The Indigenous History of El Salvador

The Sky Lords: Mayan Bird-human at Eclipse Time

Cultures around the world have birdman images. The Maya are no exception, including multiple very-stylized images at Palenque, Mexico. This blog post will explore the meaning of the bird-human motif in Maya culture by re-translating inscriptions at Palenque and Quirigua, Guatemala, using Ch'orti', the language closest to that used in Classic era Maya writing. (I would argue that Ch'orti' is the language used in the Classic era.) The inscriptions associate the birdman with eclipses and use a practical style language more fitting for describing human history than mythology.

Palenque, Temple of the Cross (l), by tato grasso (Own work (personal work)) [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via <br>Wikimedia Commons

The inscriptions at Palenque and Quirigua describe events that the Maya dated to between 3147 BCE and 2325 BCE. Because there has been scant record of the Maya prior to 2000 BCE it has been assumed that the events described are mythological. Now that this blog has established a much earlier record for the Maya - the ruins and corn fields of Teotipa, El Salvador, from 8200 to 7836 BCE, the Tiguilotada stone on Isla Tigre, Honduras, which corresponds to astronomical events of 8208 BCE, and the Mars retrograde long count calendar potentially dating back to 8680 BCE - the events described at Palenque and Quirigua and other sites must be reexamined as potentially historical descriptions.

Previously I have documented that the Mayan long-count calendar turned over on April 28, 3114 BCE, rather than August 11 or August 13, 3114. This is based on Mars retrograde long count dates mentioned in the Popol Vuh and confirmed by correlating planetary conjunctions with Classic era ruler accession dates. Therefore for dates prior to 1582 CE, I use a Julian-tzolk'in correlation number of 584178. I also documented that the (regular) Maya long-count calendar was created to track both the timing and the location of eclipses over time, using both the katun and baktun positions of the long-count calendar, as it interacts with the 260-day tzolk'in calendar. Eclipses occur only within three 33-day sections of the tzolk'in, each one corresponding, although not exclusively, to a different area of the globe. Thus, where an eclipse fell in the tzolk'in helped the Maya in determining where on the globe the eclipse occurred.

At about the same time as the Maya acquired the ability to track eclipses, confirmed by a solar eclipse in 3122 BCE and a lunar eclipse in 3121 BCE, according to Palenque inscriptions, they began to celebrate eclipses with the bird-human, possibly for the first time in 3113 BCE. Whether the bird-human celebration was done with a costume to commemorate a bird deity or was done with a flying suit where the Maya actually glided is difficult to show.

There is no known archeological evidence for gliding. The best evidence may be the text, the poetry, of the inscriptions themselves. The longest inscription is at Palenque, translated here, but there are shorter ones at Quirigua, as presented here, and at Tila and on the "vase of the seven gods" (Naranjo), which are not presented here.

Temple of the Cross, Palenque, by tato grasso (Own work (personal work)) [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via <br>Wikimedia Commons

Palenque lies in the northern part of Chiapas state in Mexico. It is one of the westernmost Maya sites and, somewhat similar to Copan, is known for its fine architecture, art, and waterworks. In my study of Mayan ruler accession dates, Palenque stood out for having no Jupiter conjunctions at the time of its known accession dates. The Temple of the Cross may have more inscriptions regarding Maya history before 2000 BCE than any other Maya structure. Here's the translation, first, of the eclipses at about the time of the calendar turning over in 3114 BCE. This is from Understanding Maya Inscriptions, a Hieroglyph Handbook, 2nd Rev. Ed., John F Harris and Stephen K. Stearns.

Maya	English
8 Ahchuk (Ahaw) 18 Sek	12.19.13.4.0 (Aug 22, 3121 BCE)
Sihi He(rme)na(t') Sak	Search at the time of the distant white shadow
8.5.0 sihi	And the search 8.5.0 (2980 days) before
iwal u (?) 4 Ahchuk 8 Kumk'u	the cliff opening on 13.0.0.0.0 (April 28, 3114 BCE)
homi 13 bak'tuns	at the end of 13 baktuns

The Palenque inscriptions begin with a date of August 22, 3121 BCE (using correlation 584178), about six years and eight months before the calendar turned over in 3114 BCE. A search was made for a distant white shadow - an eclipse. The Maya had developed a methodology not only to time eclipses but to also predict their location.

The third and fourth lines go together. The third line says that there was another search 8.5.0 or 2980 days before the calendar turning over on 13.0.0.0.0 (April 28, 3114 BCE). This would be a Mayan date of 12.19.11.13.0 (previous cycle) or March 1, 3122 BCE, which would have been a new moon, according to the Solex astronomy program. An eclipse on this day would have been a solar eclipse.  There are 540 days between March 1, 3122 and August 22, 3121 BCE. This is two complete tzolk'in cycles plus 20 days. They both took place on Ahchuk (Ahaw) day. This helps explain how the Maya tracked eclipses at this time. (Most likely they alternated between 500 and 540 days. Three eclipse seasons are equal to about 520 days - two tzolk'ins.)

The two eclipses were in the same geographic tzolk'in zone, which basically are zones that cover 1/3 of the earth's longitude that each correspond to one of three specific zones of the tzolk'in. This introduction clearly places the remainder of the story in the context of searching for eclipses. And it may imply that the fourth sun calendar was turned over in 3114 BCE because it was at that time that the Maya figured out how to track eclipses.

Maya	English
(Since) 1.9.2	1.9.2 after 13.0.0.0.0 or October 21, 3113 BCE
halihi k'o b(a)	Weaving the body of the bird beak
k'a chan yax ux tun nal	happiness in the sky, first three stones in the distance
och ta(n) chan	entered the sky of the interior
in nal y(e) tzuk	first ? in the old distant place
13 Ik' 20 Mol	1.9.2.0.0 or October 21, 3113 BCE
hoy wakah chan nal	Beginning of being full of pleasure in a distant sky
waxik na tzuk	Eight vanishing old ones
uk'aba ch'ul	his happy hanging body / his sacred name
yotot xaman	North House

The above section of inscription represents a second introduction and links eclipse event to the bird weave - hanging events. After establishing the date of October 21, 3113 BCE, the passage directly speaks of weaving a bird body. Since the Maya believed that a falcon or falcon human rose in the sky to eat the sun or moon at the time of the eclipse, it is clear that they established a bird-human custom at eclipse time in 3113 BCE. Either they dressed up in the bird suit at eclipse time or they actually tried to glide in the bird suit.

