The Aztecs, who ruled central Mexico for several hundred years before the arrival of the Spanish in 1519, left the most extensive mathematical writings of any pre-Columbian civilization. Their intellectual pursuits showcased the intersection of art, mathematics, science, and spirituality that defined daily life and governed their society. The most important accounts were written by Aztec scribes, who were trained by Spanish clerics to transcribe texts in their language (Nahuatl). Friar Bernardino de Sahagún, a mid-16th-century chronicler, recorded the discovery of the Aztec calendar.
The Aztec calendar shared characteristics with timekeeping systems across Mesoamerica, including the adoption of commensurate time. Archaeoastronomical studies have demonstrated that important civic and ceremonial buildings in Mesoamerica were largely oriented to sunrises or sunsets on specific dates. The study of Aztec astronomy reveals the remarkable ways in which celestial bodies influenced and shaped the Aztec calendar system.
The Aztecs and Maya civilizations possessed advanced knowledge in math and astronomy, with the Maya having a particularly deep understanding of the subject. They used written symbols such as hearts, arrows, and hands to represent fractional distances when calculating areas of land. The ancient Aztecs maintained an arithmetic system that was far more complex than previously understood.
Mesoamericans excelled at astronomy, with their astronomies achieving remarkable empirical accuracy, predictive success, and mathematical precision. Previous analysis has revealed the knowledge of multiplication, division, and some principles of geometry.
📹 Aztec Art Writing and Numbers
Which empire made many discoveries in astronomy and mathematics?
Over seven million Maya people live in their original homelands of Mesoamerica and worldwide. Two thousand years ago, the ancient Maya developed one of the most advanced civilizations in the Americas, with a written language of hieroglyphs, the mathematical concept of zero, and a complex calendar system. Archaeologists study hundreds of restored ancient cities with temple-pyramids, palaces, ball courts, and grand plazas, which attract millions of tourists each year.
Contemporary Maya live and work near these archaeological sites, preserving their language, tradition, and deep sensibility towards the land and sky. They are guardians of their culture and actively work to rediscover their past while looking towards the future. The Maya today are the direct descendants of their ancient culture, providing continuity to their traditions, ways of thinking, and language.
How did Aztecs write numbers?
The Aztec number system was vigesimal, centered around the number 20. It employed a system of dots to represent numbers until they reached 20, then flags for 20 increments, and finally, dots for numbers under 20. This system differed from other Mesoamerican number systems in significant ways.
Did the Mayans know math?
The Maya civilization, one of the oldest civilizations in the Americas, developed a sophisticated mathematical system based on a place value of 20 and the concept of zero, which allowed them to count into the millions. They also used astronomical knowledge to guide their lives, with kings and day-keepers demonstrating their ability to predict astronomical events. The Maya’s cosmological beliefs and daily life were recorded in books, paintings, and stone carvings, which were carved into stone for the reign of kings.
The Maya’s advanced mathematics, which included the concept of zero, allowed them to write and calculate large sums. The Maya’s astronomical knowledge was interwoven into their artwork and life, demonstrating their power and ability to predict astronomical events. The Maya’s advanced mathematics and cosmological beliefs were a testament to their advanced civilization and their ability to navigate the complex interplay between nature and cosmology.
Did the Aztecs study math?
Scientists have discovered that Aztecs, known for their circular calendars and human sacrifice practices, also used hand, heart, and arrow symbols to represent fractional distances when calculating land areas. Researchers analyzed Aztec agricultural manuscripts to understand how the indigenous people arrived at these calculations. The term Aztec refers to certain ethnic groups that were dominant in Central Mexico from the 1300s to the early 1500s. The researchers analyzed two documents about agricultural properties owned by households in the city-state of Tepetlaoztoc from 1540 to 1544.
Did the Aztecs study astrology?
Astrology, originating in Mesopotamia and spreading to India, has evolved into a Western form in Greek civilization during the Hellenistic period. However, the Aztecs, a sophisticated civilization in agriculture, number systems, calendar, medicine, and poetry, had their own form of astrology. Aztec Astrology specialists identified a horoscope with 12 signs and another with 20. The first horoscope includes 12 different Aztec signs related to nature, ruled by a god or goddess that influences an individual’s behavior. The signs are not divided by months, but calendars give specific days to each sign, allowing individuals to be identified based on their birth date.
The Cayman (Cipactli) is an agile and strong animal representing the origin of the universe. It is known for logical thinking, organization, understanding, and analysis. The Cayman is represented by the dates January 4, 16, 18, 20, 22, 25, 26, 26, 30, 31, 29, 29, 11, 23.
