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Technology

Math

The Mayans developed a system of mathematics containing many of the important elements of modern arithmetic. They understood the concepts of zero and negative numbers centuries before the Europeans – they were one of the first cultures to do so. The Mayans had two number recording systems. One was pictorial and utilized symbols of the heads of gods to represent numbers. The other system was more common, and resembled our decimal system. However, this system was vigesimal (based on units of twenty), while ours is based on units of ten. In this system, a dot had a value of one, a bar had a value of five, and a shell had a value of zero.

Astronomy

Astronomy was of central importance to the Mayans. Their religion was inextricably linked to the science (as was common at the time), and most of their large buildings were observatories, palaces or temples. The Mayans based their system of time and calendarics on astronomy, and both were highly accurate. The Mayans made significant advances in both areas, based on their astronomical observations.

Astronomer priests observed the sky from the top of temple-pyramids, studied and recorded the movement of celestial bodies. Despite the fact that they did not use magnifying or optical devices, their observations and analyses were highly accurate. These discoveries were painstakingly recorded, and the patterns observed helped the Mayans create their calendar.

Calendar

The Mayans were fascinated by the concept of the passage of time, and thought it was a supernatural force controlled by their numerous gods. The Mayans believed periods of time (such as months) were a “burden” to be passed from one god to another; the bearer of the time was responsible for how positive or negative the events in each period were.

            The Mayans had three calendars. The first calendar, the Tzolkin, was based on a 260 day sacred year, comprised of twenty months of 13 days each. Reserved for divination, this calendar was used for planning religious ceremonies and feasts.

The second calendar, the Haab, was a sophisticated calendar based on a 365 day solar year. (The Mayans calculated the length of a solar year is 365.2420, only slightly off from the current figure of 365.2422). However, this agricultural calendar was divided into eighteen months of twenty days each, making up a “tun” of 360 days. The extra five days at the end made up their own month, called the uayeb; this month was considered extremely unlucky and was dedicated to religious ceremonies for the following year.

The third calendar was known as the Long Count. The Long Count was by far the most accurate of all the ancient calendars. Comprised of repeating cycles of nine periods, it enabled the Mayans to monitor vast time spans. Dates were recorded in this system based on how much time has passed since the beginning of the Mayan calendar; the base date has been determined as 3114 BCE on modern Western calendars. Interestingly, this date extends far past the date their civilization began; this indicates the Mayans were capable not only of counting forwards in time, but also backward.

Mayan Calendar