INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MIDDLE PERIOD. 133 
ment in 1910, but was then unable to find the bottom half. In 1915, how- 
ever, all pieces except the very top—a fragment which must have been 
about 25 cm. high, and which Galindo also reports as missing in 1834— 
were examined, and the date determined for the first time. 
All four sides are inscribed with glyphs, which still retain much of their 
original coating of red paint.1 This has given rise to the name Piedra 
Pintada—painted stone—by which the monument is known locally. On 
the basis of the arrangement of the design, Stela 12 may be referred to 
Class 3. 
A line drawn from Stela 12 to Stela 10, the western Piedra Pintada, 
similarly located on the summit of a hill 7 kilometers west of Stela 12, passes 
across the southern end of the Acropolis at the Main Structure, bearing 
N. 86° 46’ W. (magnetic).? (See plate 3.) 
Whether this is the result of intention or of chance, it is, of course, 
impossible to say, although it is interesting to note in this connection that 
both Stele 10 and 12 antedate the earliest monument? which may be regarded 
as being surely in situ at the Main Structure, and consequently they might 
have had something to do with the location of the Acropolis in its present 
position, perhaps in determining a certain line of sight of especial astro- 
nomical or ceremonial importance at the time. 
At the suggestion of Prof. R. W. Willson, of the Harvard Astronomical 
Department, certain observations were made on Stela Io as observed from 
Stela 12, namely, (1) the angle of Stela 10 above the valley floor, taken at 
the river-level at the base of the Main Structure; (2) the compass-bearing of 
Stela 10 from Stela 12; and (3) the bearing of the sun at the instant of setting 
on any given day. ‘These readings were taken just before and at sunset on 
March 8, 1916, and were turned over to Professor Willson, who has placed 
the following statement concerning them in the writer’s hands: 
“Tf, as you say, the two stelz are at about the same height above the river, 
namely, 450’ [137 meters],* the western column being a little higher, I find from 
your observations that the true bearing of the western (Stela 10) from the 
eastern (Stela 12) is N. 81° 47’ W. 
“Accepting this as the true bearing, the sun, as seen from Stela 12, would set 
behind Stela 10, 20.3 days after the vernal equinox and 20.6 days before the autumnal 
equinox (7. ¢., April 9 and September Io of the present year, 1916 (Gregorian 
Calendar). 
“From Mr. Carpenter’s observation of the magnetic bearing of Stela 10, W. 
4°25’ N., and the true bearing, N. 81° 47’, we find the present magnetic declination 
to be 3° 48’ east of north. 
“Gordon gives the magnetic bearing of this line as N. 86° 46’ W. and the 
declination 6° E., which makes the true bearing N. 80° 46’ W., which would give for 



1S0 far as known, all Maya inscriptions were originally painted red, although other subjects, such as the human 
figure, and its elaborate clothing, plumed head-dresses, jaguar-skin capes, and the like, appear in a variety of colors, 
including several other shades of red, brown, yellow, blue, green, and black. 
2The magnetic declination of Copan is 6° east. See Gordon, 1896, p. 29. 
3Stela 1, the date of which is 9.11.15.0.0. See p. 161. 
4Gordon’s notes in the Peabody Museum give these elevations as Stela 10, 228 meters, and Stela 12, 188.6 
meters above the level of the Great Plaza at the Main Structure. 
