fHA, xxxvi (2005)

OBSERVATIONS ON THE PECKEDDESIGNS AND OTHER

FIGURES CARVED ON THE SOUTHPLATFORM OF THE
PYRAMID OF THE SUNATTEOTIHUACAN
ANTHONY F. AVENI, Colgate University

Ever since they were first reported in the literature nearly forty years ago, Meso-
american pecked cross petroglyphs have attracted the attention of both archaeolo-
gists and archaeoastronomers because of the possible role they may have played as
architect's benchmarks, astronomical alignment devices, and calendars, particularly
at Teotihuacan. I In the past four decades numerous examples of the design have been
discovered across Mesoamerica. With these discoveries and analyses has come a shift
of ideas regarding the various explanatory hypotheses.' Still more recently, and for the
first time, a large aggregate of such artifacts, along with other designs and patterns,
has been excavated on a single stuccoed floor, the so-called Floor of the Markers
at Teotihuacan. This paper describes our analysis of these artifacts and revisits the
various explanatory hypotheses pertaining to pecked cross petroglyphs.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

In January 2003 at the request of the author, and with the kind permission of the
Instituto Nacional Arqueologfa y Historia, Mexico, the archaeologist Ruben Cabrera
Castro ordered the clearing of the irregular 32.5 x 204m floor of the south side of
the U-shaped Platform bordering the north, east and south sides of the Pyramid of
the Sun (hereinafter "South Platform") on which were represented some 44 carved
figures which had originally been excavated by the Proyecto Especial Teotihuacan
in 1992-94 under the direction of Eduardo Matos and with the assistance of Victor
Alvarez.' For the present study he also provided a plan drawn in 2000 by Jose Luis
Reyes Toledo. We report here an analysis of the figures based on data collected at
the site on 15-16 January 2000.
The manner of execution of the figures consists of two general types: those com-
prised of pecked holes and those drawn with continuous lines. There is evidence that
many of the former were converted to the latter by gouging over the spaces between
the holes. Shapes of the designs are of two general geometrical types: (A) circles and
(B) squares. In the analysis that follows, we employ the numbering system we initiated
in 19784 and which has been extended most recently to include the aforementioned
designs in the unpublished dissertation and other work of Ruben Morante.' Relevant
data are tabulated in Table 1.

(A) Circles
We recognize three pecked cross circles of the standard Teotihuacan design on the
Floor ofthe Markers (ef ref. 4): #44 (single circle and cross, Figure 1), #42 (double

0021-8286/05/3601-0031/$10.00 © 2005 Science History Publications Ltd

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32 Anthony F. Aveni

FIG. I. TEO 44. Approximate north is at the top in the photo. Number tags refer to an earlier reference
system. All photos by Logan Korpita for the 2003 Colgate Teotihuacan Extended Study Project.

FIG.2. TEO 42. At least three figures including TEO 43, which has been carved over, can be seen super-
posed on this pecked design.

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 Pecked Designs at Teotihuacan 33

FIG. 3. TEO 30. Note that the topmost portion lies beneath the Early Xolalpan phase wall.

FIG. 4. TEO 24. This is the only artifact in the sample that does not lie on the South Platform.

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 \;)
TABLE I. Tallies of marks on pecked designs on south platform of the Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacan ...,.
CIRCLES APPROX. DESCRIPTION TALLIES BY QUADRANT TALLIES BY AXIS TOTALSINOTES
DIMENSIONS
(em.) NE SE SW NW N E S W
24 55 Double circle and (14) (15) (19) (16) (10)-(1 )-(4)-1-5 (10)-(1 )-(4)- 10-1-5-1-5 (10)-(1)-(4)-1-5 230; Orientation:
cross (located on E (20) (20) 22 20 (1)-(4) 11°19'/106°12'. Fig. 4
platform)
30 135 Double circle and 21 (18) 20 (20) 10-1-(4)-(1)-(4) (10)-(1)-3-1-5 10-1-(4)-(1)- 10-1-3-1-(4) 250; Orientation:
cross partially covered (23) (24) (19) (26) (4) 19°14'/105°20'. Fig. 3
by wall

