1

S SO OM ME E O OB BS SE ER RV VA AT TI IO ON NS S O ON N T T5 58 85 5 ( (Q QU UI IN NC CU UN NX X) ) O OF F T TH HE E M MA AY YA A S SC CR RI IP PT T
1 1


Brian Stross

University of Texas at Austin



A AB BS ST TR RA AC CT T

The Maya glyph IK (ik') is found in structurally similar positions to the Maya quincunx
glyph, which is known to have a phonetic value bi or be. Since ik' is 'life, spirit, breath,
wind' in Mayan languages, it is noteworthy that bi/be means 'life, breath, spirit' in
Zapotecan languages, posssible descendents of the language of Monte Alban in the Valley of
Oaxaca, where the quincunx glyph is found quite early. Thus, it is conceivable that the
Maya quincunx glyph with its sound value be was borrowed in both form and sound value
from Zapotecans, suggesting that be is also the sound value of that glyph in the "Zapotec"
script. It is further suggested that in Zapotec the quincunx was a logogram representing be
'life, breath, wind' whose meaning carried over into at least the quincunx part of a "death"
expression in the Maya inscriptions, and perhaps elsewhere in the Maya script. Pursuing
these suggestions has led to the additional insight that the Maya day Eb may be related both
to Venus as Evening Star and to the quincunx. The Maya quincunx glyph may substitute
for a toothy skull as Evening star (though it may also stand for Venus in both Morning and
Evening aspects), while the IK glyph may represent Venus as Morning star in some
contexts.







I IN NT TR RO OD DU UC CT TI IO ON N

The Maya script includes a glyph, called the quincunx or 'Q' glyph and numbered T585 for
its place in Thompson's (1962) glyph catalog. It is a square of four circlets surrounding a central
and often somewhat larger fifth circlet, or sometimes two concentric circlets in the center (figure
1). A formally identical glyph occurs in the "Zapotec" script found in the valley of Oaxaca (Caso's
glyph E; figure 2), and the same form occurs in proto-Classic Maya iconography (e.g. the earplugs
of the mask facades at Cerros, see figure 3). The quincunx glyph is also found in the inscriptions
of the sarcophagus from the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque (figure 4). Furthermore the
quincunx glyph is part of the iconography of the sarcophagus sides, occurring on the pectorals of
some of the figures emerging from the earth; figures presumed to be former rulers in the descent
line of the ruler Pacal whose body was found in the sarcophagus (figure 5).

2

While a phonetic value of bi, be for the quincunx in the Maya script is already accepted by
a number of scholars, the purpose of this essay is to propose a semantic reading of 'wind, life,
breath' for the glyph and to suggest its introduction to the Maya from the earlier Zapotec script,
where it may have had a phonetic value of bi or be as well as the meaning 'wind, breath, life'.

Whittaker (1980) has already concluded that there was Zapotec (Monte Alban) influence
on the Maya hieroglyphic script, including Maya borrowing of the Zapotec quincunx glyph with
a phonetic value of bix. He identifies the Zapotec quincunx as a rattle in order to establish a
motivated iconographic source with a phonetic value of bix, which is similar in turn to an
apparently non-iconically motivated phonetic value of bix, a value suggested for the quincunx in
Maya script by Thompson (1971). Justeson et al reject the bix reading for the Maya glyph, and in
a consideration of several data, conclude that a derivation of Maya writing from Zapotec writing is
not supported by the evidence; evidence which they explain is in fact "inconsistent with such a
hypothesis" (Justeson et al 1985:51). They conclude that Whittaker's four examples of phonetic
transfer:

cannot be pertinent to the origins, but only to the later use of
the Mayan script. This again points to the pertinence of Maya
knowledge of a Oaxacan language more than of a Zapotec script.

The greater similarity among sign forms and among text formats of
Mayan and other Southeastern scripts...than among Mayan and
Zapotec signs and formats, suggests that the late Preclassic to
early Classic impact of the Zapotec script on Mayan writing
was weak compared to the impact of Mixe-Zoquean writing"
(Justeson et al 1985:51-2; cf. Stross 1982)


M MA AY YA A Q QU UI IN NC CU UN NX X A AS S ' 'W WI IN ND D, , B BR RE EA AT TH H, , L LI IF FE E, , S SP PI IR RI IT T' '

S St tr ru uc ct tu ur ra al l S Si im mi il la ar ri it ti ie es s b be et tw we ee en n q qu ui in nc cu un nx x a an nd d I IK K

On the sides of the Palenque sarcophagus found beneath the Temple of the Inscriptions, the
individuals depicted in association with various trees have pectorals/breastplates inscribed with
one or another of two glyphs. One is the IK glyph (T5O3) and the other is the quincunx glyph
(figure 6). We know that the Maya IK glyph means 'wind, breath, life'. The IK glyph has as a
referent the day Ik in the Maya 2O day cycle, and the meaning of ik' in most Mayan languages is
'wind, breath'.

Although hands cover the sign on some of the pectorals, there appears to be an association
of the IK glyph with females and of the quincunx with males. It is not possible, however, to ascribe
the meaning 'male' to the quincunx and the meaning 'female' to the IK symbol.
2
Possibly the sexes
are implied by these pectoral symbols, but 'male' and 'female' would seem not to be their focal

3
meanings. For one thing, there is no sonic basis in Mayan terms for 'man' and 'woman', which
resemble neither ik nor be, so it seems unlikely that the two would refer directly to the sexes.
3
For
another, on the Oval Palace Tablet at Palenque, there is a male depicted with an IK pectoral (figure
7), while on the Tablet of Temple XIV at Palenque a female is shown with an IK pectoral and with
quincunx belt decorations, apparently part of a "sky band" motif (figure 8). Additionally, Schele
1983:121) classifies one of the persons having an IK pectoral as a male. Furthermore, the strategic
location of the pectorals in front of the heart area suggests that the 'life, breath, wind' interpretation
for IK which we know is valid with respect to the day name may be applicable here at least for the
IK pectorals.
4


Given the occurrence of both the quincunx and the IK symbols on the sarcophagus
pectorals, the context implies a structural similarity and thus a potential semantic similarity
between the IK and the quincunx symbols. If the IK can be given the meaning 'wind, breath, life',
then it is possible that the quincunx has either the same meaning or a closely related meaning.

