The Mesoamerican Calendar

Ancient Mesoamerica had one of the most incredible calendars ever devised. Discover how they created and used this calendar to track their history and the cosmos.
Patreon: / ancientamericas
Facebook: / ancientamericas​
Bibliography, Sources and Credits at:
drive.google.com/open?id=12uy...

[@jjt1881]

1:50 It is the "Vigesimal system" not "Vegesimal system"

[@AncientAmericas]

Yup. You are correct. I really need to hire an editor that is smarter than me.

[@ericktellez7632]

@Jill Atherton Si.

[@bonefetcherbrimley7740]

@@AncientAmericas Cool vid. Ya done good!

[@timetraveller6643]

A vegesimal system is based on 20 potatoes. It was abandoned in favour of the vigesimal system based on 20 pedantic comments.

[@Yentzie]

@MichaelKingsfordGray That assumes the editor is a person and not a machine

[@Gr95dc]

I'm from Mexico and even tho I like learning history, I kinda have always left the history of my own country and ancestors aside. Finding this channel is the highlight of my week, even tho it doesn't centers only in Mexico, I'm very excited to learn more about the cultures that flourished in this territory

[@MrSilz-jb4ik]

I can highly recomend this podcast regarding the rise and fall of the Aztecs (or more correctly of course, the Mēxihcah) on Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0b4bQQv1DdmPufeecBZU1E?si=FgT9AJvgR5GN1bZQuPYkuA&dl_branch=1

[@mekkler]

A fascinating and ancient culture. I hope you are very proud.

[@hiera1917]

For me coming across this channel has helped me realise that I have some decolonising work to do in myself. I’m half K’iché Mayan, but I’m pretty disconnected from that culture because I grew up in the US (with a white family). Learning about all this makes me emotional and makes my heart feel warm because I’m being re-connected with something I didn’t recognise was there. It’s like a hug reaching out to me from the distant past

[@MrSilz-jb4ik]

@@hiera1917 although i am from a white middleclass background, i have two Bolivian adopted sisters and i have such a profound attachment to all native american cultures, art and peoples. It is such a crime against history that we don't teach more about all of these cultures and peoples in a pre-colombian context. I am a university history student in denmark and we have no courses at all that revolves around pre-colombian civilizations. It is a crime that people need to educate themselves in the subject.

[@NwordOutward]

Forsure man, I'm glad to see other people with these interests. Do you live in Mexico?

[@andreaaa978]

My parents are from Yucatán, Mexico so i have grown up seeing the Mayan calendar but never actually understood how it worked. This is really impressive.

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@JuanMartinez-mw5rc]

Do you speak and understand spanish?

[@slavenarkaimovski3897]

Try using slavic aryan calendar,it have 9 months,365 days,and 7 days in week.For yours home project i recommend,that you take pensil,paper,and ruler,and make calendar with following pattern.Pattern of the days in months goes,41,40,41,40,41,40,41,40,41.Pattern of the days goes Monday to Sunday.And ending day in 9th month will be monday,and 1st day in first month of the second year will be tuesday.That means that with 365 days calendar,it will take 7 years to make full circle.The leap year just like daylight savings,is pointless fradulant creation,so stick with this calendar instede.

[@HVLLOWS1999]

@@slavenarkaimovski3897 The Slavic calendar is the Julian Calendar right, the one the Orthodox use rather than the Catholic Gregorian Calendar. Or is the calendar you are referring to pre-christian?

[@malcomx-snowden-assange9673]

Listening to a European tell you about your culture on a KZbin video is Not "Understanding", that's the opposite of research let alone Understanding. Listening to and ready to repeat Gossip is more like what you're doing. 🇲🇽

[@bluebird5173]

3:17 "Pretty simple, right? Not too difficult to learn!" If that was simple then I must be slow because I'm still trying to process it all.

[@AncientAmericas]

You and me both.

[@JuanRamirez-fx3tf]

I got lost here. I am not a mathematician.

