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The Mesoamerican Pecked Cross as a Calendrical Device

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Morgan Worthy
Affiliation:
Counseling Center and Psychology Department, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303
Roy S. Dickens Jr.
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Abstract

A method of using the Mesoamerican pecked cross as a 365-day or 365 1/4-day calendrical device is proposed. The method consists of placing, removing, and discarding objects in the pecked holes of the arms of the motif in a prescribed sequence. This use does not preclude other uses or meanings of these figures, nor their function in calendrical reckonings more complex than the solar year.

Type
Reports
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1983

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References

References Cited

Aveni, Anthony, Hartung, H., and Buckingham, B. 1978 The Pecked Cross Symbol in Ancient Mesoamerica. Science 202:267279.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coggins, Clemency 1980 The Shape of Time: Some Political Implications of a Four-part Figure. American Antiquity 45:727739.Google Scholar
Duran, Fray Diego 1971 Book of the Gods and Rites and the Ancient Calendar. Translated and edited by Fernando Horcasitasand, Doris Heyden. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar