Another error of the same kind--that is, one which may be detected by
inspection--is shown in figure 84, _B_. Passing over glyphs 1, 2, and 3, we
reach in glyph 4 the date 5 Kan 13 Uo. Compare the upper half of 4 with
figure 16, _f_, and the lower half with figure 19, _b, c_. The coefficient
of the month sign is very clearly 13, which represents an impossible
condition when used to indicate the position of a day whose name is Kan;
for, according to Table VII, the only positions which the day Kan can ever
occupy in any division of the year are 2, 7, 12, and 17. Hence, it is
evident that we have detected an error in this text before proceeding with
the calculations indicated. Let us endeavor to ascertain the coefficient
which should have been used with the month sign in glyph 4 instead of the
13 actually recorded. These glyphs present seemingly a regular Secondary
Series, the starting point being given in 1 and 2, the number in 3, and the
terminal date in 4. Counting this number 3.4 forward from the starting
point, 6 Ahau 13 Kayab, the terminal date reached will be 5 Kan 12 Uo.
Comparing this with the terminal date actually recorded, we find that the
two agree except for the month coefficient. But since the date recorded
represents an impossible condition, as we {247} have shown, we are
justified in assuming that the month coefficient which should have been
used in glyph 4 was 12, instead of 13. In other words, the craftsman to
whom the sculpturing of this inscription was intrusted engraved here 3 dots
instead of 2 dots, and 1 ornamental crescent, which, together with the 2
bars present, would have given the month coefficient determined by
calculation, 12. An error of this kind might occur very easily and indeed
in many cases may be apparent rather than real, being due to weathering
rather than to a mistake in the original text.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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