We find another structural parallelism in glyphic usage itself. Both the IK glyph and the
quincunx occur in parallel positions with other glyphic elements in glyph
collocations/combinations that appear to represent death expressions (cf. Schele 1979:23; cf.
figure 9).
5
The quincunx in this context has been discussed by Lounsbury, who concluded that
while the glyph collocation including the quincunx glyph refers to 'death' or some other "terminal"
event in a person's lifetime, the quincunx glyph alone could not be said to have that meaning
(1974:18).

The same could be said of the IK glyph in the 'death' expression in which it figures. One
reason is that it seems certain that alone the IK glyph refers to 'wind, air, breath, life, spirit'; and in
combination with other concepts it is not difficult to conceive of a "death" expression on the order
of "he lost his life" or some similar locution that could incorporate the currently known meaning
of the IK glyph. Thus both the IK glyph and the quincunx could have meanings such as 'life,
breath, wind' while participating in glyphic constructions meaning 'death'.

The "Q death" glyphic expression, crucially includes a quincunx, and the quincunx very
likely represents the syllable bi or be (cf. Schele 1979, Justeson et al 1985:47-8 ).
6
The be value
of the quincunx is an anagram of the day name Eb, the Quiche counterpart of which is Eh, a day
name strongly associated with the sound and meaning of Quiche' be 'road, path' (Tedlock
1982:117). In divination this Quiche' day refers in fact to the "road of life" (Tedlock 1982:118).
Joanne Spero (p.c.) notes that among Yucatecs of Quintana Roo the word be 'road, path, way'
seems to have a natural association with and common reference to the "road of l li if fe e".
7


It is not only the anagram relationship between the quincunx's phonetic value be and the
Yucatec day name Eb that lends significance to these observations about the "road of life". More
important is the structural relationship between the day names Ik and Eb. These two days, ten days
apart, are structurally in paired opposition to one another in the 2O day ritual and divinatory cycle,
sharing several elements of meaning, as I have argued elsewhere (Stross 1983:239-243). To the
extent that phonetic be or bih and/or the meaning 'life' is related to the day named Eb, then

4
structural parallelism between IK and the quincunx is again demonstrated. Additionally, it is
suggested below that the glyphs for the days Eb and Ik both are significantly associated with Maya
symbolism involving the planet Venus.

There is another structural parallism that crosses the boundary between the Zapotecan and
the Mayan iconography (and epigraphy). In the Zapotec inscriptions a quincunx is found infixed
in the head of what has been identified as a musical instrument, the rattle. In the Maya city of
Copan, there is a sculpted personage called by some "the magician" holding aloft an apparent rattle,
and in the head is infixed not a quincunx, but a perfect IK glyph (figure 1O). The Zapotec quincunx
corresponds structurally in this case to the Maya IK sign. To complete the circle of coinciding
signs from different cultures in Mesoamerica, it may be noted that the Aztec Venus god,
Quetzalcoatl, known as Nine Wind and transfigured as Ehecatl 'Wind'--which names the day
corresponding to Maya Ik--can be seen in the Mixtec Codex Vindobonensis carrying what looks
like a "rattle" with an infixed quincunx (recalling the "rattle" of the Zapotec inscriptions with its
quincunx, and the "rattle" of the Maya sculpture an IK sign)(figure 11).


Z Za ap po ot te ec c a as s a a D Do on no or r L La an ng gu ua ag ge e

It is possible that Zapotec of today reflects an earlier loan to a Mayan language of a sound
combination approximating bi or be with a meaning similar to 'wind, breath, life'. The argument,
simply put, is this:

The Maya glyphs IK and quincunx (bi, be) share structurally similar positions in glyph
collocations of the Maya script as well as in Maya iconography. This structural similarity and
some other evidence suggests that they have the same, similar, or semantically related meanings
(e.g. both might mean 'wind, breath, life'; or one might designate the moon and the other the sun;
or one the sun and the other venus, or one might be Venus as Morning Star and the other Venus as
Evening Star).

If the quincunx glyph and the IK glyph have the same or similar meanings, then in at least
some contexts the quincunx glyph with a rather well established phonetic value of bi/be could
plausibly be seen to have a semantic value of 'wind, breath, life', and since Mayan languages have
no words sounding like bi, be with such meanings of 'wind, breath, or life' this semantic value
would likely have to be a borrowed one.

Zapotec would be a good candidate as a donor language to a Cholan language for a concept
of 'wind, breath, (life)' associated with a sound value similar to bi, be. According to Marcus:

Perhaps the most crucial concept in Zapotec religion was that
of pe (written pee in the sixteenth century, pronounced be by today's
Zapotec). Variously translated as 'wind,' 'breath', or 'spirit,' pe was
the vital force that made all living things move. Anything that moved
was thus alive, to some degree sacred, and deserving of respect:

5
animals, human beings, clouds, lightning, earthquakes, the 26O-day
ritual calendar and the foam on the top of a cup of stirred hot chocolate
are examples of things which possessed pe (1978:299).
8
(see Table 1)


Table 1

Early Colonial Zapotec pee 'wind, breath, spirit (life)'

Zapotec of Sierra de Juarez be? 'wind, breath (life)'

Isthmus Zapotec bi 'wind, air, breath'.


