Maya Empire for Kids
The Mysterious Maya
A long time ago, around 2500 BCE, an ancient tribe of Central American Indians called the Olmecs settled in the rainforests of the Yucatan Peninsula of Central America.
About two thousand years later, around 400 BCE, a new people suddenly appeared. These people were called the Maya. No one knows where they came from, but they arrived with amazing skills. They were an advanced civilization. They soon took over the Yucatan Peninsula of Central America.
The Maya were very clever people. Their system of mathematics was among the most sophisticated in the ancient world.
Like the ancient Romans, the Mayas were master builders.
Unlike the ancient Romans, the ancient Mayas did not have metal tools. Their tools were made of stone, bone, and wood. Yet they built beautiful structures, huge cities, and excellent roads - roads that connected the many hundreds of cities that made up the Maya world.
Around 900 CE, the Maya cities were abandoned. A few people continued to live in the cities, but mostly, the cities were empty. The people had, for the most part, disappeared, gone somewhere else. Those who remained were unable or unwilling to repair the magnificent roads and buildings. The great Maya cities fell into ruin.
To this day, nobody knows where the Maya people came from before they arrived in the Yucatan Peninsula, and nobody knows why they left or where they went when most of the Maya people abandoned their cities and disappeared from the Yucatan Peninsula. That's why the Maya are sometimes referred to as "the mysterious Mayas".
During the 1500 years or so that the Maya Indians made their home in Central America, they build hundreds of religious centers, each filled with huge pyramids and elaborate temples. There was at least one ball court in every city. Excellent roads ran for miles through the jungles and swamps, linking these centers of religion and learning.
Today, archaeologists remain very curious about these ancient people. Archaeologists face many dangers to hunt for the ruins of the ancient Maya cities hidden deep in the jungles of Central America.
There are not many, but there are some Maya people still living in Central America, descendants of the ancient Mayas who remained behind in the nearly deserted cities. Still today, their crafts are amongst the most beautiful in the world.
Geography
Map of the Maya World
• By Peter Tyson
• Posted 02.13.01
• NOVA
In its heyday from about A.D. 300 to 900, the Maya civilization boasted hundreds of cities across a vast swath of Central America. Now archeological sites, these once-flourishing cities extended from Chichén Itzá in the northern Yucatán to Copán, about 400 miles to the south in modern-day Honduras. Each bore ceremonial centers where theocratic rulers practiced a complex religion based on a host of gods, a unique calendar, and ceremonies that featured a ball game and human sacrifice. The ancient Maya also mastered astronomy, mathematics, art and architecture, and a glyph system of writing on stone, ceramics, and bark paper. Using an interactive map, visit 15 of the better-known Maya sites.
Uxmal, Mexico. Reputed to be one of the most beautiful Mayan cities, it holds the only known pyramid with an oval base. The Magician's Pyramid sits on one side of a square noted for its excellent acoustics. Grand terraces offer remarkable views.
Chichen Itza, Mexico. The most famous Mayan city, this was the capital of the second empire, which lasted from about 1000 to 1450. Its enormous pyramids, including the giant Castillo pyramid that houses a jaguar throne, hold remarkable carvings and murals. A nearby cenote, or natural well, was used for human sacrifices to the rain god.
Tulum, Mexico. Between 1200 and 1450, this seacoast city became a major Mayan port and the center of a vast trading network.
Tikal, Guatemala. The largest known Mayan city, Tikal is believed to have been home to more than 55,000 people in the year 700. The 60-square-mile site holds numerous pyramids, shrines, and ball courts, where Mayans played a sometimes dangerous version of soccer, reportedly using as balls human skulls, which could do serious damage if kicked into an opponent.
Copan, Honduras. A southern outpost of the first Mayan empire, which lasted from 300 to about 900, Copan boasts some of the best preserved ball courts ever found, along with the longest known Mayan stone inscription. The document has helped archaeologists decode some of the culture's mysterious hieroglyphs.
