We wanted to make an article dedicated exclusively to Science that managed to develop a culture, whose evolution remained independent of any other influence, since the existence of not only this Mayan civilization is unknown, but from all over the continent. The Maya, a civilization capable of thriving and developing surprising skills and knowledge, perhaps this is why they have been considered "the Greeks of pre-Hispanic America." The mathematical contributions , scientists, astronomers and doctors, continues to impress and surprise us, let's start by discovering what was the Science of the Maya.
The Science of the Mayas | Fields of Science
Of the cultures 4 most important American cultures, Mayans, Aztecs, Incas and Chiboas, Mayan culture was the most extensive in time, in addition to being the most important culture for its advanced knowledge in different sciences, such as art, architecture, crafts, astronomy, etc.It was the only culture capable of developing a writing system based on glyphs (sign engraved, written or painted images) , the only system developed in the entire American continent.
The Science of the Maya-Fields of Science | Astronomy and Mathematics
Using mathematics to get a three-dimensional view of all things, is a Mayan creation.Unfortunately we have not yet been able to unveil all the mysteries that contain Mayan mathematics.Universally it has been recognized the mathematical system as a creation so exact and extraordinary that it is still used today.
Mayan Calendar
We cannot talk about mathematics and ignore Astronomy, since to understand the Mayan Calendar, it bases its calculations on mathematical operations.We do not know if its system allowed them to perform more complex mathematical operations, not even what kind of signs they used to carry out the operations.
According to missionary Diego de Landa, «It is known that they counted 5 in 5 until they reached number 0 , after 20 in 20 until reaching number 100, after 100 in 100 until reaching 400, and so on until reaching infinity ».
The system used by the Maya was vigesimal, which means that is organized in units of 20 elements. The numerical system was formed from 3 symbols.
A shell, a point and a stripe, combining these elements could reach infinite numbers
The zero was represented by a shell, a point had a value of 1 and a line had a value of 5, as we can see in the image above simply by combining these symbols, using the vertical and horizontal positions cumulatively, representing 20 in 20.
It is a system in which the empowerment operates, giving it that character in three dimensions of things.In the previous image we can see a representation of the numbers 0-100.
Thanks to the improvement of an exact calendar system , both in the measurement of the solar and lunar cycle, the Maya achieved what the highest degree of astronomical and scientific development of all pre-Columbian America can be considered.
To understand the trajectory of the stars, the priests sat every day on what higher from the temple and they fixed their eyes for a long time on the horizon.With this method, and using a simple stick perpendicular to the ground, log raron define the passage of the Sun through the zenith, because when the star was at its highest point, the stick did not cast a shadow.
That the Sun is placed exactly over our heads is an exceptional case that only occurs at certain periods of the year, and depending of the area.For the peninsula of Yucatan the event takes place twice: between May 15/16 and July 25/26. Because of its strong presence, the zenith step was of great interest to the ancient Maya of the peninsula, and marked decisive dates.
This is not a minor fact: the calendar in ancient civilizations it fixed the activities of society, based on agriculture and the seasons of the year.Deel depended on the daily life of the entire population. Specifically, the Maya established a solar cycle of 365 days , and another lunar one, of 295 days, which is not a big difference with the Gregorian calendar .
Its precision is based on a series of continuous days that start from a precise initial date (zero day): on August 12 from 3113 aCLa math was an important tool for the celandaric system.In their calendars, numerical annotations were written by mixing numbers with glyphs.
The Science of the Maya-Fields of Science | The Study of the Skies
But the genius of Mayan mathematics, in addition to the simplicity of its vigesimal number system , resided in the creation of the zero , a concept that for several centuries unknown to other cultures and that, in the area of exact sciences, placed the Mayan scientists in the intellectual vanguard of the pre-Hispanic world.
On the other hand, the invention of Mayan calendar would not have been possible without the study of the heavens. This was done by the priestly elite group, formed by true astronomers who observed the sky with nothing but their eyes.
Venus was one of the most important stars for the Mayans, and on the position of this planet depended many of the wars and sacrifices of the Postclassic period.The Mayans also revered what we call V ia Lactea , known to them as the Tree of the World , and represented by a flowering tree, the ceiba tree, from which all the manifestation of life came (in a metaphor not very different from "road of milk" of the Greeks).
Chichen Itza and the snake of light
But the attention of the Mayan astronomers turned again and again to the Sun , which led them to track the path of the star throughout the sky.In Mayan art, the Sun's journey through the elliptic is marked in the constellations of fixed stars as a Snake of Two Heads.
Chichen Itza at dusk
And it is today that, in the ruins of Chichen Itza , can still be seen perfectly, during the twilight of the equinox, as an e Norme and amazing snake of light descends from the temple to bless the fertile earth and announce a new cycle.
Mayan Knowledge:
- They knew the Milky Way, represented by an alligator or celestial dragon.
- They knew the heliocentric and elliptic system.
- They also had extensive knowledge of the constellations, being represented in the form of animals and symbols, being the only coincidence with our representation, the constellation of Scorpio.
