It may be objected that one katun ending day in each inscription is far
different from a sequence of katun ending days as shown in Table IX, and
that one katun ending day by itself can not be construed as an u kahlay
katunob, or sequence of katuns. The difference here, however, is apparent
rather than real, and results from the different character of the monuments
and the native chronicles. The u kahlay katunob in Table IX is but a part
of a much longer sequence of katuns, which is shown in a number of native
chronicles written shortly after the Spanish Conquest, and which record the
events of Maya history for more than 1,100 years. They are in fact
chronological synopses of Maya history, and from their very nature they
have to do with long periods. This is not true of the monuments,[55] which,
as we have seen, were probably set up to mark the passage of certain
periods, not exceeding a katun in length in any case. Consequently, each
monument would have inscribed upon it only one or two {84} katun ending
days and the events which were connected more or less closely with it. In
other words, the monuments were erected at short intervals[56] and probably
recorded events contemporaneous with their erection, while the u kahlay
katunob, on the other hand, were historical summaries reaching back to a
remote time. The former were the periodicals of current events, the latter
histories of the past. The former in the great majority of cases had no
concern with the lapse of more than one or two katuns, while the latter
measured centuries by the repetition of the same unit. The writer believes
that from the very nature of the monuments--markers of current time--no u
kahlay katunob will be found on them, but that the presence of the katun
ending days above described indicates that the u kahlay katunob had been
developed while the other system was still in use. If the foregoing be
true, the signs in figure 38, _a-h_, would have this meaning: "On this day
came to an end the katun in which fall the accompanying dates," or some
similar significance.
If we exclude the foregoing as indicating the u kahlay katunob, we have but
one aboriginal source, that is one antedating the Spanish Conquest, which
probably records a count of this kind. It has been stated (p. 33) that the
Codex Peresianus probably treats in part at least of historical matter. The
basis for this assertion is that in this particular manuscript an u kahlay
katunob is seemingly recorded; at least there is a sequence of the ending
days of katuns shown, exactly like the one in Table IX, that is, 13 Ahau,
11 Ahau, 9 Ahau, etc.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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