[@boredcoke]

I think I got it?! Basically multiply by x20 to jump numeral places instead of x10. So 1307 written in math for us is 1’s place = 1x7 = 7 10’s place = 10x0 = 0 100’s place = 100x3 = 300 1,000’s place = 1000x1 = 1000. Added up is 7+0+300+1000=1307 For them it’s 1’s place = 1x7 = 7 20’s place (our 10’s) = 20x5 = 100 400’s place (our 100’s) = 400x3 = 1200 then added up, you get 7+100+1200 = 1307 Hopefully it makes sense. I’m no math teacher lol

[@akatosh2795]

@@boredcoke This was so helpful!

[@BanneroftheSun]

..it does take take tedious and laborious work to make something simple though 😅

[@wooddad100stuff]

Spent time in Guatemala in the highlands with the K'iche (or Quiche, as I knew them). The base-20 system was fun to learn, and the number 20 was called "juwinak," which was a contraction for "jun winak," or "one person." So the supposition that 20 was based on 10 fingers and 10 toes is not unreasonable.

[@selatoski]

As a lay student of Mesoamerican history, I really appreciate the information in your videos and how it is explained. I'm glad to have come across your channel and look forward to seeing more!

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you! There will be more!

[@tloquenahuaque3910]

I recommend you stop referring to mesoamerican history that is a Eurocetric term and offensive to our culture and history of Anahuac! It is known as ancient Anahuac. NOT MESOAMERICA

[@BardChords]

@@tloquenahuaque3910 Hahahahaha, why are you writing in english? That's pretty anglo-centric of you.

[@tloquenahuaque3910]

@@BardChords Titlahtoa nahuatlahtolli? Axqueniuhqui pitzo!

[@BardChords]

@@tloquenahuaque3910 Que?

[@fmulder6564]

I feel like for base 20 counting system it's more likely they used both sides of their hands versus hands and feet. Count to ten with your palms up, them flip them over and keep going up to 20.

[@AncientAmericas]

A very neat idea!

[@freealter]

Yeah definitely this

[@johnyarbrough502]

I just always assumed it was because we have toes 😄

[@jaybyday2381]

Thats so obvious it Makes anthropologists look Silly.

[@RufoTamales]

That is a very very interesting idea, specially when you think about the concept of Ometeotl and how this religion/spirituality was closely related with their math, by doing so (the flipping hands technique) you add color(palms and counter palms contrasting colours) as a category of sorts into counting/math! That's another linearly indepent variable of sorts! Me emociono mucho con descubrir la matematica "prehispánica" , saludos!

[@jdmccaffrey]

wow this calendar is actually really cool, love the cyclical nature of it versus our linear calendar

[@Yeszur]

The 20 days represent our fingers and toes and the 13 months represent our joints: ankles, knees, hips, wrist, elbow, shoulder, and neck. This represents the 260 day calendar. Xichen itza has 91 steps on each side with one platform on the top to make 365 steps. So much interesting and intelligent findings with the maya people!

[@alangivre2474]

Wowwww. Thank you!!!!

[@k_tess]

Um 91x4=364 where the fifth step?

[@pachucotirili]

@@k_tess the platform on top

[@NCRonrad]

@@pachucotirili 👏🏾

[@Mockingbird_Taloa]

It should be noted that terrapins (turtles) have 13 major plates on their shell--many (though not all) Indigenous nations of Turtle Island (north, south, and central) associate 13 months with at least one of their sacred cycles and relate that back to the landmass of N & S "America" being founded on Turtle's back. I'd never heard of the 13 month cycle being associated with 13 non-digit joints, but it does make sense. It's always nice when important numbers have multiple instances of being 'significant' throughout the created order!

[@HVLLOWS1999]

I can only imagine what was recorded in the Mayan books and codexes that Diego De Landa burned in the mid sixteen century. With as accurate as the Maya were with dates and how much they loved to write about themselves, they must have inscribed an amazing amount of information It’s no wonder De Landa wrote that while he burned the Mayan historical texts the native people wailed in agony over their books which made him curious. After all the Maya were kind of huge nerds. They were loosing their meticulous accounts of history and religion/mythology. So sad. De Landa I wish you were never born.

