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The Maya Week 06 Lecture 03 The Western Hemisphere’s Greatest Astronomers and Mathematicians

Explore the fascinating world of Maya astronomy and mathematics, and discover the impressive achievements of this ancient civilization.

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The Maya Week 06 Lecture 03 The Western Hemisphere’s Greatest Astronomers and Mathematicians

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  1. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya Week 06 Lecture 03 The Western Hemisphere’s Greatest Astronomers and Mathematicians

  2. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya The learning objectives for week 06 lecture 03 are: • to learn a little about Maya astronomy and mathematics

  3. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya Terms you should know for week 06, the topic of the Maya are: • Tikal–is one of the most important Maya cities and archaeological sites, now in Guatemala. It had up to 50,000 inhabitants in 600 AD.

  4. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western World: Dr. Richard W. Franke The Maya Week 06 Sources: Braun, Barbara. 1993. Pre-Columbian Art and the Post-Columbian World: Ancient Sources of American Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers. Hagen, Victor W. von. 1960. World of the Maya. New York: Mentor Books. Henderson, John S. 1981. The World of the Ancient Maya. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Joseph, George Gheverghese. 1991. The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots of Mathematics. London: I. B. Tauris and Co. Ltd. Ruddell, Nancy. 1995. Mystery of the Maya. Hull, Quebec: Canadian Museum of Civilization. Stuart, George E. and Gene S. Stuart. 1977. The Mysterious Maya. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.

  5. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya • The Maya built a state level civilization in the area of modern day Southern Mexico and Northern Central America.

  6. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya

  7. The Maya 2. Their culture spread from the highlands of Southwestern Mexico to the lowlands of Yucatan. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke

  8. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya 3. The Classic period Maya – 300 AD to 900 AD – developed a population density as great as modern day Europe. 4. They built large cities, with Tikal comprising 40,000 to 50,000 inhabitants in the 7th and 8th centuries.

  9. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya 5. Archaeologists have identified the remains of at least 83 Maya cities. 6. Three of the most important centers were: • Tikal • Palenqué • ChichénItzá

  10. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya • Tikal • In northeastern Guatemala near the border with Belize. By 600 AD, Tikal had about 50,000 residents spread across 10 kilometers (6 miles). • Palenqué • In southern Mexico west of the Yucatan. Palenqué is the site of the famous tomb of King Pacal, who died in 683 AD. The carved limestone sarcophagus lid is one of the most impressive examples of Maya sculpture and portrays much of their religious system.

  11. Tikal Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke

  12. Tikal has some of Central America’s most dramatic pyramids Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke

  13. The site will probably yield archaeological treasures for decades if not centuries to come. Slowly we will learn more about the mysterious Maya. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke

  14. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya • ChichénItzá • Near the northern end of the Yucatan Penninsula. ChichénItzá is the site of a famous Maya temple dedicated to the Feathered Serpent God. Each year, at the two solar equinoxes, the sun hits the side of the stairs illuminating the image of a snake (on the risers of the stairs) descending from the sacred mountain into the earth.

  15. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya 7. Maya culture is as old as that of Europe – the Maya began settled communities by 1,800 BC and had centralized urban areas by 1,200 BC, the time of the Trojan Wars in Greece.

  16. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke

  17. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya 8. Built massive pyramids • Developed a complex writing system • Developed an efficient and elaborate mathematical system • Made precise astronomical observations • Created a highly accurate 3-part calendar • Made masterful stone sculptures

  18. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke: 2012 Update The Maya Art historian Barbara Braun discovered that Maya architecture had a strong influence on the major American architect Frank Lloyd Wright…

  19. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke: 2012 Update The Maya One of Wright’s Hollywood houses from 1920 shows the influence of Maya temple design…while… Source: Braun 1993:153

  20. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke: 2012 Update The Maya The Maya corbelled vault – substitute for the arch…(which they did not develop)…

  21. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke: 2012 Update The Maya …appears as a design feature in a San Francisco medical offices building at 450 Sutter Street, constructed in 1930. Source: Braun 1993:169.

