Maya Astronomy

Sky Glyph     
Skywatcher

  The  Maya are well known for their precise calendar and astronomy. The four surviving written
documents (which are called the Dresden, Madrid, Paris, and Grolier Codices) that they have
left behind include an ephemeris that charts the heliacal risings and settings in the synodic cycle
of the planet Venus and an eclipse warning table based on observable lunar and solar cycles.
The astronomic complexes in important Maya cities, are called "E
Groups", after the E group inUaxactún,
in Petén, Guatemala. One of the most notable
series of buildings at the site is that  formed by
Structures E-1, E-2, and E-3, which are aligned
north-south and form an astronomical
observatory, the first found in the Maya world.
From a observation point on a nearby pyramid,
named Temple of the Masks or structure E-sub VII, the early Maya could
watch the sun rise behind these buildings and mark the summer and winter solstices (the longest
and shortest days of the year) as well as the vernal and autumnal equinoxes (when day and night
are of equal length). 
 

Though the Maya  were deeply concerned with astrology,

it is well established that they also incorporated their
astronomical and calendrical data into an
intricate, mathematical discipline. Nowhere is this better
evidenced than in the ingenious constructions of the Venus
and eclipse tables contained in the Dresden Codex. A
more purely mathematical objective, expressed throughout
the Maya calendrical, was the determination of the least
common multiples of various astronomical and
calendrical cycles.
  Venus Page Dresden Codex

  The Maya also incorporated mathematically contrived Long Count dates and 'Distance'
numbers into their codices and inscriptions, using these and other techniques, the Maya
developed mathematical  frameworks through which  astronomical and calendrical cycles could
be viewed as interconnected parts of a grand astronomical order. Over a century of formal
scholarly investigations has enabled a fairly broad understanding of the nature of ancient Maya
thought processes behind this 'grand astronomical order'.

Architectural alignments of specialized assemblages of buildings provide further documentation

for a number of Maya astronomical skills.  Quite uncharacteristic of Western astronomy, the
paramount aim of the Maya astronomers’ endeavors seems to have been to discover
commensurate relationships both among celestial cycles and between astronomically derived
periodicities and non astronomical cycles. One of the several problems that must have been a
proverbial thorn in the sides of Maya astronomers for hundreds of years, is that of the five
visible planets (to the naked eye) only the mean synodic periods of Jupiter (of 399 days) and
Saturn (of 378 days) did not factor evenly into any of their recognized calendrica, it is now
possible to demonstrate that the formerly enigmatic 819-day cycle, developed and used by the
Maya rather late in the Classic period, is the end product of a methodological construct
specifically designed to rectify this situation, the Maya, by necessity, incorporated the mean
synodic periods of Jupiter and Saturn into a distinctly parallel methodological construct that in
turn couples with those previously existent. As learn from the inscriptions in Quiriguá's  (Stela
K) in A.D. 815, and one from Tikal. 819-day counts are also expressed in the Dresden codex.
The 819-day cycle, relative to Jupiter and Saturn, is directly parallel to the relationship of the
949-day cycle, relative to the Haab and Venus.

Venus:  (Lamat Glyph, Venus), Chak Ek' was the astronomical object of
greatest interest, the Maya knew it better than any civilization outside
Mesoamerica. In Maya myth, Venus is the companion of the sun. This no doubt
reflects the fact that Venus is always close to the sun in the sky, rising not long
before sunrise as morning star (Ah-Chicum-Ek') or after sunset as evening
star (Lamat). They thought it was more important than the Sun. They watched
it carefully as it moved through its stations, it takes 584 days for Venus and the
Earth to line up in their previous position as compared to the Sun. It takes
about 2922 days for the Earth, Venus, the Sun, and the stars to agree. The Maya made daytime
observations of Venus. Venus had a psychological effect upon the Maya, it has been shown in
the Dos Pilas staircase, that the Maya were timing some of their wars based on the stationary
points of Venus and Jupiter, (The famous Star War between Tikal and Dos Pilas,  Naranjo  and
allies). Humans were sacrificed on first appearance after Superior Conjunction when Venus was
at its dimmest magnitude but they most feared the first Heliacal Rising after Inferior
Conjunction. In the  Dresden Codex, the Maya had an almanac that displayed the full cycle of
Venus. Venus cycles were the mean synodic Venus year of 584 days and a "great cycle" of 37960
days (the lowest common multiple of the Tzolkin,  and the Venus year, equal to 104 calendar
years or 2 calendar rounds). In Rio Azul's tomb 19  the Lamat or Venus Glyph is beautifully
painted.   A "star war" is a full-scale war planned in accordance with specific astronomical
events, usually the first appearance in the morning sky of the planet Venus. The heliacal rising of
the brilliant "star" in the pre-dawn sky was considered by the Maya as a highly evil portent. As
such it was an appropriate herald of warfare, at least on the part of the attacker. (Schelle)
 

