MAYAN MATHEMATICS EPISODE 2 GEOMETRY

EPISODE 2

MAYAN GEOMETRY
The children José and María finished their work on Mayan Arithmetic and
Don Pablo told them that they could also study a little Geometry. He began
his work by telling them how geometry is used when building a city, when
making temples, houses, ceramics and introduced them to Doña Petrona, who is a specialist
in weaving huipils. Doña Petrona explained the basic shapes and how these can be
continued to build chains and then mosaics that give a very particular and beautiful color to
all the clothing items. He also explained the meaning of the figures and the way he weaves
them. With this information they prepared a monograph on Mayan Geometry, which is
presented below:

This chapter makes a study of geometry, which is present in the different facets of the daily
activity of the Mayans, such as: designs of their cities, the shapes of their buildings, ceramics and
textiles. A geometric heritage is also found in the languages of Maya-Quiché origin. In the final part,
an axiomatic geometry is presented like those of Western origin, but using Mayan elements, the
objective is to promote the design of mosaics, similar in nature to those shown today in indigenous
fabrics, so that geometries of this type , are taught in elementary level schools.

2.1 CITIES

It happens with the study of Geometry, the same as with the other sciences developed by the
Mayans, Mayan knowledge was integrated and developed for the benefit of the community, when the
layout of cities is studied, they have an impressive relationship with the astronomy. “The Maya
spatial orientation of the four
corners of their universe is not
based upon our cardinal
directions..., or toward two
directions in the east and two in the
west, that is to say, sunrise at winter
and summer solstices, and sunset at
the same two solstices.” (Vogt,
cited in Leon-Portillo, p. 130).
There are also many examples that
show the alignment of the temples
with the celestial bodies, it is very important to read the chapter titled In Search of Mesoamerican
Geometry by F. Vinette, published in the book “NATIVE AMERICAN MATHEMATICS”, where
we find highlighted

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DIGEBI. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION ETHNOMATHEMATICS CONSULTING Dr. Leonel Morales Aldana

Many of these examples, Morley, also points out these

facts (Morley, 1983, p. 294). The alignment of two stelae,
10 and 12 in the city of Copán, indicate the time of year
in which burning must be carried out, prior to planting
(Morley, 1968, p. 146 147), exemplifying that
monuments also had a second function, in addition to the
fact itself, of their inscriptions.

In oral tradition, priests spread that much of

their knowledge comes from corn. It is from the fruit
of corn (the cob in Guatemala) that the shape of its
temples derives, from the grains the staircases emerge.
They also obtain other knowledge from corn, for
example: about the cultivation period and its

The vast majority of Mayan temples are truncated

tetrahedra, prisms with a rectangular base, in some cases
circular cylinders, as we find in the archaeological center

TIKAL Temple in Guatemala

different stages such as: sowing, planting,

cleaning, etc., many of the calendar accounts
emerge.

2.2 BUILDINGS
of Ceibal.

These works of architecture were planned before their execution began, this is a natural
corollary that we deduced from the relationship that many of them have with the celestial bodies
(Morley, page. 294), we can also reach these conclusions by observing how the elements used in
architectural designs evolve, for example the Mayan arch
(Morley, 1983, p. 267).

Likewise, there is evidence that they plan their

paintings, an example is seen in the symmetry of some of
Coba's murals (Vinette pag. 389). These plans, as we call
them today, 24
MAYAN MATHEMATICS EPISODE 2 GEOMETRY

They were kept and in some cases they were used as property title, this is how the book “ON THE
INDIANS OF GUATEMALA” tells it, “...And they were shown, for their interpretation, 'two
canvases in which the natives of said town ( of Atitlán) have painted their houses and antiquity of
those who were chiefs and principals... Paintings that they had of their antiquities of more than eight
hundred years, through which I found out their information about the Quiche lords.” (Carrasco, p. 72
and 73).

2.3 CERAMICS

In all civilizations, ceramics have left great information on

cultural development. Most of the archaeological works show ceramic
remains, or complete or reconstructable ceramic works.

These generally provide great information to geometry studies. In

addition to their shape, a collection of curves and other geometric figures are present adorning the
vessels on the outside and in some cases, also on the inside.

In Mayan ceramics “Five basic forms are recognized: pitcher, bowl,

glass, plate and vessel with a restricted mouth” (Rubio, p. 6), each category
differs from the other, precisely because of its geometric shape.