Zapotec would be superior to Mixe, a probably descendant of the language of the Olmecs, as a
candidate for donor in terms of sound similarity See for example Totontepec Mixe pOh 'wind,
air (life)'


ZAPOTEC GLYPH E AS /PI, PE, BI, BE/ 'WIND, BREATH, SPIRIT'

The Oaxaca valley script, attributed to "Zapotecs", preceded the Maya script by some 5OO
years and began at or near the 55O B.C. date that is Bricker's suggested origin point of the Maya
vague year or haab (1982:1O3). This script has a quincunx glyph (Caso's Glyph E), for which
available evidence indicates a possible phonetic value of bi, pi, be, or pe. This evidence does not
strongly indicate the notion of 'wind, life, spirit' by itself, and is as follows.

1) Caso (1928:31-2) suggests that the quincunx glyph, one of two variant forms for his
Glyph E, represents the sun,
1O
which in Zapotec significantly includes a component bi or pi: cf.
Colonial Zapotec pija 'sun'; Zapoteco of the Sierra de Juarez b bi itsa 'sol/sun'; Isthmus Zapotec
[gu-bidxa, u-bidxa].

2) The quincunx in the Zapotec script (as Caso's Glyph E) is presumed to be a day name
(Caso 1928:27); and there is a Zapotec day name, from which a sound value pi, bi or something
similar might be drawn; i.e. Zapotec p pi ija 'sun, drought' which corresponds to Maya Eb,
Parenthetically, it may be worth noting the shared bilabial stop and high front vowel possessed by
these equivalent day names in the two languages, and also the fact that Highland Mayan variants
of Eb can be related to the concept 'life' (cf. above).

3) The quincunx occurs on occasion infixed in what has been identified as a 'rattle' (a
musical instrument) which would seem to be called piso or pixo in early colonial Zapotec
(Justeson et al 1985:47), again indicating a phonetic value of pi or something similar. Although
Justeson et al see the rattle (with the infixed quincunx) as a "semantic indicator for 'song'"

6
(1985:47), it seems at least equally plausible to view the quincunx as a phonetic complement
specifying the rattle by indicating phonetically a portion of its name. The two possibilities are, of
course, not mutually exclusive.

Though this evidence that the Zapotec quincunx may have had a phonetic value similar to
bi, be does not by itself implicate 'wind, breath, spirit' as a necessary referent for the Zapotec glyph,
the sound value is appropriate, and rebus usage allows for the possibility that 'sun' could be the
referent in some contexts. What does implicate 'wind, breath, spirit' as the referent of the Zapotec
quincunx is the motivated hypothesis that the Maya script borrowed the quincunx glyph along with
a phonetic value of bi/be from the Zapotec script, and paired it in structurally similar contexts with
the Maya IK glyph, which is known to refer to 'wind, breath, life'. This as well as the significant
fact of Zapotec words similar to bi, be meaning 'wind, breath, spirit'.


W WI IN ND D O OR R S SU UN N O OR R S ST TA AR R

There is another possibility to be considered here as well. What if the IK and quincunx
glyphs on the pectorals at Palenque refer not to 'vitality' or 'spirit' but to something gender-related
or title-related, such as the 'moon' and the 'sun' (recalling Caso's identification of the Zapotec
quincunx as the 'sun'); or perhaps Venus as Morning Star and as Evening Star (recalling the
quincunx as the badge of Venus as Morning Star --Tlauizcalpantecuhtli--for the Aztecs). Let us
consider here some of the possibilities.

Carlson (1981), in a discussion of mirrors worn as pectorals by Olmec and Maya rulers,
associates mirror pectorals as symbols of power with a cosmological framework in which rulership
is bestowed by descent from a Fire God and four world-directional gods (labeled
Tezcatlipocas--four gods in one--by the Aztecs). This already gives us the number 5 after which
the quincunx glyph is named. Then it is noted that the Fire God for the Olmecs is identified as the
same God I whose characteristic symbology includes the "four dots and bar motif" (Joralemon
1976:47), again suggesting the quincunx.

The concave mirror can generate fire from the sun (Carlson 1981:126), and there is little
doubt that the mirror can symbolize the sun itself as it does for the Huichols of Mexico (cf. Carlson
1981:141). The mirror symbolizing the sun is consonant with at least some Maya pectoral (and
forehead ornament) usage. For example at Yaxchilan, Lintel 24 shows Lady Xoc's pectoral with
the sungod's face, and even includes a KIN glyph on the sungod's forehead. Carlson, in fact
produces several compelling arguments demonstrating "a series of Maya structural associations of
sun, mirror, rulership, dynastic lineage, and cosmology" (1981:129).

The mirror also can relate directly to one's spirit, soul, or inner self, as well as being known
in Mesoamerica as a powerful tool in divination and curing; and we have seen above that the notion
'spirit' is associated with the word for 'wind' in Mayan and Zapotec languages. If the quincunx and
the IK glyph are two ways of augmenting a pectoral mirror or mirror substitute, and if the mirror

7
or its substitute can symbolize the sun or some of its power properties while relating also to the
spirit or inner self, then both quincunx and IK have possibly close semantic relations with both the
sun and with wind (which is often associated in Mesoamerica with the four directions). It is worth
noting in this context that Copainala Zoque hama 'sun, nahual' and Nahuatl toona-(tiw) 'sun,
tonal' show the word for 'sun' being the same as the word for the 'animal spirit familiar'.

