INSCRIPTIONS OF THE GREAT PERIOD. 295 
Aside from being the best reading obtained from an inspection of the 
text, the last also is the only one which appears to have any special relation- 
ship with other dates in or about this court. The last is only 85 days later 
than the last date on the pedestal of Stela N, about so meters to the 
east, and only a little over a year (423 days) later than the important date 
9.16.12.5.17 6 Caban 1o Mol inscribed on the step of Temple 11 on the 
south side of this court. The third reading above is the second choice. It 
antedates both Stele M and N, however, the former of which certainly would 
seem to have been erected before this altar. The first two values are hardly 
probable, as the month coefficient is almost surely 8. 
The glyph following the month-sign, Ea, is a well-known ending-sign, 
composed of the clasped hand and superfix with curl infix. As none of the 
possible dates end even tuns of the Long Count, it is difficult to see what can 
be the significance of this sign here. The remaining glyph on the back, gd, 
is a human figure of unknown meaning. 
The inscription is concluded on the south end, none of the four glyphs 
of which are decipherable. The second, Fd, is the sign which Goodman 
identifies, though probably incorrectly, as the glyph for the tonalamatl.! 
The next, ca, is a familiar glyph composed of the kin, Caban, and tun signs. 
Its meaning, however, is also unknown. The last glyph is another human 
figure of unknown meaning. 
The date 9.16.13.9.0 for Altar D’ would make it less than 12 years earlier 
than Altar W’, which it most closely resembles on stylistic grounds, but this 
reading is so doubtful that it should be accepted only with reservation. 
We come next to a very important group of monuments, all recording 
the same date, namely, 6 Caban 10 Mol, although all of them were probably 
not executed at the same time. There are seven of these in all: Altars V, 
R, U, Q, and T, Stela 8, and a step and door-jamb in Temple 11; and as the 
discussion proceeds it will become evident that in spite of the fact that the 
accompanying Initital Series is not recorded or at least has not been pre- 
served in a single instance, there is ample proof that it could only have been 
9.16.12.5.17 6 Caban 10 Mol. Finally, there is an eighth monument, Frag- 
ment E’, which should be included here, as it records the first katun anni- 
versary of this date. 
Four of these monuments, Altars V, R, and U and Temple 11, actually 
appear to have been dedicated on this date, and three of the remaining four, 
although later, give it a prominent place in their inscriptions. Thus, for 
example, although the contemporaneous date of Altar Q is 9.17.5.0.0 6 Ahau 
13 Kayab, it has 6 Caban 10 Mol as its most conspicuous date. And again, 
although Altar T and Stela 8? close with the first katun anniversary of this 
date, namely, 9.17.12.5.17 4 Caban 10 Zip, they both begin with 6 Caban 
10 Mol itself. Finally, as noted above, Fragment E’ also probably records 
this same katun anniversary. 
CS Sa no as i i ee ee 
1 Goodman, 1897, pp. 28-31. 2 The closing date on Stela 8 is really 5 days later, viz., 9.17.12.6.2 9 Ik 15 Zip. 
