Free The Controversial Mayan Queen: Sak K'uk of Palenque (The Mists of Palenque) by Leonide Martin Page B

date did the current creation begin?”
    “On 4 Ahau 8 Kumk’u, the birth of the Fourth Sun and creation of the True People, Halach Uinik.” This date combined the day number from the 1 - 13 numeric Tzolk’in calendar, the day name of the 20-day uinal (month), and the numeric sequence of the day within one of the 18 months.
    “Yes, that date marked the end of the previous age, when the 13 bundles were completed. And now tell me how to calculate 13 bundles.”
    Pakal frowned, drawing his eyebrows together as he concentrated and tried running mental calculations. The mathematical poetics of the Maya 13 x 20 = 260 day Tzolk’in-sacred calendar interacting with the 18 x 20 = 360 day Haab-seasonal calendar intrigued him and he worked hard to commit these to memory. The 13 bundles were the baktun count; made up of 20 katuns, and the katun count was comprised of 20 stones or tuns, the year count. He understood that 18 uinals of 20 days made up one tun, and one tun was 360 days or kins. He also knew that the solar year was 365 days plus a few hours, but the Maya preferred the elegant numerology and sacred symbolism of 260 x 360. But beyond the count of baktuns, he was lost. Then he shrugged and lowered his eyes, admitting his confusion.
    “Further I do not understand, Master. From Pasah Chan I learned how to count with the dot and bar system, where a dot is one and a bar is five. It is a 20-base system, with increments at each level of 20 times the previous number. From the lowest position up to the fifth there are increasing numbers. First level equals one, second level equals 20, third level equals 400, fourth level equals 8000, and fifth level equals 160,000.
    “But you taught me that the calendars are counted differently. Each day has the value of one at the first level, but at the second level of the uinal the increment is only 18. That brings the tun at the third level to 360 days. Then the system reverts back to 20-base so there are 20 tuns to make one katun of 7200 days. The baktuns are formed by the count of 20 katuns for each baktun, to complete the baktun count at 144,000 days. But when baktuns become 13, the calendar makes a great shift and all five levels return to zero. This is said to signify completion of an era, the time when a new Sun is born. What happens with the remaining baktuns up to a count of 20? Why do not baktuns follow the same pattern as the other levels of the count?”
    “Ah, this is part of the mystery and magic of calendars. Can you be more than one thing at the same time? Are you not both a boy and a son? Can a jaguar be beautiful and dangerous and loving of its cubs? Do not limit your mind to believe there is only one explanation, a single quality, an exclusive meaning given to the wondrous creations of the gods. Time is divine. It flows eternally without beginning or end. Nothing exists without time, and space is the platform on which the divine expressions of time play out. Deities acting within different spaces are the changing faces of time. You have studied the face glyphs for numbers, and the face glyphs for the five levels of the Long Count. Those are our artist’s depictions of the gods of numbers and time. But consider this mystery: the numbers and measures of time are Gods themselves. Gods have will and volition, they choose to create and craft their manifestations in our world. Do you understand?”
    Pakal was not sure he did understand, but made an attempt.
    “The calendar can be different things, or can be understood in more than one way. There can be a progression to the next level at Baktun 13 and different progressions at other levels. The mathematic counts can use 20-base while calendar counts use different bases. It is all dreamt in the imagination of the gods. Is this understanding correct?”
    “Excellent! The Long Count calendar allows you to express an infinitely large number by writing a long string of 13s continuing in positions above the fifth level. Now recite to