The moon and stars, as bright bodies, may also have some kind of relationship with the
mirror, but even without this being demonstrated, it is possible to say that the sound sequence ik'
or something like it can in Mayan languages be associated with 'wind', 'moon', or 'star', and near
homophony of 'moon' and 'wind' can also be found in Mixe-Zoquean languages (see table 2).

T Ta ab bl le e 2 2

Kekchi iq' 'wind'
Quiche kaq-iq' 'wind';
Proto-Mayan *iiq' 'wind'

Quiche iik' 'moon'
Proto-Mayan *iik' 'moon',
Yucatec ek' 'star'
Chol ek' 'star'


Totontepec Mixe pO'O 'moon'
Proto-Mixean *po' 'moon'

Totontepec Mixe pOh 'wind'
Proto-Mixean *poh 'wind'



Likewise, the sound sequence bi or be or pi or pe or something similar can in Zapotec
languages be associated with 'wind', 'sun', 'moon', and 'light', and near homophony of 'sun' and
'wind' can also be found in Mixe-Zoquean languages (see table 3).



T Ta ab bl le e 3 3

Colonial Zapotec pee 'wind'
Zapotec of Sierra de Juarez be' 'wind'
Isthmus Zapotec bi 'wind'


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Colonial Zapotec [pija] 'sun'
Zapotec of Sierra de Juarez bitsa 'sun'
Colonial Zapotec [pihe, piye] 'day-count cycle'

Zapotec beeu 'moon'

Zapotec biaani' 'light, brightness'
11



Proto-Mixean *xaw 'wind'
Proto-Mixe-Zoquean *sawa 'wind'
Proto-Mixean *xAw 'sun'
Totontepec Mixe xAA 'sun'





T Th he e S Su un n

In the Maya glyphic script there are indications of the sun being related to both the
quincunx and the flower.
12
"The quincunx is frequently set on the regular four petaled k'in glyph
[the KIN glyph represents the sun] apparently without altering its value in any way" (Thompson
1971:142; fig. 26,51; 3O,54)(Figure 12).
13


Additionally, as Thompson points out, in the sacred Yucatec Maya book the Chilam Balam
of Chumayel, not only is the sun said to have been set in the center of a flower; the moon is
described as "the five petaled flower" (1971:142), incorporating thus also the notion of a quincunx.
"The sun and moon are very closely connected with the plumeria [flower], presumably because
they were the first people to cohabit.." (Thompson 1971:142).

Although he also sees some relationship between the quincunx and Venus, Thompson
points out the Maya use of the quincunx as a variant of the KIN 'sun, day' glyph, for example in a
distance number of seven days on the Palenque Tablet of 96 glyphs. He also mentions its
appearance together with the skull headdress in conjunction with Glyph D of the lunar series as
well as forming Glyph Y of the lunar series, noting that it seems to occur with only coefficients of
5 and 7 and to refer to 'days' or literally "suns". In addition the skull may be suppressed, being
replaced by the quincunx alone (1971:17O).

Another way to cognitively connect the quincunx to the sun is to tie the phonetic value
bi/be to the sun, for that phonetic value is already rather securely established for the quincunx. For
example, in several Mayan languages of today, the word for the "day counter", or diviner, is based
on the word for 'sun, day' (e.g. Chorti ah k'in). In Jacaltec, however, the word for 'diviner/zahorin'

9
ah be, including thereby one of the phonetic values assigned to the quincunx.

Another bit of evidence connecting bi/be to the sun is due to the fact that in quite a few
languages of Mesoamerica, the word for 'sun' is also the word for 'name'. In fact reconstruction of
proto-Mixtecan suggests a relationship between words for 'name' and 'day' (Longacre and Millon
1961), perhaps indicating that as early as hundreds of years B.C. children might have been named
for the day on which they were born, such being their "sun names". Totontepec Mixe xAA 'sun,
day, name, festival' and Oluta Popoluca xAwA 'sun, name' both equate the notions 'sun' and
'name' in a single word. Therefore, noting the semantic relationship between the two concepts, it
is significant that *bih 'name' has been reconstructed for proto-Mayan.

In the Zapotec glyphic script, Caso identifies glyph E as a day name and as one of the
commonest Zapotec glyphs, having both the quincunx and the cruciform variants. He suggests that
the 'sun' is a referent for this glyph (1928:31-2). This identification as 'sun', it should be noted, is
based in part on the Maya glyphic system, but not exclusively.

The Zapotec day name corresponding to Maya Eb (cf. Aztec Malinalli 'Twisted Grass') is
Pija 'sun, drought'. If the quincunx represented a Zapotec day name with a sound value similar to
bi/be, the meaning 'sun' coincides well with Caso's identification. Moreover we may recall here
that Maya Eb is a structural counterpart of the Maya day Ik.
14


V Ve en nu us s

The quincunx glyph is associated with a skull glyph in various contexts in the Maya script,
and the contexts involved allow for the possibility that the two might represent different aspects of
Venus; QUINCUNX could represent the Morning Star aspect, and the SKULL could represent the
Evening Star aspect.

Concerning Venus representation on the Mexican plateau, Thompson remarks that the
quincunx "was the badge of Venus as morning star (Tlauizcalpantecutli). In the pages of Borgia
and Bologna dealing with Venus, this deity has a skull, whereas in Vatican B he has a normal head
with a quincunx painted on it" (1971:171).

The Maya also represented the planet Venus with a "Lamat-Venus" glyph quite similar to
the quincunx.
15
We now know that in addition to the "Star" glyph with which Venus is represented
by the Maya, there is also a "toothy skull with distinctive markings". This "toothy skull" rendition
of Venus appears to coincide with the appearance of Venus as Evening Star (Lounsbury 1982:157).
The "toothy skull" glyph that apparently refers to this event, is found elsewhere; for example, in
the history of Katun 11 on the Tablet of Inscriptions at Palenque (middle panel at A5) and in the
history of Katun 12 (on the same tablet and panel at H6)(Carlson 1983; Lounsbury 1982). It has
the IK sign prominently displayed in the cranial section (Figure 13).

