The Mayan calendar is a complex system that tracks time based on astronomical and mythical events. The Tzolk’in divides a year into 20 sections, while the Haab’ divides it into 18 months. The Long Count allows for extremely long periods to be determined. The Mayan calendar suggests an advanced society that rivaled or surpassed Western contemporaries. The Long Count cycle ends on December 21, 2012, which some believe will bring about an apocalypse. The Mayan calendar provides valuable information about an ancient world shrouded in mystery.
The Mayan calendar is a complex time tracking system developed by the Maya civilization of Mesoamerica. The calendar actually uses different cycles or methods to track time based on astronomical or mythical events. While the Mayan calendar was not the only calendar in use by the ancient civilizations of Central and South America, many experts consider it the most advanced and a clear indication of the academic emphasis in Mayan culture.
The most commonly known Mayan calendar is called the Tzolk’in. This calendar divides a year or cycle into twenty thirteen-day sections, each with an associated spirit figure. The year is 260 days long, although understanding why a cycle lasts so long is unclear. Some believe it is related to the length of pregnancy, the time between planting and harvest, or due to the importance of the numbers 13 and 20 in Mayan culture.
In addition to the Tzolk’in cycle, a related solar cycle called the Haab’ was used. This calendar divided the year into 18 months with 20 days each and five more unnamed days at the end of the year. The calendars were used together, so that any specific day identified by the Tzolk’in and Haab’ methods occurred only once in a 52-year cycle. Instead of counting the years in number, this conjunction is believed to have been used as an accurate description of a date.
For periods longer than 52 years, an additional calendar method called the Long Count has been developed. This allowed for extremely long periods to be determined, and is often found carved on Mayan monuments. From what anthropologists can tell, the Long Count began on approximately August 11, 3114 BC, according to the Gregorian calendar. Since there is no evidence that the Long Count is destined to repeat itself, some believe that the Mayans expected the world to end upon completion of the Long Count cycle, which will be on December 21, 2012. According to some popular astrologers and New Age thinkers, it is on this day an apocalypse or similar revolutionary global event will take place.
The Mayan calendar is a window into an ancient world, which Western authorities long and mistakenly believed was a primitive and barbaric place. Instead, as investigations into early Mesoamerican culture have continued, archaeologists and anthropologists continue to provide evidence of highly advanced societies that rivaled or surpassed their Western contemporaries. The complexity of the Mayan calendar tells a lot to experts of their culture: for example, that they were astronomers. It also suggests an awareness of the longevity of society; the Long Count clearly shows that the Mayans knew they would be around for a while.
Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica remains shrouded in mystery no matter how many temples we discover or artifacts we find. It is interesting to reflect on the possible influence that culture would have asserted if Western imperialism and clan wars had not destroyed much of civilization. The discovery and understanding of the Mayan calendar is valuable information, worth studying and researching, and an open door to a history shrouded in fog that experts are still valiantly trying to understand.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
