The calendars of the Maya
I can explain why calendars were so important to the Maya.
The calendars of the Maya
I can explain why calendars were so important to the Maya.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The Maya believed the sky was where the gods lived; watching it carefully they tracked the movement of celestial bodies.
- The Maya had lots of different calendars, some were based on these movements, others on the time it took maize to grow.
- The Maya used these calendars to make sure they carried out religious ceremonies at the right times and to measure time.
- The Maya used cycles to measure time, so their calendars were circular and relied on great mathematical understanding.
- Using these calendars, the Maya recorded the dates of when important things happened, using their hieroglyphic writing.
Common misconception
The Maya had just one calendar.
They actually used several interconnected calendars. The most notable ones are the Tzolk'in (a 260-day ceremonial calendar), the Haab' (a 365-day solar calendar), and the Long Count calendar, which tracked longer periods of time.
Keywords
Celestial body - a celestial body is an object in space, like a star, planet, moon, or comet
Calendar - a calendar is a chart that's used to keep track of days, weeks, months and years
Cycle - a cycle is a sequence of events that occur repeatedly and follow the same pattern each time
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Video
Loading...
Starter quiz
6 Questions
indigenous people of Mesoamerica
a region encompassing parts of Central America
a country in Central America
Exit quiz
6 Questions
a solar calendar
a sacred calendar
a linear calendar