The Maya Codex Grolier also depicts a long-lipped or long nosed being as an aspect of
Venus which resembles the codical Maya raingod (God B) and may have its counterpart in the

10
Aztec god Ehecatl (a guise of Quetzalcoatl-Venus; cf. Brundage 1979:104) whose name is also the
second Aztec day, corresponding to Maya Ik,
16
and whose "long-lipped" appearance prompts the
comparison.
17


The toothy skull, found as an aspect of Venus on the Grolier Codex as well as in the
inscriptions of the Classic period, not only resembles various versions of the glyph for the day Eb,
it is sometimes associated with a large circular form recalling the "eye...on the end of a...tenon
which rises from the jawbone" (Thompson 1971:81) of the Aztec glyph for Malinalli, counterpart
of the Maya day Eb. Again we see a relationship between Eb and the quincunx (Figure 14),
recalling once more the paired opposition of Eb with the day Ik.

Since the day Eb is in paired opposition to Ik, and Ik is one of the glyphs on the pectorals
of the Palenque sarcophagus, then the quincunx would appear, by this reasoning in addition to the
iconography, to represent some element in common with the Evening Star aspect of Venus while
Ik might then be seen as embodying some element in common with the Morning Star aspect of
Venus; that is, if indeed Venus can be related in fact to the Ik and Quincunx that we are considering
here. Let us note here that independantly Tedlock sees a special relationship between the day
names Ik and Eb and the planet Venus, observing that "they occur in the fourth and (more
markedly) in the fifth and final cycle of Venus, just as the solar dimension of the story of Hunahpu
and Xbalanque begins to manifest itself in the final episodes" (1985:236).

Thompson refers also to the "long-snouted"
18
and the quincunx variants of KIN, noting
that they have a marked tendency to display symbols of death, though these are not always present
(1971:172). These variants can be seen from the above discussion as relating to, if not specifically
signifying, Venus.
19
Thompson's discussion of the reason for the death symbols helps to explain
some of the ambiguity involved with relating the quincunx to both the sun and to Venus:

In Mexican and Maya traditions, the sun, after setting, traveled
during the night through the underworld, land of the dead, so as to
emerge next morning once more in the east...As Venus as morning
star is frequently depicted with death symbols, one may assume that
he obtained these in his journey through the underworld during the
eight days between his disappearance in the west as evening star and
reappearance as morning star in the east...There is therefore evidence
that both the sun and Venus were believed to take on characteristics
of death during the passage through the underworld...(1971:172).

Venus and the sun are even more closely linked than this, however, as the Maya were well
aware. This fact is:

apparent in inscriptional computations and myths and names for Venus
that suggest a kind of dependency of Venus on the sun's behavior.
For example, one name for Venus in Tzotzil is "sweeper of the path
of the sun"...which is suggestive of Venus' role as Morning Star...The idea

11
of Venus carrying the sun's burden is seen in Cakchiquel...(Stone 1983:232)

And from this Cakchiquel metaphor of Venus carrying the sun we can recognize perhaps that "the
deity with skeletal features and the four-petaled kin on his forehead, who frequently forms [the
"rear head" (or "tail end")] of the celestial dragon or emerges from it" (Thompson 1971:173)
represents the sun in the context of a celestial monster that is a manifestation of Venus carrying the
burden of the sun; possibly at the moment of sunrise in a metaphorical reference to the creation of
the world (Stone 1983:242-251).

It is clear, then, that an identification of the sun with the quincunx and an identification of
Venus with the quincunx are not mutually exclusive in Maya iconography. the two celestial bodies
are linked by a cosmological monster, a celestial dragon.


C CO ON NC CL LU US SI IO ON N

Let us return now to the 'wind, breath, life' concept that opened this discussion and that
needs consideration along with the sun and Venus. After all, the suggestion dominating this essay
is that the quincunx glyph embodying a sound value of bi, be and a meaning 'wind, breath, life' was
transmitted from the earlier Zapotec script to a later Maya script. We have seen, however, that
there are also connections in various parts of Mesoamerica, including the Mayan area, between the
quincunx and the sun as well as between the quincunx and venus. A sun and venus association in
Maya thought is completely natural and comprehensible, based at least on the linkage of these
bodies during the times of Venus' heliacal rising and setting, and perhaps due also to the role that
Venus may well have played in creating the sun and bringing it to life at the time of the creation of
the world.

We have also seen striking sound similarities between words for 'wind' and 'moon' (and
'star') in Mayan languages, between 'wind' and 'sun' in Mixean languages, and between 'wind' and
'sun' and 'moon' in Zapotec languages. These celestial phenomena, deified in many cultures of
Mesoamerica and elsewhere, are in Mesoamerica associated with the four directions--particularly
the wind and the sun. A quincunx is an unusually apt way to represent these four directions with
reference to a central axis (the central circlet) around which the directions rotate through the
seasons. In a sense, then, the quincunx makes an excellent representation of the way in which the
earth's surface relates to the heavens--and to the underworld--so it is not surprising that some have
seen the quincunx as representing the earth.

According to Morris, who investigated patterns in Classic Maya weaving, "the Earth is
shown as a quincunx, which represents the four corners and four sides of the Earth with life (and
death) in the center" (1985:75). He also suggests that the reptilian "Cauac monster" that
symbolizes the earth is represented by the quincunx that descended from an Olmec design.