Who first studied astrology?
Babylonian astrology is the earliest organized system of astrology, originating in the 2nd millennium BC. It is believed to have originated in the Sumerian period in the 3rd millennium BC, but the evidence of ancient celestial omens is insufficient to establish an integrated theory. The history of scholarly celestial divination is generally reported to begin with late Old Babylonian texts (c. 1800 BC) and continue through the Middle Babylonian and Middle Assyrian periods (c. 1200 BC).
By the 16th century BC, Babylonian astrology was primarily focused on weather and political matters, with astronomical symbols likely representing seasonal tasks. Astrological symbols were used as a yearly almanac of listed activities to remind communities to perform tasks appropriate to the season or weather. By the 4th century, mathematical methods had progressed enough to calculate future planetary positions with reasonable accuracy, leading to the emergence of extensive ephemerides.
Babylonian astrology developed within the context of divination, with the oldest known detailed texts of Babylonian divination dating back to around 1875 BC. These texts demonstrate the same interpretational format as celestial omen analysis, with blemishes and marks found on the liver of sacrificial animals being interpreted as symbolic signs presenting messages from the gods to the king.
Did the Aztecs write anything down?
Aztec codices were books written by Nahuatl-speaking people of the Aztec Empire, primarily the Mexica, who lived in Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec Empire.
Did the Aztecs invent writing?
The Aztecs employed a non-traditional writing system, utilizing pictographs—small pictures—to convey meaning to their readers.
Did the Mayans invent writing?
The Maya may have adopted writing from the Olmec or Epi-Olmec culture, who used the Isthmian script. However, murals excavated in 2005 suggest that the Maya may have invented writing in Mesoamerica. Scholarly consensus is that the Maya developed the only complete writing system in Mesoamerica. Before the arrival of Spanish conquistadors, the Aztecs destroyed many Mayan works and sought to depict themselves as true rulers through a fake history and newly written texts.
Knowledge of the Maya writing system continued into the early colonial era, with some early Spanish priests learning it. Bishop Diego de Landa ordered the collection and destruction of written Maya works, leading to the emergence of the de Landa alphabet. Although the Maya did not write alphabetically, he recorded a glossary of Maya sounds and related symbols, which became a key resource in deciphering the Maya script. Landa also created an orthography for the Yucatec Maya language using the Latin alphabet, the first Latin orthography for any of the Mayan languages.
Did the Mayans study astrology?
The Mayan civilization, known for their belief in the influence of the cosmos, developed two calendars that are as precise as those we use today. The first, known as the Calendar Round, was based on two overlapping annual cycles: a 260-day sacred year and a 365-day secular year. Each day was assigned four pieces of identifying information: a day number and day name in the sacred calendar and a day number and month name in the secular calendar. Every 52 years, a single interval was counted, and the calendar resets itself like a clock.
However, the Calendar Round was unable to fix events in absolute chronology or relationships over a long period. In 236 BC, a priest devised the Long Count system, which identified each day by counting forward from a fixed date in the distant past. The system grouped days into sets or cycles, such as baktun (144, 000 days), k’atun (7, 200 days), tun (360 days), uinal or winal (20 days), and kin (one day).
Which major mathematical idea did the Aztecs develop?
The Aztecs developed a vicesimal number system using 20 as a base, represented by a series of dots and bars. In this system, a dot represents the number one, while a bar represents the number five.
📹 Dr. Mark Van Stone – How Maya Hieroglyphs are written – Demonstration
Mark Van Stone explains how Maya hieroglyphs are constructed, by writing a modern name in phonetic glyphs. Dr. Van Stone is …
Wow, it’s so cool to see the Mayan characters written out by a human hand after centuries of lying dormant and misunderstood. Makes you wonder how the writing would have changed over time had history not played out the way it did. Would there be a modern Maya script that was less ornate, but suited to everyday writing? Can we develop one now? 🙂
Outstanding introduction to Maya hieroglyphs by Dr. Mark van Stone (even though it is already nine years old). There seem to be a lot of questions in the comments about this writing system. To answer some of them: Q: Is the script written top to bottom like Japanese? A: The basic reading order is from left to right and top to bottom, in a zigzag pattern. For example, if you have four columns of three glyphs, the reading order would go as follows, staring with 1: 1 – 2 7 – 8 3 – 4 9 – 10 5 – 6 11 – 12 However, the reading order can also be a vertical line, as Dr. Van Stone wrote here. It can also be written in a horizontal line. In most cases it is read left to right, but there are exceptions where it is written right to left. As someone has already mentioned, you usually can tell the reading order by way of the direction the glyphs are pointing (best done with glyphs that represent e.g. heads of humans and animals). Q: Are the outlines alone enough for reading and figuring out the meaning? A: In most cases, no. Some glyphs are definitely recognizable by their outlinesalone, but many glyphs are very similar in their shape and only with the differences in details – sometimes very small details – can you tell them apart. Q: Did the Maya have a simplified script for daily use? A: To some extent, yes, probably. While it is very difficult (if not impossible) to know how the Maya wrote on a daily basis, we might get an impression if we look at painted glyphs instead of carved ones. Glyphs found on stone monuments such as stelae tend to be the full-blown, highly detailed versions because those were meant to be seen by e.
