Mayan and 2012
The date December 21st, 2012 A.D. (13.0.0.0.0 in the
Long Count), represents an extremely close conjunction of the Winter
Solstice Sun with the alignment of the Galactic Equator (Equator of
the Milky Way) and the Ecliptic (path of the Sun).
Mayan scholars have been attempting to correlate the Long Count with
our Western Gregorian calendar, since the beginning of this century.
There has been massive variation in the suggested correlations. The
most popular one today, known as the GMT correlation, or
"correlation # 584283", was finalized in 1950, and puts the start of
the Great Cycle ( day 0.0.0.0.0) on 11th August 3114 BC, and the
end-date (known as 13.0.0.0.0.) as 21st December 2012.
The Maya calendar is actually a system of distinct calendars and almanacs used by the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and by some modern Maya communities in highland Guatemala.
These calendars could be synchronized and interlocked in complex
ways, their combinations giving rise to further, more extensive
cycles. The essentials of the Maya calendar system are based upon a
system which had been in common use throughout the region, dating
back to at least the 6th century BCE. It shares many aspects with
calendars employed by other earlier Mesoamerican civilizations, such
as the Zapotec and Olmec, and contemporary or later ones such as the
Mixtec and Aztec calendars. Although the Mesoamerican calendar did
not originate with the Maya, their subsequent extensions and
refinements of it were the most sophisticated. Along with those of
the Aztecs, the Maya calendars are the best-documented and most
completely understood.
By the Maya mythological tradition, as documented in Colonial
Yucatec accounts and reconstructed from Late Classic and Post
classic inscriptions, the deity Itzamna is frequently credited with
bringing the knowledge of the calendar system to the ancestral Maya,
along with writing in general and other foundational aspects of Maya
culture.
General overview
The most important of these calendars is one with a period of 260
days. This 260-day calendar was prevalent across all Mesoamerican
societies, and is of great antiquity (almost certainly the oldest of
the calendars). It is still used in some regions of Oaxaca, and
amongst the Maya communities of the Guatemalan highlands. The Maya
version is commonly known to scholars as the Tzolkin, or Tzolk'in in
the revised orthography of the Academia de las Lenguas Mayas de
Guatemala. The Tzolk'in combined with another 365-day calendar
(known as the Haab, or Haab' ), to form a synchronized cycle lasting
for 52 Haabs, called the Calendar Round. Smaller cycles of 13 days
(the trecena) and 20 days (the veintena) were important components
of the Tzolk'in and Haab' cycles, respectively.
A different form of calendar was used to track longer periods of
time, and for the inscription of calendar dates (i.e., identifying
when one event occurred in relation to others). This form, known as
the Long Count, is based upon the number of elapsed days since a
mythological starting-point. According to the correlation between
the Long Count and Western calendars accepted by the great majority
of Maya researchers (known as the GMT correlation), this
starting-point is equivalent to 11 August, 3114 BCE in the proleptic
Gregorian calendar or 6 September in the Julian calendar (−3113
astronomical). The Goodman-Martinez-Thompson correlation was chosen
by Thompson in 1935 based on earlier correlations by Joseph Goodman
in 1905 (11 August), Juan Martínez Hernández in 1926 (12 August),
and John Eric Sydney Thompson in 1927 (13 August) By its linear
nature, the Long Count was capable of being extended to refer to any
date far into the future (or past). This calendar involved the use
of a positional notation system, in which each position signified an
increasing multiple of the number of days. The Maya numeral system
was essentially vigesimal (i.e., base-20), and each unit of a given
position represented 20 times the unit of the position which
preceded it. An important exception was made for the second place
value, which instead represented 18 × 20, or 360 days, more closely
approximating the solar year than would 20 × 20 = 400 days. It
should be noted however that the cycles of the Long Count are
independent of the solar year.
Many Maya Long Count inscriptions are supplemented by what is known
as the Lunar Series, another calendar form which provides
information on the lunar phase and position of the Moon in a
half-yearly cycle of lunation's.
A 584-day Venus cycle was also maintained, which tracked the
appearance and conjunctions of Venus as the morning and evening
stars. Many events in this cycle were seen as being inauspicious and
baleful, and occasionally warfare was timed (using electional
astrology) to coincide with stages in this cycle.
Other, less-prevalent or poorly-understood cycles, combinations and
calendar progressions were also tracked. An 819-day count is
attested in a few inscriptions; repeating sets of 9- and 13-day
intervals associated with different groups of deities, animals and
other significant concepts are also known.