   The Sun: (K'inich) The Maya evidently thought quite a bit about the
Sun and they watched it trace out a path along the ecliptic. They
followed it year round, presumably following its path along the
horizon as well. At Uaxactún, the "Group E", shows precisely the 
Spring and Autumn Equinox, as well as the Summer and Winter
solstice. It tells us that the Maya noted, not only the extremes of the
Sun at the Solstices, but also the Equinoxes when the Sun appeared to
rise due East or due West. In addition to the Zenial Passages
mentioned earlier, ecliptic observations must have been a major portion of Maya solar
observing.  (Cival Stucco Mask with the Sun God shown)
 

  Uaxactún, Group "E"

The Maya portrayed the Ecliptic in their artwork as a Double-Headed

Serpent. (Wooden Lintel in Temple IV, Tikal, left) The ecliptic is the path of
the sun in the sky which is marked by the constellations of fixed stars. Here
the moon and the planets can be found because they are bound, like the
Earth, to the sun. The constellations on the ecliptic are also called the
zodiac. We don't know exactly how fixed constellations on the ecliptic were
seen by the Maya, but we have some idea of the order in some parts of the
sky. We know there is a scorpion, which we equate with our own constellation of Scorpius,  they
used the claws of Libra. It has also been found that Gemini appeared to the Maya as a  peccary,
Some other constellations on the ecliptic are identified as a jaguar, at least one serpent, a bat, a
turtle, a xoc monster--that is, shark, or a sea monster. The Pleiades were seen as the tail of the
rattlesnake and are called, "Tz'ab ek."  (See Constellations Below)
 

The Moon: (Glyph in Piedras Negras St 10). The Maya had a

lunar component in their
calendricinscriptions. The Tun’Uc is
the moon calendar. After giving the
pertinent information on the date
according to the Maya calendar the typical
Maya inscriptions contain a lunar
reckoning. The lunar count was counted as
29 or 30 days, alternating. The lunar
synodic period is close to 29.5 days, so by alternating their count between these two numbers the
moon was carefully meshed into the calendric sequence as well. Their lunar knowledge was
impressive, they also made eclipse predictions. An almanac for predicting them is contained in
the Dresden Codex.

  The principal lunar cycle, for the warning of solar eclipse

possibilities, was 405 lunations (11960 days = 46 tzolkin), in three
divisions of 135 lunations each, with further
subdivisions into nine series of 6 month and 5 month eclipse
half years.  The periods of 177 or 148 days alliterated in a
sequence that corresponds to the exact interval between the
eclipses (Glyph shown at left). The accuracy in the
observations and in the calculations of the phases of the
Moon, also in very old epochs, is an interesting evidence of the fundamental
importance of the Moon in the Maya civilization.

Ix’Chel, Moon Goddess,Graffiti from Nakun, Represented during the Classic as a Young

