Mayans develop sophisticated astronomy The Mayans, an ancient Mesoamerican culture active in Mexico, were avid sky-watchers. During their Classic (or Florescent) period, between 200 and 900 AD, they developed a sophisticated understanding of astronomy by means of their own naked-eye observations and produced an advanced calendar system as well as numerous prediction tables.[1] Thus, they were tracking the movement of celestial bodies, including our moon and other planets in our solar system, long before Copernicus. Specifically, by the end of the Classic period, they managed to develop a recyclable Venus calendar that was accurate to one day in 500 years and a Mars table, as well as lunar and solar eclipse prediction tables. Their eclipse warning table still functions today. They were able to undertake these computations by developing a sophisticated system of mathematics, which included the concept of zero and utilised place value. As a result, their astronomical tables projected thousands of years forward and backward. The Mayans also devised their own zodiac. Their use of astronomy was astrological, as they used astrology as a means to explain how the movements of celestial bodies predicted and affected human-related cycles and affairs. Thus, the Mayan understanding and use of astronomy was inextricably bound up in their cosmology. The earliest form of the Mayan hieroglyph for Venus appears on a stela from La Mojarra on Mexico's Gulf Coast, which appears to date to 159 AD.[2] The Maya recorded their astronomical observations along with other records and pictures in books. Regrettably, only a handful of ancient Mayan books survive. These are the Dresden, Paris, Madrid and Grolier codices (most of these are named after the places where they now reside). It is the Dresden Codex that is one of our best sources for Mayan astronomy. Produced during the 1200s, it is considered one of the world's oldest books. It comprises 39 double-sided pages, which unfold to a length of 3.56 m. It is inscribed with pictures, numbers and hieroglyphs throughout and features eclipse and planetary calendars, accounts of stellar constellation, and also weather forecasts. Currently, the Dresden Codex resides at the museum attached to the Saechischen Landesbibliothek (Saxony's federal library) in Dresden, Germany. Regrettably and tragically, the rest of the Maya's books appear to have been burnt by the invading European conquerors during the 1500s. End notes [1] Aveni 1997, 93–133. [2] Aveni 1997, 97; Justeson and Kaufman 1997. References Aveni, A. 1997. Stairways to the Stars: Skywatching in three great ancient cultures. London, UK: Cassell Publishers Limited. Justeson, J. and T. Kaufman. July 1997. ‘A newly discovered column in the hieroglyphic text on La Mojarra Stela 1: A test of the Epi-Olmec decipherment' in Science 277: 207–210. Image Credit Six sheets of the Dresden Codex (pp. 55-59, 74) depicting eclipses, multiplication tables and the flood via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dresden_Codex_pp.58-62_78.jpg
