30 May 2025 / 10 House
Article suitable for Top Juniors and above
Find out moreCalendar signs on a chess set
Maya Haab calendar signs on a modern chess set
ORIGINAL QUESTION received from - and thanks to - Victor Noone: Are you able to translate the words that are written in a circular manner around a symbol on what I was told is an Aztec Mayan chess set? (Answered by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore)
It’s Maya, not Aztec. And yes, we can give you the sequence of signs. They’re the names of the 18 ‘months’ in the Yucatec Maya Haab solar calendar. Along with their associated patron they go in the following order (Pop you can see in the black square at roughly ‘9 o’clock’ on your chess set):-
Pop - Jaguar
Uo - Jaguar of the underworld
Zip - Monster head
Zotz’ - Composite Xoc fish
Zec - Sky or earth signs
Xul - Youthful head
Yaxkin - Old sun
Mol - Old person
Ch’en - Moon
Yax - Venus
Zac - Frog
Ceh - Sky
Mac - Head with headdress
Kankin - Fantastic creature
Muan - Head
Pax - Night sun
Kayab - Young moon or earth
Cumku - Fantastic reptile.
You can learn more about them by following the link below. Incidentally, you can just about recognise the ‘burden of time’ image in the centre of the set.
Info from Mesoamerican Writing Systems by Marcus Joyce (1992).
’Burden of time’ image: photo by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore.
Comments (1)
V
Victor Noone
30th Jul 2023
Thank you so very much for your insights into the Maya chess board. Your help is greatly appreciated!
M
Mexicolore
You’re welcome! Any time...
Maya Haab calendar signs on a modern chess set
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