Cauac developed from the Olmec design; it retained its quincunx
form in being four-headed, with quincunx earplugs, and by always

12
having a curly half-quincunx design in its forehead (Morris
1985:75).
2O


Oddly, E. A. Wallis Budge, keeper of Egyptian and Assyrian antiquities in the British
Museum during the early years of this century, supplies an economically stated linkage between
'wind', 'sun', and 'Venus' in terms that were appropriate to the day:

Columbus was amazed to find the cross in America... authorities
on Peruvian and Mexican archaeology say that these crosses are
"wind crosses" and that originally they represented the four main
directions whence came the winds and rains, and that at a later
period they were assumed to possess a solar or stellar character
(Budge 1930:339).

We see that the concepts can be related to one another, and further that they can be connected with
the cross shape, of which the quincunx is something of a representative.

This essay has considered a semantic coincidence in the context of an apparent structural
parallelism of occurrence in Maya script and iconography as a basis for generating and providing
some support for several hypotheses implied about the quincunx glyph. These hypotheses include:
1) In the Maya script the quincunx may have had a semantic value of 'wind, breath, life' and/or
possibly 'sun' and/or perhaps 'Venus'. 2) The quincunx in Zapotec script may have had a semantic
value of 'wind, breath, life' and/or possibly 'sun'. 3) In Zapotec script the quincunx is likely to have
had a phonetic value of be, bi, pe, or pi, and this is so even if Zapotec and Maya scripts borrowed
glyph and sonic value from some third party. 4) The IK glyph could possibly have had another
semantic value in the Maya script, in addition to that of 'wind, breath, life'; if the quincunx refers
to 'sun' in the Zapotec script, then Maya IK might refer to 'moon' on the contingent assumption that
Maya quincunx could refer to 'sun' 5) Zapotec loaned the quincunx glyph and a phonetic value of
bi, pi, be, pe associated with it, to the Maya, whether directly or indirectly. 6) Zapotec script may
have used the quincunx as a phonetic complement on occasion. 7) The Maya day Eb may be
related to Venus as Evening Star and also to the quincunx. 8) More tentatively, The Maya
quincunx glyph may substitute for a toothy skull as Evening star--though it may also stand for
Venus in general--and Ik might represent Venus as Morning Star, or Venus in general.
21




NOTES

1
Joanne Spero has kindly provided useful comments and criticisms of a previous draft.

2
Among other reasons, the Oval Palace tablet at Palenque depicts a male sporting an IK pectoral

3
The sexes of individuals in Maya depictions are differentiated, among other things, on the basis
of associated glyphs--specifically the "NA" glyph, T1000a, 1002a, and others means 'Lady' or

13
'woman'.

4
Note that ik' means 'wind, air, breath' in Cholan and Yucatecan languages, and that by extension,
as seen by Cholans and Yucatecans it means 'life' (cf. Thompson 1971:73; cf. Stross (1983:241),
where the IK and quincunx are noted to be paired in alternation as pectoral symbols on Pacal's
sarcophagus. It is also notable that ik' and be are prominent in root position in Mayan words for
'rich man'; for example:

CHOLTI ay ik'al [aical] 'rich'
YUCATEC ah yik'al 'rich'
MOPAN ay ik'al 'rich'
TZOTZIL ay ik'al 'rich (person)'

USPANTEC biiyoom 'rich'
QUICHE beeyoom 'merchant (obsolete), rich'
TZUTUJIL biiyoom 'rich'
CAKCHIQUEL beyoom 'rich'
POCOMCHI bihom, beehoom 'rich'
KEKCHI bihom, behom 'rich'

cf. also JACALTEC ah be 'native priest, diviner'

The Yucatec form k'in 'sun' is derivationally related to Yucatec k'in-il 'priest's dignity,
prosperity, rule' and also to Yucatec k'in-am 'strength, vigor, fortitude, endurance', which suggests
connections between the sun and meanings like 'rich' and 'endurance' that in some other languages
is expressed in words sounding like ik' or be (cf. Totontepec Mixe ii?k 'to endure'.

One might expect that if gold is "excrement of the sun", then silver should be "excrement of the
moon". In Yucatec gold and silver are both "excrement of the sun" (tak'in), and lead is the
"excrement of the moon" (ta ?uh [taau]) (as is the case with Nahuatl). Earlier times might have
seen a different alignment.

5
Note that with similar prefixes (ahau infixed "white" on IK)(mu infixed "white" on quincunx),
the IK and the quincunx are in structurally similar positions in the glyph collocations that help
comprise the "wing-shell" death and "Q" death expressions.

6
Evidence for the be, bi phonetic value of the quincunx comes from the second B of the Landa
"alphabet", which depicts a variant of the quincunx glyph. The first B of Landa's "alphabet"
depicts a footprint on a road or path (cf. Yucatec be 'road, path', Chol bih 'road, path')

7
Yucatec ch'a be 'office' provides a title with an included be which presumably refers to 'road', as
perhaps does Yucatec beeltahbeel 'administer (a term of rulership)', and there is a glyphic title
incorporating the quincunx glyph. See also Quiche nabey 'title'


14
8
Joanne Spero (p.c.) notes the awe and respect with which the wind is viewed by the modern
Yucatec, recalling the anger of a Yucatec friend when she sounded disrespectful of a gusty wind
blowing sand in her eyes, and recalling his reminder that "the wind is life".

9
The other form of Caso's Glyph E, besides the quincunx, is a cross.

1O
Caso also suggests that Glyph E may indicate 'turquoise, precious stone'.

