Search engine for discovering works of Art, research articles, and books related to Art and Culture
Javascript must be enabled to continue!
An Ancient Maya Measurement System
View through CrossRef
In this report we attempt to answer the question: which measurement system did the Late Classic Maya use to build their buildings? Measurements were collected from ten buildings at three Puuc style archaeological sites: Uxmal, Kabah and Chichén Itzá, which date about A.D. 750-1000. The tentative results of the study suggest the Maya employed a measurement system involving what we are calling a zapal, which was 147 ± 5 cm long. A zapal was divided into 16 units, kab, of 9 xóot’ each, or 9 units, oc, of 16 xóot’ each. Thus, there were two alternative ways of grouping the 144 xóot’ that made up each zapal. An examination of the linguistic and ethnohistoric data reveals nothing to contradict the notion that such a measuring system was present among the ancient Maya, and that multiples of 3, 4, and 12 are involved.
Title: An Ancient Maya Measurement System
Description:
In this report we attempt to answer the question: which measurement system did the Late Classic Maya use to build their buildings? Measurements were collected from ten buildings at three Puuc style archaeological sites: Uxmal, Kabah and Chichén Itzá, which date about A.
D.
750-1000.
The tentative results of the study suggest the Maya employed a measurement system involving what we are calling a zapal, which was 147 ± 5 cm long.
A zapal was divided into 16 units, kab, of 9 xóot’ each, or 9 units, oc, of 16 xóot’ each.
Thus, there were two alternative ways of grouping the 144 xóot’ that made up each zapal.
An examination of the linguistic and ethnohistoric data reveals nothing to contradict the notion that such a measuring system was present among the ancient Maya, and that multiples of 3, 4, and 12 are involved.
Related Results
Arithmetic, Astronomy, And The Calendar by Kaylee Spencer-Ahrens and Linnea H. Wren
Arithmetic, Astronomy, And The Calendar by Kaylee Spencer-Ahrens and Linnea H. Wren
Abstract
The Maya were excellent mathematicians and superb astronomers. They invented the concept of zero; they devised innovative methods of measuring and dating ti...
Maya Literature
Maya Literature
To talk about Maya literature is to talk about a literature that transcends borders though is not unmarked by them. Generally speaking, the Maya region encompasses Southern Mexico,...
Migration and Creation in Aztec and Maya literature
Migration and Creation in Aztec and Maya literature
Migration and Creation in Aztec and Maya Literature provides a new perspective on migration and creation episodes in the Popol Vuh of the Quiché Maya Indians of highland Guatemala,...
1. Creating “the Maya”
1. Creating “the Maya”
“Creating ‘the Maya’” begins with the paradox that the people we call Maya never thought of themselves as such. There was no unified Maya state, empire, or language. Historically, ...
EPD Electronic Pathogen Detection v1
EPD Electronic Pathogen Detection v1
Electronic pathogen detection (EPD) is a non - invasive, rapid, affordable, point- of- care test, for Covid 19 resulting from infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus. EPD scanning techno...
Entrevista con una mujer maya-mopán: un caso de conversación bilingüe maya-yucateco maya-mopán
Entrevista con una mujer maya-mopán: un caso de conversación bilingüe maya-yucateco maya-mopán
his text reproduces a conversation held between a man who speaks Yucatec Maya and a woman whose language is Mopan Maya. A third person, a Kekchi speaking woman who also knows Yucat...
Practical Concerns In Metering Fluids From Production Operations
Practical Concerns In Metering Fluids From Production Operations
Abstract
Accurate measurement of oil and gas is of vital concern. Measurement of these vapor and liquid streams by mass, volumetric, and energy techniques are rev...
Modeling Maya Markets
Modeling Maya Markets
An abundance of data now supports the existence—long doubted—of markets in the Maya area in the Classic period (C.E. 250–900) and their economic importance. Why, however, did it ta...