I taught myself the basics of the grammar of classic Maya as well as how the writing system worked during college (long story short I way over-studied for an archaeology essay). Every time I revisit it I’m reminded just how ingenious it is and how beautiful it is. In my opinion no other language is as beautiful when written, not Mongolian, not Manchu, not Georgian, nor even something like Tamil or Tibetan.
@KillMrFist Funny, the Maya have words for these, but rarely use the word by themselves the way that we do. They say “I love you” or “Don’t you love chile con carne?” but the word “love” by itself has little meaning. Xibalba, the Maya underworld, means “Place of Fear”, but “Xi”, “fear”, is not something with much meaning out of context. Did you want to design a tattoo or something?
Funny how archaeologist say no one knew how to read Maya before they started to decipher it themselves, but not true, in many Maya villages in Guatemala many elder folks know how to read Maya glyphs. Archaeologist did not wanted to accept that the local Maya descendants of Guatemala knew more than they did.
I’m wondering how much of these glyphs was formalized and how much is up to the writer/artist. Like, does the centipede have the same number of legs across inscriptions or is the general shape of each part what really matters? I have some experience with chinese characters and there are a couple where a misplaced stroke can mean “misspelling” a word, are Maya glyphs like that in any cases?
Mayan Culture is the most wonderful to have left such a record of their existence. In Mexico City the Archeological Museum is full of relics of their time in the sun. First time I spent time there I paused for the restroom. I stood in front of the mirror there and saw myself then a series of other images, male, female….it just kept going. There were faces unknown to me. I was NOT ON DRUGS, though I have taken ayahuasca maybe 12 times under the supervision of a medicine man. But I felt at the time it was the power inherent in the tools they used. Also..as an artist, my job is to be an observer where ever I am.
Beautiful characters when written precisely. Were the Maya close to developing a ‘layman’s alphabet’ like Demotic was to Egyptian Hieroglyphics? These characters are elegant, but cumbersome when trying to communicate everyday information. Thanks in advance for any information you can share on my question.
Ahh! I owned his book, reading the Maya glyphs. My favorite illustration was of this iguana deity I think it was. From that book, i thought it said that the Maya scribes and writers were given a great deal of flexibility where they would be permitted to draw a glyphs basically from their memories. So maybe their teacher drew a Jaguar body while the student maybe drew only the head? But I know that many sites are yielding a seemingly unending stream of hints and suggestions of how it all works, so moving forward we will complete much more of the puzzle. This makes me want to work in this. I’m gonna buy his book again. Thanks for sharing!!
The Mayans were an agrarian society, requiring long days working in fields to produce sufficient food for survival. When you consider the average life span was maybe 40 years, it is clear that only a very select few would have had the time to learn this complex script. Beyond that, an even smaller group would have the skills to carve these glyphs into stone. My guess is that the average Mayan guy probably had no more understanding of the writing than an average guy off the street today.
Whilst perusal this it struck me that the walls themselves could be heiroglyphics. Or sentences or words making sentences. A wild but different approach to walls& why they were so shaped and kept in place with granite dust and gold. To ensure long term legibility. Sure they protected from earth quacks but words sentences meaning. Adds some sense. And a different angle for stele etc. worth a glance what?
Idk if anyone cares but I was looking at Mayan hieroglyphs the other day and noticed something like some of the hieroglyphs actually looked like the people near the heiroglyphs like as if it was a conversation and it declared who was talking by showing the dots or marks on the person’s body in conjunction with the dialect, so you got a idea who was saying what while you were reading it gave you glimpses of patterns and or dots even a small piece of their face so that they were associated with that specific text like how I could say “blah blah blah” said nick. The heiroglyphs where there and it would somehow add my avatar to the phrase. Hopefully someone understood this. It was on the Dresden codex? With the different priests sitting down side profiles, I think it was a story.
