Learn the Maya calendar
Begin with the positional number system and zero that supported Maya calendrical and astronomical calculation, then explore how the Tzolk’in, Haab, Long Count, and monumental inscriptions work together.
Foundations
The Maya: an introduction
An introduction to Maya civilization and to the writing, mathematics, astronomy, and record-keeping traditions that made its calendars possible.
Calendars and time
How the Maya calendars work together
See how the Tzolk’in, Haab, Calendar Round, and Long Count name a day in different but complementary ways.
Numbers and mathematics
Maya numbers and mathematics
Discover how dots, bars, place value, and zero allowed Maya specialists to record immense spans of time and make calendrical and astronomical calculations.
History of ideas
A theory about the calendar’s origin
Paulino Romero Conde connected the 260-day count to the agricultural rhythm of the milpa. Read the proposal in its historical context.
Reading dates
The components of a Maya date
Meet the day and month signs, the Long Count periods, and the numerical coefficients that make a written Maya date.
Monuments and history
Reading a Maya date: Lintel 16 at Yaxchilan
Follow the reading of a Classic Maya monument and see how date, image, text, and royal history work together.