Maya concepts of time
With the development of the place-notational Long Count calendar
(believed to have been inherited from other Mesoamerican cultures),
the Maya had an elegant system with which events could be recorded
in a linear relationship to one another, and also with respect to
the calendar ("linear time") itself. In theory, this system could
readily be extended to delineate any length of time desired, by
simply adding to the number of higher-order place markers used (and
thereby generating an ever-increasing sequence of day-multiples,
each day in the sequence uniquely identified by its Long Count
number). In practice, most Maya Long Count inscriptions confine
themselves to noting only the first 5 coefficients in this system (a
b'ak'tun-count), since this was more than adequate to express any
historical or current date (with an equivalent span of approximately
5125 solar years). Even so, example inscriptions exist which noted
or implied lengthier sequences, indicating that the Maya well
understood a linear (past-present-future) conception of time.
However, and in common with other Mesoamerican societies, the
repetition of the various calendric cycles, the natural cycles of
observable phenomena, and the recurrence and renewal of
death-rebirth imagery in their mythological traditions were
important and pervasive influences upon Maya societies. This
conceptual view, in which the "cyclical nature" of time is
highlighted, was a pre-eminent one, and many rituals were concerned
with the completion and re-occurrences of various cycles. As the
particular calendar configurations were once again repeated, so too
were the "supernatural" influences with which they were associated.
Thus it was held that particular calendar configurations had a
specific "character" to them, which would influence events on days
exhibiting that configuration. Divinations could then be made from
the auguries associated with a certain configuration, since events
taking place on some future date would be subject to the same
influences as its corresponding previous cycle dates. Events and
ceremonies would be timed to coincide with auspicious dates, and
avoid inauspicious ones.
The completion of significant calendar cycles ("period endings"),
such as a k'atun-cycle, were often marked by the erection and
dedication of specific monuments such as twin-pyramid complexes such
those in Tikal and Yaxha, but (mostly in stela inscriptions)
commemorating the completion, accompanied by dedicatory ceremonies.
A cyclical interpretation is also noted in Maya creation accounts,
in which the present world and the humans in it were preceded by
other worlds (one to five others, depending on the tradition) which
were fashioned in various forms by the gods, but subsequently
destroyed. The present world also had a tenuous existence, requiring
the supplication and offerings of periodic sacrifice to maintain the
balance of continuing existence. Similar themes are found in the
creation accounts of other Mesoamerican societies.
Tzolk'in
Some Mayanists employ the name Tzolk'in (in modern Mayan
orthography]]; also and formerly commonly written Tzolkin) for the
Maya Sacred Round or 260-day calendar. Tzolk'in is a coined in
Yukatek Maya, to mean "count of days" (Coe 1992). The actual names
of this calendar as used by Pre-Columbian Maya peoples are still
debated by scholars. The Aztec calendar equivalent was called
Tonalpohualli, in the Nahuatl language.
The Tzolk'in calendar combines twenty day names with the thirteen
numbers of the trecena cycle to produce 260 unique days. It is used
to determine the time of religious and ceremonial events and for
divination. Each successive day is numbered from 1 up to 13 and then
starting again at 1. Separately from this, each day is given a name
in sequence from a list of 20 day names:
| Seq. No. 1 |
Day Name 2 |
Glyph example 3 |
16th C. Yucatec 4 |
reconstructed Classic Maya 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Imix' |
 |
Imix | Imix (?) / Ha' (?) |
| 02 | Ik' |
 |
Ik | Ik' |
| 03 | Ak'b'al |
 |
Akbal | Ak'b'al (?) |
| 04 | K'an |
 |
Kan | K'an (?) |
| 05 | Chikchan |
 |
Chicchan | (unknown) |
| 06 | Kimi |
 |
Cimi | Cham (?) |
| 07 | Manik' |
 |
Manik | Manich' (?) |
| 08 | Lamat |
 |
Lamat | Ek' (?) |
| 09 | Muluk |
 |
Muluc | (unknown) |
| 10 | Ok |
 |
Oc | (unknown) |
| Seq. No. 1 |
Day Name 2 |
Glyph example 3 |
16th C. Yucatec 4 |
Reconstructed Classic Maya 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Chuwen |
 |
Chuen | (unknown) |
| 12 | Eb' |
 |
Eb | (unknown) |
| 13 | B'en |
 |
Ben | (unknown) |
| 14 | Ix |
 |
Ix | Hix (?) |
| 15 | Men |
 |
Men | (unknown) |
| 16 | K'ib' |
 |
Cib | (unknown) |
| 17 | Kab'an |
 |
Caban | Chab' (?) |
| 18 | Etz'nab' |
 |
Etznab | (unknown) |
| 19 | Kawak |
 |
Cauac | (unknown) |
| 20 | Ajaw |
 |
Ahau | Ajaw |
|
NOTES:
|
Some systems started the count with 1 Imix', followed by 2 Ik', 3 Ak'b'al, etc. up to 13 B'en. The trecena day numbers then start again at 1 while the named-day sequence continues onwards, so the next days in the sequence are 1 Ix, 2 Men, 3 K'ib', 4 Kab'an, 5 Etz'nab', 6 Kawak, and 7 Ajaw. With all twenty named days used, these now began to repeat the cycle while the number sequence continues, so the next day after 7 Ajaw is 8 Imix'. The repetition of these interlocking 13- and 20-day cycles therefore takes 260 days to complete (that is, for every possible combination of number/named day to occur once).
