When the Long Count was put into motion, it was started at 7.13.0.0.0, and 0 Yaxkin corresponded with Midwinter Day, as it did at 13.0.0.0.0 back in 3114 B.C.E. When the Pleaides crossed the horizon on 4 Ahau 8 Cumku, they knew the world had been granted another 52-year extension.Īlthough there were only 365 days in the Haab year, the Mayas were aware that a year is slightly longer than 365 days, and in fact, many of the month-names are associated with the seasons Yaxkin, for example, means "new or strong sun" and, at the beginning of the Long Count, 1 Yaxkin was the day after the winter solstice, when the sun starts to shine for a longer period of time and higher in the sky. Among the Aztec, the end of a Calendar Round was a time of public panic as it was thought the world might be coming to an end. If a day is, for example, "4 Ahau 8 Cumku," the next day falling on "4 Ahau 8 Cumku" would be 18,980 days or about 52 years later. The smallest number that can be divided evenly by 260 and 365 is 18,980, or 365×52 this was known as the Calendar Round. The length of the Tzolkin year was 260 days and the length of the Haab year was 365 days. The years of the Haab calendar are not counted. Anyone born on those days was "doomed to a miserable life." Fires were extinguished and the population refrained from eating hot food. The Uayeb days acquired a very derogatory reputation for bad luck known as "days without names" or "days without souls," and were observed as days of prayer and mourning. This use of a 0th day of the month in a civil calendar is unique to the Maya system it is believed that the Mayas discovered the number zero, and the uses to which it could be put, centuries before it was discovered in Europe or Asia. The days of the month were numbered from 0 to 19. up to 19 Zotz, which is followed by 0 Tzec. In contrast to the Tzolkin dates, the Haab month names changed every 20 days instead of daily so the day after 4 Zotz would be 5 Zotz, followed by 6 Zotz. It consisted of 18 "months" of 20 days each, followed by 5 extra days, known as Uayeb. The Haab was the civil calendar of the Mayas. Did the Mayas Think a Year Was 365 Days?.Of these, only the Haab has a direct relationship to the length of the year.Ī typical Mayan date looks like this: 12.18.16.2.6, 3 Cimi 4 Zotz. The Maya calendar uses three different dating systems in parallel, the Long Count, the Tzolkin (divine calendar), and the Haab (civil calendar). An Aztec calendar stone is shown above right. The Maya calendar was adopted by the other Mesoamerican nations, such as the Aztecs and the Toltec, which adopted the mechanics of the calendar unaltered but changed the names of the days of the week and the months. The pyramid was used as a calendar: four stairways, each with 91 steps and a platform at the top, making a total of 365, equivalent to the number of days in a calendar year. The Pyramid of Kukulkan at Chichén Itzá, constructed circa 1050 was built during the late Mayan period, when Toltecs from Tula became politically powerful. At right is the ancient Mayan Pyramid Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico. Color added for visibility.)Īmong their other accomplishments, the ancient Mayas invented a calendar of remarkable accuracy and complexity. It consisted of a 365-day agricultural calendar, as well as a 260-day sacred calendar. The Aztec calendar was an adaptation of the Mayan calendar.
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