For a thousand years, they ruled what is today a large part of Mexico and southern Central America. They built huge cities and enormous pyramids that vaulted hundreds of feet into the skies. Then, seemingly in an instant, the Mayan Empire, the focus of the second episode of SPIRITS OF THE JAGUAR, collapsed, leaving thousands of elegant stone carvings hidden in the region's lush tropical forests. Even today, the ancient monuments are still being rediscovered.
Pyramids at the Mayan city of Chichen Itza.
The Mayans believed that they were created by gods who added their own blood to flour made from corn, a plant native to their Central American homelands. Thus, they were children of the corn, and along with gods personified by the fierce jaguar and the life-giving rain, they worshipped the tall grass that fed them.
In fact, it was their skill as farmers that allowed the Mayans to prosper. Reliable crops of corn, squash, and beans provided enough food for the Mayan population to grow and for some residents to specialize in new skills, unburdened by the need to tend the fields. Some of these specialists became architects, while others helped push Mayan mathematics and astronomy to remarkable heights.
Today, Mayan cities highlight just how much knowledge this society accumulated at its height 1,200 years ago. Ornate wall carvings are actually astonishingly detailed calendars that can still be used to predict eclipses and other astral events. Similarly, massive temples are also astronomical observatories designed to track the movements of the night sky. Windows and doors are perfectly aligned to channel the light of the sun at different times of the year or to highlight a sparkling planet.
By necessity, the Mayans were also expert geologists. Each of their great cities is situated next to a cenote, or natural well. The cave water was essential because, although they lived in a tropical forest, fresh surface water was rare. Water from the cenote not only sated the Mayans thirst, it also provided irrigation water for their crops when rain was scarce.
Despite their knowledge, however, the Mayans were only human. By 900, political disagreements and civil wars -- together with crop failures, disease, and other natural disasters -- apparently forced the Mayans to abandon many of their great cities. Some fled to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, where they built a new empire ruled from the military citadel of Chichen Itza. But this society also fell in the 1400s, a victim of internal strife and invasion from hostile neighbors.
Though their empire is long gone, the Mayans live on. An estimated 1.5 million to 4.5 million descendants of the Mayans inhabit southern Central America. In Mexico's Yucatan region, many residents still speak Maya languages and wear clothing virtually indistinguishable from that depicted in ancient carvings. And, like their ancestors, they pursue a spiritual life still colored by ancient beliefs in the gods of the corn and the jaguar. In the words of noted local poet Mediz Bolio, many locals may speak in Spanish -- but they think in Mayan.
Religion
Gods of Nature: The Mayas worshipped the gods of nature every day. Worshiping their gods was a huge part of their daily life.
Some of their gods included the God of Rain, Lady Rainbow, the God of Maize (corn), and of course, the God of Sun.
Without the help of these important gods, there would be no crops and everyone would starve.
Afterlife: The Mayas believed in an afterlife. Commoners buried their dead inside their homes, under the floor. That way, they could live with their ancestors and keep their ancestors easily posted on their daily life. The Mayas believed they would be compensated. If they had a rough time or a rough life, this would be made up to them in their afterlife.
Nobles were buried in tombs.
The Underworld: Maya religion was far more complicated than the simple worship of gods of nature. The Maya world was composed of 3 layers - the Heavens, the Earth, and the Underworld, sometimes called the Otherworld or the Place of Awe.
The Mayas conducted many ceremonies to keep the demons, creatures and gods in the Underworld, where they belonged.
Masks: During certain religious ceremonies, priests dressed up like jaguars. Priests wore scary masks as they faced the inhabitants of the Underworld. Priests wanted to present themselves as equally scary and powerful.
Mirrors: All of the men, but none of the women, used mirrors. In the ancient Maya world, looking into a mirror was an act of courage. The Maya believed that monsters from the Place of Awe could reach through the mirror, and yank you into the Otherworld.
Priests: Maya daily life and culture was wrapped around their religion. The priests decided nearly everything in the Mayas daily life. The priests decided when to plant, when to marry, and who to sacrifice.
