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The
author was born in 1948 and is a University Professor (Université du Sud
Toulon-Var). His research on the Maya civilisation is closely linked to the
humanitarian actions he has taken since 1994 in aid of the k’ekchi Maya
communities of Guatemala. |
THE ANCIENT MAYA
AND THE
STELA « E » IN QUIRIGUA
André SEGURA
Reading the fifth and sixth editions
of The Ancient Maya raises several problems among which I have singled
out the assignment of the Initial Series (including the Long Count date) 9.17.0.0.013
Ahau 18 Cumkú to Stela F (Monument 6) in Quiriguá ; settling this problem
brings up another one, related to the graphic reproduction of the lapidary
materialization of this date adopted in all the editions of the work.
The problem of the assignment. It arises when comparing the
editions of The Ancient Maya signed by S.G. Morley on the one hand, and
R.J. Sharer on the other. The captions accompanying the drawing that is
supposed to reproduce the aforementioned Initial Series connect the representation
with the east side of Stela E in the Morley editions yet with the same side
of Monument 6 or Stela F in the Sharer
and Sharer/Traxler editions.
In order to settle this problem, it
is enough to turn to the photographies of the east sides of the two stelae
(Fig. 1 ; Fig. 2). The comparison brings to light that the two east sides have
different dates, both recorded in the Long Count system ; the difference does
not only concern the recorded date but also the shape of the numerical
coefficients affecting the time units : on Stela F these coefficients have an
anthropomorphic shape (Fig. 2) whereas on Stela E they are recorded in
bar-and-dot-notation (Fig. 1). As the two stelae cannot be mixed up, R.J.
Sharer has made a mistake (unless it is due to the typographer) and many a
researcher on Maya culture, forgetting S.G. Morley, has contributed to
spreading that mistake in all good faith.
The problem of the
graphic reproduction. The same
comparison shows that the drawing of the lapidary materialization of the date
(Fig. 3) is identical in every respect in all the editions of The Ancient
Maya ; but the comparison between the aforementioned drawing and the
photography of the east side of Stela E (Fig. 1) reveals that it is not
compliant with the reality it claims to represent. The differences between the
Initial Series of the east side of Stela E and the drawing by S.G. Morley bear
upon three points :
Continuation
of the article in Journal de la Société des Américanistes, 2007,
93 (1)
Other publications: http://andre.segura1.free.fr/tmccop.htm