[@boardcertifiable]

I hope he's burning in the deepest, pustule filled pit of Xibalba and the Lords of Death send jaguars and caimen to chew on his roasted leg and arm stumps while he wails in agony, as his flesh blisters and festers and his eyes fall out. And yes, as a descendant of the Maya people and as a huge book nerd, I feel my ancestors pain and indignity. I thank this channel for doing its part to rectifying that great injustice.

[@huascar66]

A curse on Diego De Landa and the Catholic priests that labelled the Mayan books as "of the devil". A curse on them forever. What knowledge did we lose? The loss is unfathomable.

[@theamazingfuzzlord]

May he burn in Hell forever. Him and the rest of the colonizers

[@MrDrProfessorPurple]

@@theamazingfuzzlord a damnation to hell is what got us in this mess in the first place, Don't be like the catholics of the past. Do better than those jabronis!

[@malcomx-snowden-assange9673]

You are lost in Gossip my child. Highest achievement of our people were far removed from simple writings, written accounts is the weakest form of sharing information, they knew that you clearly don't.

[@philipptomic6310]

These dudes where really smart like holy moly ;-;

[@HVLLOWS1999]

It's all that good corn. Eat ur veggies kids

[@sittingstill3578]

There are bright people everywhere. It all depends on what are the problems a culture is facing as to where that intellect is applied. Then it is important that ideas or concepts are tools used by intellectuals to make abstractions and implications.

[@fredriks5090]

@@sittingstill3578 Which is why "degeneration" through culture is a thing that should be taken seriously and not just brushed away as criticism of change. A wolf can turn into a Chihuahua if a stupid ape is allowed to breed it.

[@bleachno9]

@@fredriks5090 shut up fascist

[@fredriks5090]

@@bleachno9 Go drink your mandated coolaid, your Tics are starting again.

[@Lord1001]

The Wayeb for Mayans or Nemontemi for Mexicas was not an unlucky time as the video suggests. According to the teacher Ocelocoatl Ramírez these were days of fasting, meditation, and self-care. Similar to how you take a car in to get a tune up, our bodies are also in need of some care. Other than that I appreciate learning about the count in English. Thanks

[@twilight6779]

That explains Emmett Till July 25th💔

[@xyldkefyi]

After this I'm both in awe of the mesoamerican calendar and thankful for the simplicity of the calendar I use. Although I guess if you dig deep into things like leap years or the julian/gregorian shift, that calendar can also get quite complicated.

[@partiellementecreme]

There's a remarkable dearth of intelligent videos on KZbin explaining the Mesoamerican calendar, and intelligent content about Mesoamerica more broadly. This is excellent.

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@daviddeltoro1808]

There really needs to be a mobile app or a website with virtual Maya calendars that you can play around with like you did in the video. I'm legitimately stupid with numbers, but you made it a little easier to understand

[@AncientAmericas]

There are! I actually use one called Katun. It's free to download.

[@debbralehrman5957]

I have to say both. Amazed at their calendar and glad I have the one I do. Thank you for going over this with us. Now I know I can count to Twenty. I think the most interesting part is that so many of shared the same basic calendar.

[@AncientAmericas]

People in Mesoamerica really liked their calendar.

[@quitethesoph3558]

Found your channel by happy accident. Thank you for this wealth of information! You've definitely earned a new subscriber after watching three of your videos back to back. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@someguy8732]

Good video, looking forward to the rest!

[@larrybrown1124]

WOW - I had heard bits and pieces about their calendars... but this really is impressive and amazing. Thank you for going through the details in this way! I really appreciate your methods of explanation and presentation - Keep up the Great Content!!

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@urielantoniobarcelosavenda780]

Thanks for sharing this, Im mexican and really intersted in the ancient cultures, however, because education is mostly focus on the last 200 years, I really have only learned about it recently, half youtube and half from indigenous teachers that my mom knew

[@AncientAmericas]

You're welcome!