Divination
Each day of the Tzolk'in has a Patron Spirit who influences events.
Ah K'in, the Mayan shaman-priest, whose title means "Day Keeper",
read the Tzolk'in to determine the answers to yes/no questions as
well as more complex questions involving health, wealth and family.
The Sacred Calendar is also used to set the most auspicious dates
for household, lineage, and community rituals.
When a child is born, the day keeper interprets the Tzolk'in cycle
to identify the baby’s character (similarly done today with a natal
chart). For example, a child born on the day of Ak'b'al is thought
to be feminine, wealthy, and verbally skillful. The birthday of
Ak'b'al (along with several other days) is also thought to give the
child the ability to receive messages with the supernatural world
through somatic twitches of "blood lightning", so he or she might
become a Shaman-priest or a Marriage Spokesman.
There are several forms of Maya Calendar divination employing the
sacred coral seeds which each Calendar diviner carries in a small
bag with crystals and 'other small things' (Tozzer 1941).
The Pre-Columbian Maya practiced a form of Bibliomancy, in which
they would cast the seeds upon a calendar to determine the good and
bad days for the year.
Pre-Columbian Maya employed and Modern Maya Ah K'in employ
Sortilege, in which piles of four or five beans are counted from the
current calendar day of the Sacred Round to arrive at the result.
Modern Maya Ah K'in also employ Cartomancy, in which the fifty two
cards of the poker deck represent the fifty two Year Bearers of the
Maya Calendar Round.
Maya shamans also perform a wide variety of divinatory arts which do
not specifically depend upon a mastery of the sacred calendar,
including crystal, mirror and water gazing and spirit possession,
among others.
Origin of the Tzolk'in
The exact origin of the Tzolk'in is not known, but there are several
theories. One theory is that the calendar came from mathematical
operations based on the numbers thirteen and twenty, which were
important numbers to the Maya. The numbers multiplied together equal
260. Another theory is that the 260-day period came from the length
of human pregnancy. This is close to the average number of days
between the first missed menstrual period and birth, unlike
Naegele's rule which is 40 weeks (280 days) between the last
menstrual period and birth. It is postulated that midwives
originally developed the calendar to predict babies' expected birth
dates.
A third theory comes from understanding of astronomy, geography and
paleontology. The Mesoamerican calendar probably originated with the
Olmecs, and a settlement existed at Izapa, in southeast Chiapas
Mexico, before 1200 BCE. There, at a latitude of about 15° N, the
Sun passes through zenith twice a year, and there are 260 days
between zenithal passages, and gnomons (used generally for observing
the path of the Sun and in particular zenithal passages), were found
at this and other sites. The sacred almanac may well have been set
in motion on August 13, 1359 BCE, in Izapa. Vincent H. Malmström, a
geographer who suggested this location and date, outlines his
reasons:
(1) Astronomically, it lay at the only latitude in North America
where a 260-day interval (the length of the "strange" sacred almanac
used throughout the region in pre-Columbian times) can be measured
between vertical sun positions -- an interval which happens to begin
on the 13th of August -- the day the peoples of the Mesoamerica
believed that the present world was created;
(2) Historically, it was the only site at this latitude which was old enough to have been the cradle of the sacred almanac, which at that time (1973) was thought to date to the 4th or 5th centuries B.C.;
(3) Geographically, it was the only site along the required
parallel of latitude that lay in a tropical lowland ecological niche
where such creatures as alligators, monkeys, and iguanas were native
-- all of which were used as day-names in the sacred almanac.
Malmström also offers strong arguments against both of the former
explanations.
Haab'
The Haab' was the Maya solar calendar made up of eighteen months of
twenty days each plus a period of five days ("nameless days") at the
end of the year known as Wayeb' (or Uayeb in 16th C. orthography).
Bricker (1982) estimates that the Haab' was first used around 550
BCE with the starting point of the winter solstice.
The Haab' month names are known today by their corresponding names
in colonial-era Yukatek Maya, as transcribed by 16th century sources
(in particular, Diego de Landa and books such as the Chilam Balam of
Chumayel). Phonemic analyses of Haab' glyph names in pre-Columbian
Maya inscriptions have demonstrated that the names for these
twenty-day periods varied considerably from region to region and
from period to period, reflecting differences in the base language(s)
and usage in the Classic and Post classic eras predating their
recording by Spanish sources.
