﻿THE 
  FOREMOST 
  ACHIEVEMENT 
  OF 
  AXCIEXT 
  AMERICA 
  

  

  123 
  

  

  ALTAR 
  

  

  Courtesy 
  of 
  The 
  Carnegie 
  Institution 
  of 
  Washington 
  

   AT 
  THE 
  RUINS 
  OF 
  CAXCUEX, 
  GUATEMALA 
  

  

  This 
  altar 
  was 
  discovered 
  in 
  1915. 
  at 
  the 
  ruins 
  of 
  Cancuen, 
  on 
  the 
  east 
  bank 
  of 
  the 
  

   Pasion 
  River, 
  in 
  southern 
  central 
  Peten. 
  It 
  is 
  2 
  feet 
  in 
  diameter 
  and 
  7 
  inches 
  in 
  thickness 
  

   and 
  the 
  sculpture 
  on 
  the 
  top 
  represents 
  two 
  priests 
  officiating 
  at 
  an 
  altar 
  (the 
  disk 
  between 
  

   them). 
  The 
  first 
  two 
  hieroglyphs 
  at 
  the 
  top 
  give 
  its 
  date 
  as 
  9.18.5.0.0 
  4 
  Ahau 
  13 
  Ceh 
  of 
  the 
  

   Maya 
  era 
  (536 
  A. 
  D.). 
  

  

  with 
  the 
  counting 
  of 
  time 
  in 
  one 
  phase 
  or 
  

   another. 
  They 
  record 
  with 
  extraordinary 
  

   accuracy 
  the 
  dates 
  of 
  the 
  monuments 
  

   upon 
  which 
  they 
  are 
  engraved, 
  so 
  that 
  no 
  

   confusion 
  exists 
  between 
  any 
  two 
  days 
  

   within 
  a 
  period 
  of 
  more 
  than 
  370,000 
  

   years. 
  

  

  They 
  set 
  forth 
  elaborate 
  lunar 
  or 
  moon 
  

   calendars, 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  lunar 
  month, 
  in- 
  

   volving 
  a 
  very 
  difficult 
  fractional 
  num- 
  

  

  ber, 
  is 
  delicately 
  and 
  exactly 
  coordinated 
  

   with 
  the 
  solar 
  calendar 
  over 
  long 
  periods 
  

   of 
  time. 
  They 
  predict 
  eclipses 
  and 
  cor- 
  

   rectly 
  record 
  the 
  movements 
  and 
  phases 
  

   of 
  the 
  planets, 
  especially 
  Venus 
  : 
  and, 
  in 
  

   addition 
  to 
  the 
  foregoing, 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  

   wealth 
  of 
  other 
  chronological 
  data 
  of 
  as 
  

   yet 
  unknown 
  significance. 
  

  

  "Whether 
  this 
  last 
  refers 
  to 
  historical 
  

   events 
  or 
  astronomical 
  phenomena 
  has 
  

  

  