[@johnyarbrough502]

Good summary. Impressed you provide a list of sources and credits.

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@PaulRoberts61877]

I have followed the haab for 12+ years and think you did a great job on the piece.

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@kalrandom7387]

I am both amazed and thankful

[@Santu7220]

Great visualization. The specific day quality is intersting to feel.

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@user-ye4dp9bp5y]

Absolutely interesting how such calendars were created! Excellent program.

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@JumpForMeBlue]

Thank you I love these!

[@AncientAmericas]

Awesome! There's more coming!

[@ulisesromo7347]

Thank you for your work on these peoples.

[@AncientAmericas]

You're welcome!

[@jimmytovar2844]

Wow! Thank you for making this information accessible

[@AncientAmericas]

You're welcome!

[@lynnmitzy1643]

I am really enjoying your videos, thank you.

[@luedog8385]

Thank you for these videos I recently found your Channel and I have a lot of videos to watch now😅

[@howardstrauss5166]

Thank you my teacher

[@AncientAmericas]

You're welcome my apprentice.

[@stuarthdoblin]

Really wonderful! Quite the education, thank you for taking the time.

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@JCO2002]

Both in awe and thankful.

[@k-rloz2999]

very helpful video, thanks

[@AncientAmericas]

You're welcome!

[@ricardoarce1037]

Excellent video, really interesting

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@jammrock9436]

That was amazing! Thank you so much

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@pentelegomenon1175]

Random theory: if you make a lunar calendar where you only count 21 days after every full moon (for some reason), a year would be almost exactly 260 days (really 259.7333), so maybe they had a calendar like that once. I can't help but notice that 260 is almost exactly the amount of weekdays in a year, which makes me imagine a strange scenario where an ancient insane Meso-American dictator effectively bans their culture's equivalent of weekends.

[@weepingbones_2]

From memory they did have a 260 day calendar for events or ceremonies but I could be wrong

[@believeinpeace]

Absolutely fascinating. Thank you!

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@jonnygonzales3875]

Thank you so much for this great channel and information! My roots are Mexican and English though growing up in ENgland all my life I have longed to connect with my Mexican roots. This channel really deepens that connection so thank you!

[@AncientAmericas]

You're welcome!

[@pine1780]

I love this channel so much, please keep making more!!

[@ronydio9590]

Excellent video!

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@8roomsofelixir]

The way the Sacred Calendar counts days looks quite similar to how the Chinese Sexagenary Cycle counts days. The Sexagenary Cycle employs a 10/12 combination of naming days (compared to Sacred Calendar's 13/20) which forms a 60-day cyrcle that intertwined with the normal 30-day months. It could also be used to name years as well, thus creates a 60-year cyrcle.

[@heven729]

Thank you for this!

[@AncientAmericas]

You're welcome!

[@pro5alfa0]

Great stuff!

[@Flurdaman]

My search was “how do we reconcile ancient Mayan dates with modern dates” you nailed it! thank you for the awesome video.

[@AncientAmericas]

Happy to help!

[@luyzqint3760]

Just, wow!. Thanks for another great video.✌️

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@aserher215]

I love your channel!

[@AncientAmericas]

I love your comment Pizza Cat!

[@allones3078]

Great video

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@Dreamspan]

I have an assignment on this due in 2 days, this streamlined most of the important information into very a understandable video. thank you

[@AncientAmericas]

Happy to help! It's not an easy thing to understand on the first try.

[@davidmontemayor4383]

Amazing! Thank you so much!!!!

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you sir!

[@andreaskallstrom9031]

Super interesting, thank you!

[@AncientAmericas]

You're welcome!

[@jesserichards5582]

Very fascinating, I'm not one for math but this is a interesting topic to learn more & understand fully. Especially if it corresponds with our every day life cycle

[@TimL1980]

Very interesting video and good explanation! It is easy to get lost with a language that doesn't resemble any of the ones one knows - and the crammed, stylized weird symbols don't help either, but you're doing a great job! (And honestly: a story about Kyle, Kevin, Ken and Kaleb get's confusing enough.... especially if it goes on for a hundred years and they all start naming their sons after their best buddies!