Maya Priests
Powerful Leaders of Religion
Religion was at the heart of nearly all Maya activities. The Mayas believed in a great many gods and goddesses. They believed their priests could talk to the gods. That gave the priests incredible power.
The priests, along with the leaders in each city-state, were the most powerful people in the Maya civilization. Priests decided nearly everything in the Maya daily life. They decided when to plant, when people could marry, marry, and whom to sacrifice.
Palaces & Temples
Palaces:
The Mayas built palaces for their rulers. One noble family ruled each city.
Each city had a palace built for that city’s ruler. The job of ruler was hereditary. When one ruler died, his son took over. Typically, there was one palace per city.
The Palace was often built around a central garden or court for protection and privacy.
Maya Temples: Temples were places of worship, and home to the many priests of the Maya civilization. At the foot of the temple was typically where the Mayas placed their ball courts.
Like the palaces, temples had a central courtyard offering privacy to those who lived there.
Pyramids were sometimes used as tombs for the royals, as well as for other purposes, but temples were never used as tombs. Temples were homes.
Government
One noble family controlled each city. When the ruling noble died, his job passed to his son. No one else got a shot at it. The noble families’ right to rule originated with the Hero Twins. Each noble family was supposedly a direct descendant of one of the Hero Twins. That gave them the justification they needed to keep their job. They were directly related to the gods.
The ruling noble did not do his job alone. Part of his job was to select a council of elders and warriors to help him rule. Other people were additionally selected to help run the government. Some people were chosen to enforce laws. Others were chosen to act as judges. So the Mayas ruled themselves via a system of city-states.
Like the ancient Greeks, the Maya city-states were both independent and intertwined. The Maya people all spoke the same language. They used the same system of counting. They worshiped the same gods. They told the same myths. They had the same laws. They wore the same style clothing. They thought of themselves as one people.
Unlike the ancient Greeks, Maya cities were interconnected with marvelous roads. Archaeologists believe that once, long ago, there were hundreds of Maya cities. Each Maya city had a palace, some temples, some pyramids, a central marketplace, and of course, a ball court.
The Mayas built an empire. The Maya civilization lasted for 1500 years. No one knows why this empire failed. It remains a mystery.
Maya law was very strict. Punishments varied, but the laws were pretty fair.
If you stole something and you were caught, you became the captive of your victim. If you committed a lesser crime, your hair would be cut short. Short hair was a sign of disgrace. It was possible that, as a punishment, all your possessions might be sold at auction.
The Mayas held trials. Evidence was presented against you or for you. This evidence was presented before a judge. It did not matter who you were. If you committed a crime, and you were found guilty after a judge had heard your case, you would be punished. This was rigidly enforced.
Leaders & Nobles
Leaders: A different noble family ruled each city. The Mayas were governed by city-state. The same family ruled forever. The crown was handed from father to son forever. Their right to rule came from the fact that they were direct descendants of the Hero Twins. They were the kids of the kids of the kids of the original Hero Twins.
Nobles: The nobles were all the people who were not actually the rulers, but were of royal blood - the brothers and sisters and cousins and aunts and uncles of the ruling family. Nobles believed they were so important that, when they appeared in public, their attendants would hold a cloth in front of their face. That way, no one could talk to them directly.
High Fashion: Maya nobles spent a great deal of time on their personal appearance. They bathed often. They pierced their ears. They covered their bodies with tattoos. They painted their bodies. They loved fancy colorful embroidery added to their clothing. They loved straight black hair and high cheekbones. They loved jewelry.
Hats: Most of all, they loved hats! Hats were very important. The Mayas believed that the bigger the hat, the more important the wearer. Some of the headdresses worn by nobles were taller than they were.
As in most ancient cultures, the nobles life was one of leisure. They had the time to spend on what they believed made them look beautiful.
Farmers Daily Life
Many of the Maya peasants were farmers. Families lived in thatched roofed houses - one family per house.
Farmers and their families ate very well on the farms. Food included hot corn porridge for breakfast, and tortillas filled with cooked vegetables for lunch and dinner.
