Mayan Calendar

Ever since mankind first began to count, people have clocked days, moons and years, tried to make sense of them in terms of each other, and formed calendars to order their lives. Then, not so very long ago, the Maya made an amazing leap, and included the visible planets too. In this tiny recycled guide to ancient calendars, Geoff Stray explains the difference between lunar and solar calendars, the importance of precession, and why the Maya thought the current era would end in December 2012.

• THE MAYAn AnD OTHER AnCIEnT CALEnDARS Geoff Stray This UK edition Wooden Books Ltd 2007 AD Simultan
• 5 COnTEnTS Introduction 1 The Fundamental Cycles
• 6 1 InTRODuCTIOn From the moment mankind learned to count, sow seeds, and form records, attempts wer
• 2 3 The FundamenTal CyCles sun, moon, earth, and stars Shown opposite are some of the natural physic
• 5 4 The earliesT Calendars scratches and scrapings on bone and stone The earliest known calendars ar
• 6 anCienT China an early system The Chinese calendar was reputedly invented in 2637 BC by Emperor Hu
• 8 anCienT india some seriously large numbers There are varying accounts of the ancient Indian calend
• 10 11 sumer and BaBylon the Muslim and Jewish lunar calendar The Sumerian civilization started aroun
• 12 13 anCienT egypT heliacal risings and ancient zodiacs The earliest calendar in Egypt dates to 500
• 14 15 meTalliC memories wizards hats and early gearings Little is known of early European calendars,
• 16 17 The roman Calendar and great months and years Throughout ancient Europe a secret longer cycle
• 18 19 anoTher World a lost civilization As we have seen, despite the best efforts of kings, priests
• 20 21 surviving manusCripTs the vanity of Spanish bonfires The Mesoamericans recorded information vi
• 22 23 The numBering sysTem fingers and toes The counting system we use today is called place numerat
• 24 inCrediBle Calendars where did they come from The Maya used a bewildering number of different cyc
• 26 27 The Tzolkin 260 days The Tzolkin is a sacred 260day almanac that determined the ceremonies and
• 28 29 The haaB 18 x 20 5 365 days The vague year or Haab xiuhpohualli to the Aztecs, consisted of
• 30 31 The Calendar round 52 years The same combination of day positions in the Tzolkin and Haab cale
• 32 33 venus in The Calendar it all makes sense Venus was known to the Maya as Noh ek or Xux ek the
• 34 35 The moon and Lords of the Night The lunar month lunation is 29.53059 days in length. In the D
• 36 37 mars, JupiTer and saTurn the mysterious 819day cycle Mars has a synodic cycle of 780 days, mul
• 38 39 The long CounT measuring whole epochs The Calendar Round could only pinpoint a day within a 52
• 40 41 The sTelae carved in stone Stelae are inscribed stone pillars, erected to commemorate events.
• 42 The solar zeniTh tubes and alignments The dates for sowing and harvesting were, and still are, fi
• 44 The azTeC sunsTone a fossilised chronometer In 1790, while installing water pipes in Mexico Citys
• 46 47 galaCTiC alignmenT to the stars and beyond As more became known about the Mayan calendars, peo
• 48 49 2012 end oF Time birth of the new sun The Classic Maya site of Tortuguero is situated on the
• 50 51 819day cycle Mayan. Combines the 7 Earth gods, 9 Underworld gods Night Lord cycle and 13 Hea
• 52 53 AZTEC see too p. 44. On the Aztec Sunstone, the five central gods are enclosed in the Ollin
• 54 55 some inCrediBle daTes There are several inscriptions that show colossal time calculations, in
• 56 57 ConverTing mayan daTes To gregorian Three realms The 819 day CyCle The Books oF Chilam Balam
• 58 CalCulaTing your mayan daysign QUALITIES Imix Imox Alligator water lily friendly, lively sec