42 150 Double circle and (20) 20 (20) (20) 10-1-4-1-4 12-1-3-(4) 10-1-(4)-(1)-4 10-1-7-1-7 306. Fig. 2
cross (43) (33) (33) (30)

44 65 Single circle and cross 13 19 (14) (16) 10-1-3 10-1-8 (joins 10-1-2 (10)-(1 )-(2) 121; hole in inner NE
42) quadrant. Fig I
CROSSES ~
:::
....
27 100 Double square and 17 14 (15) (14) 9-1-(4)-(1)-(4)-(10) 9-1-4-1-(4) 8-1-4-1-4 9-1-4-1-4 228 ::l"
Cross 23 (22) (19) (20) Intercardinals 0
:::
'<
31 70 Double square and 17 18 17 (13) 10-1-4-1-4 10-1-3-1-5 10-1-2-1-3 10-1-3-1-4 246. Fig. 6. ;rl
cross 24 20 22 19 (20 intercardinals)

(10)-(1 )-(4)-(1 )-(4) (10)-(1 )-(4)-

~
I'D
32 100 x 120 Double square and (19) (17) (20) (23) (10)-(1 )-(4)- (10)-(1)-(4)-(1 )-(4) 301; Orientation:
cross (31) (27) (28) (32) (20 intercardinals) (1)-(4) (1)-(4) OT06'/187°06'; carved e.
over; joins 33. Fig. 7.
33 50 Double square and (10) 8 (9) (8) 5-1-(3)-(1)-(6) 5-1-3-1-(3) (4)-(1)-(3)- (5)-(1)-(3)-(1)-(3) 152; joins 32. Fig. 7.
cross (17) (16) (14) (16) (1)-(3)
34 100 Double square and (20) (20) (20) (20) 10-1-4-1-4 (10)-(1)- (10)-(1 )-4-1-4 (10)-1-4-1-4 276. Fig 5.
cross (28) (30) 31 27
36 120 Triple square and 14 20 18 19 5-1-4-1-4-(1)-(4) 5-1-3-1-(4)- 4-1-3-1-4- 5-1-3-1-4-1-4 363; inner square
cross 19 19* 18 19 (31 intercardinas) 1-(3) 1-(3) is star-shaped;

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27 25 23 29 Orientation: 24°12'1
204°12'; NW quadrant
circumvents large hole
in floor. Fig 8.
38 80 Quadruple square 10 (10) (10) (II) 10-1-4-1-4-1-(4) 8-1-4-1-4-1- (8)-1-4-1-3-1- 8-1-4-1-4-1-1- (385) hole in centre;
with pronounced 16 14 14 14 (28 cardinals) (4)-(1)-(4) 4-1-4 4-1-5 flying outer axes;
intercardinals (20) (16) 16 16 predates 36. Fig 8.
(20) (20) 20 (19)
*8 added alongside
 Pecked Designs at Teotihuacan 35

circle and cross, Figure 2), and #30 (double circle and cross, partly covered by a wall,
Figure 3). Several other designs appear to be carved over versions of pecked designs,
among them: #43 (5 concentric circles and cross with skewed E-W axis, visible in
Figure 2), and #41 and #28 (portions of axes and/or arcs of circles of incomplete
figures). According to R. Cabrera, ceramic materials recovered above the level of the
floor place the building epoch for the wall that covers the northern rim of the outer
circle in the Early Xolalpan phase, or A.D. 350-450, terminus ante quem» Finally,
an additional pecked circle (#24, Figure 4), first noted by M. Wallrath, found on the
East Platform is included in the table. Table 1 gives the tally data in the usual format. 7
Counts in parentheses are estimates based on interpolating positions of marks that
have become eroded.

(B) Carved Squares

A most unusual property of the carvings on the South Platform is the large number
of quadripartite designs in the form of a square. These appear to be of two types:
(1) pecked designs resembling those found at Teotihuacan" and elsewhere." and (2)
carved designs likely never having consisted of peck marks and containing other
elements in their interiors, thus exhibiting a decidedly different appearance from
the other circles and squares.

