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Maya
Maya
Video
The Maya had the most
precise calendar of the New World. They calculated the orbit of
Venus around the Sun to precisely one day in six thousand years.
They also knew the time it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun with the
same precision--365.2421 days. The figure is more precise than the
one in our Gregorian calendar--365.2424 days. In fact, the Maya had
two calendars which they used simultaneously. The "Haab Calendar,"
which had 365 days like ours. The "Tzolkin Calendar," which had only
260 days. Both calendars ended after 18,980 days or 52 years. Every
52 years, a new calendar cycle began. A third cycle, known in
archaeology as the "long count," marks the beginning of the Mayan
era. On our calendar, that date would be on August 11, 3114 BC. But
the Maya did not exist back then! So why the precision of the date?
What took place on that date? What happened that was important
enough to make it the beginning of the Mayan calendar? What purpose
did the 260-day "Tzolkin Calendar" have? It was useless for the
seasons on Earth. The computer animation will bring the planets of
our solar system into view and a hypothetical planet will then be
overlaid between Mars and Jupiter which orbited the Sun every 5.2
years (1,898 days). The Maya cycle.
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