The next line should clear things up - they were gliding - "happiness in the sky". Or this is a story about some deities who were gliding. However it has been my experience that the Maya do not speak of deities in this way. It is clear that the events mentioned took place in a distant location. A similar passage of this same event is recorded at Quirigua and gives clues about the location but it is not my purpose at this time to discuss the location. A later line is similar: "beginning of being full of pleasure in a distant sky." The sentiment here again leans toward an understanding that the Maya were gliding.

The phrase "first three stones in the distance" is referring to either the place mentioned above or to three stones used with the bird man suit: each hand grasping one and the third perhaps placed in the mouth.

The phrase "first ? in the old distant place" probably refers to an eclipse series - such as, first eclipse since the old cycle ended. There is a similar phrase later in the inscription, "eight vanishing old ones", where vanishing likely means an eclipse and 'old ones' appear to be a eclipse series that started in the old time, i.e. before 3114 BCE. A date is given of 1.9.2.0.0 or October 21, 3113 BCE using the 584178 correlation. This date was 37 days before a full moon lunar eclipse on November 27, 3113 BCE. It also was about 135 days after a prior eclipse season. The Nov. 27 lunar eclipse was in a different geographic tzolk'in zone from the ones mentioned earlier in 3122 and 3121 BCE. Those were in a visibility zone that most likely corresponds to the Americas, which would mean that the 3113 BCE eclipse was in the Africa-Middle East-South Asia visibility zone. It also could be that in 3113 BCE the Maya had not yet associated the bird-human ceremony with eclipses.

The Ch'orti' phrase uk'aba ch'ul is interesting because it has two meanings which any Mayan would have understood. In a more literal meaning it is "his happy hanging body" while a more spiritual meaning is "his sacred name". Given the earlier lines about happiness in the sky, the hanging body seems without a doubt to be referring to someone (person or deity) hang gliding. The story then skips 750 years ahead.

Maya	English
1.18.3.12.0 (since)	1.18.3.12.0 since the previous story
Petihi wak(a) chan ki(x)	(since) beginning to stack the ordered sky series
in nal ye tzuk	first of the old cycles
iwal hul mata wil	closed light, wrap wings
9 Ik' 15 Keh	On 1.18.5.3.2 (July 6, 2360 BCE)
u ? ka b(a) mata wil	they began to wrap their bodies in wings
u bah u ch'am (w)il sak	they themselves searched and gathered the wings
ox ya ch'ok le(b) na'(t)	sore feet beat, inexperienced knowledge (?)
2.1.7.11.2 sihi	2.1.7.11.2 since search
iwal k'al sak in	the place of the previous withheld white light
tu u bah sak? 9 Ik' 0 Sak	it was agreed upon to go searching for this light on 2.0.0.10.2 (May 23, 2325 BCE)

The next part of the story tells us that about 750 years have gone by, since they started to stack (track) the eclipse series in the sky. On the occasion of the first of the old eclipse ("closed light") series they wrapped themselves in wings. The break of 750 years makes me believe that the bird-human tradition was not continuous - there was a long break before it was reinitiated in 2360 BCE.

They (once again) began to wear the wing suits. They created the wing suits themselves, searching for the best wings, most likely falcon wings. (The falcon is the bird associated with eclipses.) Perhaps they even went to the Andes to gather the Andean falcon wings. The next line, the 8th in this series, is unclear, but ox yah is sore feet. I take this line to mean that their inexperience with how to glide and land led to hard landings and sore feet, beat by the hard earth during landings.

The last three lines move us about 800 years past the time of the first eclipse searches. First they say that it is 2.1.7.11.2 since the (first?) search in the place of the previous eclipse ("withheld white light"). A decision was made in 2325 BCE by the Maya - to search for an eclipse. This suggests that they didn't search for every eclipse - probably logistically impossible, even with multiple teams. Using the date of 2.0.0.10.2 and counting back 2.1.7.11.2 gives a date of September 28, 3147 BCE, 12 Ahchuk, for the first search, 33 years before the calendar turned over. Interestingly, this day is also an Ahchuk (Ahaw) day like the earlier dates in 3122 and 3121 BCE, confirming that they were using this day sign to track eclipses. The next part of the inscription takes us to a tragic event in July of 2360 BCE.

Maya	English
13 Chamer 19 Keh	1.18.5.3.6 (July 10, 2360 BCE)
ahyal sihi k'in ich tah wayib	The young hurler, sun secreting wilted pitch
k'in tan [? headless jaguar]	heat in the interior, death?
ti sak nah(t) sak ba ka nah(m)	distant search, beginning of the search for his vanished body
chan? ahtin k'ak'	the one clinging in the sky; fire (or heat)
k'a ? k'in ich ahchuk k'in	remember sun secreting, the one who observes the sun
1.18.5.3.6 petihi	1.18.5.3.6 since stacking (July 10, 2360 BCE)
wa ka chan ki(li)	Beginning of being the sky falcon
iwal hul mata wil	place of closed light, wrap the wings around himself
u bah u ch'am	that he had gathered himself
he(l) m(e)n al na(t) sak	the time of the similar shadow, the distant search
ch'ul ahchuk	sacred hanging observant lord
9.12.18.5.16 halihi k'ob	9.12.18.5.16 since weaving a bird beak body (April 7, 690 CE)
k'a chan yax ux tun na(t)	remembering in the sky first three stones in the distance
4 Ahchuk 8 Kumk'u	13.0.0.0.0 (April 28, 3114 BCE)

This event takes place four days after the re-initiation of the bird-human tradition on July 6, 2360 BCE, recounted above. The story begins with ahyal or "the one who hurls", which easily could describe someone jumping off a ledge with a bird suit. It then describes the sun wilting (melting) the pitch (glue), causing it to secrete. The next line has an unknown glyph, a headless jaguar. Perhaps it describes a death, a death that took place in the heat of the interior. Then there is a search for his body in a distant place. The search for the one who had been clinging up in the sky in the heat.

