(ORDO NEWS) — In Guatemala, in the ruins of a collapsed pyramid, archaeologists have found the first evidence of the earliest use of the Mayan calendar.
Many probably remember the apocalyptic forecast for 2012 that the Mayan calendar pointed to. Inside a pyramid ruin in Guatemala, researchers have found evidence of an early use of the Mayan calendar on fresco fragments dating back to the third century BC.
Archaeologists have analyzed 11 fragments of ancient Mayan wall paintings that are part of a large San Bartolo fresco of about 7,000 fragments.
The Maya civilization was an ancient civilization of modern America that flourished over two thousand years ago. The 260-day calendar was used throughout ancient Mesoamerica and is still in use among some indigenous communities in southern Mexico and Guatemala.
In a study published in the journal Science Advances, the researchers said the seventh-day Deer (Manik) entry represents the earliest example of the Mayan calendar, which is important for understanding how the 260-day count occurred. Day 7 Deer is part of the 260-day Mesoamerican calendar.
Two fragments of a fresco dating from about 200-300 BC. e. from an ancient Mayan building, testify to the earliest use of the Mayan calendar, the symbol of the calendar date “Seventh Day Deer”.
Pieces with the hieroglyph were found inside the same pyramid of Las Pinturas where the later frescoes were located. Fragments with glyphs were found in two areas during archaeological excavations.
University of Texas study lead author David Stewart described the fragments as “two little pieces of white plaster that would fit in your hand that were once attached to a stone wall.”
“The wall was deliberately destroyed by the ancient Maya when they were rebuilding their ceremonial spaces, and it eventually turned into a pyramid.
The two pieces fit together and have black calligraphy. The rest is hard to read,” Stewart said.
The calendar, based on observations of the movements of the sun, moon and planets, was based on a cycle of 260 named days. The 260-day calendar was one of several interconnected Mayan systems that also included a solar year of 365 days.
The calendar was one of the achievements of the ancient culture, which created a writing system of 800 glyphs. The Maya built temples, pyramids, palaces, observatories and farmed without the use of metal tools or wheels.
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