11
Compare also Proto-Uto-Aztecan *pe, pepe 'lightning' (elements of 'light', suggesting
possibility of 'sun' or 'moon'; Isthmus Zapotec piipi? 'lindo/pretty' (cf. the accidental coincidence
of Japanese bi 'pretty, beauty')

12
Note the anagram relationship between Mayan words for 'sun' and 'flower'
Quiche q'iij 'sun' jik 'flower'
Proto-Mayan *q'iiN 'sun' *Nik 'flower'
Yucatec k'in 'sun' nik 'flower'

13
It could be noted that quincunx earplugs occur on the KIN headvariant (cf.Thompson 1971:fig.
27:55-57), but they also show up on the UINAL headvariant (fig. 27:43). Quincunx earplugs in
Maya iconography go back as far as Cerros in the late preclassic -- 5O AD--being found on temple
masks.
We may note here that while the Chorti word ah k'in for 'diviner, (native priest, day-keeper)' is
based on the word for 'sun, day' (as are the terms in many other Mayan groups), the Jacaltec word
for 'native priest, diviner' is ah be (La Farge and Byers 1931:153). Thus there is some evidence,
though admittedly quite indirect, for connecting 'sun' and be in at least one Mayan language.

14
Mixe Zoquean languages have some words, with sounds similar to the bi/be known to be the
Maya phonetic value of the quincunx, that relate directly or indirectly to 'sun' and 'flower'. Note,
for example, Copainala' Zoque pihu 'It heated up'; pihpa '(aj) hot'; Totontepec Mixe pih 'to
blister, blister'; pUh 'flower'; Proto-Mixean *pAhi 'flower'. (cf. also Totontepec Mixe piixtUk 'to
blow' (recalling the 'wind, breath' meaning suggested for the quincunx)(also cf. Totontepec Mixe
xAA 'sun', xeh 'to breathe, breath')

15
Thompson has remarked upon the resemblance. "The complete Maya glyph for the planet Venus
resembles a quincunx, consisting of four circles, one at each corner of the glyph, and a central
element" (Thompson 1971:172), and Joanne Spero points out in addition that there is a be in the
Jacaltenango Jacaltec word for Venus (Morning Star), saj-bes (La Farge and Byers 1931:334).
With the j in the word it could be analized either as 'white"bes"' or as 'dawn "bes"', and in either
case the word 'sun' for "bes" might be appropriate.

The central element of the Lamat-Venus glyph recalls in some measure the bar in the Olmec
"four dots and bar motif" (Joralemon 1976:54) that is found on the left side of a clay stamp from
Tlatilco (Figure 15). This is flanked by a distinctly Maya looking flower-like KIN ('sun') symbol
with infixed quincunx as well as by a profile face with a protruding front tooth and a near replica

15
of the Venus "star" element at the back of the head, just as we find in the "toothy skull" version of
Venus (cf. Figure 13).


The buried "jaguar mask" from La Venta (Figure 16) is basically the same thing as the leftmost
of the three designs on the Tlatilco clay stamp, which in turn not only seems to have a possible
variant of the quincunx within it, but also shares the quincunx-like "four dots and bar motif" with
the headdress back of a jade figurine from Arroyo Pesquero (cf. Joralemon 1976:34c)(Figure 17).
In the structurally corresponding position at the front of the figurine's headdress one can make out
a strong likeness to the Maya IK glyph (composed of two eyes and a nose). Just below the IK, this
figurine also has an apparent replica of that large "eye" that seems to be above the Tikal Venus as
Evening Star headdress and that was compared above with the "eye on a tenon" found in Central
mexican vesions of the Maya day Eb. It is entirely possible that the Olmec "four dots and bar
motif" was intended to signal the number 'nine', as would four dots and a bar in the Maya script.
This quincunx-like symbol could then, in combination with the IK (Mayan 'wind') be read as Nine
Wind, a name of as well as the birthday of the Aztec Venus god Quetzalcoatl and his Maya
counterpart.

16
Recalling the long-lipped being that is one aspect/guise of Venus in the Grolier Codex and in
Aztec iconography, note that the Old Zoque word for 'morning star', tsuki matsa (matsa 'star') when
viewed from the perspective of the closely related Copainala Zoque tsuki 'tapir' suggests a
relationship between the tapir and the Morning Star. This recalls in turn the fact that Aztec Xolotl
as the twin of Quetzalcoatl may represent the Evening Star aspect of Venus, and that "the tapir is
called in Zapotec peche-xolo, and the native hairless dog peco-xolo. Dog and tapir, then, the two
animals darting from heaven, who carry lightning and thunderbolts in their hands, are brought
together here in the common designation xolo" (Seler 19O4:46). It remains only to mention the
death symbolism that accompanies depictions of the dog in Maya codices and sometimes in Aztec
depictions of Xolotl, the canine deity, in suggesting that these two animals may symbolize aspects
of Venus, the Morning and Evening Stars.

Since a Classic Maya glyphic version of Venus as Evening Star (a skull with big teeth) has IK
in its forehead (Figure 13), and because *iik' meant 'moon' in proto-Mayan times, and uuh 'moon'
was a Classic Maya innovation reflected for example in Yucatec uuh 'moon', one could conclude
that uuh used to be 'Venus' (sharing the word perhaps with the meaning 'necklace', only to change
referents and became the 'moon' during the Classic. Without going into explanations here, it could
be said that Totontepec Mixe namtsAm 'necklace', which recalls the Maya day name Lamat
(Venus) supports such an inference.

17
"The Aztecs never confused Ehecatl with Tlaloc even though both had to do with rain...As the
wind, Quetzalcoatl never loses his connection with the sky...This sharp differentiation is further
evidenced in the description the Aztecs gave of Ehecatl as the forerunner or "ambassador" of
Tlaloc. Ehecatl came ahead of the rain god, sweeping his path before him, this identifying him
especially with the darkness, the swirling dust, and the heightened winds that precede the storm
(Brundage 1979:1O8). Compare this metaphor of a venus deity as sweeper of the path of the

16
lightning deity with the Tzotzil metaphor of venus as "sweeper of the path of the sun".

