Pleiades

Snake figure (148.5-mm tall)

This eccentric figure, chipped from chert with web-like inclusions, is part of a cache of thirty-three, and one of seven that have faces chipped into them. The design is remarkably simple, and can readily be recognized as a snake with a face and a headdress. At first glance, there is nothing particularly remarkable about the figure, but continued examination reveals a host of interesting features. Iconographically, the snake image reminds us of a rattlesnake, and we know that the Pleiades asterism, or cluster of stars, was known to the Maya as tzab, the rattlesnake’s tail. Most cultures around the world ascribe seven stars to the Pleiades, but the count depends on viewing conditions and the observer’s visual acuity. The Pleiades can be occulted by the moon, and are obscured by the Sun around the first of June. Renewal of 52-year synchronization periods is marked by passage of the Pleiades directly overhead.

A key finding is that the figure has a hidden symmetry about its major axis. Proper orientation began with drawing grid lines parallel to the major axis and tangent to the figure, creating a bounding box. When an ellipse was generated in Photoshop©, it was tangent to the artifact outline in several places. Comparison with other artifacts shows that the rectangular frame is very common. Rather than being expressed in tangible form, it must be recognized indirectly. However, understanding the requirement for a squared frame allows an investigator to properly orient the artifact within the invisible bounding box. The ellipse constitutes a second virtual frame within the first, but symmetrically centered. As analysis has progressed, it appears that the virtual frames are used to express a symmetry not always readily apparent. Certainly the snake figure does not immediately appear symmetric.
Since seven visible stars are usually attributed to the Pleiades, a search was made for possible references to the number seven. Seven openings can be counted in the body, accompanied by seven body bulges. Sharp inflections of the head and tail also tally to seven.

Upon careful examination of the remaining eccentrics, it was seen that ellipses were often used. Based on the Pleiades example, it seems prudent to use the quadrilateral tangent to an ellipse extending beyond the physical frame of an artifact as the primary frame of reference.

Subtraction from a regular frame is used as a way to hide messages in plain sight. The ellipse is a common starting shape. By the time it becomes a scorpion or other figure, the ellipse foundation may be nearly unrecognizable. The rectangular frame surrounding the ellipse is even less obvious. In some cases, the remnants of the ellipse may constitute part of the message. For example, the seven sections of the Pleiades figure that touch the bounding ellipse (accounting for the broken nose) reinforce a message already conveyed in multiple ways. One function of an ellipse may be to preserve virtual symmetry, even though subtractions might appear to destroy visible symmetry. The use of tangent points to define bounding quadrilaterals minimizes the difficulties with achieving precision in chipped flint. It is much easier to position three to four edge points than to create perfectly straight lines in flint.

Intersecting rays and vertical lines yield twenty-one points or (3*7). Once again, two nodes are close to the body, but apparently not close enough. Because there are no clues to follow besides the visual alignment with features, the original guides may have fallen in slightly different locations.
Measuring the angles subtended by the rays shows that they tend to be integer multiples of 3.136-degrees. The angle between horizontal and the tangent to the tail is twenty-one (or 3*7) times 3.136-degrees. That creates an interesting correspondence with the ten-day sun transit observed at Poverty Point.

Considering verticals and diagonals produces twenty-six nodes. Although this value is not a multiple of seven, it has another important implication in Maya myth. Nine nodes below the physical frame center are consistent with the nine levels of the underworld and thirteen nodes above the neck agree with tiers of heaven. Four nodes between should then represent the earthly plane. This interpretation might seem unlikely, but other examples have been observed to follow the same pattern. In fact, the same count of nodes is present in the geometry I propose for Poverty Point.

When all the nodes are combined in one view, the node count comes to fifty-six or (7*8), reinforcing the drumbeat message that seven is an important number. We have already heard that there were seven artifacts with faces in the cache, but sorting the artifacts by related features allowed distinct family groupings of seven members each.
While geometric principles have been demonstrated in chipped chert, they apply to a multitude of other media. Tolerances are extremely tight, the illustrated example is less than six inches long, so accuracies on the order of a millimeter are astonishing—all the more so in chipped chert.
Redundancy is obvious only when the code is known, otherwise the design is more misleading than apparent.

Similar principles of geometric design have been noted by Falken Foreshaw in the Caracol observatory at Chitzen Itza. www.studiofalken.com
Alignments in the Caracol site plan are often no longer accessible for direct viewing, but are acknowledged by structural elements placed at nodes of intersecting lines. Falken projected the plans onto a base plane, but construction extended many elements upwards to occupy elevated positions. When lines can be physically sighted, they are often directed along solstice azimuths. Architectural elements encourage squeezing lines of sight between opposing edges to avoid ambiguity. Edges, tangents and corners are used more often than gun sight-type sighting guides.
By now, it should be apparent that Maya design contains much more than readily meets the eye. Keep in mind that very few examples have been subjected to this type of analysis. It is time to move beyond the language of glyphs to the language of geometry, where an untapped, rich feast of information waits.