The Mayan calendar may be more than 3,000 years old

A new study suggests that The ancient calendar used by the Mayan and Olmec cultures can be traced back to 1100 BC. centuries earlier than previously estimated.

“We know it’s very old,” he told the prestigious scientific journal. Sciences David Stewart is a writer at the University of Texas at Austin. “We had no direct evidence of that.”

The 260-day calendar, or colleg (order of days), it was only found in the Maya region in Mexico and Central America. Observers recorded the passage of time in combinations 13 numbers and 20 symbols, always in the same sequence. (For example, on January 6, 2023, it will be “6 Rabbit” according to colleg). Now, it is known that the days of the calendar correspond to the alignment between the stars and the architectural features of buildings and natural landmarks.

It is believed that this community used the calendar to celebrate religious or agricultural rituals at a time when the peoples of the region were still dependent on hunting and gathering.

Sciences details that prior to the new study, the earliest evidence for this calendar came from a mural containing a fragment of hieroglyphic writing found in San Bartolo, Guatemala, and dated to 300 B.C. However, according to Stewart, these written records provide an irregular account of the date in The area, where the Maya frequently used perishable materials that have been lost over time.

However, now, in hopes of finding more permanent evidence, Ivan Sprajc, an archaeologist at the Institute for Anthropological and Spatial Studies in Slovenia, has turned to a laser mapping technology known as LIDAR. (Light detection and range), which is employed Airborne laser scanner to obtain a 3D map of the terrain And it can reveal ancient structures — and their cosmic alignments — hidden beneath thick vegetation.

Two years ago, archaeologist Takeshi Inomata of the University of Arizona has published the largest LIDAR study to date. in the lowlands of the Mexican coast of the Gulf of Mexico, revealing nearly 500 ancient artifacts, most of them yet to be discovered. intrigued, Šprajc set out to collaborate with Inomata to analyze 415 of those complexes and see how they align with the sunrise and sunset, the moon, Venus and other celestial bodies.

The images ranged from the central Olmec region to the western Maya lowlands, and among the sites analyzed was the Mexican Aguada Fénix, believed to be the largest and oldest known archaeological complex in the Maya region, as well as San Lorenzo and Good view.

The team found that most of the complexes showed an east-west alignment, with nearly 90% of them featuring architectural points that align with sunrise on specific dates. In most cases, these sunrises coincided with February 11 and October 29 of the Gregorian calendar, which are 260 days apart, the researchers reported today in Science Advances. “The oldest of these complexes dates back to around 1100 BC, at a time known as the Formative Period, which indicates that the 260-day calendar is at least as ancient.say the researchers

Other traces indicated sunrises at intervals of 130 days – half a calendar -. The alignment of the other landmarks coincided with sunrise separated by multiples of 13 or 20 days, reflecting the 13 digits and 20 signs of the calendar notation system and corresponding to the equinoxes and solstices. The direction of some complexes also coincided with the cycles of Venus and the Moon associated with the rainy season and corn cultivation. The other complexes do not appear to have a specific orientation, which raises more questions about other possible cosmic alignments,” says Šprajc according to the science.

Ceremonial complexes were often rectangular or square in plan, with courtyards surrounded by rows of mounds, rectangular structures, and pyramids.

“What’s impressive to me is that there is this regularity and pattern that is consistent from the beginning and continues for centuries throughout the history of Maya architecture,” Stewart says.

The new findings provide “strong evidence that the Mayan calendar had its origins long before we wrote evidence for it.”, Confirms. “To see it from an architectural point of view is wonderful,” he adds.

One of the strengths of the new study is the large sample size, which covers many years, adds Gabrielle Fell, an archeologist and archeologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill—also in conversation with Sciencie. He adds that the results appear to support other written evidence that timekeeping arose during the formative period. “It’s very exciting. It really supports what many of us have believed for a number of years.”

According to Šprajc, the first structures the researchers studied date back to when the groups began to shift from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to farming. Corn cultivation is beginning to gain importance, and the 260-day calendar can also be useful for indicating when certain resources will be most plentiful, he says. Abraajek believes colleg is closely connected to the growth cycle of maize, a staple food for ancient and modern Mesoamerican cultures, as well as human pregnancy, which lasts about 260 days.

The Maya and other Mesoamerican cultures had three calendars, one of ritual 260 days, and another solar of 365, known as the Long Count, consisting of the accumulation of days and periods made up of rhythms (units of 360 days).

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