The Mayans used curves, human and zoomorphic figures, flowers,

inscriptions and dates for their decoration. Within the curves, there was a predilection for
interlocking curves, interlocking curves also frequently appear, spiral curves also frequently appear.
The concept of curves and lines seems to have existed naturally, for example, in the Popol Vuh
Verse 651, it records “in a straight line they placed…” and in the examples I present later from the
Kekchi and Chorti language, you will find expressions for: Line, align, row, in a row, side, edge of
and many more terms.

2.4 NATIVE LANGUAGES

Much of the indigenous knowledge is transmitted orally, in the book “EL LADINO ME
JODIO”, we find that methodology of study and conservation of indigenous cultures, very well
exemplified by A. Saravia (author of the book). If even today they use oral tradition to keep their
cultural heritage alive, it is undeniable that researchers also have to resort to that methodology.
Thompson points this out in the following paragraphs: “...but there is more, my contacts with “Our
Mayan workers from San Antonio and the long conversations with Faustino during our travels
helped me realize that the modern descendants of the ancient Mayans still preserve many of their old
customs.” (Thompson, p. 123).

“Because the Mayan is so conservative and balanced, it can well be assured that they
fundamentally act today as they did a millennium ago, and from there much can be deduced from
their past by studying the present” (Thompson, p. 124)

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DIGEBI. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION ETHNOMATHEMATICS CONSULTING Dr. Leonel Morales Aldana

To support the thesis, the study of geometric terms present in some Mayan Quiché languages
begins, giving some examples taken from the book “NUEVO DICCIONARIO DE LAS LENGUAS
K'EKCHI' Y ESPAÑOLA” (Guatemala 1,955).

celestial bow xoquik'ab

Traverse (place horizontally) k'e'ebanc
Short (height and length) ca'chi'in

Cylindrical bolbo
Square caxucut
Square up caxucutinc
Quadrilong rumru/rok/

Dices bull
Dice bulic/buluc

Distance nakht
Xnajtil

Row tzol
In line chitzol
Tzoltzo
Tustu
Shape (ball) t'ort'o
(roll) bolbo
(flattened) pechpo
(flattened) tz'artz'o
(cylindrical) bolbo
(egg) bak'bo
(of singing) sauce

side pacal, xpac'alil

(a) jun pac'al
(several) q'uila pac'al
(both) xca'pac'alil
long nim rok
length xnimal rok

line tzol
(a row) jun kerel
(to line up) tzolobanc

extent bis, bisleb

(measure of) xbisul
(half of one) jun bas
measured (it's already there) bisbo, bisbil

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MAYAN MATHEMATICS EPISODE 2 GEOMETRY

middle (of two) (in the middle) yibej sa'xyi,

(two and a half) yitok
(three and a half) how rox
measure how xca
(in quarters) bisoc c'utu
banc
Also in the Chortí Language, it is found in the book
“MODERN METHOD TO LEARN THE CHORTI LANGUAGE. A pedagogical grammar” ,
some terms that indicate the existence of a geometry, a little more metric and topological, than that
found in the Kekchi language, which is motivated by forms, let's look at those terms:

T'isb'ir even, measured

Cob'a? what size?
Nixi very big
Tor Above
Yeb'ar under
chuchu little
Tuti' shore of
Nojta big
Nixi very big

It is concluded from the previous examples that given the large number of geometric terms
that exist in these Quiché Mayan languages (taken at random), it can be observed that these elements
were used and continue to be used by the Quiché Mayan peoples.

2.5 FABRICS

The Popol Vuh, verse 237, describes

the tasks for children to “play the flute, sing,
write, paint, sculpt…”.

Nowadays, weaving and embroidery have

been added to these tasks; It is in the fabrics that many of the designs that were previously presented
only in ceramics have been transported.

In Quiché Mayan fabrics, a wide range of mosaics is found, both in fabrics for personal use
and in those for domestic use, the mosaics have different

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DIGEBI. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION ETHNOMATHEMATICS CONSULTING Dr. Leonel Morales Aldana

interpretations and we recommend reading Anderson's book (which appears in the

bibliography), who will guide you in the study of this topic.
Let's look at a mosaic:

You can notice a repetition of triangles

arranged in rows or chains, either
horizontally or diagonally.

In this other example:

flag, Santa Apolonia A is found

Sunpamgo girdle
repetition of broken lines, but analyzing the lines they are the border of rhombuses.

One last example:

There is a repetition of the “<” element and
also of “>” arranged in a horizontal row.

These mosaics give a general idea of geometry

in indigenous fabrics, which are still presented today
and are part of their daily wardrobe.

