Leyden Plate
The Leyden Plate is a significant archaeological artifact discovered in 1864 near Puerto Barrios, Guatemala. This two-sided jade object measures 8.5 inches by 3 inches and features inscriptions in the Maya hieroglyphic writing system on one side, while the other side depicts a drawing of a prisoner of war. Scholars suggest that the prisoner bears a resemblance to figures found in Tikal, a major Maya city, leading to the theory that the plate may have belonged to a collection of looted items from the tomb of a Tikal ruler. The artifact also includes a date using the Maya long count calendar, which, when calculated, corresponds to the year 320 CE. This dating makes the Leyden Plate one of the oldest known artifacts from the Maya civilization. Its rich historical context highlights the advanced nature of Maya writing and calendrical systems, offering insights into their culture and the significance of warfare at the time. The Leyden Plate stands as a testament to the artistry and complexity of pre-Columbian societies.
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Leyden Plate
Related civilization: Maya.
Date: 320 c.e.
Locale: Petén area of Guatemala
Leyden Plate
Discovered in 1864 near Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, the Leyden (LID-uhn) plate is a two-sided jade object, 8.5 inches (21.6 centimeters) long by 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) wide. The plaque contains inscriptions in the Maya hieroglyphic writing script on one side and a drawing representing a prisoner of war on the flip side. The prisoner’s resemblance to such figures found on monuments in Tikal, along with this great city state’s emblem glyph, leads some scholars to conclude that it was part of a collection of looted objects taken from the tomb of a Tikal ruler.
Inscriptions include a recorded date using the Maya long count system used for the Mayan calendar. The total of the five numbers—8, 14, 13, 1, 12, whose placement represents ascending levels of multiples of 20—comes to 1,253,912 days or 3,433.1 years. When the Maya zero year corresponding to 3113 b.c.e. in the modern Western calendar is subtracted from this long count date, the result is 320 c.e. This date makes the Leyden plate one of the oldest dated artifacts from this pre-Columbian civilization.
Bibliography
Macri, Martha J., and Anabel Ford. The Language of Maya Hieroglyphs. San Francisco: Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, 1997.
Morley, Frances, and Sylvanus G. Morley. The Age and Provenance of the Leyden Plate. New York: Johnson Reprint, 1970.
Morley, Sylvanus G. The Ancient Maya. 4th ed. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1987.