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The chronology of the Temple of the Owls, a construction of unusual characteristics located in the group of the Initial Series at Chichen Itza, has proved a challenge for archaeologists during long time. The importance of the building resides in its unique iconography, and especially in the presence of a hieroglyphic text with a calendar date in a painted capstone. The dating of this inscription has been crucial to explain the combination of architectural, iconographic, and ceramic traits and styles associated with it. In this contribution we will propose a new interpretation of the calendric date, which contradicts the dating of the capstone in the ninth century accepted by most scholars, placing the inscription instead in the twelfth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]