Astronomy of The Mayans Uncovered Part II

November 8, 2008 by Jack · 1 Comment
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Mayan Cosmos(This is continued from Astronomy of The Mayans Uncovered Part I) The Mayan had a strong interest in Zenial Passages. Zenial Passages are only found in tropical areas and it is when the sun passes directly overhead. At the low latitudes of the Mayan cities, the sun is directly overhead two times per year. These Zenial Passages occurred with precision over the years and were directly related to their distance from equator. The Mayans observed these Zenial Passages and predicted them on a regular basis. The Zenial Passages were important to the Mayans because its position overhead represented their Diving God.

After the Sun, the Mayans were most interested in the planet Venus. The Mayans had some of the most detailed records of the observations of Venus of any ancient civilization. As Venus orbits around the Sun, it spends 8 days passing behind the sun and is not visible from Earth. The Mayans so closely followed Venus that they were able to accurately predict when Venus would go behind the Sun and when it would emerge.

The Mayans were particularly adept at predicting eclipses. They used their significant body of knowledge from observing the planets and the stars along with their mathematical advancements to predict solar eclipses. These eclipses were considered to be dire events in Mayan culture and the priest-astronomers were able to guide the people through their eclipse predictions.

The Mayans had a very broad knowledge of astronomy through their priests. They were able to make predictions of astronomical events, they kept some of the most detailed astronomical records of planets, they had named constellations in the night sky, and they recorded and used data from the yearly Zenial Passages. All of these converge to create one of the most interesting civilizations in terms of their Astronomical advancement.

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Astronomy of The Mayans Uncovered Part I

November 7, 2008 by Jack · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Science 

Mayan PriestsThe stars light up the sky and many times I have looked into the skies wondering about the the stars, why they are there, what they do, what their significance is. Ancient cultures were no different in their interest in the stars. In our modern time, we show our interest in the sky through our science, ancient people showed their interest in the heavens through their religion. While many ancient cultures studied the heavens, the Mayans had some of the most interesting views of Astronomy.

The Mayans lived in southern Mexico and northern Central America, while parts of the Mayan culture have gone away, Mayan villages still exist in Mexico. This paper, however, deals with the classic period of the Mayan Civilization that ran from approximately 250AD to 900AD. In this classic period, the Mayans flourished in many ways, including their study of Astronomy and its entanglements with their religious beliefs.

The Mayans believed the universe was flat but it was an infinite size. They believed that the universe was divided into three different zones. The zones were the sky, the earth itself, and the underworld. Their belief in these three zones were the basis of their religious and cultural beliefs. For the purpose of this paper, we will talk about the sky zone.

The Mayan “sky” consisted of the stars at night, astronomical events, and the Sun during the day. They believed that the night sky showed the activity of their gods. They believed that the movements of the stars was the action of their gods. Many of the constellations that we know in modern times were known by the Mayans, but called by different names; the names of their gods. For example, they called the constellation Libra “the pig.”

(This is continued on Astronomy of The Mayans Uncovered Part II)

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