Mayan numbers and math

The Mayan civilization’s mathematics were one of the most advanced of the ancient Americas. Rather than using a base 10 system as we use (1, 10, 100, 1,000, etc.) they used a base 20 system (1, 20, 400, 8,000, etc.) One of the most fascinating facts about their mathematical system was that their counting system used only 3 symbols – a “shell”, dot, and line. The shell represented 0, the dot represented 1, and the line represented 5.

Also of note is that they were one of the earliest civilizations anywhere in the world to have the concept of zero. While other civilizations had this concept, since none of them interacted with the Mayans it can be said that they Mayans came up with this idea independently (as did the other societies).

The numbers themselves were written vertically – the number 17 would be written with 2 dots side by side and 3 lines arranged vertically underneath. Addition and subtraction was done by writing similar symbols next to one another and then “condensing” them into a new number. This let uneducated tradesmen easily add and subtract.

Certain numbers were considered to be special, or sacred. 20 (the number of human digits), 5 (digits on a hand/foot), 13 (original number of Mayan Gods), and 52 (a concept similar to what we call a century).

Mathematics is also thought to have been an important discipline amongst the ancient society. It appears in Maya art such as wall paintings where mathematic scribes and scholars are recognized by the number scrolls that trail from their arms.

Related posts:

1. Mayan Inventions
2. Ancient India Inventions
3. Will The World End In 2012? According To The Mayan Calendar, Yes

2012 Doomsday, coming soon.

There is a somewhat wideheld belief that the end of the Mayan Calendar – December 21, 2012 – will be the end of the world as well. Sure, it could be just another “doomsday” prophesy tossed out there, but there are quite a few interesting coincidences.

First, December 21, 2012 is the winter solstice. It is well known that the Mayans were advanced mathematicians and astronmers, so this might not be quite so coincidental. It should also be noted that there is an eclipse of the sun scheduled for November of 2012 – while not matching up exactly, the timing of celestial events with the ending of the calendar can be considered interesting. Some scientists also believe that when the Mayan Calendar finishes, it will simply start again for its second cycle with no apocalyptic ending to the world.

So, if the world is going to end, how will it happen? The prevailing theory seems to have to do with the Earth’s magnetic fields. This basically states that either the Earth’s magnetic field will reverse all at once, or that the Earth will slowly stop spinning, sit “still” for a few days, then begin spinning the opposite direction. The result of reversing magnetic fields are very very bad – mass flooding and earthquakes kind of bad. This theory is supported by the sunspot cycles of the sun which seems to be heading for a climax around 2012.

It has been proposed that the Earth occassionally reverses magnetic fields – the last of which theorized as having occrred around 780,000 years ago. It’s a bit difficult to say this with any degree of accuracy however, and until we actually witness (if?) this, it is just a theory.

Perhaps more interesting is the apparent dates of other “doomsday” prophecies – most notably Revelations. The 7-year Apocalypse is apparently scheduled to happen starting December 21, 2008, and run to 2015. So you’ll want to clear your calendars for that. While the exact date of the Apocalypse is never explicitly given, this site/book is interesting in that it takes a scientific approach moreso than a strictly religious one. Naturally, Nostradamus weighs in, but he’s been predicting disaster for how many years now – and considering his predictions run until around A.D. 3797, I think it’s safe to say that he’s not banking on the world ending.

Yet another popular argument to support this end of the world scenario is to look at past advanced civilizations. The Mayans essentially disappeared, the Romans and Egyptians eventually fell, and did Atlantis really exist? We can certainly consider our current state of advancement to be at least on par with what our ancestors were, so are we due for a regression as they were?

In the end, there’s really no way to know about this until it happens – sure, you can build that bunker and stockpile it with canned goods, but you’ll probably just end up wasting a bunch of time and money. As a final note, you should take everything above with a boulder of salt.

NOTE – This site details quite of bit of the 2012 doomsday predictions – assuming your eyes don’t burst from it, if you’re interested in this it’s a great resource.

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1. Mayan Inventions

Amazing architecture of a Mayan Temple

Mayan inventions include a calander and a complex heiroglyphics system. While it cannot be said that they were the sole inventors of such advancements, they did invent them independently in the Western Hemisphere, and their calendar and wrintings differed from that of the Egyptions and Chinese.

While not strictly an invention per se, Mayan art is widely considered to be some of the most beautiful created in the ancient world. The jade pictured can be seen to be inscribed with very specific details.

Also interesting is that the Mayans independently developed a concept of zero in their numbering system. While not generally considered a civilization known for their mathematics, they did nonetheless have an advanced grasp of it. Many of their dates and measurements are surprisingly specific.

Astronomy is another field that the Mayans. Again, the Mayans are not as well known as other ancient civilizations for their astronomy, but data suggests they were surprisingly advanced in their findings. They are thought to be the only pre-telescopic society that realized the Orion Nebula is fuzzy. While this is not known for certain, the information comes from a folk tale that references the Orion constellations part of the sky.

The Mayan’s were a surprisingly advanced race, and usually are not mentioned with the likes of the Chinese and Ancient Greeks for inventiveness. But they actually had much in common with their European and Chinese counterparts.

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1. Assyrian Inventions
2. Ben Franklins Inventions – Bifocals