The sixth line has two or three meanings (at least). On the one hand it is a warning to remember the hot sun which can melt, to be observant of the sun. A second meaning is to remember flower day, Ahchuk day. Flower day - Xochitl in Aztec - is the same as Ahchuk (Ahaw) day in the tzolk'in. Ahchuk was the day associated with tracking eclipses, at least in 3100 BCE. A third possible meaning is more pious "Remember flower sun, lord sun."

The inscription then begins a second poetic re-telling of the July 10, 2360 BCE event in an effort to honor the fallen one who died that day. First it links him to the beginning of the sky falcon tradition, the bird associated with eclipses. It locates the sky falcon at the place of closed light (an eclipse). It says that the sky falcon had wrapped wings around himself, wings that he himself had gathered.

Then it uses the phrase "similar shadow" to make it clear that they were tracking eclipses in different series, much like the modern Saros series. And it places the search for the eclipse in a distant place, i.e. not Central America. The next phrase ch'ul ahchuk has a double meaning which I included in the translation - it could mean "observe while hanging" or it could mean "sacred lord". I think both are meant.

The last three lines above (although the inscription continues) link the time current when the inscriptions were made - 690 CE - with the tradition of the three stones in the sky that began on or about 13.0.0.0.0 (April 28, 3114 BCE). Next we move to another temple at Palenque, which uses very similar language as the Temple of the Cross.

Temple of the Foliated Cross, Palenque

Maya	English
1 Ahchuk 13 Mak	1.18.5.4.0 (July 24, 2360 BCE)
u ux tal sihi	Their third arrival searching
tzuk chak ch'a(t) k'a wi(l) al winik	remembering the time of the previous two winged men at the red opening
ux ahal ch'ul	the third time for hanging
ch'ok k'a wi(l) al	remembering the first times of the wing

The opening lines of Palenque's Temple of the Foliated Cross are very revealing. It begins with a third date in July 2360 BCE and it tells us that it is their third time of arriving somewhere to search (for an eclipse). This tells us that the other two dates in July 2360 BCE (already mentioned) were stops or arrivals at places as they were tracing the path of the same eclipse. Based on the 3122 BCE eclipse date mentioned above, we know that there was a June 2 solar eclipse and a June 16 lunar eclipse in 2360 BCE so the Maya were likely searching for the path of one of those eclipses.

The Maya did not know exactly where the eclipses would take place but they got close and would travel by ocean, river, or land to trace its path, doing multiple ceremonies along the long path of eclipse. The bird-human ceremonies did not necessarily take place on the day of the eclipse but often in the months that followed.

The third line memorializes the two previous bird-humans (or bird-deities), at least one of whom died in the ceremony. The red opening is another way of saying eclipse, most likely referring to the solar eclipse, marked by its red tones. July 24, 2360 BCE was the third time in 2360 for the hanging (bird-human) ceremony. The Temple of the Foliated Cross then moves forward about 35 years to 2326 BCE.

Maya	English
iwal homi ka pih	place of light completed two bak'tuns (2.0.0.0.0)
2 Ahchuk 3 Wayeb	November 3, 2326 BCE
utzak ch'ul he(l) men al na(t) sak	He urged to go hang and search distantly at the time of the shadow.
ch'ul mata wil ahchuck	wrap around wings, hanging observer, sacred lord
u ti yax hal	his first clinging to the weaving
witz sak nik	shaking at the white mountain
yinal nat(e) k'an al	time of distant fondness

The next part of the inscription of the Temple of the Foliated Cross begins by establishing a date of 2.0.0.0.0 - November 3, 2326 BCE. This could be an exact date or meant to indicate an era. A date of 2 Ahchuk was in a tzolk'in eclipse zone at that time. I believe that 2.0.0.0.0 was an approximate date and that the date of 2.0.0.10.2 (May 23, 2325 BCE), mentioned above at the Temple of the Cross, is the more precise date for this event. The tradition of searching for eclipses and doing the bird-human ceremony began in 3113 BCE, possibly renewed in 2360 BCE, so this passage is not about a beginning event but about a special event.

As before it happened at a time of an eclipse and involved weaving a bird body and wrapping around wings. Then the key line in the passage: witz sak nik - shaking at the white mountain. On this occasion the bird-human ceremony and the bird-human gliding, if you are so inclined to believe that, happened at the summit of a white (snowy) mountain. It was so exhilarating that the bird-human was shaking. It was a time of enjoyment or fondness somewhere in the distance. In a later writing I will name and describe this distant place.

Palenque is not the only site that talks about the bird-human ceremony. Quirigua provides a good description of the bird man suit.

Stela C, Quirigua, by Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada (Guatemala-0569) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Quirigua is a site in eastern Guatemala along the Motagua River. It is often thought of as a sister site to Copan, which it then defeated in 738 CE. It has the tallest stela anywhere in the Mayan world and is near the only source of jade in Mesoamerica. Stela C at Quirigua has the most descriptive language about the details of the bird-human weave. This passage goes back to 3114 BCE when the first bird-human ceremony took place in a distant place. Palenque inscriptions say the ceremony actually took place in 3113 BCE.

