[Aztlan] Uaxactan E-groups

[lahunik.62 at skynet.be]

Cfr.Aztlan Digest Vol 27, Issue 19, Message 4 of Harold Green.

The Uaxactun E-group, at the Eastside of the ceremonial center, were, like
Aveni has discovered, structures to mark the Midsummer, at the left, and the
Midwintersolstices, at the right. The middle axe marks the equinoxpoint.

As Uaxactun lies on 17° Northern lattitude, and therefore lies on the
Northern Hemispere, Summersolstices always occur on the June 21 and
wintersolstices on December 21. June 21 is when the Sun "reaches" the
Cancertropic, December 21 (6 months later or 180 days) when he reaches the
Capricorntropic. 90 days after the solstice of June 21 occurs the
autumnequinox on September 23, when the Sun passes the Equator. 90 days
later than the solstice of December 21 occurs the Spring-equinoxe, on March
21. According to the precession the equinoxen move back 55" a year.

Only the people living in the area between the 2 tropics, the so called
Tropic Zone, can see the Sun twice a year in the Zenith, the so called
Zenithpassages. That is due to the "journey" of the Sun from one tropic to
the other. On the tropic itself there is only 1 passage a year.

The Zenithpassages at Uaxactun on 17° Northern lattitude occur on May 9 and
August 3, that is 86 days between. On Cocola, 14° Northern lattitude, on
April 30 and and August 30, that is 122 days between (and not 266 days, what
Harold suggests). The more closer to the Equator the longer the interval
between the 2 passages, but never longer than 180 days (the whole "journey"
of the Sun).

In front of the 3 structures there are 3 Stelae, 18, 19 and 20. The Stelae
18 and 19 are marked with the LC 8.16.0.0.0 3 Ahau 8 Kankin, February 1 357
AD. Stelae 20 with the LC 9.3.0.0.0 2 Ahau 18 Kankin, January 28 495 AD
(corr.283).

All the dates, mentioned above, nor any other astronomical event, don't fit
with the dates on the Stelae 18, 19 and 20. That is very likely, to my point
of view, because Stelae in general were not placed to mark any astronomical
event but for different reignperiods of different rulers or kings.
8.16.0.0.0 3 Ahau 8 Kankin February 1 357AD  is the beginning of the 7th
Katun of the cycle of the Ukahlay Katunob, that started on 8.10.0.0.0 2 Ahau
18Yaxkin, October 23 238AD. The 7th Katun lies just in the middle of the
whole cycle. 9.3.0.0.0 2 Ahau 18 Muan is the beginning of a new cycle of the
Katunob, on January 28 495AD.

That one date, February 1 357AD, correspond to a nadirpassage is very
propably very accidental. Although many holes were find in the grid of many
sites, I don't think that they were used to see through the middle of the
Earth to the other side of it and his Hemispere. Zenithpassages are
"crown"observations, one has to look just above your crown. Nadirpassages
are "foot"observations, one has to "look" through the middle of the Earth to
the other side of the Hemisphere. As the astronomical observations of the
Mesoamerican natives were made by the naked eye is it very unlikely that
they used nadirpassages.

By the way, the crossmarkings of Uaxactun are practically identical to those
in Teotihuacan and in accordance orientated. There, in Teotihuacan, the
first appearance before sunrise of the Plejades was the first Zenithpassage.
Besides that, the Plejades, itselfs, pass, on this lattitude, near the
Zenith. 

Lahun Ik 62  

Baert Georges

Flanders Fields