Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar - Piktuns and Higher Orders

Piktuns and Higher Orders

There are also four rarely used higher-order periods above the b'ak'tun: piktun, kalabtun, k'inchiltun, and alautun. All of these words are inventions of Mayanists. Each one consists of 20 of the lesser units.

Many inscriptions give the date of the current creation as a large number of 13s preceding 13.0.0.0.0 4Ahau 8 Kumk'u. For example a Late Classic monument from Coba, Stela 1. The date of creation is expressed as 13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.0.0.0.0, where the units are 13s in the nineteen places larger than the b'ak'tun. Some authors think that the 13s were symbolic of a completion and don't represent an actual number.

Most inscriptions that use these are in the form of distance dates and Long Reckonings - they give a base date, a distance number that is added or subtracted and the resulting Long Count.

The first example below is from Schele (1987 p.). The second is from Stuart (2005 pp.60, 77)

Palenque Temple of the Cross, tablet, Schele (1987 p.)
12.19.13.4.0 8 Ajaw 18 Tzek in the prior era
6.14.0 Distance number linking to the "era date"
13.0.0.0.0 4 Ajaw 8 Kumk'u

Palenque Temple XIX, South Panel G2-H6 Stuart (2005 pp.60, 77)

12.10. 1.13. 2 9 Ik' 5 Mol (seating of GI in the prior era)
2. 8. 3. 8. 0
1.18. 5. 3. 2 9 Ik' 15 Keh (rebirth of GI, this date also in Temple of the Cross)

The tablet of the inscriptions contains this inscription:
9. 8. 9.13.0 8 Ajaw 13 Pop
10.11.10.5.8
1.0.0.0.0.8

The Dresden codex contains another method for writing distance numbers. These are Ring Numbers. Specific dates within the Dresden codex are often given by calculations involving Ring Numbers. Förstemann identified these, but Wilson (1924:24–25) later clarified the way in which they operate. Ring Numbers are intervals of days between the Era Base date 4 Ajaw 8 Kumk’u and an earlier Ring Base date, where the place-holder for the numeral of days in the interval is circled by an image of a tied red band. Added to this earlier Ring Base date is another count of days forward, which Thompson refers to as a Long Round, leading to a final date within the Long Count that is given as an entry date to be used within a specific table in the codex.

Ring number (12) 12.12.17.3.1 13 Imix 9 Wo (7.2.14.19 before (13) 13.0.0.0.0)
distance number (0) 10.13.13.3.2
Long Count 10.6.10.6.3 13 Ak'bal 1 Kank'in

Ring number (portion of the DN preceding era date) 7. 2.14.19
Add Ring number to the ring number date to reach 13. 0. 0. 0. 0

Thompson contains a table of typical typical long reckonings after Satterwaite.

The "Serpent Numbers" in the Dresden codex pp. 61–69 is a table of dates using a base date of 1.18.1.8.0.16 in the prior era (5,482,096 days)