18
Thompson favors an identification of the "long-snouted head" variant of the KIN glyph as a dog,
recognizing that others have called it a jaguar. Still others prefer to call it a brocket deer, while in
some instances it more closely resembles a peccary or tapir

19
Of relevant Zapotec words it is possible only to cite Zapoteco de Juarez beelia hue? diila 'Venus
(planet)' and Isthmus Zapotec biaani? 'light/luz'

2O
Morris presents ideas that are not immediately relevant here, but which demand further
consideration.

The Cauac monster was also used to represent the doorway between
the underworld and the world of the living. Dead ancestors are
shown emerging from the half quincunx in the forehead of the Cauac
monster on Copan Stela B, Bonampak Stela 1, and Caracol Stelae
6, 14, and 16, and from a full quincunx on Tikal Altar 4, the
Copan tomb, and the Altun Ha jade plaque (Tate 198O). (Morris
1985:75)

The quincunx does not appear as a weaving design because in the
Classic period it was made by cutting the cloth. The complete
form of the brocaded Tzotzil ceremonial huipil, however, is a
quincunx, with the wearer's head at the center. The Earth monster
is not shown as a quincunx, but as a toad (Morris 1985:76).

21
Note the similarity between the IK glyph shape and the "nose" (face on) of Aztec and Maya
representations of the long snouted Venus deity.



REFERENCES CITED

Bricker, Victoria R. 1983. "The origin of the Maya solar calendar" CURRENT
ANTHROPOLOGY 23:1O1-1O3.

Brundage, Burr 1979. THE FIFTH SUN. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Budge, E.A. Wallis 193O (1978) AMULETS AND SUPERSTITIONS. New York: Dover

Carlson, John B. 1981. "Olmec concave iron-ore mirrors: the aesthetics of a lithic technology
and the lord of the mirror." in E.P. Benson (ed.) THE OLMEC AND THEIR NEIGHBORS.
Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, pp.

_______, 1983 "The Grolier Codex: a preliminary report on the ontent and

17
authenticity of a 13th-century Maya Venus almanac." in A.F. Aveni and
G. Brotherston (eds.), CALENDARS IN MESOAMERICA AND PERU:
NATIVE AMERICAN COMPUTATIONS OF TIME. BAR International Series
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Caso, Alfonso 1928. LAS ESTELAS ZAPOTECAS. Mexico: Monografias del Museo
Nacional de Arqueologia, Historia Y Etnografia.

Joralemon, Peter David 1976. "The Olmec dragon: a study in pre-Columbian
iconography." in H.B. Nicholson (ed.) ORIGINS OF RELIGIOUS ART AND
ICONOGRAPHY IN PRECLASSIC MESOAMERICA. Los Angeles
: UCLA Latin American Center Publications, pp. 27-72.

Justeson, John S., Norman, William M., Campbell, Lyle and Terrence Kaufman
1985. THE FOREIGN IMPACT ON LOWLAND MAYAN LANGUAGE AND
SCRIPT. Middle American Research Institute, Publication # 5

La Farge, Oliver and Douglas Byers. 1931. THE YEAR BEARER'S PEOPLE.
Middle American Research Series, Publication 3. New Orleans: M.A.R.I.

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Amuzgo-Mixtecan vocabularies. ANTHROPOLOGICAL LINGUISTICS 3(4):1-44.

Lounsbury, Floyd 1974. "The inscription of the sarcophagus lid at
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_________, 1982. "Astronomical knowledge and its uses at Bonampak, Mexico."
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Marcus, Joyce 1978. "Archaeology and religion: a comparison of the Zapotec
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Morris, Walter F. Jr. 1985. "Flowers, saints, and toads: ancient and
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______, 1983. NOTEBOOK FOR THE MAYA HIEROGLYPHIC WRITING WORKSHOP
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18
Seler, Edouard 19O4. "The Mexican chronology with special refernce to the
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______, 1983. "Oppositional pairing in Mesoamerican divinatory day
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FIGURES

Figure 1. The quincunx glyph
Figure 2. Caso's Glyph E, from Caso 1928:32
Figure 3. Quincunx earplugs on Cerros mask
Figure 4. Quincunx from inscriptions on sides of sarcophagus at Palenque
Figure 5. Sarcophagus, Temple of Inscriptions Palenque.
Figure 6. Quincunx and Ik from pectorals on figures from side of sarcophagus at Palenque.
Figure 7. Oval Palace Tablet, Palenque.
Figure 8. Tablet of Temple XIV, Palenque
Figure 9. Death expressions in the Maya inscriptions.
Figure 1O. IK sign in "magician's rattle"
Figure 11. Quincunx in "rattle" of Nine Wind (Quetzalcoatl), in Codex Vindobonensis.
Figure 12. KIN glyph with inset quincunx. Figure 13. Katun histories 11 and 12 at Palenque's

19
Temple of Inscriptions.
Figure 14. Tikal Stela 16, with the "toothy skull" Venus as part of the
headdress of Ruler A (the "Star" version of Venus is at the
back of the skull)
Figure 15. Clay stamp from Tlatilco
Figure 16. "Jaguar mask" from Olmec La Venta
Figure 17. Figurine from Arroyo Pesquero.



This paper was published as:

Brian Stross.1986. "Some Observations on T585 (Quincunx) of the Maya Script."
ANTHROPOLOGICAL LINGUISTICS 28:283-311.