An early Maya calendar record from San Bartolo, Guatemala

Abstract

Here, we present evidence for the earliest known calendar notation from the Maya region, found among fragments of painted murals excavated at San Bartolo, Guatemala. On the basis of their sealed contexts in an early architectural phase of the “Las Pinturas” pyramid, we assign these fragments to between 300 and 200 BCE, preceding the other well-known mural chamber of San Bartolo by approximately 150 years. The date record “7 Deer” represents a day in the 260-day divinatory calendar used throughout Mesoamerica and among indigenous Maya communities today. It is presented along with 10 other text fragments that reveal an established writing tradition, multiple scribal hands, and murals combining texts with images from an early ritual complex. The 7 Deer day record represents the earliest securely dated example of the Maya calendar and is important to understanding the development of the 260-day count and associated aspects of Mesoamerican religion and cosmological science.

Origins of Mesoamerican astronomy and calendar: Evidence from the Olmec and Maya regions

“…Reliable evidence of its origin, however, has been lacking. Before our study, the earliest unequivocal epigraphic evidence of the 260-day calendar was a 7–deer day sign found in Late Formative mural paintings at the central lowland Maya site of San Bartolo, Guatemala, dated to 300 to 200 BCE ( 8 ). Scholars have proposed earlier evidence of calendar use, but its validity has been questioned.…”

“…A ceramic cylinder seal found at the site of San Andrés located near La Venta had a design, which the excavators argued was a day sign of the 260-day calendar (9). The object appears to date between 700 and 500 BCE, but Stuart et al (8) suggest that it may be an iconographic element, not a day sign. Monument 3 of San José Mogote located in the Oaxaca Valley has a more likely 260-day calendar day sign (10).…”

“…The object appears to date between 700 and 500 BCE, but Stuart et al. ( 8 ) suggest that it may be an iconographic element, not a day sign. Monument 3 of San José Mogote located in the Oaxaca Valley has a more likely 260-day calendar day sign ( 10 ).…”

Cultures of Creativity: Hieroglyphic Innovation in the Classic Maya Lowlands

“…More than two millennia ago, Indigenous inhabitants of what is now Mexico and Central America developed a hieroglyphic script that was the most structurally and functionally versatile writing system native to the Americas. The earliest Maya text with an archaeologically confirmed date comes from the third century BCE and attests to a tradition that was already well established (Saturno et al 2006;Stuart et al 2022). However, most known inscriptions were produced during the Classic period (CE 250-925), a time of cultural florescence and peak hieroglyphic production.…”

Naturaleza y sus significados en los elementos constitutivos de las temporalidades kaqchikel

“…Es ampliamente conocido que la cultura maya precolombina fue poseedora de un complejo y preciso sistema calendárico que permitía el cómputo del tiempo a diversas escalas, desde la llamada "cuenta larga", que organizaba periodos de tiempo que remitían a espacios-tiempos fundacionales, hasta la cuenta de 260 días, que determinaba la vida cotidiana y ritual de las personas. Precisamente este último sistema de cómputo del tiempo persiste hasta la actualidad entre grupos mayas de Guatemala y data de hace alrededor de 3 mil años (Stuart et al, 2022). El calendario maya Cholq'ij es una cuenta de 260 días, que, junto al Ab' (cuenta de 365 días), continúan determinando ciclos productivos y rituales entre personas tradicionalistas o quienes siguen la llamada espiritualidad maya.…”