128 THE INSCRIPTIONS AT COPAN. 
in connection with the erection of the hotun-markers or other religious 
festivals. 
As this practice of associating altars with stele obtained generally 
throughout the Middle and Great Periods at Copan, it seems reasonable to 
assume that it also prevailed during the Early Period, even though no 
archaic stele or altars have yet been found in situ. If this is true, it is prob- 
able that some, at least, of the archaic altars already described were formerly 
associated with some of the archaic stele previously described. 
Omitting for the moment the altar of Stela E and possibly Altars X, 
Y, and Q’, as already accounted for, the last three with Stele 17, 16, and 15, 
respectively, there are left six altars (A’, J’, K’, L’, M’, and P’) which may have 
been associated with nine stele (20, 24, 25, 21, 22, 18, 9,7, and P). Since 
Altars L’, M’, and P’ and Stele 20, 25, 18, 21, 22, and 7 were all found at the 
same group, namely, No. 9, it is possible, indeed probable, that some at 
least of the former were originally associated with some of the latter. 
On the other hand, some archaic stele and altars may have been lost or 
even destroyed. Thus, for example, it is possible that the stela formerly 
associated with Altar A’ has not yet been found. Altars X, Y, and A’ are 
very similar, differing from all the other archaic altars at Copan. Also, 
Stele 16 and 17, with which X and Y may have been associated, differ from 
all the other archaic stele now known. It seems not unlikely, therefore, that 
a stela like 16 and 17 may have been originally associated with Altar A’, 
although such a one has not yet been found. 
A tentative correlation of the stele and altars of the Early Period is 
suggested below: 
Stela 24 with Altar L’, M’ or P’ Stela 16 with Altar Y 
Stela 20 with Altar L’, M’ or P’ Stela 7 with Altar L’, M’ or P’ 
Stela 15 with Altar Q’ Stela E now associated with its original altar 
Stela 25 with Altar L’, M’ or P’ Stela P 
Stela 18 with Altar L’, M’ or P’ Stela ? with Altar J’ 
Stela 17 with Altar X Stela  ? with Altar K’ 
Stela 9 Stela  ? with Altar A’ 
While it may be safely accepted as a general proposition that the archaic 
stele had certain definite altars originally associated with them, it is exceed- 
ingly hazardous in the absence of direct textual connection, as in the case of 
Stele E and its altar, or perhaps Stela 15 and Altar Q’ for example, to go 
farther than to point out the possibility of such correlations, although some 
of the combinations suggested above doubtless formerly existed. 
In closing the presentation of the inscriptions of the Early Period, it 
should be borne in mind that even though the total number of monuments 
under observation is relatively small, the tendencies which they exhibit— 
particularly the periodicity of the dates on the stele—are nevertheless highly 
significant, since they faithfully forecast the chronological practices of the 
later periods, and at the same time shed a ray of light upon the probable 
use, if not indeed upon the very meaning of the Maya monuments, as pri- 
marily marking the passage of successive chronological units, the hotuns, 
jn the Long Court. 