woman with a rabbit, sited in the Crescent Moon

Mars:  Two kinds of empiric sidereal intervals of Mars

were used, a long one (702 days) that included a
retrograde loop and a short one that did not. The use of
these intervals, which is indicated by the documents in
the Dresden Codex, permitted the tracking of Mars
across the zodiac and the relating of its movements to
the terrestrial seasons and to the 260-day sacred
calendar. While Kepler solved the sidereal problem of
Mars by proposing an elliptical heliocentric orbit,
anonymous but equally ingenious Maya astronomers
discovered a pair of time cycles that not only accurately
described the planet's motion, but also related it to other
cosmic and terrestrial concerns. Pages 43b-45b of the
Codex are concerned with the synodic cycle of Mars,
and a complex table on pages 69-74 describe the
sidereal cycle. The cultural implication of the
commensuration of one kind of Martian sidereal cycle
and the tropical year is that it made it very easy for the
ancient Maya to make a certain kind of prediction about
the apparently erratic behavior of Mars. The Maya interest in the planet Mars,
which, although already established via the Codices, has recently led to
revelations of a number of cycles unknown to Western astronomy. The
examination of these cycles leads to a clearer picture of the practical art of
naked eye sky watching as well as to the role of such activity in Maya culture.
 The Milky Way:   Was much venerated by the Maya. They called it
the World Tree, which was represented by a tall and majestic flowering
tree, the Ceiba. The Milky Way was called the Wakah Chan (Left
Glyph). Wak means "Six" or "Erect". Chan or K'an means "Four",
"Serpent" or "Sky". The World Tree was erect when Sagittarius was
well over the horizon. At this time the Milky Way rose up from the
horizon and climbed overhead into the North. The star clouds that form the
Milky Way were seen as the tree of life where all life came from. Near
Sagittarius, the center of our galaxy, where the World Tree meets the Ecliptic
was given special attention by the Maya. A major element of the World Tree
include the K'awak Monster, a giant head with a kin in its forehead. This
monster was also a mountain or Witz monster. A sacrificial bowl on its head
contains a flint blade representing sacrifice, and the Kimi glyph that represents
death. The Ecliptic is sometimes represented as a bar crossing the major axis of
the world tree, making a form that is similar to the Christian
Cross. On top of the World Tree we find a bird that has been
called, the Principal Bird deity, or Itzam Ye or Vucub Caquix.
There is also evidence that shows the Sun on the World Tree as
it appeared to the Maya at Winter Solstice. 
During the months of winter, when the so-called "Winter" Milky Way dominates
the sky, it was called the "White Boned Serpent." This part of the Milky Way
passed overhead at night during the dry season. It is not brilliant like the star
clouds that dominate the sky North of the equator during the months of Summer,
but observers at dark locations will easily see the glow. Here the Ecliptic
crosses the Milky Way again, near the constellation of Gemini which was the
approximate location of the Sun during Summer Solstice. It is possible that the
jaws of the White-Boned Serpent were represented by the K'awak monster head.
The Great Cycle in the Maya Cosmology, is a fifth and final cycle in the 26,000-
year Precession of the Equinoxes, except that the Mayans measured it from the
Winter Solstice instead of the Spring Equinox. "On 13.0.0.0.0, the
December solstice sun will be found in the band of the Milky Way. We can
call this an alignment between the galactic plane and the solstice meridian.
This is an event that has slowly converged over a period of thousands of
years, and is caused by the precession of the equinoxes. The place where
the December solstice sun crosses the Milky Way is precisely the location
of the "dark-rift in the Milky Way...'Xibalbá be' - the road to the underworld." ,
which the Maya called the Mouth of the Crocodile, (or jaguar-toad); the
Crocodile Tree being the Milky Way itself. In The Popol Vuh,  the ancient Maya
called it the "Black Road". The Hero Twins Hunahpú and Xbalanqué must
journey down this road to battle the Lords of Xibalbá. (Tedlock 334, 358).
Furthermore, what Schele has identified as the Sacred Tree was known to the
ancient K'iché simply as "Crossroads." It seems that when a planet, the sun, or
the moon entered the dark cleft of the Milky Way in Sagittarius (which happens
to be the exact center of the Milky Way, the Galactic Equator), entrance to the
underworld road was possible, which could then take the journeyer up to the
Heart of Sky. (Above right) Maya Goddess Scorpion (Mother Scorpion who
dwells at the end of the Milky Way

                               

Pleiades: The Tzolk'in is the sacred calendar of the Maya

and is based on the cycles of the Pleiades. The cycle of the
Pleiades uses 26,000 years, that the Sun orbiting Alcyone, the
central star of the Pleiades, but is reflected in the calendar we
are using by encompassing 260 days. Their calendar year
began when the Maya priests first remarked the asterism
rising heliacally in the east, immediately before the sun's
dawn light obliterated the view of the stars. In the beginning, the Maya
understood that they came from the Pleiades, or “Tzab-ek", (Rattlesnake's tail),
as they are known by the Maya. The relationship with the Pleiades and the
Mayan world is written in the sacred books of the Maya. It is in the
consciousness of the grandmothers and grandfathers who had it passed on to
them. It is an important record. The elders say the universe comes from the
Pleiades. With the Hubble Telescope, it was discovered about ten years ago,
that there is a place where stars are born in a great spiral that originates at the
site of the Pleiades, outside of the spiral is complete empty space. In
coordination with the galactic precession, the Mayas also look at the precession
of time through the Pleiades. Alcyone, the central star of the Pleiades, is located
at 30 degrees from Taurus, near the constellation Orion. Alcyone, in Taurus,
represents the Earth Goddess. The lessons from Alcyone are those dealing with
compassion, higher wisdom and vision, and Earth consciousness. Much has
been channeled from the Pleiades. Alcyone figures prominently in Mayan
astronomy. The Mayas believe it is the home of their ancestors. The Pleiades
star system is referred to as the seven sisters and our sun aligns with Alcyone
every 52 years. In Mayan cosmology the precession of the Pleiades is tracked
using the Calendar Round (52 years) and the New Fire ceremony. In the Early
Preclassic Site of Ujuxte, in the Pacific Lowlands, the central plaza appears to
have a celestial alignment that coincides with the rise and fall of the Pleiades,
This is also right for the Stelas and Altars from Monte Alto. The present-day
Maya  inGuatemala, make use of the Pleiades to begin their planting for the
year.

