Introduction For centuries, people from all latitudes have been fascinated by the night sky. The unreachable stars, the Moon, the comets and all the events happening in the sky, fired up imaginations and became symbols of life and death, of war, peace and the passing of time and the seasons. The movement of the stars was used to establish the time for planting and harvesting, to prepare for the long winters and to try to discover the future and destiny, the eternal unknown destiny of the human race. Three large human groups, the Mayans, the Aztecs and the Zapotecs populated the Central and Southeastern regions of Mexico long before the discovery of the continent by Columbus. These ancient cultures developed a very complex knowledge of …show more content…
They produced a very accurate 360 day long calendar they used to measure long periods of time. Developing an extended astronomical knowledge was not very easy because their astronomers did all their observations with the naked eye. However, they were able to do all kinds of incredibly precise astronomical measurements and calculate the seasons, the solstices and eclipses. They did all this by following the patterns of the movements of planets and stars, observing the shadows cast by the Sun, and using some rudimentary instruments. The practice of astronomy was relegated to the ilhuica tlamatilizmatini, or "wise man who studies heaven". These priest-astronomers had a great amount of power, given the fact that they could essentially 'predict' the future. (Welser-Sherrill) II - Planets, Stars, the Moon and the Sun. Venus. The Mayans gave great importance to the planet Venus; they recorded its transit across the sky and used this information to create the Dresden Codex which contains the data for the full circle of this planet. The Mayans counted five repetitions of the cycle of Venus, each one with a length of 584 days, which correspond to approximately 8 years. In the Mayan mythology, Venus is the companion of the sun. The observed that Venus is always close to the sun in the sky, rising before sunrise as morning star or after sunset as evening star. Venus was so important to the Mayans that they decided some of their wars based some positions of Venus and
“In the Western Hemisphere, no early culture was more remarkable than the Mayans” (Background Essay). The Mayans were an adept civilization and accomplished many exceptional things during their time. Their deeds include things such as a number system, immense cities, and a vast trade network but there is no Mayan achievement more remarkable than their calendars. The Mayans created three calendars: a sacred calendar called tzolkin, a solar calendar called haab, and a long cycle calendar.
b. To what extent has the history of Mesoamerica been taught from a Eurocentric perspective? What theories, ideas, and/or terminology are problematic when trying to assert an Indigenous perspective? (For example: Bering Strait, Malintzin, Cuauhtemoc, Human Sacrifice...there are many more examples!)
That need for structure is probably the reason that the Mayans developed such an amazingly accurate calendar. They also developed a complex style of hieroglyphic writing that we have not fully deciphered. Through their knowledge of astronomy and mathematics they calculated the lunar cycle, predicted eclipses, and formulated a unique calendar system was very accurate. Their calendar was only one day off every 6000 years. That makes it more accurate than our calendar today (Hooker 6). Two fundamental
The collapse of the Mayan Empire is one of history’s greatest mysteries. It was one of the most advanced and developed civilizations of its time period, reining during the Pre-Classic period and into the Classic and Post-Classic Periods (2000 B.C. – 900 A.D.). The territory stretched from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, down to modern day El Salvador in Central America. Its achievements were monumental for the era, being the first empire communicating with the use of a written language having over 800 symbols and producing the first 365 day calendar. They maintained an in-depth understanding of astrological cycles that would assist in planning harvesting cycles and predicting solar eclipses. The Mayan’s
The Mayan priests studied their measurement of time. The Maya had a calendar with 18 months each containing 20 days, plus 5 unlucky days that made up the Mayan year. They also had a religious calendar that had 260 days in it. Each day was given a name and a number. They believed that each day was a god that carried the weight of the day on its back.
In Maya cities, ceremonial buildings were precisely aligned with compass directions. The Sun might be made to cast its rays through small openings in a Maya observatory, lighting up the observatory's interior walls.
Throughout our existence, mankind has looked up to the stars with a fantastical wonderment that excites a feeling of the unknown. In order to understand the heavens above us, ancient cultures created grand mythologies utilizing valiant heroes, gods, and life practices and then imbedded these stories into the stars in the form of constellations. One of these cultures is the Navajo Native American tribe that resided in the southwest region of the United States. By viewing these constellations and the myths behind them, we can learn about what they Navajo held scared and how they viewed the world around them.
The Mayans were also were technologically advanced. They used their own math system. One dot stood for one, a bar symbolized five, and a shell figure was zero. The numbers were expressed vertically with the highest on top. The also created a very precise calendars. Two different calendars were calculated 260-day and a 365-day. They were able to calculate the dates because at noon time there was no shadow. This was important for them to use in predicting eclipses, scheduling religious ceremonies, and when to plant and harvest.
For many years astronomers and people alike have constantly heard about the observations and records of the Chinese and Europeans. No other culture can provide as much information as that gathered by the Chinese and Europeans, but there are many other cultures that observed and recorded the night sky, one of those being the Native Americans. During the last fifteen to twenty years archaeoastronomers have uncovered much concerning the beliefs and records of Native Americans. Unfortunately, the methods of keeping records of astronomical events were not as straight forward as the Chinese and Europeans. The Native Americans had to use what they could to record what they observed. Their records were found on rock
The calendar was based on the sun it tracked the 365 day year and would tell when seasonal events would likely occur. The mayans also created a ritual calendar which was a calendar that was a cycle of 260 days, and it marked the ceremonial life of the people.This two
The Aztecs believe they felt justified in believing in this calendar because of numerous events that changed the course of history for them. Because Aztec Indians were fervent astronomers, they tracked the stars and correlated that between the days to create this sun calendar. Examples of events happening within the timeline of the calendar stone being built are these: Between 1452 and 1454, their capital city Tenochtitlan suffered from flood and famine, the following year on 4/16/1445 (Julian calendar) there was an eclipse of the sun. From 1473-1479, there were 4 more solar eclipses within a five year time frame (Aveni, Calnek). During this time the Aztec nation conquered and
Ten years before the arrival of the Spaniards the Aztecs experienced eight bad omens described by Sahaguns informants. These accounts show how terrified the Aztecs were during this time, describing how, “the natives were overcome with terror, weeping and shouting and crying out.”6 In the following chapters the reports and experiences make you understand how the omens made the people of
1. “Root metaphors” from the Aztec and Spanish worlds have combined through the how these two cultures view sun and light and how they associate them with divine beings. Long before the Spanish arrived, Aztec civilization had a cosmic system of five time cycles that included five different suns which they believed influenced results of regarding creation or the apocalypse. Furthermore, they came to believe that their god(s) used the sun as divine messages for them. Because of this conclusion “root metaphor” they feared that the god(s)’s punishment for them would be that the day would turn to night forever unless human sacrifices were made. In contrast, the Spanish used solar imagery as divine representation in relation to the Psalms
In hieroglyphic writing, astronomy, and mathematics, the Mayan Indians were far ahead of any other people in the New World.(Foley 20) The Mayan invented a solar “civil” calendar including three hundred sixty- five days.(Ivanoff 86) The accuracy of the Mayan calculations is all the more extraordinary in view of the fact that they had no
They developed their writing system, mathematics, astronomy, and calendars. Their study of astronomy allowed them to predict when there would be a solar or lunar eclipse. They also developed their calendar that is called the Long Count Calendar. The Long Count Calendar was not completely a Mayan creation because they inherited the basic form from the Toltec.