Tikal Stela 29: the earliest Long Count date in the Maya lowlands
Estela 29 de Tikal: la fecha de cuenta larga más antigua de las tierras bajas
- Date
- 292 · confidence high
- Place
- Tikal, Petén, Guatemala
- Credited to
- Rulers of Tikal (Yax Ehb Xook dynasty)
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
What it is
A monolith erected in the Long Count date 8.12.14.8.15 (AD 292), the earliest dated monument of the Maya lowlands using that system. It started at Tikal the custom of raising stelae with royal portraits and dates to record dynastic power.
Older Long Count dates exist outside the lowlands (Chiapa de Corzo, Tres Zapotes, Takalik Abaj, El Baúl); Stela 29 is the oldest in the lowlands. The stela was found in 1959 by the University of Pennsylvania project.
What it led to
- a tradition of dated stelae in the Maya lowlands for six centuries
- dynastic historiography in stone at Tikal
- precise chronology that underpins the Maya calendar