Skipping Years and Scribal Errors: Kaqchikel Maya timekeeping in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries

Adrian Recinos's correlation of Kaqchikcl Maya and Spanish dates in the Annals of the Kaqchikels contains n umerous errors. and there are several scribal and calculation errors in how both the 260-day and 400-day Kaqchikel Maya calendars were used within the manuscript. These are dating problems that stem from errors by the scribes in their attempt to adapt to a European counting and documentation system and their inexperience with the Kaqchikel Maya calendars. In addition, unique citation marks and two scribal errors shed light on the existence of earlier documents and subsequent effects on the later time counts of the Kaqchikcl Maya calendar system. This paper adjusts the previous correlation by Recinos and extends it from 1 570 until 1603. Moreover, by highlighting and correcting the internal errors, this paper offers a caveat to scholars when reconstructing the histories, events, and social relations of past Mesoamerican peoples and scripts without regard for internal errors.