Leiden plaque

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Leiden plaque - redrawing of the front with the representation of a ruler from Tikal (approx. Original size)

The Leyden plaque (also Leyden plate ) is a bi engraved with symbols gemstone made jadeite the Maya -Culture which in voor Rijksmuseum folklore in the Dutch city of Leiden is kept.

Find history

The Leiden plate, which is believed to originate from Tikal , was found in 1864 near Bahia La Graciosa near Puerto Barrios on the Caribbean coast of Guatemala and was bought into the ethnological collection of the University of Leiden and from there to the National Museum of Ethnology.

description

The plaque, which is only 21 centimeters high, 6 to 8 cm wide and a maximum of 1.5 cm thick, is smoothly polished and has the shape of a stone ax or a belt pendant. The obverse shows a richly dressed Mayan ruler standing in front of a shackled enemy lying on the ground; Several gemstones that resemble the Leiden plaque hang on his belt. In his headdress, which takes up about a quarter of the total height, there are gods masks (including the so-called 'fool god'); in his right hand he holds a scepter with the 'God K', who is also referred to as the 'God of rightful discipleship'.

On the back of the stone, a text is engraved in glyphs from Maya script , which was previously translated as follows: Here the ruler of the celestial family descended. According to the latest reading it says: Fifth Lord of the Night - Introduction of - Yaxkin - he was introduced - Zero Moon Bird - Balam-Ahau - Chan. Above this is the long count date 8.14.3.1.12, which corresponds to September 17th of the year 320 AD and was the oldest until the discovery or interpretation of the stele 29 of Tikal (292 AD) known dating according to the Mayan calendar .

Others

The ruler's image and glyphs of the Leiden plaque were depicted on the reverse of the earlier Guatemalan 1- Quetzal banknote.

See also

literature

  • Linda Schele , David Freidel: The unknown world of the Maya. The secret of their culture deciphered. Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1994, ISBN 3-89350-737-X , p. 147f.
  • Maria Longhena: Talking Stones. 200 Mayan characters - the deciphering of their secrets. Marix-Verlag, Wiesbaden 2004, ISBN 3-937715-32-0 , p. 22.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Linda Schele , David Freidel: The unknown world of the Maya. The secret of their culture deciphered. Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1994, ISBN 3-89350-737-X , p. 148.
  2. ↑ Guatemalan banknotes