(Bl) Pecked squares and crosses

We noted 8 examples of varying size in which the usual circle motif is replaced by a
square. Seven consist of a cross centred on a double square (e.g. #34, Figure 5; #31,
Figure 6; and #32, Figure 7); one comprises a triple square with the inner square
indented inward at the midpoint of each side (#36, Figure 8), thus resembling the
appearance of a star. The latter example bears a very close resemblance to the pecked
double square with indented inner square reported by Grazioso in CET 93-94, Group
5N, just west of the Pyramid of the Moon. 10
Many of the squares seem to exhibit an amateurish quality in their manner of
execution. They seem to be only approximately laid out and they often overlap with
other petroglyphs in the sample. The orientation of the axes is spread about, though
the general intention seems to have been to arrange the designs to align along the
direction of the floor/wall. I I
Three examples in this set (#34, #32, and especially #31, along with the circle #30)
exhibit tallies close to 260 in an arrangement that ideally might have been intended
to appear as shown in Figure 9. They thus follow the example of the pair of pecked
cross petroglyphs at Alta Vista.P Two other designs (#36 and #38) have tallies in the
vicinity of 365.
Finally, these designs are reminiscent of the patollilquinze playing surfaces men-
tioned in the ethnographic literature.P These game boards are recognizable by their
cruciform/square patterns and flying corners (Figure 10). Designs #27, #34 (Figure
5) and #38 (Figure 8) show vestiges of the flying corner, which serves as the entry

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36 Anthony F. Aveni

FIG. 5. TEO 34, with two carved designs adjacent. Note the four directions marked by points in the
design at the bottom.

FIG. 6. TEO 31.

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 Pecked Designs at Teotihuacan 37

FIG. 7. TEO 32 (centre; note that all but portions of two quadrants and an axis have been carved over);
TEO 33 (upper right) and adjacent carved designs of various types discussed in the text.

FIG.8. TEO 36 (centre), TEO 38 (top left), TEO 39 (bottom left), and a portion of TEO 34 (right). Note
that a comer of 38 has been obliterated by a hole and the outer quadrant of 36 seems to have been
deliberately rerouted around it.

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38 Anthony F. Aveni

IINNBR. = 80
lIZ (12)

(. (It) (12)
(12)

(. (III

112) 1111 (.
I AXBS =80
(12)

(III (. I TOTAL =260

(1Jl lIZ

FIG.9. Tallies on a hypothetical pecked square made to total 260.

point into the square according to the rules of the game. The importance of the 5,10,
20 count in quinze and possibly patolli 14 is mirrored in many of the tally patterns on
the squares, as well as the circles, wherein the axial extension beyond the perimeter of
the outermost circle can be considered to be the entry point into the central space.

(B2) Carved squares with various interior patterns

We counted at least 18 such designs, making them by far the predominant category
of artifact that appears on the Floor of the Markers. Three general types seem to be
represented:
(a) Squares with parallel bars incised into each of the quadrants, often with a circle
carved in the centre (we recognize eight examples). The general form, from Langley,
is shown in Figure 11, and an example is given in Figure 12 (cf. also Figures 5 and
7). In most instances the directions of the bars are rotated 90° as one proceeds from
quadrant to quadrant. In one example, some of the bar patterns have been perpen-
dicularly bisected by an aisle. Morante calls these "esteras",» or mats. We see a close
resemblance to the fourway hatching symbols which have been thought to signify
the cardinal directions, the earth, or possibly one of the calendrical signs." That
these signs are often accompanied by peck marks at the four directions (cf. Figure
7, bottom left, and Figure 5, top) may be relevant.
(b) Squares with parallel bars and/or incised maltese cross design(s) (Figure 13).
Morante calls these "kan cross" carvings. In two examples the cross design replaces
the bars in the NE quadrant, while in another (Figure 7, bottom right), the crosses
appear in the NE and SW quadrants. Two badly damaged-carvings show vestiges
of an irregular inlay of crosses (Morante classifies these as rhombs, cf. Figure 14),
while the whole of one design is made up of a solitary carved maltese cross design
(Figure l3(a». This design element, also called a "quatrefoil", is well known at

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 Pecked Designs at Teotihuacan 39

FIG. 10. Flying corners such as those one sees on game boards appear in some of the designs.

