THE COPAN. INSCRIPTIONS. 133 



are the equivalent of a katun round — that is, the time that must pass between two 

 occurrences of any given date as the beginning of a katun. 



RECKONING BACKWARD. 



RECKONING FORWARD. 



19—10 





3—8—9— 



3—7—9—10 



3—8—9— 



3—8—9— 



3—8—9— 



3—8—9— 



3—8—9— 



3—8-9— 



14—8—15—10 



14—6—16—10 



In thinking of the odd 19 katuns and 10 ahaus, they blundered in respect to the 

 total period. I think it should be 14 — 8 — 15 — 10 — 18 X 20. If so, the reckoning 

 goes back to the 40th great cycle ; if it went forward, it would extend to the 69th. 

 It is not material which way it be decided. The important fact is that in either case 

 they ranged over a period of more than 75,000 years, which substantially proves my 

 estimate of the immense reach of their chronological calendar. There are a few glyphs 

 following the reckoning and date in the same column, but they do not assist us, nor 

 can anything beyond the dates and a few disconnected characters be made out of the 

 rows of glyphs around the base. 



Stela P. 

 Initial date: 54—9—9—10—18x20—2 Ahau-13 Pop. The month symbol here 

 comes after the initial directive series. This is the strangest inscription of all. Its 

 style is so cursive, or in some way the glyphs are so changed from their ordinary 

 appearance, that there is doubt even about the initial date. It is not plain if the day 

 numeral was intended for 2, though I think it was — the sign for a 10th ahau following 

 the date fixing its position with tolerable certainty. Nothing more can at present be 

 made out of the inscription, beyond the fact that the thrice recurring bissextile 

 character and the numerous beginning signs indicate pretty clearly that the reckoning 

 goes forward and the glyphs mostly relate to the important date beginning the 15th 

 katun. If so, it is the first of the stelae to point to that great event. 



Altar Q. 

 There is more than the usual uncertainty here. It is doubtful where the inscription 

 begins. It is equally doubtful if the glyphs under the sixteen personages on the sides 

 are part of the text or merely symbols for periods of which the figures seated upon 



