The Maya commemorated important
events by building stone stelae. These always had the date and
described the occasion with Maya glyphs and numbers.
We find many of these stelae still standing today in the ancient
Maya cities all over the Maya World.
you can see to the right, the custom-made Maya Stela
made by the Maya World
Studies Center is a drawing that follows that tradition.
It is finely color printed on letter size, gloss finish, quality
stela shows with the corresponding Maya glyphs and numbers
the date you wish to commemorate according to several Maya
The Long Count, also called Initial
Series is one of these. This is a very exact calendar since
it is actually a count of the days (KIN) that have passed
since the start date of this Maya Era on August 13, 3114
BC. The representation of this Long Count date occupies
most of the area of the stela. The glyph at the top of
the column is called the introductory glyph, which basically
says "Here comes an important date".
Continuing reading towards the
bottom starting at row 2 each one of the Maya glyphs
on the stela represents a period of time (an amount of
days or KIN) and the Maya number in front
of it states how many of these periods are taken into
account, the product of the multiplication of both these
elements (glyph value x numeral) and the addition of the
other similar products obtained from the following 4 rows
will give the amount of days that have passed.
The last two glyphs on the bottom portion
of the stela with their numerals represent the position of the
day commemorated by the stela in two other Maya calendars.
The bottom row shows the date in the HAAB which is their
civil calendar of 365 days. And the row directly on top
of the last shows the same date in the TZOLKIN or ritual
Maya calendar of 260 days.
We usually print on the top portion
of the page, besides the Maya Long Count date written in Arabic
numbers, the date in English and something relative to the event
being commemorated. Taking into consideration the space available,
other print options are also possible upon request. The whole
page may be framed. It is a great gift to commemorate the date
of an event worth remembering.
To guarantee the permanence of our stelae
quality materials are used to manufacture them, although we
doubt very much that they will last as long as those built in
stone by the Maya. The Maya World Studies Center asks for a
contribution for the custom made Maya Stela, plus S&H.
click here to send us your order,
custom made stela will be sent to you by registered mail from
our headquarters in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.