![]() The Paris Codex contains prophecies for tuns and katuns (see Mesoamerican Long Count calendar), and a Maya zodiac. It also contains astronomical tables, although less than are found in the other three surviving Maya codices. The Madrid Codex mainly consists of almanacs and horoscopes that were used to help Maya priests in the performance of their ceremonies and divinatory rituals. The Dresden Codex is an astronomical Almanac. These are the Dresden, Madrid, Paris and Grolier codices. The most infamous example of this was the burning of a large number of these in Maní, Yucatán by Bishop Diego de Landa in July 1562. The Spanish conquistadors and Catholic priests destroyed them whenever they found them. These were painted on folding bark cloth. Correlating the Maya and European calendar Īt the time of the Spanish conquest the Maya had many books. A number of different year bearer systems were in use in Mesoamerica. When this date occurs again it is called a calendar round completion.Ī Year Bearer is a Tzolk'in day name that occurs on the first day of the Haab'. The calendar round on the mythical starting date of this creation was 4 Ahau 8 Kumk'u. The same calendar round repeats every 18,980 days – approximately 52 years. When the Tzolk'in and Haab' are both given, the date is called a calendar round. The Haab' is a 365-day year made up of a day of zero to 19 and 18 months with five unlucky days at the end of the year. In some present day Maya communities, this 260 day almanac is still used, mostly for religious practices. Unlike the 365 day year, this 260 day year was used less for counting/calculations, and more to arrange tasks, celebrations, ceremonies, etc. These 260 days were each considered individual gods and goddesses that were not persuaded by a higher power. This calendar was of the most sacred to the Maya, and was used as an almanac to determine farming cycles, and for religious practices to specify dates for ceremonies. By pairing the numbers with the 20 names, that leaves 260 unique days with every combination of numbers/names happening once. The Tzolk'in is a 260-day calendar made up of a day from one to 13 and 20 day names. There are examples of Long Counts with many places but most of them give five places since the mythical creation date – 13.0.0.0.0. Main articles: Maya calendar and Mesoamerican Long Count calendar For example, the mythical creation date in the Maya calendar is AugBC in the proleptic Gregorian calendar and September 6, −3113 astronomical. ![]() Proleptic Gregorian dates vary substantially from astronomical dates. ![]() These dates must be converted to astronomical dates before they can be used to study Maya astronomy because astronomers use the Julian/Gregorian calendar. In this calendar, Julian calendar dates are revised as if the Gregorian calendar had been in use before October 15, 1582. Many mayanists convert Maya calendar dates into the proleptic Gregorian calendar. In historical dating the year 1 BC is followed by the year 1 so for example, the year −3113 (astronomical dating) is the same as 3114 BC (historical dating). There is no year zero in historical dating. Astronomical calculations return a year zero and years before that are negative numbers. ![]() Dates before 46 BC are converted to the Julian calendar. Astronomers use the Julian/Gregorian calendar. So for example 1700, 1800, and 1900 are not leap years but 16 are. He also missed three days every four centuries by decreeing that centuries are only leap years if they are evenly divisible by 400. This brought the civil and tropical years back into line. Pope Gregory XIII, with the help of Italian astronomer Aloysius Lilius (Luigi Lilio), reformed this system by abolishing the days October 5 through October 14, 1582. The solar year has 365.2422 days and by 1582 there was an appreciable discrepancy between the winter solstice and Christmas and the vernal equinox and Easter. In 46 BC Julius Caesar decreed that the year would be made up of twelve months of approximately 30 days each to make a year of 365 days and a leap year of 366 days. Main articles: Julian calendar and Gregorian calendar
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