![]() This calendar involved the use of a positional notation system, in which each position signified an increasing multiple of the number of days. By its linear nature, the Long Count was capable of being extended to refer to any date far into the past or future. The GMT correlation was chosen by John Eric Sydney Thompson in 1935 on the basis of earlier correlations by Joseph Goodman in 1905 (August 11), Juan Martínez Hernández in 1926 (August 12) and Thompson himself in 1927 (August 13). According to the correlation between the Long Count and Western calendars accepted by the great majority of Maya researchers (known as the Goodman-Martinez-Thompson, or GMT, correlation), this starting-point is equivalent to August 11, 3114 BC in the proleptic Gregorian calendar or September 6, in the Julian calendar (−3113 astronomical). It is a count of days since a mythological starting-point. Ī different calendar was used to track longer periods of time and for the inscription of calendar dates (i.e., identifying when one event occurred in relation to others). The Calendar Round is still in use by many groups in the Guatemalan highlands. ![]() The Tzolkin was combined with a 365-day vague solar year known as the Haabʼ to form a synchronized cycle lasting for 52 Haabʼ, called the Calendar Round. The 260-day count is known to scholars as the Tzolkin, or Tzolkʼin. Sources:, bibliotecapleyades.The Maya calendar consists of several cycles or counts of different lengths. ![]() According to various studies, this date was determined to be the equivalent of AugBC in the Gregorian calendar. For this they had the “long count” or “beginning series”, where all the days since a specific start date were recorded. Each Kin is written using a number from 0 to 19, and each Uinal was represented by a glyph (except the Uayeb days which were numbered from 0 to 4).Īs well as these two calendars, they had one which marked the beginning of time, or at least when they started keeping track of it in writing. This calendar divided the year into 18 months, called “Uinal”, each of which had 20 days, with five additional days known as “Uayeb”. This calendar was used to measure the solar year, in other words, it quantified the rotations of the earth around the sun in 365 days. This calendar was the most used by the Maya people, for it governed the timing for agriculture, family customs, and religious ceremonies, for the life of the Maya man and woman was predetermined by the “Tzolkin” date upon which he or she was born. Wouldn’t it be easier to have just one calendar instead of several? Probably yes, but let’s look at why each of these was significant. The two most important of these were the “Tzolkin”, of 260 days, and the “Haab”, of 365 days and from the moment of birth, everyone’s life was governed by these calendar counts. Interesting fact: they had several calendars, each one dedicated to a particular topic. The precision of the Maya calendars lies in the fact that the count of the days (called “Kin” in Maya) is continuous and uninterrupted, beginning with “day zero” which they consider as the starting date. Of all the calendars made by Mesoamerican cultures, the Maya calendar is definitely the most sophisticated.ĭuring your visits to the archaeological sites of Yucatán, have you seen in the shops some small souvenirs such as key chains or necklaces with Maya symbols? These are the months of the Maya calendar! But do you know what they mean? The Maya culture is really amazing it not only boasts extremely advanced knowledge, but it also had a calendar system which governed the center of their lives.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |