Maya astronomy

See also: Maya civilization § Astronomy, and Archaeoastronomy

This article is part of a series on the
Maya civilization
Drawing of a Mayan stone carving with elaborate decoration.
History
Spanish conquest of the Maya

Maya astronomy is the study of the Moon, planets, Milky Way, Sun, and astronomical phenomena by the Precolumbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica. The Classic Maya in particular developed some of the most accurate pre-telescope astronomy in the world, aided by their fully developed writing system and their positional numeral system, both of which are fully indigenous to Mesoamerica. The Classic Maya understood many astronomical phenomena: for example, their estimate of the length of the synodic month was more accurate than Ptolemy's,[1] and their calculation of the length of the tropical solar year was more accurate than that of the Spanish when the latter first arrived.[2] Many temples from the Maya architecture have features oriented to celestial events.

  1. ^ "Mayan Astronomy". University of Arizona. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  2. ^ Leon-Portilla, Miguel (1 September 1990). Time and Reality in the Thought of the Maya. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 9780806123080. Retrieved 11 December 2014.