Mayan Astronomers
Mayan astronomers left a legacy found in their surviving codices, written records, and the design of their cities and monuments—structures that remain aligned with celestial events to this day Achievements and Practices Mayan astronomers created highly accurate calendars, predicting solar and lunar eclipses and planetary cycles far into the future. They calculated the solar year at 365.2422 days and the lunar month at 29.5309 days—extremely close to modern values. The Dresden Codex, a surviving Mayan book, contains elaborate tables and calculations for Venus and Mars, eclipse prediction, and calendar cycles.
Ancient Mayan astronomers were masterful sky-watchers who observed and interpreted celestial patterns with remarkable precision, using only the naked eye and ingenious architectural and mathematical methods. Methods and Tools Mayan astronomers used rudimentary tools like sticks, cords, and simple viewing tubes to measure angles and track the positions of the Sun, Moon, and stars across the sky. One commonly used device was the cross-stick or gnomon—a vertical stick whose shadow was tracked throughout the day to determine solar noon, solstices, and equinoxes. The Maya also built dedicated observatories, such as El Caracol at Chichen Itza, featuring windows and structures precisely aligned with celestial phenomena like the paths of Venus or solar events.