Historical data in the inscriptions of Yaxchilan [Part I]

In a paper published in 1960 in American Antiquity (1), I discussed a certain pattern of dates that was related to motifs on stelae and to their placement at Piedras Negras. The pattern was explained by regarding the texts as records of events in the lives of successive rulers. Assuming that the suggested interpretations were essentially correct, I here attempt to apply them to texts from Yaxchilan without repeating the argument presented. My object is to see how the content of Yaxchilan records differs from that at Piedras Negras, and to discover if the assumption of historical import helps to clarify Yaxchilan dates, which have proved very difficult to place in time.