THK MAYAN CIVILIZATION L03 



numbers which fall in the sequence 1, 8, 2, 9, 3, 10, 4, 

 11,5, 12,6, 13, L, etc. The result of the added element 

 in the permutation is that a particular day with a 

 particular number can occupy a particular month posi- 

 tion once every 13x4 or 52 years. In other words, the 

 cycle of variations rims through the least common mul- 

 tiple of 260 (the permutation) and 365 (the conven- 

 tional year) or 18,980 days. This cycle is commonly 

 known as the Calendar Round. 



A Mayan day fixed in a month has four parts to its 

 name, thus. 1 1 Ahau IS Mac. But after all this condi- 

 tion of affairs is not very different from our own. \\ V 

 say Tuesday, July 4, and we mean, "Tuesday, the 

 second day of the week, falls on the fourth day of 

 the month of July." Similarly the Mayan date 11 

 Ahau IS Mac may be read. "The day Ahau, bearing 

 the index number 11 (or, being the eleventh day in the 

 thirteen day week) is found in the 18th position in the 

 month Mac." Were it not for leap year the European 

 date given above would recur after seven years: as it is, 

 the cycle is somewhat irregular and no actual use is 

 made of it. So far we have considered two sorts of 

 Mayan dates, first the tzolkin date, recurring every 

 260 days, second the calendar round date recurring 

 every 18,980 days. Before we can understand the most 

 important dates of all, namely, those of the "Long 

 Count," which record the total number of days since a 

 beginning day called 4 Ahau 8 Cumhu, located far in 

 the past, we must din ct our attention to the matter of 

 numbers and notation. 



Mayan Numbers. The three most common 

 numerical systems in use in the world are all derived 



from man's anatomy. The quinary system is based on 

 counting the fingers of one hand, the decimal system on 



