Mathematical System of the Mayan Civilization
Many ancient number systems have been discovered all over the world. The Greeks used letter like symbols, for example, 1 = α which stands for alpha. In Egypt, slash marks were used for ones, upside down u looking symbols for tens, swirls for hundreds, and arrows for thousands. Then over in China, small detailed pictures were drawn to show numbers. All across the world, different ways of keeping numbers was used, but one of the most advanced ancient number systems was invented by a Mesoamerican people.
These people where the Mayans, a highly advanced civilization that lived in Mexico and Central America. Along with the Incas and Aztecs, they were conquered in the early 1500’s by Cortez and his conquistadors. This civilization is thought to have been just as advanced as its unfriendly neighbors in Europe, for more and more evidence is being found that is was one of the most advanced civilizations in the world along with China.
The Mayans were believed to have invented the number system to help them with studying astronomy, and for making calendar predictions. They also used their number system for everyday math, like counting the amount of currency they need to buy an item, to even using it to build their temples to resemble their very own calculator.
The Mayans, and other Mesoamerican civilizations used similar math. They based their number system on the base powers of 20 and occasionally 5. These powers consist of 1, 20, 400, 8,000, 160,000, and so on. Dots were used for one through four, so if there are three dots, then the number being represented is three. The next number, five, is represented by a horizontal bar. For example, if you want to show the number nine, then there would be a bar and four dots on top of it.
Using combinations of bars and dots are used up to 19. To show 20, a dot is used with a zero symbol next to it. It is believed that the Mayans were one of the first people to ever describe the number zero. The zero is described by using what looks like a shell or a weird looking smile. When wanting to show a number between 20 and 24, for example 23, you will use 3 dots to represent 3, and a dot above them to represent 20. To show a number past 24 , for example 28, there will be a bar with 3 dots on top of it, and then a dot on top of the 3 dots.
The three dots and the bar represent eight, while the dot above the dots and the bars represents the twenty.
Continuing to 100, you will use bars and dots underneath the number 20 dot to represent the number, and when you get to 40, 60, and 80, you add another dot beside the 20 dot with a zero symbol under it. To represent 100, a bar will be used where the 20 dots are usually, and with a zero symbol under it. To show anything above 400, a dot is used above the 1s place and the 20s place. To show 8,000, a dot is put over the 400s place, and to show 160,000, a dot is put over the 8,000s place. So on and so forth.
To show any number correctly, the amount of dots and bars need to add up to that number. So to show 168,427 would be, for example, a bar with 2 dots above it for 7 in the 1s place, a dot above that to represent 20, a dot above the 20 spot to represent 400, which all adds up to equal 427. Past that, a dot above the 400 spot to represent 8,000, and a dot above that to show 160,000, which all adds up to 168,000. Now add both sides together, and it will equal 168, 427.
This form of math was very important to Mayan society. The Mayan civilization was very sophisticated, and most of its population knew how to read, write, and use math. These people believed more in astronomy, writing, and architecture, unlike most of their neighboring tribes who settled their problems through war. One of these tribes were the Aztecs, which was another large civilization at the time, and was the Mayans main enemies.
One of the most important parts of the Mayan culture was their interest in astronomy. They used math to calculate the positions of the stars, moon, and planets. They would keep records of the movements of these celestial bodies and used their records to make/invent one of the first calendars known to man. They made three different types of calendars: the long count, Tzolkin (divine calendar), and the Haab (civil calendar). Each of these calendars follow a cycle, or amount of days, before the cycle begins again.
The Mayans’ Long Count calendar is still used today to try and predict the future, and caused a lot of hysteria among people in 2012. The calendar’s “Great Cycle” was going to come to an end on December 21, 2012. Millions of people believed that the cycle marked the end of the world, and there was a lot of suspense leading up to that day. The Long Count’s cycle lasts 2,880,000 days long, and some still believe it marks the end of the world.
The Haab calendar was used as the Mayans main calendar. Its cycle lasts 365 days, and is used to mark the end of the year. It is also used to show the Winter Solstice and Summer Solstice. The Tzolkin calendar’s cycle lasts 260 days, and is split into 20 periods of 13 days. Its main use is to determine the time of religious events and ceremonies.
“Mayans had an elaborate calendar which was one of the most accurate to have been created by any ancient civilisation. The calendar had a lunar cycle, a solar cycle and Long Count cycle. Mayans were able to create such an accurate calendar thanks to their brilliant knowledge of astronomy and their skill in mathematics. It was because of their mastery of mathematics that they frequently calculate dates thousands or even millions of years in the future with perfect accuracy. These dates were then penned down in elaborate mathematical notations, sometimes covering multiple lines to represent a single date.”
Mayans also used their number system in their architecture. One of the most sophisticated buildings the Mayans ever built was the Temple of Kukulkan which is found in the center of Chichen Itza, an old Mayan ruins. The main reason the temple is so famous is because it was discovered that the temple was symbolic of the Mayan lunar year. There are 91 steps on each of the 4 sides of the temple and a final step at the top of the temple which adds up to 365, which represents 365 days in a year. On the two equinoxes of the year, the light of the sun shines on the stairs of the temple and resembles a snake slithering to the top of the temple. Like Stonehenge, the Temple of Kukulkan was a way for the Mayans to tell when the equinoxes are occuring.
One of the biggest discoveries the Mayans ever made was the zero. Although it is believed the Olmec civilization might have discovered it before them, and the Mayans adopted it from them, it is not proven. The zero is important to math because it represents that the amount of something is none. This might not seem very controversial, but the zero was thought to not be a number until the Mayans decided that it should be.
“Zero is a strange beast. It took until the 7th century for it to be explicitly recognized as a number in its own right, when the ancient Indians developed a numerical system that expressed zero with its own symbol. Since the development of this number system, which we still use today, zero has been instrumental in our exploration of mathematics.”
The Mayans’ use of their math system helped them to become on of the most sophisticated societies of the early world. Their discoveries have been integrated into many other cultures and ,unbeknownst to us, we are using Mayan discoveries in our everyday life. If it weren’t for the Mayans, Chinese, Romans, and other civilizations alike, our knowledge and use of math today would not be the same. Thanks to math, our everyday lives are a whole lot easier then they would be.