Teotihuacan, where it appears in headdresses, pectorals in the codices, and even in

pecked designs. 17 It represents completion, usually of a 260-day count or a significant
multiple thereof.
(c) Squares with an arced design in each quadrant, as shown in Figure 15. The
resemblance to the quincross,!" representing the five world directions, seems quite
clear here.

DISCUSSION

Given the diversity of forms and the partly ruined state of many of the artifacts on
the Floor of the Markers, it is difficult to conceive of a single explanation for their
origin and function. From the point of view of energetics it is clear that an enormous
amount of work seems to have been invested in their construction. In our opinion,
most are neither very carefully laid out nor precisely oriented, though the pecked
cross-circles (type A) do seem to exhibit somewhat greater care in their manner of
execution. On the other hand, given that the excavation of but a small fraction of the
Ll-shaped floor that circumscribes three sides of the Pyramid of the Sun has yielded
such a large number of designs, one can only imagine how many there might lie on
the entire floor, to say nothing of other unexcavated TEO floors. 19 Clearly, the pecked
cross symbol had great importance.
The heaviest concentration of designs occurs at the west end of the excavated por-
tion of the floor of the South Platform, where several designs clumsily overlap one

Reference 69
FIG. II. Some carved squares exhibit the fourway hatching symbol (Langley, cf ref. 16) found elsewhere
at Teotihuacan.

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40 Anthony F. Aveni

FIG. 12. Carved design with fourway hatching.

