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Mayan Astronomy

Mayan Astronomy. How was the calendar used and what the symbols mean. Gerald B. Betbeze, Jr. Grades 9-12. Was the calendar the Maya used more accurate than today’s calendar ?. Was the calendar the Maya used more accurate than today’s calendar ?. The Calendar.

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Mayan Astronomy

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  1. Mayan Astronomy How was the calendar used and what the symbols mean. Gerald B. Betbeze, Jr. Grades 9-12

  2. Was the calendar the Maya used more accurate than today’s calendar ?

  3. Was the calendar the Maya used more accurate than today’s calendar ?

  4. The Calendar. • The calendar was based on a vague 365 day solar year. • The Maya had no concept of fractions, causing the calendar to drift. • The year was composed of eighteen months. • Each month had 20 days. • At the end of the 18 month year was a special 5 day month called Wayeb. These days were unnamed and considered unlucky.

  5. Pohp Wo Sip Sotz’ Sek Xul Yaxk’in Mol CH’en Yax Zak Keh Mak K’ank’in Muwan Pax K’ayab Kumk’u The Months

  6. The Months, Contd. The days of the months were numbered 0 through 19. Thus the count goes 0 Pohp to 19 Pohp. The next month started as 0 Wo.

  7. Imix Ik’ Ak’bal Chikchan Kimi Manik’ Lamat Muluk Ok Chuwen Eb Ben Ix Men Kib Kaban Etz’nab Kawak Ahaw The Days

  8. The Days, contd. • Each day had a separate name. • There were 20 days in each month. • The days were numbered one through thirteen. • When thirteen was reached, the numbers started over with one again.

  9. The Days, contd. • These days are more closely associated with the 260 day sacred count calendar.

  10. The Long Count • The Maya used special glyphs to represent time periods. These glyphs tracked time periods now called The Long Count. • The ‘Kin’ equaled 1 day. • The ‘Winal’ equaled the 20 day month. • The ‘Tun’ equaled the 360 day year. Note this does not include the special 5 day month at the end of the year.

  11. The Long Count, contd. • The ‘K’atun’ was a 20 year period of 360 days each. • This was a special time to the Maya, similar to a decade in modern times. • The ‘Baktun’ was a measure of 400 years or 20 K’atuns.

  12. The Long Count, contd. • Thus the date for 10 Feb, 2005 is recorded as: 12.19.12.0.9 or 12 baktuns, 19 k’atuns, 12 tuns, 0 winals, and 9 tuns. • As recorded in the calendar of the year: 6 Muluk 12 Pax. • The day 6 Muluk is given first and the month 12 Pax is last. http://www.michielb.nl/maya/calender.html

  13. Info on Mayan Astronomy • The information in the presentation was taken from: http://www.michielb.nl/maya/calender.html • The symbols at the bottom of each slide are Mayan numbers drawn by Michiel Berger and they are found in a zip file at the above web site. The clip of “Astronomy” taken from the album: Secret Treaties by Blue Oyster Cult, 1974.

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