Chapter 10 of 21
2. All may be reduced to the same fundamental unit, the day; and
An Introduction to the Study of the Maya Hieroglyphs · Sylvanus Griswold Morley
2. All may be reduced to the same fundamental unit, the day; and
3. All used the same time counters, those shown in Table VIII.
In conclusion, the student is strongly urged constantly to bear in mind two vital characteristics of Maya chronology:
1. The absolute continuity of all sequences which had to do with the counting of time: The 13 numerical coefficients of the day names, the 20 day names, the 260 days of the tonalamatl, the 365 positions of the haab, the 18,980 dates of the Calendar Round, and the kins, uinals, tuns, katuns, and cycles of the vigesimal system of numeration. When the conclusion of any one of these sequences had been reached, the sequence began anew without the interruption or omission of a single unit and continued repeating itself for all time.
2. All Maya periods expressed not current time, but passed time, as in the case of our hours, minutes, and seconds.
On these two facts rests the whole Maya conception of time. {87}