Ancient Mayans is an indigenous tribe of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean that lived in 2600 B.C. Ancient Mayans had a strong religious belief. Architecture, art, mathematics and astronomical and mathematical systems have made the culture famous. Ancient Mayans worshipped many gods with many rituals. All of the actions they took were based off their beliefs. They believed in the sacrifice of human beings. They developed calendar systems, astronomy and hieroglyphics. Sharer wrote: “By recording movements of the deities in the sky (sun and moon, planets and star), they created accurate calendars for use in prophecy.” The mayans contributed to the development of astronomy in many ways.
This was done by observing the patterns in the sky and the stars. This allowed them to make calendars that tracked the motions of celestials in space. They believed in a variety of gods like Gucumatz or pantheon. The Mayans looked to the heavens for answers. Certain ceremonial buildings in the Maya were positioned according to the compass directions. The Mayan observatory, for instance, may have been able to project light through holes at the equinoxes of the fall and the spring.
The Maya believed the Earth was at the center of everything. The suns, moons and stars were considered gods. Their different movements were interpreted as them traveling between Earth, Underworld and celestial space destinations. They were extremely interested in the movements of these Gods because they had a large influence on human behavior. Many Maya rituals and events were coordinated to certain celestial moments. A war, for example, could be delayed to wait until the Gods or planets had been placed in position. The Maya tracked the movement of planets within the solar system. Venus was the planet that the Maya associated with war. Venus movements were used to plan battles, wars, and sacrifices.
The Maya meticulously recorded the movements and calculated that the year of Venus (which was measured relative to Earth, not the Sun, as the Mayans believed all things revolved around Earth) was 584.92 days. This was shockingly similar to the modern science’s 583.92-day estimate. The observatory played a major role in mayan culture. It is an underground room with a ceiling hole. On May 15 and 29th, the sun will shine through this hole. Mayan Priests consider these to be important days. Maya priests were very important in Maya culture, but only second to the king. Priests were the mediators between Mayas and their gods.
Mayan priests taught reading, writing and all other knowledge. Priests were responsible for many things, such as teaching sons of the lords. They performed religious ceremonies and kept calendars. The 260-day Calendar was used for a variety of important activities and duties related to humans and gods. It was used to decide the dates and times for marriages, battles and other special events. There are still calendar priests in Maya areas and cultures today. They maintain the 260 days calendar. Astronomy has a huge impact on agriculture. The appearance of specific star constellations and planets in sky was a sign that the planting season had arrived. As they became more familiar with the celestial bodies and sky, they felt more confident that people wouldn’t go hungry. The Mayan civilization grew because of astronomy.
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