  22. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke: 2012 Update The Maya The outside of the building also has Maya features – sometimes called “Neo-Mayan Art Deco.” Sources: Braun 1993:41. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/450_Sutter_Street

  23. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke: 2012 Update One of Wright’s most famous buildings is the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (1956-1959) in Manhattan. Wright designed the building from his studies on the Maya observatory at ChichénItzá…. Sources for the photos: http://www.beembee.com/2011/solomon-r-guggenheim-museum https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSkzbCMqlt2kRSTKq7SG2ZSfcErNBFV0iriBtEiPsC_Rr_fj0mTMQ http://www.greatbuildings.com/gbc/images/cid_cr1029_b.150.jpg

  24. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke: 2012 Update Sources for the photos: http://www.cancunofertas.com.mx/english/images/galerias/chichen-itza_05.jpg http://0.tqn.com/d/gomexico/1/0/I/1/-/-/chichen.jpg https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQMZ4LUHloxTR3tDUvOnqmXHoqo420YFHW4JOnNHqofPpD3prN71g

  25. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke: 2012 Update The Maya In addition to Wright, other famous artists who drew on the Maya and other Mexican, Central American and Peruvian artistic and architectural traditions are • Paul Gauguin (used ancient Peruvian Chimu styles as well as his more famous Polynesian influences) • Henry Moore (Aztec influence) • Diego Rivera – perhaps Mexico’s most famous painter: used all kinds of Central American influences • Joaquin Torres-Garcia – Mayan and Andean art and architecture Source: Braun 1993. Braun’s book is available in Sprague Library. Dozens of spectacular photos.

  26. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya 9. Like their Inca neighbors far to the south, the Maya created their civilization in an unusual and difficult environment without the benefit of a large river system.

  27. The Maya 10. Instead, they organized villages around “cenotes,” or water holes in the limestone Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke

  28. The Maya 11. Then they built reservoirs, called “chultuns.” This one connects nearly a mile to the famous temple of Kukulkan – discussed later Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke

  29. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya 12. Like the Naza, the Maya also constructed canals • Some of these canals range up to a mile in length, 100 feet in width and are 10 feet deep. 13. The Maya civilization mysteriously collapsed around 900 AD

  30. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya 14. The reason for the sudden abandonment of their great cities has never been fully identified. 15. Some scholars consider soil erosion while others argue that a volcano-induced prolonged drought killed off thousands.

  31. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya Collapse and Modern Environmental Problems 15a. If you are interested in the possible implications of the Maya collapse for modern societies, open the file in the Week06 folder on Blackboard called: Lessons from the Ancestors.doc

  32. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya 16. The Spaniards thus conquered the Maya long after their major ability to resist a foreign invasion had dissipated. 17. With the Spanish conquest came destruction of much of the Maya written record…

  33. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke 18. The Lost Maya Books “We found a large number of books in these [Maya] characters and, as they contained nothing in which there were not to be seen superstition and lies of the devil, we burned them all, which they regretted to an amazing degree, and which caused them much affliction.” Diego de Landa, 16th Century Bishop of Yucatan.

  34. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya 19. Of thousands of Maya books of genealogies, biographies, collections of songs, science texts, histories, prophecies, ritual, and astrology, only 4 remain today.

  35. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya 20. The Maya, however, also carved much of their science and literature into the soft limestone of the area. 21. Much of this carving occurs on “stelae,” or posts used at the entrances to temples, neighborhoods, and other sites.

  36. The Maya 22. Mathematical computations were also carved into some of the stele. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke

  37. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya 23. Although we know little of Maya medicine and other sciences, through the stele archaeologists and others have been able to reconstruct much of their mathematics and astronomy.

  38. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya 24. Venus Maya calculated its revolution at 584 days. Modern astronomy estimates it at 583.92.

  39. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya 25. The Moon Maya gave the lunar month as 29.5302 days. Modern astronomy says 29.53059.

  40. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya 26. Lunar Eclipses The Maya knew that the lunar eclipse occurs every 173.31 days.

  41. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya 27. The Sun Maya calculated a solar year at 365.242. Modern astronomy gives it as 365.242198.

  42. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya 28. The Equinoxes The Maya designed the temple at Chichén Itzá to illuminate a giant serpent on the risers of the stairs at the solar equinoxes.

  43. The Kukulkan Temple in ChichénItzá Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke

  44. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke

  45. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya

  46. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya 29. The Stars Maya knew of the North Star (xamann ek), Ursa Minor, the Pleiades (tzab), the Gemini (ak ek), Scorpio (zinaan ek), and other heavenly bodies.

  47. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya 30. Some sources: Hagen, Victor W. Von. 1960. World of the Maya. New York: Mentor Books. Joseph, George Gheverghese: 1991. The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots of Mathematics. London: I. B. Tauris and Co. Ltd. Henderson, John S. 1997. The World of the Ancient Maya. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Second Edition.

  48. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke The Maya 31. Maya Mathematics: See the next two slides for examples

  49. Montclair State University Department of Anthropology:Anth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western World: Dr. Richard W. Franke

  50. Montclair State University Department of AnthropologyAnth 140: Non Western Contributions to the Western WorldDr. Richard W. Franke

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