DECIPHERING THE LEYDEN PLAQUE

Illustration by Jorge Luna

The oldest recorded date ever discovered in the Mundo Maya is etched onto the Leyden Plaque, a 21.5-cm long by 7.6-cm wide piece of brightly-colored jade shaped like a hatchet. The article was found in Guatemala in 1864 at a site called Puerto de Barrios. According to the Maya calendar, its engraved date of 8.14.3.1.12 is equivalent to A.D. 320 on our Julian calendar.

    Research suggests that the Leyden Plaque was made at Tikal, Guatemala. This idea is principally based on the image of a captive pictured at the feet of the plaques central figure; similar in style and detail to drawings of captives found on monuments at Tikal. This evidence, along with information from dated artifacts, suggests that Tikal, located in the Peten region of Guatemala, is one of the most ancient Mundo Maya cities.

    Interestingly, Stele 9 from Uaxactun, now the oldest known dated stele, was discovered at a site found 18 kilometers from Tikal. Uaxactun's Stele 9 is engraved with the Maya date of 8.14.10.13.15, our A.D. 328, only eight years later than the inscription of the Leyden Plaque.