Farmers worked very hard. The Mayas did not have metal tools. Fathers and sons worked their land mostly by hand, helped a little with stone axes. Even though their tools were very simple, farmers grew so much food that they produced surplus crops.
Wives and daughters cooked and cleaned and sewed. Girls babysat their youngest siblings. Women carried goods in baskets on their heads from the fields and to market. Women helped in the fields as necessary.
When the growing season ended, farmers worked alongside slaves (captured people from other tribes) to build the magnificent cities. They were the labor.
Pyramids
A Maya pyramid is a base with four triangular sides. Without metal tools, they built pyramids that were 200 feet high.
The Mayas built two kinds of pyramids. Both pyramids had steep steps leading up to a flat top, but only one type of pyramid was designed to be used. The other was designed to be admired - it was designed to honor a god. Tikal, one of the major Mayas cities, had an especially large number of pyramids. Some were designed to be climbed, and some were not.
The type of pyramid that was designed to be used was used by the priests. Priests climbed the pyramids to conduct ceremonies on the steps where everyone could see them. The most important ceremonies were conducted at the very top of the pyramids. Because some ceremonies were held at the top of pyramids, Maya pyramids had flat tops.
The other kind of pyramid looked remarkably similar. These pyramids also had flat tops and steep steps, but the steps were not to be used. These pyramids were built to honor a god. Of course, you could climb the steps, although they were very steep. You might even find a doorway here and there. The doorways led to tunnels that went nowhere. Some tunnels were rigged with deadly traps.
The Maya people knew which pyramids were designed to be used and which were designed to be honored. But archaeologists today must tread very carefully, because it is sometimes hard to tell the two different types of Maya pyramids apart.
Festivals
Throughout the Maya Empire,
every 20th day, there was a religious festival.
Festivals: The most important event in the cities were the religious festivals. People who lived near a major city would travel to the city to attend the festivals, see the ball games and shop in the market.
Every 20th day, there was a religious festival. Priests would climb the pyramid steps, dressed in fierce masks, to please the gods. Wearing huge headdresses, Maya dancers performed in front of the Pyramid or the Temple or both. The Mayas are famous for their dances and their headdresses. The movement of the dance would make their headdresses jingle and rattle. It was quite a site.
Bloodletting: During the festivals, there were human and animal sacrifices. Not all sacrifices ended in death. The Mayas communicated with their gods by bloodletting, tribute, and worship. Occasionally, they used human sacrifice. More often, bloodletting was a personal sacrifice. People would stab or prick themselves. It was their own blood that was offered as a tribute to their gods during worship. When nobles offered blood, a drop was smeared on a bit of bark. The bark was burned and the smoke floated to heaven where it could be consumed by the gods.
Maya Cities, Temples, Palaces,
Pyramids, Stelas
The Maya were Master Builders
The Maya did not use metal. Their tools were made of stone, wood, and shell. Without metal tools, they built huge cities with strong buildings and pyramids that were 200 feet high. Here are some of the things they built:
Cities: The Mayas built many cities. Each city was built in a similar way. Each Maya city had a central marketplace. Every city had a large plaza where people could gather. Every city had huge pyramids, temples, at least one ball court, and a palace for the city ruler.
Each city was a center of learning and religion for the people who lived nearby.
Cities were connected with extremely well built roads that run for miles through the jungle and swamps.
Two of their largest cities were Tikal (tee KAHL) located in the present day country of Guatemala, and Copan (ko PAHN) located in the present day country of Honduras.
Dance: The Maya loved dance. Some scholars believe the Maya might have known a thousand different dances. Their dances included the Monkey, the Grandfather, the Shadow of the Trees, and the Centipede. Dance costumes were colorful, and headdresses were huge!
Today, hundreds of these dances are still performed in Central America.
Music: The Maya played drums. They rattled turtle shells and played pottery flutes. Many games were accompanied by music and dance.
The time you had to spend on these activities depended upon your place in society.
