Test 5 – Study Guide – MAYA Astronomy (1A, 1B, and 1C) april 2016 What is astronomy? Astronomy is the study of the celestial objects including, the sun, the stars, moon, planets etc. It is very important to understand the celestial bodies since they dictate a lot of what occurs on earth. Earth spins around an imaginary line called the axis. Maya Astronomy: The ancient Maya were keen astronomers, recording and interpreting every aspect of the sky. As they believed that the will and actions of the Gods could be read in the stars, moon and planets. The Sun, Moon and planets (Venus in particular) were studied by the Maya. The Maya also based their calendars around astronomy. They also focused on the solstices and equinoxes. The solstice is either of the two times in the year, the summer solstice and the winter solstice, when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, marked by the longest and shortest days. An equinox is an astronomical event in which the plane of Earth's equator passes through the center of the Sun MAYA Observation tools: Architectural alignment solar tubes were created within the buildings to create an observatory. Cracks were left within buildings to observe the movement of the son creating solar daggers. The light would go through the cracks and create sort of like a dagger within a spiral diagram placed on a wall. They would use a Gnomon/gnomen, a stick place straight up and the shadow would represent the movement of the sun. Maya Calendars : The Maya calendar is complex and serves both practical and ceremonial purposes. These calendars are based on solar, lunar, planetary, and human cycles. These include the Haab which is a 365- day solar calendar, the Tzolk’in which is a 260-day sacred calendar, and the Calendar Round of 52 years. In addition, the Maya developed the Long Count calendar to date mythical and historical events chronologically. E-Groups were constructed specically at the end or beginning of the Maya calendar cycles known as, or that the groups were used for celebrating the end or beginning of the katun cycle (20 years). The Maya and the Sun: Kinich Ahau. He was one of the more powerful Gods of the Maya pantheon, considered an aspect of Itzamna, one of the Maya creator Gods. Kinich Ahau would shine in the sky all day before transforming himself into a jaguar at night to pass through Xibalba, the Maya underworld. In the Popol Vuh, the hero twins, transformed themselves at one point into the Sun and the Moon. Some of the Maya dynasties claimed to be descended from the Sun. The Maya and the Moon: Maya astronomers analyzed and predicted the Moon’s movements with great accuracy. As with the sun and planets, Maya dynasties often claimed to be descended from the Moon. Maya mythology generally associated the moon with a maiden, an old woman and/or a rabbit. The Maya Moon Goddess was Ix Chel, a powerful Goddess who battled with the Sun and made him descend into the underworld every night. The Maya and Venus: The most important planet to the Maya was Venus, which they associated with war. Battles and wars would be arranged to coincide with the movements of Venus and captured warriors and leaders would likewise be sacrificed according to the position of Venus in the night sky. The Maya painstakingly recorded the movements of Venus and determined that its year (relative to earth, not the sun) was 584 days long.

Keywords: Axis, solstice, equinox, gnomen, Xibalba, Kinich Ahau, Ix Chel, Haab, Tzolkin, Solar Dagger, Solar Tube, celestial, Venus