0
0 0 0

0
~~~Q~ DDD~ I
i ~~~~ ~III II
0 0

I
0 0
0
0

-
~
~ Reference- 219
~ Reference 106
'81
Reference E

FIG. 13. Various forms of carved designs: (a, above left) maltese cross with intercardinals, (b, above centre)
and (c, above right) mixed hatching and maltese cross with cardinals (ef refs. 16-18), (d, below)
Maltese Cross element from Langley.

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 Pecked Designs at Teotihuacan 41

FIG. 14. Carved design containing irregular elements. Again, note cardinal markers.

FIG. 15. (a, above) Carved quincross design, with cardinals; (b, right) the
same, from Langley.

Reference 214

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42 Anthony F. Aveni

another. Relative dating is difficult, though it does appear that many type B2 designs
(ef e.g. #32, Figure 7) and at least one of the circles (#43, Figure 2, upper left) are
"converted" or carved-over pecked petroglyphs. In one instance a hole in the floor
that obliterates part of one design (#38) seems to have been deliberately avoided in
the later construction (of #36) by contorting a portion of the outer NW quadrant of the
later design (ef Figure 8). That the north wall which covers over portions of TEO 30
can now be dated to Early Xolalpan (A.D. 35Q-450) offers us absolute chronological
data. The three pecked cross circles (one single, two double) exhibit little difference
from those found elsewhere at Teotihuacan. All, as well as most of the squares, show
the prominent 10-1-4-1-4 pattern on the axes.
There is a strong possibility that counting seasonal/agricultural time, as first sug-
gested by Iwaniszewski, and perhaps commensurating the relevant intervals with the
260-day count, was one intention of these designs.> In support of the calendrical
hypothesis, we find interpolated totals close to 260 (three cases) and 365 (two cases).
Attempts to commensurate these cycles, or perhaps to reckon local time intervals in
connection with the planting/harvest/rainfall schedule, remains a distinct possibility.
This study also provides the first considerable body of tally data on pecked squares
which, at least at the present stage of analysis, seems to exhibit no significant tally
differences compared to those found on the circular designs. One of the great advan-
tages of finding such an abundance of similar artifacts is that statistical tests can be
performed more readily upon the data. Thus, we can add the relatively secure tally
data of 12 examples from the South Platform to the already extant numerical data
from 59 like artifacts found at Teotihuacan and elsewhere. In Figure 16 we construct
a histogram that shows the relative frequency of tallies on circles/squares and axes
of all known pecked cross petroglyphs. Figure 17 exhibits the spread of totals of
tallies on all designs. These graphs are of interest because they show trends that may
not be so obvious from site to site comparisons. These trends suggest that, taken as
a group, the petroglyphs contain numbers that relate to the Mesoamerican calendar.
In Figure 16 we have marked multiples of 20 with a '+' for reference; we have also
indicated. with a '*' the basic intervals in the Teotihuacan seasonal calendar, the
latter being tabulated in Table 2. The peaks at multiples of 20 are quite clear. The
predominance of the count of 20, particularly on the axes of the petroglyphs, has
been noted previously."
Somewhat less evident, but nonetheless apparent, are smaller peaks rightward of
80 (86-90), rightward of 60 (68) and possibly a slightly weaker peak leftward of
40 (30-34). All three, as well as the peak at 60, correspond to legitimate seasonal
intervals. Moreover, we have argued that there are precisely the same agriculturally
based seasonal intervals present in a pristine example of a pecked cross petroglyph
in the floor of Str. A-Vat the Maya site of Uaxactun. On the basis of inscriptional
evidence we have also argued that the Maya adopted the Teotihuacan method of
counting these intervals and that they set about incorporating them into their Group
E structures> sometime between A.D. 278 and 593. This coincides quite well with

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 Pecked Designs at Teotihuacan 43

TABLE 2. Seasonal intervals at Teotihuacan.

From To Interval
First solar zenith (20 May) June solstice (21.5 Jun) 33.5 d
June solstice Second solar zenith (25.5 Jul) 33.5 d
Second solar zenith Autumn equinox (23.0 Sep) 59.5 d
Autumn equinox Dec. solstice (21.5 Dec) 89.5 d
Dec. solstice Vernal equinox (20.5 Mar) 89.0 d
Vernal equinox First solar zenith 60.0"
Length of Rainy Season 122d -134d

the Xolalpan (A.D. 350-450) date secured for the South Platform.
Further support for the existence of numbers of Mesoamerican calendrical sig-
nificance in the tallies comes from Figure 17. We note here that, while grand totals
range from just a few dozen up to nearly 800, the peaks seem to break down into
two well defined zones. We call the "260 group", those that appear to peak around
that number. A sample of 40 designs ranging between counts of 218 and 302 yields
