ANCIENT MAYAN ASTRONOMY - The most important planet by far to the Maya was Venus, which they associated with war. The Maya painstakingly recorded the movements of Venus and determined that its year, relative to Earth, not the sun, was 584 days long, amazingly close to the 583.92 days that modern science has determined. Like the planets, the stars move across the heavens, but unlike the planets, they stay in position relative to one another. To the Maya, the stars were less important to their mythos than the sun, moon, Venus and other planets. However, the stars shift seasonally and were used by Mayan astronomers to predict when the seasons would come and go, which was useful for agricultural planning.

.......................................................................

Ancient Mayan Astronomy

Among the Planets, Venus Held Particular Importance

by Christopher Minster

The ancient Maya were keen astronomers, recording and interpreting every aspect of the sky.

They believed that the will and actions of the gods could be read in the stars, moon, and planets, so they dedicated time to doing so, and many of their most important buildings were built with astronomy in mind.

The sun, moon, and planets, Venus, in particular, were studied by the Maya. The Maya also based their calendars around astronomy.

The Maya and the Sky

The Maya believed that the Earth was the center of all things, fixed and immovable. The stars, moons, sun, and planets were gods; their movements were seen as them going between the Earth, the underworld, and other celestial destinations.

These gods were greatly involved in human affairs, and so their movements were watched closely. Many events in Maya life were planned to coincide with certain celestial moments.

For example, a war might be delayed until the gods were in place, or a ruler might ascend to the throne of a Mayan city-state only when a certain planet was visible in the night sky.

The Maya and the Sun

The sun was of utmost importance to the ancient Maya. The Mayan sun god was Kinich Ahau.

He was one of the more powerful gods of the Mayan pantheon, considered an aspect of Itzamna, one of the Mayan creator gods.

Kinich Ahau would shine in the sky all day before transforming himself into a jaguar at night to pass through Xibalba, the Mayan underworld.

In the Popol Vuh, the hero twins, Hunaphu and Xbalanque, transformed themselves at one point into the sun and the moon.

Some Mayan dynasties claimed to be descended from the sun. The Maya were expert at predicting solar phenomena, such as eclipses and equinoxes and when the sun reached its apex.

The Maya and the Moon

The moon was nearly as important as the sun for the ancient Maya. Mayan astronomers analyzed and predicted the moon’s movements with great accuracy.

As with the sun and planets, Mayan dynasties often claimed to be descended from the moon.

Mayan mythology generally associated the moon with a maiden, an old woman and/or a rabbit.

The Maya moon goddess was Ix Chel, a powerful goddess who battled with the sun and made him descend into the underworld every night.

Although she was a fearsome goddess, she was the patroness of childbirth and fertility.

Ix Ch’up was another moon goddess described in some of the codices; she was young and beautiful and may have been Ix Chel in her youth.

The Maya and Venus

The Maya were aware of the planets in the solar system and marked their movements.

The most important planet by far to the Maya was Venus, which they associated with war.

Battles and wars would be arranged to coincide with the movements of Venus, and captured warriors and leaders would likewise be sacrificed according to the position of Venus in the night sky.

The Maya painstakingly recorded the movements of Venus and determined that its year, relative to Earth, not the sun, was 584 days long, amazingly close to the 583.92 days that modern science has determined.

The Maya and the Stars

Like the planets, the stars move across the heavens, but unlike the planets, they stay in position relative to one another.

To the Maya, the stars were less important to their mythos than the sun, moon, Venus and other planets.

However, the stars shift seasonally and were used by Mayan astronomers to predict when the seasons would come and go, which was useful for agricultural planning.

For example, the rise of the Pleiades in the night sky occurs at about the same time that the rains come to the Mayan regions of Central America and southern Mexico.

The stars, therefore, were of more practical use than many other aspects of Mayan astronomy.

Mayan Architecture and Astronomy

Many important Mayan Buildings, such as temples, pyramids, palaces, observatories and ball courts, were laid out in accordance with astronomy.

Temples and pyramids, in particular, were designed in such a way that the sun, moon, stars, and planets would be visible from the top or through certain windows at important times of the year.

One example is the observatory at Xochicalco, which, although not considered an exclusively Mayan city, certain had Mayan influence.

The observatory is an underground chamber with a hole in the ceiling. The sun shines through this hole for most of the summer but is directly overhead on May 15 and July 29.

On these days the sun would directly illuminate an illustration of the sun on the floor, and these days were held importance for Mayan priests.

Mayan Astronomy and the Calendar

The Mayan calendar was linked to astronomy. The Maya basically used two calendars: the Calendar Round and the Long Count.

The Mayan Long Count calendar was divided into different units of time that used the Haab, or solar year (365 days), as a base.

The Calendar Round consisted of two separate calendars; the first was the 365-day solar year, the second was the 260-day Tzolkin cycle. These cycles align every 52 years.

Christopher Minster

·   Professor at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Equador

·   Specialist in Latin American literature and history with a Ph.D. in Spanish from Ohio State University

·   Former head writer at VIVA Travel Guides, who co-authored and edited numerous travel guidebooks

Experience

Christopher  W. Minster, Ph.D., is a former ThoughtCo. writer who contributed articles about Latin American history and culture for eight years. He is a professor at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Equador.

Christopher was the head writer at VIVA Travel Guides, where he co-authored and edited numerous travel books, including "VIVA Travel Guides Ecuador and Galapagos Islands Guidebook," 7th Edition (2014), and ​"VIVA Travel Guides Lima, Peru," 3rd Edition (2010), as well as a collection of travel stories from different writers around the world, called "​The Viva List Latin America: 333 Places and Experiences People Love" (2007).​

A specialist in Latin American literature and history, Christopher wrote his Ph.D. dissertation about the colonial era in the Americas. He also worked as a teaching assistant for six years at Ohio State University, where he earned his Ph.D. in Spanish in 2005. Christopher served two years in the U.S. Peace Corps in Guatemala, working in rural youth development in Huehuetenango.

Education

Christopher earned his Bachelor's (B.A.) in Spanish from Penn State University and Master's (M.A.) in Spanish from the University of Montana. He received his Ph.D. in Spanish from Ohio State University.

Awards and Publications

·   "​VIVA Travel Guides Ecuador and Galapagos Islands Guidebook," 7th Edition (2014)

·   "​VIVA Travel Guides Lima, Peru," 3rd Edition (2010)

·   "​The Viva List Latin America: 333 Places and Experiences People Love" (2007)

ThoughtCo and Dotdash

ThoughtCo is a premier reference site focusing on expert-created education content. We are one of the top-10 information sites in the world as rated by comScore, a leading Internet measurement company. Every month, more than 13 million readers seek answers to their questions on ThoughtCo.

For more than 20 years, Dotdash brands have been helping people find answers, solve problems, and get inspired. We are one of the top-20 largest content publishers on the Internet according to comScore, and reach more than 30% of the U.S. population monthly. Our brands collectively have won more than 20 industry awards in the last year alone, and recently Dotdash was named Publisher of the Year by Digiday, a leading industry publication.

https://www.thoughtco.com/ancient-maya-astronomy-2136314