Maya	English
13.0.0.0.0 4 Ahchuk 8 Kumk'u	April 28, 3114 BCE
hala k'o ba	weaving the bird beak body
k'ala ux tun	hold onto three stones
u tz'a pa	his body over the wetness
tun (jaguar paddler, stingray paddler)	stones at the bow and stern
u tin(a) ho chan	he was clinging to the five in the sky
hix tz'am tun	movement over the moisture stone
u tz'a pa tun	his body over water and stone
ek' na(m) yax	disappearing down for the first time
uti ka b(ir) chan tz'am tun	the beginning of when they made a path in the sky over water and stone
iwal ut k'al tun	place of opening in the cliff, holding onto the stones
na(t) itzam hi(n)	distant place of dampness shed
nab tz'am ? tun	water and stone that have passed out of memory
uti k'a chan	where they were happy in the sky
yax ux tan na(t)	first time three stones in the distance
homi uxlahun pih	13 baktuns ended
u kahi wa k(a) chan ahchuk	it began: the beginning of being sky lords

The Quirigua stela is less precise in its dates for the first bird-human event, using the turn of the calendar on April 28, 3114 BCE as a general time frame, rather than the precise October 21, 3113 BCE date used at Palenque. Like Palenque, Stela C talks about weaving the bird beak body but then uses a different phrase k'ala ux tun when mentioning the three stones. It means "hold onto three stones." One can imagine the arms spread wide each grasping a stone acting as a hub for a section of wings. The third stone would have been at the chest or, less likely, placed in the mouth.

The bird-human glided over water - either a lake, a river, or a marsh. Next are glyphs with the word "stone(s)", then the jaguar paddler and the stingray paddler. The jaguar paddler is always at the front of the boat and the stingray paddler at the rear. So I take their meaning here to be bow and stern - one stone above the bird-human's head and another stone by his/her feet. The stone at the chest would have connected the two axis. The next line confirms this interpretation - the bird-human is clinging to the five stones - three across, one bow, one stern - up in the sky.

The next few lines are beautiful poetry when spoken in Ch'orti'. The English meaning of the seventh line from the top is somewhat obscure. Movement would be ix rather than hix. And moisture stone is unclear - it is most likely referring to a specific place name where this took place. The stela describes the dangers - being over water and stone, as (s)he descends for the first time. It was the beginning of making a sky path. This line could also be translated "wet stone held in the mouth in the sky", making the case for the center stone to be placed in the mouth. But this interpretation doesn't fit the poetry as well.

The following line goes back to before the gliding of the bird-human to a location at a cliff. The next lines tell us that it was a distant place which had passed out of memory by the time that the Quirigua inscriptions were made. They had forgotten the exact place where they were first happy in the sky but not that they had become sky lords (literally "sky observers") (soon after) 13 baktuns had ended in 3114 BCE.

A collaborating bit of evidence is the Mayan day sign Ahmok (Cib), which has a double meaning. On one hand it means "the sick one". On the other hand, as ahmo' it means "the bird one". This meaning is confirmed by the Aztec, where this day sign means vulture or falcon.

Finally, through place names I have located a place where the Maya appear to have practiced the bird-human. Matamaras is the name of a cave near San Fernando, Chalatenango, El Salvador. It is in a very mountainous area about 50 kilometers from Igualtepec, which is where the Ch'orti' were living in 3114 BCE. The cave is located near the old colonial village of Mataras. Mataras in Ch'orti' means "time of practicing the wrap around". Matamaras means "time of practicing the wrap around in the interior". There are many mountains and small cliffs in the San Fernando area.

Representation of the Aztec (Mexica) god Huitzilopochtli, from the recto of the folio 5 of the Codex Telleriano-Remensis (16th century).

Conclusions and Implications

1. The Maya began tracking the eclipse cycles by 3147 BCE, if not earlier. They were tracking both the timing and the location of the eclipses. The eclipses of 3122 and 3121 BCE were critical in finalizing and confirming the eclipse cycle methodology, preparing the way for the new calendar to start in 3114 BCE. Importantly, the period from 3147 to 3114 BCE would be within the lifespan of one generation.
2. The Maya bird-human tradition began in 3113 BCE, soon after the turning over of the calendar, in a distant place, called Itzamna(t), that included a cliff, stones, and water. The bird-human ceremony would take place in the location of each eclipse (or each significant eclipse), in the weeks following the eclipse. (Most likely only solar eclipses.) The bird-human suit included wings gathered by the bird-human and five stones - one for each hand, one in the center, one at the crown of the head, and one at the feet.
3. Possibly the bird-human ceremony was discontinued from 3113 BCE to 2360 BCE. In any case, the bird-human ceremony gained new significance following an eclipse in 2360 BCE. The Maya made three stops in their search for the eclipse path. (The arc of an eclipse can span hundreds, if not thousands, of kilometers.) The bird-humans seem inexperienced - they hurt their feet with their bad landings and one plummets to an unfortunate end when the pitch or glue used to attach the wings melts in the hot sun. By the third stop the bird-humans succeed, which may have renewed or re-invigorated the bird-human ceremony.
4. One other significant event is recorded with the bird-human ceremony, in November 2326 BCE, or possibly May 2325 BCE, in a distant place on a snowy mountain that caused the bird-human to shake.
5. Many of the so-called Mayan gods, such as Itzamna, Kawil, G1, G2, and G3, are simply descriptions of places or events. They are meant to be historical not mythological, if one can make that distinction. It is possible that other "gods" are not gods at all. They should be re-examined using Ch'orti' as the primary translating language.
6. Generally, some of the inscriptions at various Maya sites are likely mistranslated because they use a Mayan language other than Ch'orti'. Genealogies and accession events are straight forward but other Classic-era inscriptions should be re-translated using Ch'orti', the language of the ancients and the one used at the Classic-era sites.

For the moment we don't know of the overlap between this Mayan story and that of Icarus. There are some parallels. More on that at a later time.

It is impossible to know if the Maya actually glided. Are they describing a mythological person who glided or actual persons? The language used - of grabbing on to the stones, being happy in the sky, and of sore feet - is human, but they could be giving human qualities to a mythological person. Yet, the sophistication of the bird suit, with two axis and five stones (or hubs), seems to go beyond a suit that would be worn for ceremonial purposes only. At the least, traveling the world to track the path of eclipses over thousands of miles and for a time period of thousands of years and incorporating a bird-human ceremony, is a very impressive feat.

Eclipses, 2012, The Number Zero, Gliding, and the Mayan Long Count Calendar

As the Maya observed the skies they noticed that the lunar and solar eclipses occurred at certain positions in the 260-day tzolk'in calendar. This is because the eclipse period coincides with 260 days. Eclipse seasons occur each period of 173.31 days. Three of these eclipse periods equals 519.93 days or almost 520 - two tzolk'in cycles.