an average of 254.1 ± 23.1 s.d. A second cluster, the "365 group", shows an average
count of 365.7 ± 25.9 s.d. in the range 340-402. One of the paramount goals in the
making of the later codices is the commensuration of 260 + 365. 23 These observa-
tions leave little doubt that practical elements related to the seasonal calendar and
its relationship to the sacred count are extant in the petroglyphs.>'
Whether the existence of these calendrical elements implies that the petroglyphs
were intended as specific instruments for counting days or that the correct counts
need only have exhibited a symbolic presence (as, for example, in the number of stars
on the U.S. flag), we cannot say. The directional properties and calendrical symbol-
ism present in the accompanying carved designs, being consistent with those found
in Teotihuacan proto-writing, supports the notion that the entire assembly was put
to some sort of ritual use. One can well imagine the site as a place for calendrical
divination of the type we see much later in the codices. There specific offerings are
shown being made to particular agrarian deities (rain, maize, sky, etc.) on carefully
chosen dates that suited both the sacred 260- and seasonal 365-day cycles. Making
the count of the days and assessing them for good or bad luck in a tabular format
could well have been part of the sort of process one still finds in contemporary Meso-
american divinatory practices.>
The foregoing conclusions do not imply that the game board hypothesise should
be discarded. Indeed, the patolli, and especially the quinze, analogy needs to be
more carefully considered, especially since a principal characteristic of the rules of
this game is concerned with entry into the enclosed space of the carved design via
the four extended comers. A number of the aforementioned designs exhibit such
comers and practically all of them include extended axes. Perhaps one can develop
a hypothetical counting scheme by entering the designs along their axial or comer
extensions. Whether these more complex designs were variants of quinze/patolli is

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 t
+ + + + +
* * * *

20

N
15
U
~
M g
::s
'<
B
:-rJ
10
E ~
(l)
2.
R
l- I-
,
l- I- I- 1-1- t- l - I- l -
I- l- I- I--
5
l- I- I--
l-

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I- 1-1- l- I-
DIil~
~~.
20 40
~ 60 80 100
TAlLY

FIG. 16. Histogram showing the distribution of tallies on circles/squares and axes for all Mesoamerican petroglyphs, including those in the present study:
+ indicates multiples of 20; * indicates Teotihuacan seasonal intervals given in Table 2.
 + *

20

N ~
'"l
15
U ~
~

M
~
~.
B
l:l
E 10 ...'"
;;;l
Cl
R
S:
5
8;::
5
792
r-r-- r-

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-I
I
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
~~tai_Mi TAILY
FIG. 17. Histogram showing distribution of total tallies for all pecked cross Mesoamerican petroglyphs, including those in the present study (+ indicates
260; * indicates 365). ~
46 Anthony F. Aveni

left open for further study.

Lastly, the base-5 count (especially 10, 15,20), which plays a major role in the
game of quinze, surfaces frequently in the tallies in our tabulations. Casting lots,
which is also a part of the rules of quinze, may have been connected with some sort
of divinatory process involving agricultural prognostication via calendrical intervals,"
as for example one finds in the Maya codices." Like the well-known Mesoamerican
ballgame, quinze had many forms and sets of rules. Perhaps fashioning a quinze board
and actually experimenting with playing the game will offer some insight.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are indebted to the Instituto Nacional Antropologfa y Historia, the Consejo de

Arqueologfa, Joaquin Garcia Barcena, President, and especially to Eduardo Matos
for making these studies possible. Special thanks also go to Ruben Cabrera C. and
Jose Luis Reyes T. and their staff and workers who assisted us at the site. We are
especially indebted to Cabrera and Reyes for the use of the map of the Floor of the
Markers and for arranging the reexcavation and permits for our study. Thanks are
also due to Carol Ann Lorenz, Professor of Art History at Colgate University, who
helped direct the project, and to the students on my Colgate Extended Study Project
2003 in Mexico whohelped collect the data, especially Logan Korpita for her excel-
lent photography. This work was supported financially by Colgate's Extended Study
Program and the OSCO Fund. Johanna Broda helped acquire relevant literature and
Diane Janney assisted in the preparation of the manuscript. Ivan Sprajc and Stanislaw
Iwaniszewski have offered helpful comments on earlier drafts.

REFERENCES
I. 1. Dow, "Astronomical orientations at Teotihuacan: A case study in astroarchaeology", American
antiquity, xxxii (1967), 32&-34.
2. For an updated list of references, see A. Aveni, Skywatchers: A revised and updated version of
Skywatchers ofAncient Mexico (Austin, 2001). They are discussed on pp. 329-34.
3. Cf. R. Cabrera C; "Las figuras punteadas al sur de la plataforma en 'U' de la P. de Sol" (ms. 12 Jan
