INSCRIPTIONS OF THE GREAT PERIOD. 229 
“Altar S bears same date as Stela B—only glyphs—carving of glyphs shows 
much the same progress as carving of human figure—block-like quality becomes 
less evident—sharp edges rounded, and modelling apparent.’”! 
In view of all the evidence presented, it seems highly probable that 
Altar S was erected not at the later hotun-ending recorded upon it, but at 
the earlier one, that is at 9.15.0.0.0 4 Ahau 13 Yax instead of 10.0.0.0.0 
7 Ahau 18 Zip,’ and, indeed, that originally it may have been associated 
with Stela A or B at the Main Structure. 
It will be seen from the summary of this inscription on page 227 that 
out of a total of 18 glyphs* the meanings of 11 are completely known (x, 
ca, cb, Da, Db, Ea, Eb, Ga, Ha, HD, and Ia) and the function of one other, 7. ¢., 
the Initial Series introducing glyph (a), 1s clearly understood. This leaves 
only six, or 33.3 per cent, of the text undeciphered. Three of the undeter- 
mined glyphs (Fra, cb, and jb) have the familiar ending superfix GV), also 
seen above ta, the glyph recording “End of Cycle ro.” It seems probable 
from these glyphs, therefore, that other and still unknown Maya time-periods 
also came to an end on one or other of the two dates recorded on this altar. 
The first glyph showing this ending-sign superfix, Fa, follows 
immediately after the Initial Series terminal date; and it is not at GX all un- 
likely that some unknown time-period, whose sign is expressed & by Fa, 
came to an end on the date 9.15.0.0.0 4 Ahau 13 Yax. ‘The prefix of Fa is 
also another ending-sign and the element between the superfixial ending- 
sign and the main glyph is a familiar form for o. The record of two ending 
signs_and o in the same glyph strongly suggests that such a sign designates 
the end of some time-period. 
The next glyph with this ending-sign superfix is Gb 
between the “5 katuns”’ and the date “7 Ahau 18 Zip”. This may in- 
dicate that some time-period expressed by cd is contained an even 
number of times in five katuns; that is, it came to an end in this period. Gb 
standing 


is apparently the day-sign Imix with the day-sign Ahau ap- 
pearing in place of its central element. These two days are 
the first and last of all Maya @W© time-periods, Ahau being the 
closing day and Imix the starting day of all known periods greater than the 
kin. If 7 Ahau 18 Zip closed Cycle 10, as we have seen, then 8 Imix 19 Zip 
began the following cycle. cb may therefore be a general glyph indicating 
the end of one time period and the beginning of another. 
The last ending-sign appears at Jb, @) , where it is attached to a com- 
posite glyph, the main element of which ®) also appears in the next “2 
ES (Glyph B). Thesubfixis Ug 
1 See Spinden, 1913, table 1. 
to last sign of the Supplementary Series 
2 This conclusion applies to the other six monuments of this group, with the possible exception of Altar 1 at 
Piedras Negras, which opens with a cycle-ending, more than 5,000 years before the beginning of Cycle 9, that is 
before the beginning of the historic period, and proceeds to the End of Cycle 10; or from the very remote past, 
through the present, into the nearer future. 
3 The first two glyph-blocks have only one glyph each—the Initial Series introducing glyph and the cycle-sign 
and coefficient; but all the others have two glyphs each, which make a total of 18 instead of 20 for the entire text 