Ball Courts
Each Maya city had at least one huge ball court similar to the stadiums we have today. Tiers of bleacher seating surrounded each open air ball court. Ball courts and the games played within them were important to the Maya people. Games were always played during the religious festivals held every 20 days. But there were other games held as well. Each time a game was played in a nearby city, people poured in from the surrounding areas to attend.
Honoring the Gods: Ball courts were usually positioned at the foot of a temple. Ball games had religious meanings. Games were played to honor the Hero Twins and other Maya gods and goddesses.
The Game: Courts had a large playing area. There was a stone hoop mounted in the wall at one end. The Mayas used the ball courts to play a ball game they called pok-a-tok. It was a very rough sport.
Pok-a-tok is a mix of soccer, basketball, and kick ball. It was played with a solid hard rubber ball. You could not hit the ball with your hands. It had to be hit with the hips, shoulders, or arms. The object of the game was to hit the rubber ball through the stone ring that was attached to the wall at one end of the court. Ball players wore protective clothing when playing.
Winners: When playing games among themselves, or against other Maya cities, the winning team got to keep the jewelry of the losing team.
Losers: Some games were played with captives, people from other Indian tribes that Maya warriors had captured. These games were of great interest to the Maya people. Poorly fed, exhausted, beaten captives made up one team, and professional Maya ball players made up the other. The beaten captives always lost these games. After they lost, they were sacrificed.
A System of Writing
Maya Glyphs
The Maya invented the most advanced form of writing in the ancient Americas. They used hieroglyphics. The Mayas used about 700 symbols or glyphs. A glyph is a picture or a symbol used to represent a sound, a word, or perhaps a syllable.
Hieroglyphics covered their stelas, the big stone slabs they built to tell the story of special occasions and events. Hieroglyphics were used on temple walls and pillars. The Mayas wrote everything down. If only we could read it all!
The Maya wrote books about their gods, their leaders, their daily life, and their special events. They were not like the books we have today. Maya books were made of soft bark and were folded like a fan. The reader had to unfold them to read them. Books included drawings as well as glyphs. A book was called a codex.
When the Spanish arrived, about 600 years after the Maya civilization had disappeared, they found many Maya codices. The Spanish priests believed they had found pictures of demons and devils. They burned the codices they found. Much was destroyed, but fortunately, not everything.
Even today, scholars have a tough time understanding the complicated written language of the ancient Mayas. They can read 80% of the Maya writings they have found. These writings have told us a great deal about ancient Maya religion, government, and daily life.
Maya Math, Numbers, Calendars
The Mayans had a number system consisting of shells, dots, and lines. You could write up to nineteen with just these symbols. The Maya were one of the only ancient civilizations that understood the concept of zero. This allowed them to write very large numbers.
Would mean 0
Would mean 1
Would mean 5
Maya Numbers 0-19
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
The numbers from 20 on are the same symbols but they'd be 20 times what they really represent just add 0 after it. Using this system you can write up to 399.
20
100
Now that you understand, you do 20 times 20 times the symbol for 400 to 7999. Here's how you would write 1,377 in Mayan numerals.
El Castillo. Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico.
This Mesoamerican step pyramid’s platform, along with its four stairways of 91 steps, totals 365, or the number of days in a calendar year.
Aztec Calendar.
The Aztec calendar was an adaptation of the Mayan calendar. It consisted of a 365-day agricultural calendar, as well as a 260-day sacred calendar. (This is a digital composite. Color added for visibility.)
Among their other accomplishments, the ancient Mayas invented a calendar of remarkable accuracy and complexity. At right is the ancient Mayan Pyramid Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico. The Pyramid of Kukulkan at Chichén Itzá, constructed circa 1050 was built during the late Mayan period, when Toltecs from Tula became politically powerful. The pyramid was used as a calendar: four stairways, each with 91 steps and a platform at the top, making a total of 365, equivalent to the number of days in a calendar year.
The Maya calendar was adopted by the other Mesoamerican nations, such as the Aztecs and the Toltec, which adopted the mechanics of the calendar unaltered but changed the names of the days of the week and the months. An Aztec calendar stone is shown above right.