The Maya noticed that the eclipses took place at three specific zones or seasons within the tzolk'in. Each season was about 33 days long - the eclipse season. Every 173.31 days the eclipses would take place in one of the tzolk'in eclipse seasons.

For example, between April 25 and May 25, 2013, two lunar and one solar eclipses will take place in the tzolk'in season at the bottom of the figure below, in the weeks Chichan-Etz'nab'-B'atz-Kach (Chikchan-Etz'nab-Chuen-Kan). (Note: for dates post 1582 CE I use the GMT correlation of 584188 or -95.) Then there will be a period of about five months with no eclipses. During this period the tzolk'in will progress through the tzolk'in eclipse season that begins in Ahmok (Cib) week - but no eclipses occur then because eclipses occur only every other time through the tzolk'in eclipse seasons.

Between October 18 and November 3, 2013, there will be one lunar eclipse and one solar eclipse. This takes place in the tzolk'in eclipse season of Ch'i'-Ahchuk-B'ahk' (Manik'-Ahaw-Ben). Then there will be a period of about five months with no eclipses. During this period the tzolk'in will progress through the tzolk'in eclipse season that begins in Chichan week. Finally between April 15 and April 29, 2014, there will be one lunar eclipse and one solar eclipse. This takes place in the tzolk'in eclipse season of Ahmok-Tojmar-Ik'ar-Tz'ikin (Cib-Muluk-Ik'-Men).

The Eclipse Seasons and the Tzolk'in

Eclipses are only visible in a portion of the earth. Lunar eclipses over a broader area and solar eclipses only along a narrow ribbon, although a broader area can see the partial effects of the eclipse. The Maya noticed that eclipses were more commonly visible in Central America in a certain tzolk'in eclipse season - for example at our current time that is the one that is currently in the tzolk'in weeks of Ch'i'-Ahchuk-B'ahk'. Over hundreds of years the eclipse visibility belts associated with each tzolk'in eclipse season rotate eastward around the globe. To be clear, not every eclipse within a given tzolk'in eclipse season is visible in the named geographic zone. But they are more often visible in that zone than in other parts of the earth.

Another observation that the Maya would have made is that every ten tzolk'in cycles (7+ years) there would be an eclipse usually just one day earlier in the tzolk'in cycle than the one seven years earlier, sometimes two days earlier. For the tzolk'in eclipse season that corresponds mostly to the Americas and the Atlantic, there are times when nine or more consecutive lunar eclipses in the ten-tzolk'in cycle are visible in Central America. This would have been sufficient for the Maya to figure out this ten-tzolkin (7 year) eclipse pattern. This cycle was studied by George van der Bergh in the 1950s and was named the "tzolkinex" by Felix Verbelen in 2001.

The table below demonstrates the cycle through the tzolkinex series beginning with the lunar eclipse in August 1962 that was in Saros cycle 147. Each consecutive eclipse in the tzolkinex is one lower in the Saros cycle, in this case ending with Saros 114 in 2197. The series begins with penumbral eclipses, then goes to partial eclipses, then total eclipses, partial eclipses again, and finally ending with penumbral eclipses. Twenty five of the 34 eclipses in this cycle were visible in Central America, either completely or partially. This tzolkinex series falls within Americas/Atlantic visibility belt, in the upper right of the tzolk'in graphic above. 

Lunar Eclipse Tzolkinex Series Beginning 1962

Date at Center of Visi- bility	Saros	Total (T) Par- tial (P) Penum- bral (N)	Visible in Central America V=yes v=par- tially	Center of Visibility Region	Tzolk'in Week
1962 Aug 15	147	N		Indian Ocean	12th of B'ahk'
1969 Sep 25	146	N		East Africa	10th of B'ahk'
1976 Nov 6	145	N		Africa	9th of B'ahk'
1983 Dec 20	144	N	V	No Atlantic	9th of B'ahk'
1991 Jan 30	143	N	V	Cent America	7th of B'ahk'
1998 Mar 13	142	N	V	Venezuela	6th of B'ahk'
2005 Apr 24	141	N	V	So Pacific	5th of B'ahk'
2012 June 4	140	P	v	So Pacific	3rd of B'ahk'
2019 July 16	139	P		So Africa	1 B'ahk'
2026 Aug 28	138	P	V	So America	1 B'ahk'
2033 Oct 8	137	T	V	Pacific	12th of Ahchuk
2040 Nov 18	136	T		India	10th of Ahchuk
2048 Jan 1	135	T	V	Central America	10th of Ahchuk
2055 Feb 11	134	T		Africa	8th of Ahchuk
2062 Mar 25	133	T	V	Surinam	7th of Ahchuk
2069 May 6	132	T	v	So Pacific	6th of Ahchuk
2076 Jun 17	131	T	v	Brazil	5th of Ahchuk
2083 Jul 29	130	T	v	So Atlantic	4th of Ahchuk
2090 Sep 8	129	T	v	DR Congo	1 Ahchuk
2097 Oct 21	128	T	v	Atlantic	1 Ahchuk
2104 Dec 2	127	P	V	Cuba	12th of Ch'ih
2112 Jan 14	126	P	v	West Africa	11th of Ch'ih
2119 Feb 25	125	T	v	Pacific	10th of Ch'ih
2126 Apr 7	124	T		Indonesia	8th of Ch'ih
2133 May 19	123	P	v	Brazil	7th of Ch'ih
2140 Jun 30	122	P	V	So Pacific	6th of Ch'ih
2147 Aug 11	121	P		Indonesia	4th of Ch'ih
2154 Sep 21	120	N		South Indian	2nd of Ch'ih
2161 Nov 3	119	N	V	Caribbean	2nd of Ch'ih
2168 Dec 14	118	N	v	No Africa	13th of B'ahram
2176 Jan 26	117	N	V	Atlantic	12th of B'ahram
2183 Mar 9	116	N	V	Pacific	11th of B'ahram
2190 Apr 20	115	N	V	Pacific	10th of B'ahram
2197 May 31	114	N	V	Pacific	8th of B'ahram

At any one time there are about 15 active lunar eclipse tzolkinex series and about 15 active solar eclipse series. Generally there are five tzolkinex in each tzolk'in visibility zone and they remain in that zone for the life of the series. The tzolkinex series are spread out evenly in the tzolk'in visibility zones, one near the beginning of each zone (most clockwise), one near the end of each zone (most counter-clockwise), and the remainder spread out in the middle. Each tzolkinex has a duration of about 250 years. A new tzolk'in eclipse series begins every 40 to 54 years in each of the three eclipse visibility zones.

