Classic PeriodReputable sourceWell documented
Maya Astronomy, Mathematics, and the Calendar
On the timeline · around Classic Period ·
What happened
Maya priests tracked the sun, moon and Venus with remarkable precision and used a base-20 mathematics with a symbol for zero. They kept interlocking calendars, including the Long Count, which measured time in vast cycles of thousands of years.
Why it matters
The Maya were among the finest astronomers and mathematicians of the ancient world — and the Long Count's end of a cycle in 2012 sparked a global (and mistaken) doomsday craze.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. The Maya Calendar and the End of the World · Reputable source
Related timelines
- The Universe → — Ancient sky-watchers charting Venus