INSCRIPTIONS OF THE MIDDLE PERIOD. 181 
To begin with, it is only 9 days earlier than the katun-ending recorded 
in E; and furthermore, precisely this very number of kins may be recorded 
in the glyph immediately preceding this Calendar Round date, 7. ¢., in 1); 
at least, a kin-sign is recorded there, and the best values for its effaced coeffi- 
cient are between 6 and Io inclusive. The fact that we probably have in 
1b a distance-number composed of 9 kins, which, if counted forward from 
9.12.19.17.11 12 Chuen 19 Pop will reach 9.13.0.0.0 8 Ahau 8 Uo, the date in 
Eb, makes the last reading above by far the best. The next glyph, x, although 
partially effaced, appears to have been an ending-sign; at least its main 
element is the hand. The last glyph-block, L, is undecipherable. 
If the above reading of the Calendar Round date in J 1s correct, there 
exists an interesting relationship between this date and the Initial Series 
on the West Altar of Stela 5, namely, the former is exactly 5 katuns, a quarter 
of a cycle later than the latter, viz: 
Initial Series of West Altar of Stela 5 9. 7.19.17.11 9 Chuen 14 Mol 
goto cet 
Altar of StelarI = 9.12.19.17.11 12 Chuen 19 Pop 
The relationship is so unique that it may possibly be ascribed to chance, 
but as different katun anniversaries of dates other than those ending tuns, 
hotuns, lahuntuns, or katuns of the Long Count are known to have been 
recorded elsewhere,! it is not improbable that this relationship may be due 
to intention rather than to chance. 
StelaI cr O:11.19.\5.'0 “torAhaw 17 Ceh 
C6 10. 8 
c7a g.11.19.15. 8 10 Lamat (16 Zotz) 
(3.16.12) undeclared 
AI-Bs, AS —s-_: Q. 12. 3.14. O 5 Ahau (8 Uc) (Initial Series) 
Altar BCa Ec4s0 
cb, Da ale ees. 3 Ahau 3 Xul 
pb End of a hotun 
(14.17.11) undeclared 
J g.12.19.17.11 12 Chuen 19 Pop (?) 
1b 9 ? 
E 9.1320. Oho 8 Ahau 8 Uo 
F End of Katun 13? 
A study of the foregoing develops a possible reason for the record of 
g.13.0.0.0 8 Ahau 8 Uo on this altar. It will be noted that the month part of 
the Initial Series terminal date is also 8 Uo; therefore there is an exact num- 
ber of years of 365 days each between these two dates, sixteen of them, if 
the value of 8 Ahau 8 Uo was 9.13.0.0.0, as suggested here. The fact that 
sixteen years of 365 days each exactly separated the Initial Series terminal 
date of the stela from the end of the current katun may have been regarded 
of sufficient importance in itself to warrant its record here; and particularly 
so, since 16X 365 =2X 2,920, the latter period, 2,920 days, being equal to 



1 A case in point is the record of the dates 9.16.12.5.17 6 Caban 10 Mol and 9.17.12.5.17 4 Caban 10 Zip 
on Altar T here at Copan, the latter being the first katun anniversary of the former. Ancther example at Quirigua 
is the record of 9.16.13.4.17 8 Caban 5 Yaxkin on the east side of Stela D, which is the second katun anniver- 
sary of 9.14.13.4.17 12 Caban 5 Kayab, the Initial Series of Stele E and F at the same site. 