The tzolkinex was one way that the Maya predicted the timing of both lunar and solar eclipses. But there was some variability as one can see in the table above. They found another cycle that was much more accurate in predicting timing - the 46 tzolk'in cycle. This is also known as the Triple Tritos cycle (32.745 years or 11,959.89 days) and is .11 days short of being exactly 46 tzolk'in cycles. This cycle is demonstrated in the Dresden Codex, a pre-Hispanic Mayan scientific document. The 46 tzolk'in cycles are equivalent to 405 lunations.

For the Maya it would have been important to predict the the placement of the eclipses, not only their timing. The Maya did this using the Saros cycles. By tracking the placement of eclipses by their Saros cycle the Maya would have been able to have a good idea of the placement of future eclipses. Each successive eclipse in a Saros cycle is about 120 degrees east of the previous one. This means that every third eclipse in a Saros cycle, also called the Triple Saros, is located at approximately the same place on the globe.

The Triple Saros is a period of 54.090 years. Every other eclipse in the tzolkinex starts in the northern polar region, while the other starts near the south pole. Over the more than a thousand years of the Triple Saros cycle, the center point of the eclipse moves toward the opposite pole from where it started. The center point of the eclipses will often move to the east at some point in the series as well. However, when the eclipse center point is near either of the poles successive eclipses in the Triple Saros cycle tend to move westward rather than eastward.

To illustrate the movement of the path of solar eclipses with each successive Triple Saros cycle eclipse I will show the maps of eight successive solar eclipses in the Triple Saros cycle of Saros 141. This cycle is in the North American - Atlantic visibility zone. It started in the north polar region and moves to the south. I have skipped displaying the partial eclipses at each of the polar regions. Generally all of the central (non-polar) eclipses of a Triple Saros cycle are either annular or total. All of the eclipses for the series displayed here are annular.

Saros 141 Solar Eclipse Cycle (Triple Saros)

Sep 17, 1811 Annular, 43N 86W Center, 13th of B'ahk, 12.9.16.1.5

Oct 19, 1865 Annular, 21N 60W Center, 9th of B'ahk, 12.12.10.17.1

Nov 22, 1919 Annular, 7N 49W Center, 5th of B'ahk, 12.15.5.14.17

Dec 24, 1973 Annular, 1N 48W Center, 1 B'ahk, 12.18.0.12.13

Jan 26, 2028 Annular, 3N 52W Center, 10th of Ahchuk, 0.0.15.10.9

Feb 27, 2082 Annular, 9N 47W Center, 6th of Ahchuk, 0.3.10.8.5

Apr 1, 2136 Annular, 16N 26W Center, 2nd of Ahchuk, 0.6.5.6.1

May 4, 2190 Annular, 19N 15E Center, 11th of Ch'i', 0.9.0.3.17

I believe that the Maya began to track not just the timing but also the placement of solar eclipses by utilizing the Triple Saros cycle. Looking at the cycle above one can see that the first six would not have been too difficult to track. The eclipses move southward and eastward about 5 to 10 degrees with each successive eclipse. The main challenges would be to identify the first one in the series, to know when the right new moon was coming up, and to keep track of the placement of the previous eclipse, considering that it would have been 54 years earlier and that there were over 100 active solar eclipse cycles at any time.

In order to know where to look for the first one in the triple saros cycle (or first one that was not polar), the Maya would have known if it was "dropping" from the north (or south) pole. They also would have had a clue if it was an eclipse that is typically in the Americas/Atlantic zone. (Note the zones change over time.) But that still leaves thousands of miles to cover. I think this is where talking with neighboring peoples came in - inquiring if the solar eclipse had been seen there. They likely spent several months or years doing reconnaissance.

The second challenge was to track timing of each successive eclipse in the Triple Saros cycle. Every 669 lunations is a Triple Saros eclipse - that would have been one way to track it. Another way to track would have been the long count calendar. There is a period of 0.2.14.15.16 between each successive eclipse. This would have required writing down (or using sticks and balls in a protected space) the date of the previous eclipse. The Maya may have been tracking dates much earlier than commonly believed. In addition each successive eclipse falls four days earlier in the tzolk'in than the previous one.

The third challenge is to keep track of the placement of the previous eclipse, assuming that they had tracked it. Living memory would be the easiest way to track, although it could become confusing if one person is attempting to remember several different eclipses over several years. Also, there are 54 years between Triple Saros eclipses and given life spans it would not have been common for a person to live long enough to see two successive Triple Saros eclipses. An oral tradition could have been passed from one generation to the next with a description of where the previous eclipse had been seen. But I think that the most likely way that Maya tracked eclipse paths was through mapping it. This could be maps on rocks or, more likely, creating a map on bark strips.

I believe that ley lines might be the tracing of the path of solar eclipses across the land by the ancient ones. This practice could have been done in both the Americas and the eastern hemisphere. If so, ley lines should be thought of as curves rather than lines.

The three tzolk'in visibility zones presented near the beginning of this post move slowly backward - counter-clockwise - through the tzolk'in over hundreds - thousands - of years. This is because, as I mentioned, three eclipse seasons equal 519.93 days, which is just short of two tzolk'in cycles, or 520 days. The difference will total one day every 19.71 years. Each day in the tzolk'in cycle repeats every 20 days and it would take 394 years for the tzolk'in eclipse season to recess 20 days in the tzolk'in.

Tracking the tzolk'in eclipse season would have been important because it would have been an easy way over very long periods of time to pass on the knowledge of eclipse tracking, especially how to locate eclipses. Plus it tied the most significant regular astronomical feature - the eclipse - to the sacred calendar of the Maya that had been in use since at least 8200 BCE, the tzolk'in.

