Talk:Maya calendar
From Academic Kids
the Maya chose the start date for their long count so that the alignment of the Sun with the Galactic Center will occur on the end date -- what does this mean? As two points determine a line, is the Sun not always in alignment with the Galactic Center? Or does it mean that the Sun, the Earth and the Galactic center are in alignment?
- I don't know, and I'm very skeptical of that statement. Unless there is some explanation/clarification I will remove it from the article and move it here to talk. The Maya calendar articles and the Aztec calendar articles, IMO, are something of a mess at present, and I've so far been reluctant to jump into the major work they need. -- Infrogmation 16:02, 13 May 2004 (UTC)
As no objection or expanation has appeared since, I've moved the statement below from the article to here. -- Infrogmation 21:23, 26 May 2004 (UTC)
- According to some students of the Maya calendar, the Maya chose the start date for their long count so that the alignment of the Sun with the Galactic Center will occur on the end date, although according to astronomers it is not possible to specify such an "alignment" with a precision of less than a few years.
Mayan/Maya
Shouldn't this be called the "Mayan calendar" instead of the "Maya calendar"? It's like saying "the France government" instead of "the French government". — Tim McCormack 01:24, 2004 Oct 11 (UTC)
- "Maya" is an adjective as well as a noun. While both "Maya" and "Mayan" are used as adjective forms in English, "Maya" seems prefered in the more scholarly works. -- Infrogmation 04:36, 11 Oct 2004 (UTC)
- "Maya" is the preferred adjective except when referring to the language, where "Mayan" is preferred. — Joe Kress 06:18, Oct 11, 2004 (UTC)
- Okeydoke. It still seems a little awkward, but I'll accept that... — Tim McCormack 17:22, 2004 Oct 11 (UTC)
Commendable article
I have to say this is one of the most lucid, intriguing wiki articles of this length I've seen.
Start with 0 or 1?
According to the Maya calendar article, the days of the Tzolkin calendar begin with zero: 0 Ahau, 1 Imix, and so on. But on the Tzol'kin article itself the days the calenday begins 1 Ahau, 2 Imix (...). Which is it? Do we just not know?
- Someone has confused the numbers associated with the Haab with those of the Tzolkin. The days of a Haab month are numbered 0-19, consisting of the numbers 1-19 plus the "seating of" a month glyph. Most regard the latter as day 0 of the named month, but some treat it as day 20 of the preceding (unnamed) month. But all sources state the day numbers of the Tzolkin are 1-13, not 0-12, along with 20 day names. Most list the day names beginning with Imix but a few begin with Ahau. — Joe Kress 23:48, Apr 9, 2005 (UTC)
- Yes, it definitely starts with 1, however, the beginning of the Tzolkin ought to be 1 Imix, not 1 Ahau. In the Tzolkin, only the numbers 1 to 13 are used. Dylanwhs 15:55, 10 Apr 2005 (UTC)
