ANOTHER LOOK AT THE LUNAR SERIES AT DOS PILAS, GUATEMALA 1

Abstract

Astronomical observations of the ancient Maya consisted of a determination of various calendar cycles commensurating with the synodic cycles of the relevant celestial bodies. This practice of commensuration – of converting distinct synodic cycles into a single calendrical cycle – was a common practice in the life of the Maya day-keepers. By quantifying the multiples of synodic revolutions along a single scale of the Calendar Round combined with the Long Count, the Maya skywatchers created relationships easily represented and compared. The Lunar Series consisted of six glyphs, referred to by letters, E, D, C, X, B, and A and represented the attempts to create the cyclical calendrical structure capable of predicting the synodic period of the Moon. In this paper, I am providing a method of detecting possible intercalations needed to fit the lunar motion and a possibility of the use of a 4784-day period, derived from the Xultun Lunar Table, as a lunar correction cycle. By this means, all Lunar Series from Dos Pilas receive reasonable explanations.