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@jaysonparkhurst7422]

This really opens my mind

[@per4mexbagger541]

Outstanding

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@markthomas8766]

That was great. Enjoyed it immensely. The only other utube video I saw on the "Mayan" calender that really good was where it was proposed the reason for some of the longer cycles was related to multiples of the orbit lengths of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. This sort of gives the idea that the cyclic nature of our solar system effects the cyclic nature of life on earth and again promotes the idea that time is a cycle or orbital in nature, and not linear. I was trying to find that utube video when I came across yours! Many thanks.

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@danielmartinez5505]

This is so cool. I would love to replicate something similar for my DnD homebrew setting

[@BeyondEcstasy]

The Aztec Sun Stone (the first image used in the video) is not a calendar although historically thought to be one. It's now believed to be a platform for gladiatorial combat.

[@AncientAmericas]

Yes. I didn't fully understand that when I made the video. I'm learning more everyday.

[@tloquenahuaque3910]

It's not the aztec either. It's the Anahuac sun stone! Made by the Anahuacas.

[@diansc7322]

@@tloquenahuaque3910 but it was discovered in the Aztec templo mayor

[@helmar_rudolph]

​@@tloquenahuaque3910 Annunaki? Just wondering...

[@mark2406]

Been watching all your vids, keep up the great work, it's hard to find alot of in depth content on ancient Americas, can't wait for your El Mirador vid to drop, any hints to what you are working on now?

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@JoeKThePotter]

I was saving watching this episode until last, until I saw the others first. I was not disappointed. Thank you for the respect , sensitivity and attention to detail you give to these topics. It is heart warming. Thank you . 🙏🙏👏👏🤘🤘

[@AncientAmericas]

You're welcome! Thank you for your kind words.

[@samurachi420]

Love the channel. Would love to see a breakdown of yaqui

[@AncientAmericas]

So would I!

[@igor-yp1xv]

This video is awesome. Lord Of The Night sounds like something from Game of Thrones.

[@AncientAmericas]

Right!?

[@simritnam612]

Amazing. Ty!

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@BeYeSeparate]

Very informative videos friend thank you! (btw, I would love to know what font that is, big fan.)

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you! And to answer your question, the font is IM Fell.

[@habitualforeigner]

In several Mayan languages, the word for "twenty" is either the same as, or very similar to, the word for "man" or "person." In Guatemala there are some differences between language groups about when to observe the completion of the 260-count but, I believe, the names may have in some cases changed as Mayan languages diverged. Many communities have a "day counter" ( "aj q'ij") who keeps track of the names of the days, important for remembering auspicious days, etc. An anthropologist colleague of mine discovered that hand signs that women used to indicate the phase of the moon (when calculating gestation), matched hand signs in calendar inscriptions from the classical period that apparently denoted lunar phases. I hope you address in future videos something about Mesoamerican astronomy. Several classical Maya sites are oriented toward Venus and other heavenly bodies besides "just" the sun and moon.

[@AncientAmericas]

That is really interesting! Yes, I do want to do an episode on Maya astronomy someday but that's a long ways in the future.

[@JuanRodriguez-qk2eq]

In the Yaqui language (a Uto-Aztecan Native language from Sonora, Mexico) the word for 20 is the same as body. The number 5 is similar to hand, the number 10 is 2 hands, 15 is 10+5, and finally, 20 is a body. Then you go all the way counting 40 as 2 bodies, 60 as 3 bodies, until mixing Spanish numbers for larger amounts. I don't think in Northern Mexico there were calendars at all, but makes me wonder how extended is the vigesimal system and how many languages express this unit as a person, body or so. Within and outside of Mesoamerica.

