THE AECHAIC CALENDARS. 



13 



surmised to be ahaus and katuns were really so, the former would not come in the 

 right order, while the latter were excessive and numerated in a way quite unintelligible. 

 It was discouraging, but I did not lose faith in my discovery. The inapplicability of 

 the Yucatec scheme to the reckonings of the inscriptions, pr-obably, was simply owing 

 to different methods of computing the ahaus and katuns. There was no alternative 

 but a patient and exhaustive analysis of the Archaic dates and time reckonings. 



It would be tedious as useless to recount trials — failure outranking success a 

 thousandfold — the results of which constitute the bulk of this book. I will only 

 state, in brief, that I determined the character of the chuen and great cycle periods ; 

 that I discovered the first chuen was numerated 18, the first ahau, katun, day and 

 day of the month, 20, and that the first cycle of the great cycle was numbered 13 — 

 the unit attaching to the second period in all instances ; that I ascertained the cycle 

 was composed of twenty katuns, numerated 20, 1, 2, 3, etc., up to 19, instead of 

 according to the Yucatec order ; that I finally deduced a chronological calendar 

 whose perfect accord with the principal dates and reckonings throughout the 

 inscriptions is proof of its correctness, and by reversing the process, succeeded in 

 reconstructing the outlines of the entire Archaic chronological scheme. I expect my 

 calendar to be challenged. It would be without precedent in the history of discovery 

 if it were not. But I leave it to defend itself, conscious that it is as infallible as the 

 multiplication table and knowing that all antagonists must finally go down before it. 



The Archaic annual and chronological calendar schemes are susceptible of almost 

 innumerable combinations and summaries, but for present purposes it is unnecessary 

 to give here more than the simplest summarized forms : — 



YEAR COUNT. 



AHAU COUNT. 



6 days Week. 



20 „ Month. 



365 „ Year. 



4 years Luster. 



52 „ Calendar. 



7,200 calendars Grand Era. 



20 days Chuen. 



18 chuens Ahau. 



20 ahaus Katun. 



20 katuns Cycle. 



13 cycles Great Cycle. 



73 great cycles Grand Era. 



Some additional summaries will be given in explanation of different features of the 

 calendars, and still others in the compendiums following the text ; but I shall not 

 attempt — as would indeed be futile— to exhaust the possibilities of the two schemes 

 in this respect. The Mayas themselves evidently found the subject an unfailing field 



