239
The Long Count is a positional system, usually arranged in descending order. Thus,
for instance, the date 9.17.19.13.16 means a total of 1,425,516 days elapsed from
the start of the count.
The Maya used a haab’ solar or vague year consisting of 18 20-day units each
and five additional days added at the end. The haab’ year drifted in relation to the
seasons. The names of the 20-day months (in Colonial Yucatec) are: Pop, Woh, Sip,
Sotz’, Tzek, Xul, Yaxk’in, Mol, Ch’en, Yax, Sak, Kej, Mak, K’ank’in, Muan, Pax,
K’ayab, Kumk’u, and Wayeb. The month names are accompanied by a numerical
coefficient referring to the day of a month.
The 260-day tzolk’in cycle has 20 day names combined with 13 day numbers,
ranging from 1 to 13. This combination produces 260 different days. The day names
vary among Classic Mayan cities. However, here I will make use of the Colonial
Yucatec names (maintaining traditional orthography): Imix, Ik’, Ak’bal., K’an,
Chikchan, Kimi, Manik’, Lamat, Muluk, Ok, Chuwen, Eb, Ben, Ix, Men, Kib,
Kaban, Etz’nab, Kawak, and Ajaw.
Combining both calendrical cycles, the haab’ and tzolk’in, creates a greater
cycle, which is usually referred to as the Calendar Round. They were anchored at
the zero-date, thus, the Long Count date 13.0.0.0.0 is taken to be tzolk’in day 4 Ajaw
and haab’ day 8 Kumk’u.
Maya rulers celebrated time reckoning. They often commissioned new monuments at important stations of the k’atun cycle and celebrated anniversaries of their
birthdates or enthronements.
3 Eclipse Table
Our knowledge of ancient Maya eclipse predictions comes from the Mayan Dresden
Codex table known as the Eclipse Table.
3
The table covers 11,960 days, or 33 years
minus three lunar months, and consists of 69 groups of 5- or 6-month intervals associated with 46 rounds of the tzolk’in (46 × 260 = 11,960 days). The history of the
composition of the Eclipse Table remains unknown, but its layout makes it reasonable to suppose that it was not a new text. The table has two base dates, written in
the Long Count format, one corresponding to 755 CE and the other to 1210 CE.
It has been hypothesized that the table is based on earlier (unattested) attempts to
predict eclipses using a 135 lunar month cycle (first noticed by Guthe, 1921) known
as the tritos (Meeus, 1997: 51, Table 9a) during which a pattern of 23 eclipse possibilities repeats itself. The table represents a modified sequence of three successive
tritos series. While it is plausible to suggest that a tritos series was discovered simply by adding two inferior eclipse periods, of 88 and 47 months,
4
following the rule
3 In describing the Eclipse Table I am following the discussion given by Bricker and Bricker (2011:
249–366). However, my treatment of eclipses is derived from Britton (1989).
4 For theoretical justification consult Hartner (1969) and Britton (1989: 8, Table 2).
Remarks on the Lunar Series and Eclipse Cycles in Late Classic Maya Records
The Long Count is a positional system, usually arranged in descending order. Thus,
for instance, the date 9.17.19.13.16 means a total of 1,425,516 days elapsed from
the start of the count.
The Maya used a haab’ solar or vague year consisting of 18 20-day units each
and five additional days added at the end. The haab’ year drifted in relation to the
seasons. The names of the 20-day months (in Colonial Yucatec) are: Pop, Woh, Sip,
Sotz’, Tzek, Xul, Yaxk’in, Mol, Ch’en, Yax, Sak, Kej, Mak, K’ank’in, Muan, Pax,
K’ayab, Kumk’u, and Wayeb. The month names are accompanied by a numerical
coefficient referring to the day of a month.
The 260-day tzolk’in cycle has 20 day names combined with 13 day numbers,
ranging from 1 to 13. This combination produces 260 different days. The day names
vary among Classic Mayan cities. However, here I will make use of the Colonial
Yucatec names (maintaining traditional orthography): Imix, Ik’, Ak’bal., K’an,
Chikchan, Kimi, Manik’, Lamat, Muluk, Ok, Chuwen, Eb, Ben, Ix, Men, Kib,
Kaban, Etz’nab, Kawak, and Ajaw.
Combining both calendrical cycles, the haab’ and tzolk’in, creates a greater
cycle, which is usually referred to as the Calendar Round. They were anchored at
the zero-date, thus, the Long Count date 13.0.0.0.0 is taken to be tzolk’in day 4 Ajaw
and haab’ day 8 Kumk’u.
Maya rulers celebrated time reckoning. They often commissioned new monuments at important stations of the k’atun cycle and celebrated anniversaries of their
birthdates or enthronements.
3 Eclipse Table
Our knowledge of ancient Maya eclipse predictions comes from the Mayan Dresden
Codex table known as the Eclipse Table.
3
The table covers 11,960 days, or 33 years
minus three lunar months, and consists of 69 groups of 5- or 6-month intervals associated with 46 rounds of the tzolk’in (46 × 260 = 11,960 days). The history of the
composition of the Eclipse Table remains unknown, but its layout makes it reasonable to suppose that it was not a new text. The table has two base dates, written in
the Long Count format, one corresponding to 755 CE and the other to 1210 CE.
It has been hypothesized that the table is based on earlier (unattested) attempts to
predict eclipses using a 135 lunar month cycle (first noticed by Guthe, 1921) known
as the tritos (Meeus, 1997: 51, Table 9a) during which a pattern of 23 eclipse possibilities repeats itself. The table represents a modified sequence of three successive
tritos series. While it is plausible to suggest that a tritos series was discovered simply by adding two inferior eclipse periods, of 88 and 47 months,
4
following the rule
3 In describing the Eclipse Table I am following the discussion given by Bricker and Bricker (2011:
249–366). However, my treatment of eclipses is derived from Britton (1989).
4 For theoretical justification consult Hartner (1969) and Britton (1989: 8, Table 2).
Remarks on the Lunar Series and Eclipse Cycles in Late Classic Maya Records