[@amphibiousone7972]

Outstanding 💪 THANKS 🙏

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@raider_reaper_4194]

This was freaking amazing

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@henrikkrusty8065]

i hope this channel blows up

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@joeygarza9550]

I remember there was a cool bar in the meatpacking district in NYC back in the 90s -- the 1990s -- called Baktun, and it was smooth, adobe, sandstone interior, almost similar in style to the Mos Eisley bar in SW, but it was definitely based on the Mayan calander, and the only cheap beer they sold, and only in cans, was Tecate -- no Bud, Coors, or Miller. It was definitely a scene! Alas, the bar, as well as the scene, ended up like the ancient Mayan civilization and it is long gone.

[@hallowacko]

This and your Olmec video really drives home that, if we are going to refer to the myriad north-afro-euro-near-asian cultures that used the 7-day-week as a single "Western Civilization", then we must do the same with Meso-America (plus the north american and south american cultures influenced by them). Tin Foil Hat Time: were the Mississippians influenced by Meso-America? And do we know anything about their own calendar? I look at stuff from Cahokia on wikipedia, ,and it feels like theres a similar art style happening there to some Meso-American stuff. Love your channel, so glad I found it. Episode Request: Effigy Mounds? (I'm a Wisconsinite, so... a little selfish there :P)

[@AncientAmericas]

If you're from Wisconsin, you'll be very pleased with the next episode that's coming.

[@hallowacko]

@@AncientAmericas AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH EXCITED SCREAMS

[@NCRonrad]

Jurucan - Hurucan; a shared deity between Maya, Atlantic islands, and tribes/nations of the Mississippi/florida

[@epicweedskrrtswag7872]

Didn’t really understand the calender, but love your enthusiasm

[@AncientAmericas]

It's ok. I didn't get it the first time around either and had to reread the same stuff over and over again to understand it. It's not easy.

[@OmnipotentO]

Mind blowing how clever they were

[@anam2996]

MUCHÍSIMAS GRACIAS! estoy haciendo mi tesis de licenciatura y ha sido muy difícil para mí entender las explicaciones sobre los calendarios en la bibliografía especializada, gracias por tan buena explicación! Saludos desde México!

[@AncientAmericas]

Muchas gracias!

[@birgaripadam7112]

My god that was complex and I love it

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@birgaripadam7112]

@@AncientAmericas a was interested in pre-colonisation history af America and currently I loving it One can only wonder what would there civilization (if left alone) evolve to

[@vortiz3509]

Sir, the "calendar" graphic is not a calendar. It is thought by many that it is but it is not. It is an Aztec sun stone and it depicts the five consecutive worlds of the sun from Aztec cosmology. Please, do not confuse them.

[@AncientAmericas]

You are 100% correct. I was ignorant at the time. That's my mistake.

[@greatskytrollantidrama4473]

Pretty sure I've binge watched everything. Thank you

[@AncientAmericas]

Thanks! Better get some sleep so you can watch tomorrow's episode.

[@nicktohzyu]

could you please create a playlist with all your videos? because youtube "watch all" doesn't allow us to reverse it!

[@salvadoralvarez1248]

Congratulation. Thank you for so interesting facts,about my mayan culture.

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@Ottmar555]

Cipactli is pronouned /sipaktli/. C in classical nahuatl is used the same way as in spanish, remember. /s/ before e and i and /k/ before a and o. Atlcahualo means "The water(s) leave".

[@AncientAmericas]

I wish I'd had your expertise a year ago. I don't speak nahuatl or spanish. Definitely good to know!

[@gleann_cuilinn]

The reason why the /s/ sound is spelled c/z in Nahuatl is kinda interesting. In late medieval Spanish, the letter was pronounced “retracted”, almost like “sh”, while and were pronounced like an “s” but with the very tip of the tongue on the teeth. Early Spanish colonists thought that the Nahuatl sound was more like their than their (at the time). Also, unlike in Modern Spanish, was pronounced like “sh” back then, so that was used to write the Nahuatl “sh” sound in words like xitomatl and nixtamalli.

[@Ottmar555]

@@gleann_cuilinn I'd argue that the modern peninsular spanish still sounds quite like an "sh". The distiction between two "s" sounds is still retained in Euskera, their "s" is like the spanish sound and their "z" like english "s". Even the nahuatl speakers themselves thought the sounded like "sh", as they transcribed spanish loanwords with an , such as Xinola for Señora.