However, a number of researchers believe that the length of the 260 day
component of the Calendar Round cycle is defined by a 260 day period from one
zenith transit of the sun until the next. In the zone between the Tropics of 
Cancer and Capricorn there are days on which the sun passes directly overhead
at local noon. Vertical objects at that time cast no shadow. On the Tropic of
Cancer there is a single such day, June 22, the summer solstice. On the Tropic
of Capricorn the day is December 22, the winter solstice. On the equator the
zenith transits of the sun divide the year into two equal halves. Between the
equator and the Tropic of Cancer, the zenith transits of the sun divide the year
into a longer portion with the sun transiting to the south of the zenith, and a
shorter portion with the sun transiting to the north of the zenith. The zenith
transit days are always equidistant from the summer solstice. .A 260-day zenith
transit interval occurs at a latitude of 14°47’21”. The transit dates are April 30
and August 13. That August 13 is one of the classic Maya creation days lends
credibility to this interpretation.

Orion:  The Maya called Orion Ak' Ek' or "Turtle Star",  Orion is  depicted in
the Madrid Codex as a turtle with
three tun ("stone") glyphs on its back.  Because the sky
has not yet been raised, before the creation, the hearth is a
location in both earth and sky. The turtle shell is an earth
symbol, like the back of the crocodile at the foot of the
World Tree. Here is the place of  Creation, where
the sky will rise and saw the nearby ecliptic
constellation of Gemini as the mother peccary and the belt stars are
her children.  In addition, the Maya used three stars in the
constellation Orion: The great blue giant, Rigel, Kappa Orionis, the
star Saiph and the belt star, Alnitak. These three stars form an
equilateral triangle called, Oxib X'kub'  or “The Three Stones of the
Hearth”. They represent the Maya hearth, made of three stones placed
in a triangular pattern. The hearth was and is the very foundation of
the Maya home. Directly in the center of the Three Stones of the
Hearth, you will find the Orion nebula, M42. It acts as the flame called,
“K’ak”. Toward dawn on the Creation night of Aug 13, 
the constellation Orion moves toward the zenith. The K'iche' people
still refer to a triad of three bright stars in Orion as "the hearth
stones", and the hazy nebula below Orion's belt is called "the smoke
from the hearth". 

  The Popol Vuh, proven to be the true Maya creation myth, since the
Preclassic, (San Bartolo Murals), and Classic, (Quiriguá's Stela C), that was
preserved by the Postclassic  K'iche' Maya, in the Guatemala Highlands. In this
book, Orion was  seen as the First Father, who was known as Hun Hunahpú,
The Maize god, the father of the Hero Twins, Hunahpú and Xbalanqué, that
were fundamental in their Mythology.  

 
 Constellations or Maya zodiac: Pages 23 and 24 of the Paris Codex,
illustrate fantastic beasts suspended from a "sky band", which represents the
ecliptic (the path of he sun and planets against the background of fixed stars).
Most scholars believe these pages are a Maya zodiac. 

The "dot and bar" numbers below each beast is a count of 168 days
between each constellation. The Codex thus appears to record the
constellations in which the sun stands at 168 day intervals. Linda
Schele, says that it began with Sinan-Ek', or Scorpion Star, identified
with the Western zodiacal Scorpius both in ancient Maya iconography
and in ethno-historic and anthropological accounts (Schele 1992a,
1992b). Assuming that Paris 23 and 24 depicted constellations on the ecliptic,
Schele added the given 168 day distance number to the morning in A.D. 690
when the sun rose in Scorpio. Twelve repetitions yielded a rough zodiac
confirming the identifications advanced by Creation Cosmology. The Paris
Codex Turtle did actually correspond to the Western Gemini. She also found
evidence, that, she believed supports this interpretation on the Hauberg Stela
and  Tikal  Stela 1 that also represented literal maps of the sky on the evenings
of their dedications, March 18, A.D. 197, and April 30, A.D. 451, respectively.,
which seems to illustrate several of the constellation beasts in the order they
appear in the sky where the ecliptic crosses the Milky Way. She  suggests that
the Paris Codex "records the laying out of the constellations" along the ecliptic
at intervals of 168 days immediately after Creation. Johnson and Quenon also
demonstrated that animals and supernaturals held by rulers on the monuments
of Xultún, Guatemala, almost certainly reflected the constellations flanking the
Milky Way in the night sky on their dedication dates. 
The name for Orion and Virgo was Chitam or peccary.

Tikal Stela 1

However, some other students of the Codex doubt Schele's interpretation.

Victoria Bricker believes the Codex illustrates a zodiac, but argues that the
constellations represent those opposite the sun at 168 day intervals. When
opposite to the sun, a constellation will be high in the sky at midnight.

According to Linda Schele the names are: Aries (Kuc= Quetzal), Libra (Xoc =
shark) Taurus (Kuh = owl), Scorpius (Sinan-Ek'=scorpion) Gemini (Ak-
Ek'=turtle), Sagitarrius (Chan= rattlesnake), Capricorn (Balam= jaguar),
Cancer (Ok= dog?), Pisces (Zotz= bat), Virgo (Chitam= peccary)