Sometime before 3114 BCE the Maya were tracking the timing of the eclipse seasons through the tzolk'in eclipse season and built the long count calendar to track this. The long count calendar is built on the following mathematics: 13.20.20.18.20. Starting from the right-hand side, there are 20 k'ins (days) in one uinal, then 18 uinals in one tun, then 20 tuns in one katun, 20 katuns in one baktun, and 13 baktun before the cycle starts over again.

	Baktun	Katun	Tun	Uinal	K'in
Number in Cycle	13	20	20	18	20
Days	1,872,000	144,000	7,200	360	20
Years	5,125.3	394.3	19.7	1.0
Days of Precession with the Tzolk'in	260	20	1	0.05
Tzolk'in Years	7,200	553.85	27.69	1.38	0.08

With the completion of 20 tuns (one katun) the tzolk'in eclipse seasons have moved backward one day in the tzolk'in. This happens every 19.7 years. Today this calendar is not exact, it takes slightly longer than 19.7 years for the tzolk'in eclipse season to precess one day. But this changes over time and seems quite likely that the calculation was exact in 3114 BCE. The historical eclipse dates listed in the NASA eclipse website correlates with a faster pace of change in the length of the eclipse year than what the Mayan long-count calendar would suggest.

Looking at the table above, one notices that there are 260 katuns in one complete cycle of the long-count calendar (20 katuns in each of 13 baktuns). This means that the tzolk'in eclipse seasons would complete exactly one round through the tzolk'in in the 5,125.3 years of the long-count, at least it would be exact if the eclipse year would have remained constant.

In one baktun the tzolk'in eclipse seasons move back in the tzolk'in exactly 20 days to the next occurrence of the same day sign. This would be easier to remember if the Maya were keying one day in the tzolk'in to track the tzolk'in eclipse seasons. There is some evidence that they were using the Ahmok day sign (Cib) to do this. A second meaning for the Ahmok day sign comes from ahmo' which means the large bird man or the falcon man. This helps explain the Aztec sign of the vulture for this day. The Maya believe that a falcon god or falcon man flies up to the sun and eats the sun thus causing a solar eclipse (or alternately to the moon for a lunar eclipse). The tzolk'in glyph (left) for the Ahmok day sign has been described as an empty shell, which symbolizes both an eclipse and the number zero.

At Palenque and several other sites are inscriptions that describe the beginning of the long count calendar, mistakenly called the creation date by some. These inscriptions describe four important events that relate to the beginning of the long-count calendar:

• the tracking of eclipses that helped confirm the arrangement of the long-count calendar;
• the invention of the zero digit, essential for the long-count calendar;
• the completion of one of the largest public works of the Maya coinciding with the long-count calendar initiation;
• gliding - the falcon man who eats the sun or moon to cause the eclipse.

Tracking eclipses

The Palenque inscriptions list the birth of First Father or Father Sun in 3122 BCE and the birth of First Goddess or Moon Goddess later in 3121 BCE. It is likely that these are referring to a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse, respectively. The date of the Father Sun event was  12.19.11.13.0 or March 1, 3122 BCE (correlation 584178) and was a new moon according to the Solex astronomy program, meaning it could have been a solar eclipse. Based on the NASA eclipse projections it would not have been an eclipse but those projections assume a certain rate of change in the length of the eclipse year. On the other hand, based on the tzolk'in eclipse seasons, that date should be an eclipse.

The Moon Goddess date of 12.19.13.4.0 or August 24, 3121 BCE was not a full moon, although three days later there was a full moon which likely would have been a lunar eclipse. The Moon Goddess date was 540 days after the Sun Father date, or twice through the tzolk'in plus 20 days. Both fell on Ahchuk (Ahaw) days, which means "the observer". Given its placement in the tzolk'in eclipse season it is possible that the lunar eclipse three days after the Moon Goddess was the beginning of a tzolkinex cycle and perhaps the beginning of a new lunar saros cycle. The Moon Goddess is called Lady Sak, which could mean either the White Lady (Moon Goddess) or the Search Lady, as in searching for the eclipse. Likely it means both.

The two eclipses confirmed the timing of the tzolk'in eclipse season. Once this was confirmed, the Maya waited only for the right astronomical event, which was the moon-Venus-Jupiter conjunction of April 27-28, 3114 BCE, which is when the long-count calendar began.

Invention of the Zero Digit

The Vase of the Seven Gods states that "Black its Center" was put in order on 0.0.0.0.0, the beginning calendar date. Several gods or spirits put Black its Center in order. This could be referring to eclipses but I think it is more likely that it is talking about the invention of the number zero. It would have been necessary to have the zero digit in order to create the long-count calendar. In other words, the number zero was created in order to have the math necessary to track eclipses.

Completion of a Public Works Project

The Palenque inscription lists an event that took place less than two years after the start of the long-count calendar, on October 21, 3112 BCE. Usually this is translated at the dedication of the World Tree of the North. However the language used makes it likely that this event was the dedication of a physical work not an astronomical concept. From my own research I can conclude that it was a grand public work, possibly the greatest public work of the Maya. I will be describing this public work at a later time.

Gliding

Palenque also records three events (often translated as the birth of gods GI, GII, and GIII) in July 2360 BCE: Event GI on July 6, 2360 (1.18.5.3.2), event GIII on July 10, 2360 (1.18.5.3.6), and event GII on July 24, 2360 (1.18.5.4.0). These events are said to take place at Matawil. They are referenced right after the 3122 and 3121 eclipses so these events are associated with eclipses. The translation of Matawil is revealing:

matz - wrapping around
wil - wing

"Wrapping wings around." In a similar vein, one of the names for the First Goddess, the Moon Goddess is Muwaan Mat:

muahn - hawk, falcon
matz - wrapping around

"Wrapping a hawk around". Here one can imagine the mythical image of the falcon man who flies up to moon and eats the moon (or sun) causing the eclipse. The Ch'orti' call this falcon man ahkilis. They created a flight suit made of hawk or falcon wings and with that flew or glided. The beginning date of Mayan gliding, or perhaps it was the beginning of the falcon man myth, appears to be 2360 BCE, according to the Palenque records.

