The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar is a non-repeating base-20 and base-18 calendar used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures, most notably the Maya. For this reason, it is often known as the Maya Long Count calendar. Using a modified vigesimal tally, the Long Count calendar identifies a day by counting the number of days passed since a mythical creation date that corresponds to August 11, 3114 BCE in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. The Long Count calendar was widely used on monuments.

Background

The two most widely used calendars in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica were the 260-day Tzolkʼin and the 365-day Haabʼ. The equivalent Aztec calendars are known in Nahuatl as the Tonalpohualli and Xiuhpohualli.

The combination of a Haabʼ and a Tzolkʼin date identifies a day in a combination which does not occur again for 18,980 days (52 Haabʼ cycles of 365 days equals 73 Tzolkʼin cycles of 260 days, approximately 52 years), a period known as the Calendar Round. To identify days over periods longer than this, Mesoamericans used the Long Count calendar.

The Long Count calendar is divided into five distinct units:

  • one day - kin
  • 20 days - uinal
  • 360 days - tun
  • 7,200 days - katun
  • 144,000 days - baktun

Mesoamerican numerals

Long Count dates are written with Mesoamerican numerals, as shown on this table. A dot represents 1 while a bar equals 5. The shell glyph was used to represent the zero concept. The Long Count calendar required the use of zero as a place-holder and presents one of the earliest uses of the zero concept in history.

Show

The Mesoamerican Calendar - Ancient Americas 84

The Mayan Calendar countdown

Megathreads and spaces to hang out:

reminders:

  • 💚 You nerds can join specific comms to see posts about all sorts of topics
  • 💙 Hexbear’s algorithm prioritizes comments over upbears
  • 💜 Sorting by new you nerd
  • 🌈 If you ever want to make your own megathread, you can reserve a spot here nerd
  • 🐶 Join the unofficial Hexbear-adjacent Mastodon instance toots.matapacos.dog

Links To Resources (Aid and Theory):

Aid:

Theory:

    • infuziSporg [e/em/eir]
      ·
      1 year ago

      They need to be worn out. Taking them for at least a 2-mile walk should do. If it doesn't, but they like chasing balls, there are spear-thrower-like contraptions that you can throw tennis balls with, using minimal energy of your own but lots of their energy.

    • TheCaconym [any]
      ·
      1 year ago

      Speaking as someone in a flat, I wish I had dogs to play with. I played with one for like one hour a month ago and it make me feel really happy.

      I still have cats (mine and my partners), mind you; but still, I miss the attention towards dogs

      Like all animals they're absolutely fun guys that want to enjoy life; but dogs especially need human contact; try to spend time with them if you can, even if it seems tiresome, for them, nor even for your petsitting friend; they live usually for ten to thirteen years. Each moment for them is ten times the same moment for you in terms of lifetime. Play with them.

      The same is true of all living creatures; im-vegan btw, and so should you