The Maya calendar uses three different dating systems in parallel, the Long Count, the Tzolkin (divine calendar), and the Haab (civil calendar). Of these, only the Haab has a direct relationship to the length of the year.
A typical Mayan date looks like this: 12.18.16.2.6, 3 Cimi 4 Zotz.
12.18.16.2.6 is the Long Count date.
3 Cimi is the Tzolkin date.
4 Zotz is the Haab date.
• What is the Long Count?
o When did the Long Count Start?
• What is the Tzolkin?
o When did the Tzolkin Start?
• What is the Haab?
o When did the Haab Start?
• Did the Mayas Think a Year Was 365 Days?
What is the Long Count?
The Long Count is really a mixed base-20/base-18 representation of a number, representing the number of days since the start of the Mayan era. It is thus akin to the Julian Day Number.
The basic unit is the kin (day), which is the last component of the Long Count. Going from right to left the remaining components are:
uinal (1 uinal = 20 kin = 20 days)
tun (1 tun = 18 uinal = 360 days = approx. 1 year)
katun (1 katun = 20 tun = 7,200 days = approx. 20 years)
baktun (1 baktun = 20 katun = 144,000 days = approx. 394 years)
The kin, tun, and katun are numbered from 0 to 19.
The uinal are numbered from 0 to 17.
The baktun are numbered from 1 to 13.
Although they are not part of the Long Count, the Mayas had names for larger time spans. The following names are sometimes quoted, although they are not ancient Maya terms:
1 pictun = 20 baktun = 2,880,000 days = approx. 7885 years
1 calabtun = 20 pictun = 57,600,000 days = approx. 158,000 years
1 kinchiltun = 20 calabtun = 1,152,000,000 days = approx. 3 million years
1 alautun = 20 kinchiltun = 23,040,000,000 days = approx. 63 million years
The alautun is probably the longest named period in any calendar.
When did the Long Count Start?
Logically, the first date in the Long Count should be 0.0.0.0.0, but as the baktun (the first component) are numbered from 1 to 13 rather than 0 to 12, this first date is actually written 13.0.0.0.0.
The authorities disagree on what 13.0.0.0.0 corresponds to in our calendar. I have come across three possible equivalences:
13.0.0.0.0 = 8 Sep 3114 BC (Julian) = 13 Aug 3114 BC (Gregorian)
13.0.0.0.0 = 6 Sep 3114 BC (Julian) = 11 Aug 3114 BC (Gregorian)
13.0.0.0.0 = 11 Nov 3374 BC (Julian) = 15 Oct 3374 BC (Gregorian)
Assuming one of the first two equivalences, the Long Count will again reach 13.0.0.0.0 on 21 or 23 December AD 2012 - a not too distant future.
The date 13.0.0.0.0 may have been the Mayas’ idea of the date of the creation of the world.
What is the Tzolkin?
The Tzolkin date is a combination of two "week" lengths.
While our calendar uses a single week of seven days, the Mayan calendar used two different lengths of week:
• a numbered week of 13 days, in which the days were numbered from 1 to 13
• a named week of 20 days, in which the names of the days were:
0. Ahau 1. Imix 2. Ik 3. Akbal 4. Kan
5. Chicchan 6. Cimi 7. Manik 8. Lamat 9. Muluc
10. Oc 11. Chuen 12. Eb 13. Ben 14. Ix
15. Men 16. Cib 17. Caban 18. Etznab 19. Caunac
The diagram at left shows the day symbols, in the same order as the table above.
As the named week is 20 days and the smallest Long Count digit is 20 days, there is synchrony between the two; if, for example, the last digit of today’s Long Count is 0, today must be Ahau; if it is 6, it must be Cimi. Since the numbered and the named week were both "weeks," each of their name/number change daily; therefore, the day after 3 Cimi is not 4 Cimi, but 4 Manik, and the day after that, 5 Lamat. The next time Cimi rolls around, 20 days later, it will be 10 Cimi instead of 3 Cimi. The next 3 Cimi will not occur until 260 (or 13 x 20) days have passed. This 260-day cycle also had good-luck or bad-luck associations connected with each day, and for this reason, it became known as the "divinatory year."
