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Why were the Mayan's fascinated with time?
Is the Gregorian system of time better than the Mayan time calendar?
How did the Mayans derive time?
How did the Mayans derive time?
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They weren't, particularly, not any more than any other culture. They had a calendar, an exceptionally good one, but they didn't have clocks, so they couldn't measure time on the fine scale modern societies do. THOSE societies are fascinated by time, where most people measure time down to the second.
What the Mayans were fascinated by was astronomy. In particular, they made remarkably precise observations of Venus and the moon. They could make extraordinarily precise predictions about when lunar eclipses would occur and where Venus would be in relation to the sun and the stars.
These observations were the basis of their calendar. They lived their lives by that calendar, though not necessarily any more than other cultures. They marked cyclical celebrations, based on the positions of heavenly bodies, much as European cultures marked decades and centuries. Both are arbitrary in human affairs, but people seem interested in marking the spans of years.
What the Mayans were fascinated by was astronomy. In particular, they made remarkably precise observations of Venus and the moon. They could make extraordinarily precise predictions about when lunar eclipses would occur and where Venus would be in relation to the sun and the stars.
These observations were the basis of their calendar. They lived their lives by that calendar, though not necessarily any more than other cultures. They marked cyclical celebrations, based on the positions of heavenly bodies, much as European cultures marked decades and centuries. Both are arbitrary in human affairs, but people seem interested in marking the spans of years.
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