From Gerdes' work, published in the book

2.6 GEOMETRY
“DESENHOS DA AFRICA”, the idea of making a
mathematization of the drawings that appear on fabrics is obtained. A generating element is sought to
which different operators are applied: translation, homothecy, rotation. With the composition of this
element, shapes develop and the composition of shapes develop chains to later form mosaics. We
then have an undefined element < , from which shapes, chains and mosaics are derived, in order to
form the geometry.

2.6.1 ELEMENT

The undefined element that will give foundation to this geometry was searched for within the
common denominator of the different shapes that appear in Guatemalan fabrics, and it turned out to
be similar to the less than symbol:

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MAYAN MATHEMATICS EPISODE 2 GEOMETRY

<
Different operators are applied to this element, such as:

1. HOMOTHETY

This acts in size and thickness or in a positive or negative character,

Fine < positive < small <

Coarse < negative big

2. ROTATIONS:

This acts on one branch or on both branches, changing the angle, for example:

2.6.2 SHAPES

A shape is defined as the set of one or more elements, with a certain orientation. The
elements used in the shapes can be simple or can be the result of applying an operator, for example:

Two elements joined by their vertex

Diamond

Two elements joined by their vertex, but in negative

2.6.3 CHAINS

A chain is defined as the union of one or more shapes, for example:

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
<><><><><><><><>
<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>

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DIGEBI. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION ETHNOMATHEMATICS CONSULTING Dr. Leonel Morales Aldana

∨∨∨∨∨∨∨∨∨∨∨∨∨∨∨∨∨∨
2.6.4 MOSAICS

A mosaic is defined as the union of one or more chains. Let's see a complete example:
We start from the initial element <

We define the form <>

<><><><><><><>

We build the chain

We give the reader other examples of mosaics As indicated at the beginning, the
objective
With this chain we can form the following mosaics: is to introduce the reader to the
study of the geometry of the mosaics,
which are present in the fabrics of
Guatemala, with the purpose of raising
self-esteem and enhancing this cultural
wealth.
2.7 BIBLIOGRAPHY

- Anderson, Marilyn,
“GUATEMALAN TEXTILES
TODAY” , Watson-Guptill
Publications, New York, 1978.

- Carrasco. Pedro, “ABOUT THE

INDIANS OF GUATEMALA” , Guatemalan Social Integration Seminar, Publication
No. 42, Editorial José de Pineda Ibarra, Guatemala, 1982.

- De León V., Carlos and F. López P., “ POPOL VUH, National Book of Guatemala” ,
Guatemala, CENALTEX, Ministry of Education, 1985.

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MAYAN MATHEMATICS EPISODE 2 GEOMETRY

- Esparza Hidalgo, David, COMPUTO AZTECA , Editorial Diana, Mexico, 1976.

- Gerdes, Paulus, “DESENHOS DA AFRICA” Editora Scipione, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1990.

- Landa. Fray Diego de, “ RELATION OF THE THINGS OF YUCATAN ”, Pedro

Robredo Editorial, Mexico, 1938.

- León-Portilla, Miguel, “ TIME AND REALITY IN THE THOUGHT OG THE MAYA

”, Second Edition, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1988.

- Lubeck, John E. and Diane L Cowie, “MODERN METHOD FOR LEARNING THE
CHORTI IDOMA. A pedagogical grammar” , Summer Linguistic Institute, Guatemala,
1989

- Morales, H., Italo, “U CAYIBAL ATZIAK, Images in Guatemalan fabrics” , Ediciones

Cuatro Ahau, Guatemala, 1982

- Morley, Sylvanus G., “ THE MAYAN CIVILIZATION ”, Fondo de Cultura Económica,

Mexico, 1968

- Morley, S.G., and G. W. Brainerd, “THE ANCIENT MAYA” , Stanford University

Press, Stanford, California, fourth edition, 1983.

- Rubio, Rolando, “INTRODUCTION TO MAYAN ARCHEOLOGY” , Workbook,

Popol Vuh Museum. Francisco Marroquín University, Guatemala, 1992.

- Saravia E., Albertina, “EL LADINO ME JODIO”, Guatemala, CENALTEX, Ministry of

Education, 1986.

- Sedat S., Guillermo, NEW DICTIONARY OF THE K'EKCHI' AND SPANISH

LANGUAGES, Chamelco, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. 1955. National Typography.

- Thompson, J. Eric, “MAYAN ARCHAEOLOGIST” , Editorial Diana, 1965

- Vinette, F., “IN SEARCH OF MESOAMERICAN GEOMETRY” , IN: Michael P.

Closs, editor, “NATIVE AMERICAN MATHEMATICS”, University of Texas Press,
Austin, 1988.

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