- They knew the orbital periods of Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Saturn and the other stars.
- They knew the polar star , called Xaman Ek and the Pleyades or Tzab.
- Venus for the Maya had a special importance, as recorded in the codices and in the stelae studied.
- They created instruments to observe the sky and predict eclipses that have not reached us.
- Designed Calendars of astonishing precision.
- They were aware of the exact value of the planetary orbits, being able to correct the solar calendar, adjusting it periodically, according to the duration of the movements of the stars, what makes it a tenth day more accurate than the Gregorian calendar currently used.
The Science of the Maya-Fields of Science | The Mayan Divination
In an era where beliefs gave explanation to all the events that happened in nature , the Mayans went one step further.movements of the Sun and the Moon helped to elaborate the calendars, which at that time covered the whole time: past, present and future.
The movements of heaven were interpreted by priests through divination in the advent of events, as well as of complete prophecies .The Mayan priests not only obeyed the religious limits of rituals, but were also aware of historical, medical, astronomical and poetic themes.
His role was marked by a series of hierarchical classes divided into sub-levels of law between men and gods. Mayan divination was a science and l os chilames, named in honor of a famous pre-Hispanic priest, use his great knowledge of Astronomy and Astrology to seek in the sky the answers of man.
The prophecies of the priests were the result of the exhaustive study of the stars, gods and books, as demonstrated in the books of the Chilam Balam .The books of the Chilam Balam are a set of manuscripts produced in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries AD, in the Yucatan region, its content covers all stages cultural through which the Mayan culture of Yucatan went through.
They were volumes that for the Mayans could be like an encyclopedia "Larousse" with the most fundamental advances and facts of their population. Although only 8 books are preserved, it is known that there were a total of 18 books , each of them They are called as the city where they were made, like the book of Chumayel.In some books, events from the 5th century AD are narrated, and even reach the arrival of the Spaniards in the region.
The Science of the Maya-Fields of Science | Writing System
The Maya writing system, is done through logograms and syllable glyphs , very similar to the type of oriental writing.It was stamped on stelae and codices created with cortices Whitewashed trees.
The inscriptions that have been able to reach our days They are written in stone .It was not until the eighteenth-nineteenth century, when they were discovered by European explorers, giving them the title of hieroglyph, although they really have nothing to do.Due to their complicated location, they went unnoticed by the conquerors.
Mayan Stele
There was a series of individual symbols, called glyphs, these could represent a morpheme or a whole syllable.The Mayas grouped the writing in blocks of columns, the glyphs were organized from top to bottom and from the right to the left, each block corresponds to a verb.
The Science of the Maya | Scientific Contributions
The Mayan people not only left their impressive precision in the study of the heavens and the elaboration of the annual calendar, they also carried out medical studies and predictions Millennials who ended up giving them the reason.
As we have already commented let us great scientific contributions, many of them in use today and of impressive accuracy.Contributions like the ones we will see next.
- Zero Number Creation
They developed the concept of number 0 in the 1st century BC , or at least it is the first use of documentation of the appearance of zero in the Americas.
- Astronomical Contributions
They were able to describe the positioning of the Sun, the Moon and Mars, also knowing the phases of the Moon and its duration.to predict eclipses of the sun, knowing how to understand the equinoxes and the solstices.As a curious fact, they were able to predict the total eclipse of the sun that occurred on August 1999.
The Maya calculated the complete rotation of the earth around the sun at 365,2420, days, a difference of 0.0002 days compared to the calculations made by NASA.
They studied about the causes of diseases (etiology), classifying their types, describing their symptoms to achieve their prevention and cure.They knew how to sew wounds using human hair and used the cast to immobilize bone fractures
Ahan Chamahez, god of medicine.He was the most prominent healer or healer in the field of Mayan medicine.
They investigated the causes that produced bacterial (granulomatous) conjunctivitis. dental problems were solved with jade prostheses that were filled with pyrite and used obsidian blades since their c orte was a lot finer than any other material.As a curiosity for cardiovascular operations, it is used obsidian scalpels today.
- Architecture
The Mayan culture used pyramid-shaped astronomical observatories to observe the movements of the Sun and the Moon, although they were also used for political activities s and religious.
The Science of the Maya | Difficulties of Mayan Science
There are many people who are surprised to hear all the advances of the Mayan culture .However, nothing was easy for they in the world of science.
That a people as far away from today as the Maya came to such astronomical knowledge must have led to a task of cumulative knowledge of several generations , which they also had to use very advanced instruments for the time.
We cannot ignore the fact that the Maya have had to work in astronomically complicated conditions depending on the month.The humid jungle where some of its most important cities settled, made a fog in the early hours of the morning that made the observation of the sky complicated .
The weather may have prevented the development of more knowledge by r part of its astronomers, moreover, in such circumstances many generations of observers must have been required to achieve exactly everything that they have left us today.
The Science of the Maya | Image Gallery
You may also be interested:
Within History Today Online, we have prepared a series of articles that may interest you.
We show you a video where you can complement everything we have seen in this article.
Comments
Post a Comment