In sequence, these Haab' month names (in modern and revised
orthography of their Yukatek forms)[11] are as follows:
Each day in the Haab' calendar was identified by a day number within
the month followed by the name of the month. Day numbers began with
a glyph translated as the "seating of" a named month, which is
usually regarded as day 0 of that month, although a minority treat
it as day 20 of the month preceding the named month. In the latter
case, the seating of Pop is day 5 of Wayeb'. For the majority, the
first day of the year was 0 Pop (the seating of Pop). This was
followed by 1 Pop, 2 Pop ... 19 Pop, 0 Wo, 1 Wo and so on.
As a calendar for keeping track of the seasons, the Haab' was
crude and inaccurate, since it treated the year as having 365 days,
and ignored the extra quarter day (approximately) in the actual
tropical year. This meant that the seasons moved with respect to the
calendar year by a quarter day each year, so that the calendar
months named after particular seasons no longer corresponded to
these seasons after a few centuries. The Haab' is equivalent to the
wandering 365-day year of the ancient Egyptians. Some argue that the
Maya knew about and compensated for the quarter day error, even
though their calendar did not include anything comparable to a leap
year, a method first implemented by the Romans.
Wayeb'
The five nameless days at the end of the calendar called Wayeb'
were thought to be a dangerous time. Foster (2002) writes "During
Wayeb, portals between the mortal realm and the Underworld
dissolved. No boundaries prevented the ill-intending deities from
causing disasters." To ward off these evil spirits, the Maya had
customs and rituals they practiced during Wayeb'. For example,
people avoided leaving their houses or washing or combing their
hair.
Calendar Round
Neither the Tzolk'in nor the Haab' system numbered the years. The
combination of a Tzolk'in date and a Haab' date was enough to
identify a date to most people's satisfaction, as such a combination
did not occur again for another 52 years, above general life
expectancy.
Because the two calendars were based on 260 days and 365 days
respectively, the whole cycle would repeat itself every 52 Haab'
years exactly. This period was known as a Calendar Round. The end of
the Calendar Round was a period of unrest and bad luck among the
Maya, as they waited in expectation to see if the gods would grant
them another cycle of 52 years.
Long Count
Since Calendar Round dates can only distinguish within 18,980 days, equivalent to around 52 solar years, the cycle repeats roughly once each lifetime, and thus, a more refined method of dating was needed if history was to be recorded accurately. To measure dates, therefore, over periods longer than 52 years, Mesoamericans devised the Long Count calendar.
The Long Count calendar identifies a date by counting the number of
days from August 11, 3114 BCE. But instead of using a base-10 scheme
like Western numbering, the Long Count days were tallied in a
modified base-20 scheme. Thus 0.0.0.1.5 is equal to 25, and
0.0.0.2.0 is equal to 40. The Long Count is not consistently
base-20, however, since the second digit (from the right) only
counts to 17 before resetting to zero. Thus 0.0.1.0.0 does not
represent 400 days, but rather only 360 days.
The Mayan name for a day was k'in. Twenty of these k'ins are known
as a winal or uinal. Eighteen winals make one tun. Twenty tuns are
known as a k'atun. Twenty k'atuns make a b'ak'tun.
| Days | Long Count period | Long Count period | Approx solar years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | = 1 K'in | ||
| 20 | = 20 K'in | = 1 Winal | 1/18th |
| 360 | = 18 Winal | = 1 Tun | 1 |
| 7,200 | = 20 Tun | = 1 K'atun | 20 |
| 144,000 | = 20 K'atun | = 1 B'ak'tun | 395 |
There are also four rarely-used higher-order cycles: piktun,
kalabtun, k'inchiltun, and alautun.
Since the Long Count dates are unambiguous, the Long Count was
particularly well suited to use on monuments. The monumental
inscriptions would not only include the 5 digits of the Long Count,
but would also include the two tzolk'in characters followed by the
two haab' characters.
The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar forms the basis for a New Age
belief, first forecast by José Arguelles, that a cataclysm will take
place on or about 21 December 2012.
Venus Cycle
Another important calendar for the Maya was the Venus cycle. The
Maya were skilled astronomers, and could calculate the Venus cycle
with extreme accuracy. There are six pages in the Dresden Codex (one
of the Maya codices) devoted to the accurate calculation of the
location of Venus. The Maya were able to achieve such accuracy by
careful observation over many years. The Venus cycle was especially
important because the Maya believed it was associated with war and
used it to divine good times (called electional astrology) for
coronations and war. Maya rulers planned for wars to begin when
Venus rose. The Maya also possibly tracked other planets’ movements,
including those of Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter.