The "years" of the Tzolkin calendar are not counted.
When did the Tzolkin Start?
Long Count 13.0.0.0.0 corresponds to 4 Ahau. The authorities agree on this.
What is the Haab?
The Haab was the civil calendar of the Mayas. It consisted of 18 "months" of 20 days each, followed by 5 extra days, known as Uayeb. This gives a year length of 365 days.
The names of the month were:
1. Pop 7. Yaxkin 13. Mac
2. Uo 8. Mol 14. Kankin
3. Zip 9. Chen 15. Muan
4. Zotz 10. Yax 16. Pax
5. Tzec 11. Zac 17. Kayab
6. Xul 12. Ceh 18. Cumku
In contrast to the Tzolkin dates, the Haab month names changed every 20 days instead of daily; so the day after 4 Zotz would be 5 Zotz, followed by 6 Zotz ... up to 19 Zotz, which is followed by 0 Tzec.
The days of the month were numbered from 0 to 19. This use of a 0th day of the month in a civil calendar is unique to the Maya system; it is believed that the Mayas discovered the number zero, and the uses to which it could be put, centuries before it was discovered in Europe or Asia.
The Uayeb days acquired a very derogatory reputation for bad luck; known as "days without names" or "days without souls," and were observed as days of prayer and mourning. Fires were extinguished and the population refrained from eating hot food. Anyone born on those days was "doomed to a miserable life."
The years of the Haab calendar are not counted.
The length of the Tzolkin year was 260 days and the length of the Haab year was 365 days. The smallest number that can be divided evenly by 260 and 365 is 18,980, or 365×52; this was known as the Calendar Round. If a day is, for example, "4 Ahau 8 Cumku," the next day falling on "4 Ahau 8 Cumku" would be 18,980 days or about 52 years later. Among the Aztec, the end of a Calendar Round was a time of public panic as it was thought the world might be coming to an end. When the Pleaides crossed the horizon on 4 Ahau 8 Cumku, they knew the world had been granted another 52-year extension.
When did the Haab Start?
Long Count 13.0.0.0.0 corresponds to 8 Cumku. The authorities agree on this.
Did the Mayas Think a Year Was 365 Days?
Although there were only 365 days in the Haab year, the Mayas were aware that a year is slightly longer than 365 days, and in fact, many of the month-names are associated with the seasons; Yaxkin, for example, means "new or strong sun" and, at the beginning of the Long Count, 1 Yaxkin was the day after the winter solstice, when the sun starts to shine for a longer period of time and higher in the sky. When the Long Count was put into motion, it was started at 7.13.0.0.0, and 0 Yaxkin corresponded with Midwinter Day, as it did at 13.0.0.0.0 back in 3114 B.C.E. The available evidence indicates that the Mayas estimated that a 365-day year precessed through all the seasons twice in 7.13.0.0.0 or 1,101,600 days.
We can therefore derive a value for the Mayan estimate of the year by dividing 1,101,600 by 365, subtracting 2, and taking that number and dividing 1,101,600 by the result, which gives us an answer of 365.242036 days, which is slightly more accurate than the 365.2425 days of the Gregorian calendar.
(This apparent accuracy could, however, be a simple coincidence. The Mayas estimated that a 365-day year precessed through all the seasons twice in 7.13.0.0.0 days. These numbers are only accurate to 2-3 digits. Suppose the 7.13.0.0.0 days had corresponded to 2.001 cycles rather than 2 cycles of the 365-day year, would the Mayas have noticed?)
In ancient times, the Mayans had a tradition of a 360-day year. But by the 4th century B.C.E. they took a different approach than either Europeans or Asians. They maintained three different calendars at the same time. In one of them, they divided a 365-day year into eighteen 20-day months followed by a five-day period that was part of no month. The five-day period was considered to be unlucky.
Source: http://www.kentschools.net/jlonganecker/files/2014/02/Maya-Empire-for-Kids.doc
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