 13 th day of a month), which is stated to be 3 chuens and 

 4 days from the preceding date — a fact I believe to be indicated by two other glyphs. 



Altar R. 

 Beyond the two dates, 6 Caban-10 Mol and 7 Ahau- 3 Zip, absolutely unintelligible. 



Altar S. 



Initial date : 54—0—15—20—18 x 20—4 Ahau-13 Yax. This is the all-important 

 date again. It will be noticed that the initial directive series is absent here also. 

 Two unintelligible glyphs succeed the date and then there is the reading : 5 katuns 

 from the initial date to 7 Ahau-18 Zip, the beginning of the 10th cycle. I do not 

 know the value of the three remaining glyphs. 



Altar U. 

 So much of this inscription is illegible and so much of the remainder is unintelligible 

 — excepting a few dates and other well-known characters — that nothing connected can 

 be made out of it. 



