Researchers Find Oldest Examples of Mayan Time-Keeping System
2022-04-21
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1Scientists in Guatemala believe they have found the earliest example of the Mayan calendar inside the remains of an ancient building.
2The archeologists found pictures, called glyphs, from a Mayan pyramid.
3The glyph represents the day called "7 deer."
4It is one of 260 days with special names in the Mayan calendar.
5The researchers believe the glyph is over 2,200 years old.
6It shows the Mayan writing for the number seven above a picture of an animal called a deer.
7The picture came from a wall painting inside the pyramid known as Las Pinturas.
8It is in San Bartolo, an ancient Mayan place that became famous in 2001 when archaeologists found a buried room that contained colorful wall paintings, or murals.
9Those murals are thought to be about 2,100 years old.
10They show images of ceremonies and the ancient stories of the Mayan people.
11The deer glyph came from the same Las Pinturas pyramid. But it is older.
12Researchers believe the Mayans built smaller religious structures and then built the pyramids on top of them.
13David Stuart is a professor of Central American art and writing from the University of Texas.
14He wrote about the discovery in the publication Science Advances.
15He said the pieces from the mural fit in your hand, but they were once attached to a stone wall.
16He said the wall was torn down when the ancient workers were building the newer space that became the pyramid.
17He said the paintings from the older period are all broken up, unlike the newer murals found in 2001.
18Until the discovery, the oldest known example of the Mayan calendar came from about 2,100 years ago.
19The calendar is thought to be one of the top achievements of Mayan culture.
20It followed the movement of the sun, moon and planets and was based on a 260-day cycle.
21The Mayans also counted time based on the sun and considered one year to be 365 days.
22There was also a system based on the moon.
23The Mayans had a system of 800 glyphs.
24The earliest examples come from San Bartolo in the forest of northern Guatemala.
25The place was important to early Mayan society for over 600 years, until about 1,800 years ago.
26About 7,000 mural pieces have been found at San Bartolo.
27Some are as small as a fingernail, and others are over 400 square centimeters.
28Heather Hurst of Skidmore College in New York state is a co-writer of the study.
29She called the pieces a "giant jigsaw puzzle."
30The notation of "7 deer" and other calendar glyphs are shown on 11 mural pieces from San Bartolo.
31Researchers say that means the calendar was in use for a long time before the murals were built.
32As a result, Hurst believes older examples of glyphs from the calendar might be found in other places.
33Hurst said the culture's "well-established tradition of writing and art" shown on the mural pieces was "impressive."
34Some Mayan communities still use the ancient calendar.
35Stuart said the calendar has been used for at least 2,200 years, even during times of "incredible change, stress and tragedy."
36I'm Dan Friedell.
1Scientists in Guatemala believe they have found the earliest example of the Mayan calendar inside the remains of an ancient building. 2The archeologists found pictures, called glyphs, from a Mayan pyramid. The glyph represents the day called "7 deer." It is one of 260 days with special names in the Mayan calendar. 3The researchers believe the glyph is over 2,200 years old. It shows the Mayan writing for the number seven above a picture of an animal called a deer. 4The picture came from a wall painting inside the pyramid known as Las Pinturas. It is in San Bartolo, an ancient Mayan place that became famous in 2001 when archaeologists found a buried room that contained colorful wall paintings, or murals. 5Those murals are thought to be about 2,100 years old. They show images of ceremonies and the ancient stories of the Mayan people. 6The deer glyph came from the same Las Pinturas pyramid. But it is older. 7Researchers believe the Mayans built smaller religious structures and then built the pyramids on top of them. 8David Stuart is a professor of Central American art and writing from the University of Texas. He wrote about the discovery in the publication Science Advances. 9He said the pieces from the mural fit in your hand, but they were once attached to a stone wall. He said the wall was torn down when the ancient workers were building the newer space that became the pyramid. 10He said the paintings from the older period are all broken up, unlike the newer murals found in 2001. 11Until the discovery, the oldest known example of the Mayan calendar came from about 2,100 years ago. 12The calendar is thought to be one of the top achievements of Mayan culture. It followed the movement of the sun, moon and planets and was based on a 260-day cycle. The Mayans also counted time based on the sun and considered one year to be 365 days. There was also a system based on the moon. 13The Mayans had a system of 800 glyphs. The earliest examples come from San Bartolo in the forest of northern Guatemala. The place was important to early Mayan society for over 600 years, until about 1,800 years ago. 14About 7,000 mural pieces have been found at San Bartolo. Some are as small as a fingernail, and others are over 400 square centimeters. 15Heather Hurst of Skidmore College in New York state is a co-writer of the study. She called the pieces a "giant jigsaw puzzle." 16The notation of "7 deer" and other calendar glyphs are shown on 11 mural pieces from San Bartolo. Researchers say that means the calendar was in use for a long time before the murals were built. 17As a result, Hurst believes older examples of glyphs from the calendar might be found in other places. Hurst said the culture's "well-established tradition of writing and art" shown on the mural pieces was "impressive." 18Some Mayan communities still use the ancient calendar. 19Stuart said the calendar has been used for at least 2,200 years, even during times of "incredible change, stress and tragedy." 20I'm Dan Friedell. 21Will Dunham reported this story for Reuters. Dan Friedell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 22Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 23Words in This Story 24calendar -n. a system for organizing the days of the year by month 25archeologist -n. a scientist who studies past human life by looking at bones, tools and structures of ancient people 26pyramid - n. a large structure with a square base and sides shaped like triangles 27achievement - n. something that has been done or created through great effort and hard work 28cycle - n. a series of events that happen again and again 29jigsaw puzzle - n. a game made of small pieces cut into shapes that fit together to form a picture 30stress - n. a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems and difficulties 31tragedy - n. a sad or terrible event