Toward Reconstructing the Ixil/Quiche Venus Calendar

Thompson, J. Eric S. 1972. A Commentary on the Dresden Codex. The AmericanPhilosophical Society, Independence Square, Philadelphia.Additional Considerations, January 1995The 3 Venus Round period theoretically commemorated in 1558 would be the logicalextension of a VR/CR placement much older than even the 934 A.D. date isolated byLounsbury. "New Fire" ceremonies held at Teotihuacan have been dated to 310 or 311A.D. (624 years, or 6 Venus Rounds, prior to 934 A.D.). This would seem to be not just a52-haab Calendar Round observance, but possibly a Sacred Day of Venus heliacal riseobservance as well.The 1550's produced the Books of Chilam Balam as well as the recording of the PopolVuh. Was an impending calendric juncture still recognized by the Maya in the Yucatanand in Guatemala? And did this result in an impulse to record their history? DennisTedlock notes in his translation of the Popol Vuh (1985), that the civil unrest inGuatemala in 1818-1820 (which, of course, was part of the successful move towardindependence from Spain in 1821) occurred exactly 5 Calendar Rounds after the 1558Calendar Round date.This is a PDF of the original paper, written in 1992.http://thecenterfor2012studies.com/TowardReconstructing.pdf