@EruveoMac Start with “Reading the Maya Glyphs” by Michael Coe and myself. It’s There are also two books by John Montgomery, a “Dictionary of Maya Hieroglyphs and “How to Read Maya Hieroglyphs”. Finally there is “Understanding Maya Inscriptions: A Hieroglyph Handbook” by John F. Harris. The bibliographies in these books will lead you to more specific texts. Note these are all for *Reading*… As for *writing* glyphs, just start practicing. Send experts like me your efforts.
First of all big respect to your book “Reading the maya gIyphs”, it is very very interesting and well written and explained. But I still have a very urgent question: I’ve found some informations about a mayan god named “Acat”, and it says that he is the god of tattooing. Since i found this info i’m looking for the glyph of this god or a picture that shows at least a bit how he looks like….but I can’t find anything!!! xD do you know anything about this god????
I have Reading the Maya Glyphs and it is a fantastic book! I grew up with an intense interest in pre-European America. I never thought the day would come when we would be able to interpret Maya writings. It makes it all the more poignant and infuriating that those ignorant Spanish priests were able to destroy 99% of Mayan writings. What could we have learned from the Maya? We’ll never know but we do know they were excellent mathematicians, musicians, poets, writers, astronomers. The most incredible event would be to break the secret of the Incan Kipus. One wonders if we will ever be able to do that.
Yes. I also find it trippy when I’m stone sober. It is no accident that they exalted the “water lily jaguar”…The lily in question is the hallucinogenic Blue Lotus, seen also in King Tut’s tomb (a youthful head of the king emerges from it), and as the throne of the Buddha. They also esteemed toads, especially Bufo Marinis, aka “cane toad”, now an invasive pest in Florida. This toad’s skin squirts hallucinogenic poison, which, when taken in small doses, will send you flying…So they say!
Incnow Majan script A…learn E ………. ……… E….learn A ………. ……… O … learn O One word who haw rwo O first O steje and secon O learn diferentli ……… ……….. i …… learn U ……… ……….. U ….. learn …. i ……… ……….. C …..learn …S Majan alphabet have word serbian alphabet …ćirilica…. C its S. W ……vrlo vjerovatno ….. Werri probabli and rolling in M..
Can somebody explain to me the advantages of this writing system vs others (to be specific, let’s take the latin alphabet as our comparison)? Don’t get me wrong, the symbols look pretty and all, but it seems horribly inefficient (especially considering nowadays with computers and the internet being such an important mode of communications). I mean, it took you almost 7 minutes just to write the names of two people (Though this is not taking into account the amount of time spent explaining the symbols themselves, so probably it took you closer to 2-3 minutes to write it out). But still, considering that it would probably take about less than 20 seconds to write those two names out in the latin alphabet, it seems mind boggling that people would want to use that system. It seems even crazier that the mayans could not come up with a writing system that was easier to do. I’m not trying to bash this system by any means. I’m sure there is some insight that can be obtained from looking at this system, so if anybody has an argument for why this system is better than say the latin alphabet, then I would like to hear it.
In Mayan hieroglphs, There was a Mayan dancing, and That picture called “< Quetz Al Coat"(a Tamil word),> Qu – Etza – Al – Coat = Qu (Ku calling), Etza(/En tza / En tha Which/ Which Person), Al (Al – Person), Coat (Koat /Kotu- calling / asking), that means,- Which Person is calling me to dance ? by the way Jesus called (his last day) “Elio / Eliohim”, this words used by Tamils still, in tamil nadu (Tamil land-South India), “Elio / Elaa”, < that means,- "O" my friend, / Best Friend>, Jesus called the God as his riend, Next,- “Qu etza (AL) Coat”- < Al (Tam + Mayan + Aramaic), = Person(Eng), In Chirstain Bible,-/ Greek Bible "Jesus had used as "AL", in the Bible 2/3 Places "Al"(Person) comes, For Example, < Mary Al TarKam(Tamil/ Aramic), That`s means,- People were " debate" with me, >, Next word was “Kal”(tam & Maya) = Stone(Eng), come later,
I wonder what kind of pen or writing instrument did the mayan use to write their codex, the style of mayan hieroglyph well resembles that of chinese seal style characters, whose writings were achieved using some rounded kind of pen, I guess. But the shapes changed to square when the chinese used new writing instruments. I don’t think mayan were going to swap their style of writing with new instruments, because roundness was the essence of the mayan.