2003); E. Matos M. "Excavaciones recientes en la Piramide del Sol, 1993-4", in La Piramide
del Sol Teotihuacan, ed. by E. Matos (Mexico, 1995).
4. A. Aveni, H. Hartung and B. Buckingham, "The pecked cross symbol in ancient Mesoamerica",
Science, ccii (1978), 267-79.
5. R. Morante L., "Evidencias del conocimiento astronomico en Teotihuacan", Ph.D. dissertation,
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 1996; "EI abaco teotihuacano: Una luz equinioccial
sobre Teotihuacan", Mexico desconocido, no. 346 (August 1997), 2&-30; and "~EI abaco
teotihuacano?", Estudios de cultura Nahuatl, xxvii (1997), 419-33.
6. Private communication. 27 April 2003. Cabrera conducted the excavation with the archaeologist
Claudia M. Lopez. I thank David Carballo (p.c. 29 April 2004) for updating me on Teotihuacan
chronology.
7. Aveni, Hartung and Buckingham, op. cit. (ref. 4).
8. E.g. TEO 25: L. Grazioso "Cruz punteada en el Grupo 5' de Teotihuacan", in VllI Simposio de
Investigaciones Arqueol6gicas en Guatemala, ed. by J. P.Laporte and H. L. Escobedo (Guatemala,
1995),447-59.

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 Pecked Designs at Teotihuacan 47

9. Cf A. Aveni, "Pecked cross petroglyphs at Xihuingo", Archaeoastronomy, no. 14 (iHA, 1989),

S73-115, and idem, "Out of Teotihuacan: Origin of the celestial canon in Mesoamerica", in
Mesoamerica's classical heritage: From Teotihuacan to the Aztecs, ed. by D. Carrasco, L.
Jones and S. Sessions (Niwot, CO, 2000), 253--68. See also Cabrera (pp. 202-4) and Broda (pp.
419-22) in the same volume.
10. Grazioso, op. cit. (ref. 8).
II. On the other hand, Morante suggests the E-W axes of#28 and #39, visible at the lower left of Figure
8, were aligned equinoctially and that of #41 was solstitially aligned (cf op. cit. (ref. 5), 144).
12. A. Aveni, H. Hartung and J. C. Kelley, "Alta Vista (Chalchihuites): Astronomical implications of a
Mesoamerican ceremonial outpost at the Tropic of Cancer", American antiquity, xlcii (1982),
316-35.
13. W. Bennett and R. Zingg, The Tarahumara: An Indian tribe ofnorthern Mexico (Chicago, 1935).
14. The Spanish chronicler, D. Duran (Book ofthe gods. rites and the ancient calendar, ed. by D. Heyden
and F. Horcasitas (Norman, 1971), 302), gives a detailed description of the game and how it
is played.
15. Morante,op. cit. (ref. 5). His classification scheme appears on p. 149.
16. J. Langley, Symbolic notation of Teotihuacan (British Archaeological Reports. International Series
313; Oxford. 1983), Sign no. 101, p. 264.
17. Ibid., no. 161c, p. 317. See also TEO 2, ibid.
18. Cf especially Langley, op. cit. (ref. 16), no. 162, ref. 214, p. 279.
19. Since our last visit, Cabrera and Lopez have continued the excavation of the floor toward the east.
They have uncovered another (incomplete) carved square (Cabrera, p.c., 27 April 2003). Given
the presumed total length of the platform and the density of designs uncovered so far, we might
expect to find more than 300 designs of the types described here on the South Platform alone.
20. Cf Aveni, op. cit (ref. 9, 2000); A. Aveni and H. Hartung, "The pecked cross petroglyph: An ancient
Mesoamerican astronomical and calendrical symbol", Indiana, vi (1979), 37-54; S. Iwaniszewski,
"La arqueologfa y la astronomfa en Teotihuacan", Arqueoastronomia y etnoastronomia en
Mesoamerica, ed. by J. Broda, S. Iwaniszewski and L. Maupome (Mexico City, 2001), 269-90;
idem, "Mesoamerican cross circles and seasonal cycles", in Readings in archaeoastronomy,
ed. by S. Iwaniszewski (Warsaw, 1992),98-104; idem, "Mesoamerican cross-circle designs
revisited", in Archaeoastronomy in the 1990s, ed. by C. L. N. Ruggles (Loughborough, UK,
1993),288-97; and idem, "Ciclos adivinatorios y astron6micos del tiempo teotihuacano: Otra
revisi6n de los marcadores astronomicos", Tezontle: Boletindel Centro de EstudiosTeotihuacanos,
vii (2001), 3-10.
21. Aveni et al., op. cit. (ref. 4).
22. A. Aveni, A. Dowd, and B. Vining, "Maya calendar reform? Evidence from orientations of specialized
architectural assemblages", Latin American antiquity, xiv (2003),159-78.
23. G. Vail and A. Aveni, "Maya calendars and dates: Interpreting the structure of Maya almanacs", in
The Madrid Codex: New approaches to the understanding of an ancient Maya manuscript, ed.
by G. Vail and A. Aveni (Boulder, 2004), 147-70.
24. It should be noted that some other astronomical counts, e.g. lunar synodic and sidereal periods, along
with the eclipse year, have been proposed by other investigators. e.g. Morante, op. cit. (ref. 5).
In our opinion this suggestion receives no significant support from a statistical analysis of the
data in hand.
25. Cf K. Nowotny, Tlacuilolli: Die mexikanische Bilderhandschriften, Stil und Inhalt (Ibero-
Amerikanische Bibliothek, Monumenta Americana 3; Berlin, 1961); and, later, B. Tedlock,
Time and the highland Maya (Albuquerque, 1982).
26. Aveni et al., op. cit. (ref. 4).
27. Duran, op. cit. (ref. 14).
28. A. Aveni, S. Morandi, and P. Peterson, "The Maya number of time", Archaeoastronomy, no. 21
(iHA, 1996), SI-32.

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