[@lolaojeda1206]

This is how my Grandfather 91.6%Mesoamerican Jose Lino Sandate Morales was named!! Born September 23, 1940!! Family from San Luis Potosi born Brewster TEXUS!!

[@philipptomic6310]

i think we dont know enugh of the history of the pre columbian Americas

[@AncientAmericas]

I agree! We need to change that.

[@anthonylezama1645]

4:13 and that tradition continues to this day! Although the days pertain to specific saints, it can be yet another way these people kept their customs alive

[@priscilajaneth4695]

That and christianity appropriating "pagan" traditions.

[@TheSuzberry]

Thankfully in awe.

[@AncientAmericas]

Thank you!

[@darlenequezada908]

What is the calendar round date that follow 4 Ajaw 8 Kumku ?

[@exitolaboral]

Y like these calendars, after a while I get dizzy and do time travell !!

[@bumbleguppy]

I bet your birthday translated to the long count would make a pretty strong password.

[@habitualforeigner]

Great idea, but the day name of my birth date is "skull/death" and I'm not very goth. LOL.

[@benjaminbarragan65]

Can someone explain to me further how to right the long count date:(

[@AncientAmericas]

I'd highly recommend getting a copy of Reading the Maya Glyphs by Michael Coe. There's lots of good info in there.

[@conradnelson5283]

Their calendar is pretty amazing. I’d never know what day it was. I just barely know as it is.

[@JamesFenczik]

@13:20 did I understand correctly that they dated/anchored their Calendar to ~3500 bc (5000 yr ago) and they said that the previous world ended ~5000 yr before that? (14 baktun) for a total of ~10,000 years ago?

[@nhenhe2214]

¿DÓNDE ESTÁN LOS SUBTÍTULOS EN ESPAÑOL Y PORTUGUÉS?

[@DocZom]

I think I will have to watch this twenty times before I understand it all.

[@AncientAmericas]

Believe me, it took me many tries to grasp this.

[@voidgeometry794]

Mine and my friends achievements will ecco thru time~!

[@thrustersonfull]

How did they adjust their calendar for the "leap year" days?

[@AncientAmericas]

Honestly, I'm not sure. I suspect that they probably checked the calendar against the solstice and equinoxes at first before figuring out that a solar year is actually 365.25 days per year. I'd assume that they'd have to add an extra day or two when they adjusted.

[@NicholasHara]

Quick question, how did the meso American calendar handle the slow drift of the calendar without leap years?

[@AncientAmericas]

Good question. They didn't adjust for it using the sacred calendar although they knew perfectly well that a solar year was slightly more than 365 days. (For that reason, the ha'ab cycle is often called the vague year.) However, using the long count, they could account for it there.

[@jacquesmesrine3244]

These people were geniuses. Without all the technology us Westerners had and their calendar was still so accurate! Incredible.

[@michaelanthony4750]

This will be the first youtube video to win an Oscar.

[@AncientAmericas]

You flatter me good sir.

[@arnausolbesalujas8172]

He, the best

[@felipeandrusco6478]

just to add to the why of the 260 days of tzolkin, its 20*13, which are both sacred numbers to the mayas for a *number* of reasons

[@daca8395]

Also, if my calculations are correct, the First Creation according to Maya started on 16th of november 8239 b.c.e.

[@kamion53]

how do you arrive at that date? I know there are numbers recorded higher the the 144000 day bactun, 20 baktun is called a pictun. And Stela 1 at Koba records 20 cycly als numbered 13 above the baktun, which creates a date of 142 nonilion years ago, while the Big Bang took place "only" 15 billion years ago. The 13.0.0.0.0 4 Ahau 8 K'umku Creation date is inscribed at the Stela C at Quiriga by placing the 1st constellation of the Turtle in the sky and placing the three stone sthrones on it back a.k.a. Orions Belt.

[@nmarbletoe8210]

i think 260 is also the number of days between the two yearly zeniths at a certain latitude in the Maya area