Mayan_Calendar_Round

Neither the Tzolk'in nor the Haab' system numbered the years. The combination of a Tzolk'in date and a Haab' date was enough to identify a date to most people's satisfaction, as such a combination did not occur again for another 52 years, above general life expectancy.Because the two calendars were based on 260 days and 365 days respectively, the whole cycle would repeat itself every 52 Haab' years exactly. This period was known as a Calendar Round. The end of the Calendar Round was a period of unrest and bad luck among the Maya, as they waited in expectation to see if the gods would grant them another cycle of 52 years.This is one of the oldest artifacts using the Long Count system, which here appears as 7.16.6.16.18 (September 3, 32 BCE Julian). The glyphs surrounding the date are what is thought to be one of the few surviving examples of Epi-Olmec script.