The event (god) called GIII was born four days after GI - four days after the invention of the wings. It is also called Mah K'ina.

mah - bad, evil
k'ina - hot water

"Evil hot water," which I interpret to mean the boiling lava of an active volcano. This appears to say that four days after the first flight, a flight was attempted off a volcano where the flier landed inside the volcano. A tragedy. Probably adjustments were made to the wings and corrected by 14 days later, the event of GII.

GII was the last of the 2360 BCE events. The Palenque Temple of the Foliated Cross is dedicated to GII, also called God K or Kawiil:

kah - beginning
wiil - wing

"Beginning of the wing."

The significance of 2012 when viewed through the eclipse lens is that we have the same or very similar tzolk'in eclipse seasons in 2012-13 as were present in 3114 BCE. This would have had a lot of meaning in 3114 BCE. This would have been at least part of the significance of 2012 for the ancient Maya.

Eclipse - Time for a Trade Mission to #Honduras, #Guatemala, and #Mexico

The tides are slackening again along the Central American Pacific Coast and the Mayans of 3000 years ago would have known, in similar conditions, that a lunar eclipse would occur on the next 10 day, 10 Ocelot (December 31), and that the normally high tides on a 10-day would be extremely slack. They would have known that the next two 10-days, 10 Deer (Jan. 13) and 10 Flower (Jan. 26), normally high tide days, would also have slack tides. In fact, they would have known, through hundreds of years of observing the ocean, that the next good day for ocean fishing, crabbing, and other shoreline harvesting, would not happen until 10 Reed (February 8, 2010), 51 days from now.

As the early Mayan civilization began to specialize 3000 years ago, people learned to take advantage of the slack tide eclipse periods by concentrating on agriculture, hunting, and long-distance trade. This is the dry season when agriculture slows down in Mesoamerica, which means that the coastal Mayans would have used this eclipse period for long-distance trade trips to Copán, Honduras; Tikal, Guatemala; Yucatan; Monte Alban in the Oaxaca valley; the Olmec coast of Mexico; and Teotihuacán in central Mexico.

It is time to pack up and prepare for a trip - by canoe and later balsa raft along the coast or overland on foot into the highlands of Guatemala and Honduras! The Chorti Mayas would have been trading cacao, salt from the Usulután coast, quetzal feathers from the Ahuachapán forests, obsidian from nearby Ixtepeque and Quelepa, and dried ocean fish.

We might think of the Mayan calendar as a New Age phenomena, but for the early Mayans it had not only spiritual meaning but also was a guide to know the ocean, moon, and stars, so that ocean fishing and salt production could be maximized - a guide to civilization itself.

Today is 11 Wind, 11th Day in the Week 1-Tooth / 1 Grass (this 13 day week never has an eclipse but every other year precedes an eclipse)
11 Ik (Maya) - Wind, breath, or life. Glyph might be the tree of life
11 Ehecatl (Nahuat) - Wind god
Direction: North

Acajutla High Tides: 4:14 AM and 4:47 PM
Semi-diurnal Tide range: 1.60 meters average and decreasing. (Difference in High/Low Tides)

Keywords: Pack up and take a long trip. Remember to take something to trade.

The Rhythms of Life and the Mayan Calendar

The Mayans were simply amazing mathematicians and scientists. They observed patterns and rhythms meticulously over days, weeks, months, and years. It is likely that their writing system was created in order to record their scientific observations. They tracked every movement in the sky, on land, and in the sea to determine if there were patterns. Those who saw the patterns could predict the future and gained great power.

The sun and moon cycle are the most obvious and like most ancient civilizations they developed a sun calendar of 365 days, with some adjustments, and a lunar calendar of 29 or 30 days. Then they developed a Venus calendar, tracking how many days it was an evening star and how many days a morning star. Next they began to track the eclipses. They did this by noticing that eclipses always occurred in multiples of every 5 or 6 lunar cycles. An eclipse period lasts up to 30 days and usually contains at least one partial solar eclipse at full moon and one partial lunar eclipse at new moon, although they are usually only visible on part of the earth.

One Mayan text was a notation of lunar months of 29 or 30 days and then grouped the lunar months into series of either 5 or 6 months each. This is clearly an eclipse tracker and this is how the Mayans were able to predict eclipses hundreds and thousands of years into the future. Now with super-computers, modern scientists have created a better predictor, but it took over 2000 years.

The Mayans also developed a Long Count, which was a way to track dates. It is about a 5,200 year calendar that began in 3114 BC. There is much speculation on why that date. The Aztecs did not use the Long Count calendar so it is much harder to determine actual (Gregorian) dates on Aztec writing.

One other calendar used by the Mayans was the 260 day calendar or Tzolk’in calendar, also called Chol K’ij, the organization of time. The Aztecs later adapted it. The Mayans set up this calendar since it corresponds to the eclipse cycles. Each eclipse cycle is approximately 173.3 days long, so that there are three eclipse cycles for every two calendar cycles. Coincidentally, the Mars cycle happens to be about 780 days, to that the Mayans also were able to predict the motion of Mars in the sky – for example when it turned retrograde – using three cycles of the Tzolkin. The Tzolkin can accurately predict eclipses and Mars’ motion for over 100 years, which could explain why certain Mayan kings re-set the Tzolkin calendar. Most ethnologists believe it was to establish a new reign and new identity. I believe it was to recalibrate the calendar to the eclipses. Perhaps the king before was put out of power in shame for having wrongly predicted the motion of Mars. (Too bad we couldn’t have used that one to get rid of ‘W’!)

The Tzolk’in 260 day calendar consists of 13 day weeks, which rotate over 20 different day signs. No one has quite figured out why they used a 13-day calendar. What rhythm in life, in the sky, on land, in the sea, has 13 days? I think it has to do with where the Mayan civilization began, along the Pacific Coast of El Salvador and Guatemala. If you fish or sail in the ocean you might know. Next time…

First posted, Dec. 2, 2009 on BlogBox