Among
their other accomplishments, the ancient Mayas invented a
calendar of remarkable accuracy and complexity. At right is
the ancient Mayan Pyramid Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico. The
Pyramid of Kukulkan at Chichén Itzá, constructed circa 1050
was built during the late Mayan period, when Toltecs from
Tula became politically powerful. 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 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. An Aztec
calendar stone is shown at right (below).
The Maya calendar uses three different dating systems in
parallel, the Long Count, the Tzolkin
(divine calendar), and the Haab (civil calendar).
Of these, only the Haab has a direct relationship to the
length of the year.
A typical Mayan date looks like this: 12.18.16.2.6, 3 Cimi
4 Zotz.
