247
visible, it may describe the new moon phase. Glyphs C, X, and A are fairy legible
denoting 3Cs I.4/X-vi 30, so in total, it should be read as 0 or 1 3Cs 30. The number
of 148 days agrees with three 30-day months and two 29-day months. Using the
data from Table 2 and Fig. 2, we arrive at the following possibilities:
1. [0 4Cj 30] + 84 = 24 6Cj 29 + 64 = 0D 3Cs 30
The month sequence is 30-30-29-30-29-30 days, so the 3rd month is that of 6Cj
29. Months with 29 days appear in Sacul and Ixkun, but the number of days associated with the moon age suggests the start of the month 2 days later, probably with
the first-sighted lunar crescent day.
2. [0 4Cj 30] + 84 = 25 6Cj 30 + 64 = 0D 3Cs 30
The month sequence is 30-29-30-30-29-30 days, so the 3rd month is that of 6Cj
30. This lunar reckoning is similar to that of Calakmul (though the month numbering is different). The Calakmul moon age suggests the start of the month with the
disappearance of the moon, a day before the new moon day.
Lack of concern for the inclusion of eclipse dates into the Lunar Series at sites
mentioned in Table 2 contrasts with later, Postclassic manuscripts and colonial
epoch sources, where eclipses are perceived as portents for dangerous events.
5 Conclusions
Concepts regarding the lunar cycle are but one form of engagement with the heavens. They represent a particular point of view that is embedded in social networks
and relationships with the surrounding world, rather than in a fixed body of current
knowledge. The lunar cycle was often reckoned according to local computing
schemes, determining the time for the start of a month, reckoning a particular 29-day
month while others might count a 30-day month instead, or changing the numbering
of the month. The Lunar Series associated with the Long Count was intimately
related to the lives of the rulers who, through ritual action, erected monuments on
calendrically significant dates. Sometimes, the rulers assumed control of the Lunar
Series and could initiate new calculating schemes when they started to reign (Fuls,
2007: 279).
Though the Lunar Series can have intervals correlating to eclipses, the Lunar
Series was, in many ways, a local expression of the type of engagement with the
nocturnal landscape. According to Houston et al. (2006: 85–87), the rulers themselves embodied time and its passage, so their power over the Lunar Series should
be viewed as a means of asserting the idea of divine kingship. It remains to determine whether eclipse predictions were under the control of the rulers.
The research perspective on Mayan Eclipse Table and Stela 3 from Santa Elena
Poco Uinic, which I hope to show here, makes it evident that the reconstruction of
astronomical methods should not be entirely dependent on or guided by calendar
correlations.
Remarks on the Lunar Series and Eclipse Cycles in Late Classic Maya Records
visible, it may describe the new moon phase. Glyphs C, X, and A are fairy legible
denoting 3Cs I.4/X-vi 30, so in total, it should be read as 0 or 1 3Cs 30. The number
of 148 days agrees with three 30-day months and two 29-day months. Using the
data from Table 2 and Fig. 2, we arrive at the following possibilities:
1. [0 4Cj 30] + 84 = 24 6Cj 29 + 64 = 0D 3Cs 30
The month sequence is 30-30-29-30-29-30 days, so the 3rd month is that of 6Cj
29. Months with 29 days appear in Sacul and Ixkun, but the number of days associated with the moon age suggests the start of the month 2 days later, probably with
the first-sighted lunar crescent day.
2. [0 4Cj 30] + 84 = 25 6Cj 30 + 64 = 0D 3Cs 30
The month sequence is 30-29-30-30-29-30 days, so the 3rd month is that of 6Cj
30. This lunar reckoning is similar to that of Calakmul (though the month numbering is different). The Calakmul moon age suggests the start of the month with the
disappearance of the moon, a day before the new moon day.
Lack of concern for the inclusion of eclipse dates into the Lunar Series at sites
mentioned in Table 2 contrasts with later, Postclassic manuscripts and colonial
epoch sources, where eclipses are perceived as portents for dangerous events.
5 Conclusions
Concepts regarding the lunar cycle are but one form of engagement with the heavens. They represent a particular point of view that is embedded in social networks
and relationships with the surrounding world, rather than in a fixed body of current
knowledge. The lunar cycle was often reckoned according to local computing
schemes, determining the time for the start of a month, reckoning a particular 29-day
month while others might count a 30-day month instead, or changing the numbering
of the month. The Lunar Series associated with the Long Count was intimately
related to the lives of the rulers who, through ritual action, erected monuments on
calendrically significant dates. Sometimes, the rulers assumed control of the Lunar
Series and could initiate new calculating schemes when they started to reign (Fuls,
2007: 279).
Though the Lunar Series can have intervals correlating to eclipses, the Lunar
Series was, in many ways, a local expression of the type of engagement with the
nocturnal landscape. According to Houston et al. (2006: 85–87), the rulers themselves embodied time and its passage, so their power over the Lunar Series should
be viewed as a means of asserting the idea of divine kingship. It remains to determine whether eclipse predictions were under the control of the rulers.
The research perspective on Mayan Eclipse Table and Stela 3 from Santa Elena
Poco Uinic, which I hope to show here, makes it evident that the reconstruction of
astronomical methods should not be entirely dependent on or guided by calendar
correlations.
Remarks on the Lunar Series and Eclipse Cycles in Late Classic Maya Records