Mesoamerican architecture there is no evidence that this phenomenon was the result of a purposeful design intended to commemorate the equinoxes. Much Mesoamerican architecture is also aligned to roughly 15° east of north. Vincent H Malmstrom has argued that this is because of a general wish to align the pyramids to face the sunset on August 13, which was the beginning date of the Maya Long Count calendar. However, recent research has shown that the earliest orientations marking sunsets on August 13 (and April 30) occur outside of the Maya area. Their purpose must have been to record the dates separated by
Mesoamerican Long Count calendar Pop (24 March ) and adding to it the Distance Number 10.11.10.5.8. This calculation arrives at the 80th Calendar Round since his accession, a day that also has a CR date of , but which lies over 4,000 years in the future from Pakal's time—the day 21 October in the year 4772. The inscription notes that this day would fall eight days after the completion of the 1st "piktun" [since the creation or zero date of the Long Count system], where the "piktun" is the next-highest order above the "b'ak'tun" in the Long Count. If the completion date of that