Long Count

…are called Initial Series, or Long Counts, the former because they usually stand at the start of an inscription (see calendar: The Mayan calendar). For example, the combination day 8 Muluc, falling on second of Zip (third month), recurs every 52 years, but the Initial Series (here 9.10.6.5.9 8 Muluc…

…the Maya instituted the “Long Count,” a continuous marking of time from a base date. Most historians think that 4 Ahau 8 Cumku (most likely August 11, 3114 bce) was the base date used by the Maya for the start of the “Long Count” and the first “Great Cycle,”…

…the Maya established the “Long Count,” a continuous count of time from a base date, 4 Ahau 8 Cumku, which completed a round of 13 baktuns far in the past. There were several ways in which one could indicate the position of a Calendar Round dated in the Long…

The Classic Maya Long Count inscriptions enumerate the cycles that have elapsed since a zero date in 3114 bce. Thus, “9.6.0.0.0,” a katun-ending date, means that nine baktuns and six katuns have elapsed from the zero date to the day 2 Ahau 13 Tzec (May 9, 751 ce).…