Maya Calendar System and its Historical Significance

Calendar Round

• Three Interlocking Cycles
  • 365-day solar year
  • Cycle of 20 names
  • Cycle of 13 numbers
• Day Designation Example
  • Example day: 3 Manique, 14th of the month Pope
  • Followed by: 4 Lamott, 15 Pope
  • 52 years required for the cycles to repeat the same day format
  • Functions like our days of the week, cycling forever
• No specific historical starting point

Firstman’s Contribution

• Discovered how large numbers in the Venus pages of The Dresden tie back in time
• Linked Venus records to a historical starting point thousands of years earlier
• Example significant date: 4 Ahaw 8 Kumk'u
  • Confirmed by photographs and distributed throughout the Maya world

Historical and Cultural Significance

• Date of creation for the Maya, similar to how Western culture marks history from the birth of Christ
• This system of dating is known as the Long Count