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Thoughts on the Mayan Solar Calendar

 

The Mayan Solar Calendar consists of 360 days plus 5 1/4 days. Which raises a lot of questions. Like why divide the year up into 2 groups of days? Why 360 and 5 1/4? Did the Mayans invent this calendar themselves or inherit it from an earlier civilization?

 

Well, the 1st question is: did the Mayans invent their Solar Calendar themselves or inherit it from an earlier civilization? The evidence appears to be that they inherited it. The Mayan records of astronomical events reflect long term accuracy with short term inaccuracy, suggesting that they copied older measurements (THE LOST REALMS Zechariah Sitchin, Pages 79-80, citing EARLY MAN AND THE COSMOS, E. Hadingham). The fact that the Mayans' astronomical records reflect long term accuracy with short term inaccuracy suggests that they inherited their astronomical records from an earlier, more advanced, culture.

 

When did the Mayan Solar Calendar originate?

 

The next question is: when did the Mayan Solar Calendar originate? If the Mayans inherited their Solar Calendar from an earlier civilization, then that earlier civilization had to invent their Solar Calendar at some earlier point. And at what point would that be? In my opinion, the Mayan Solar Calendar originated when the solar year was 360 days.

 

This discussion leads us briefly into mathematics and geometry. Specifically, why do we divide a circle into 360 degrees? Why not 300 or 100 or 59? What is so special about 360? Well, when we look at other mathematical constants, we find that our ancestors derived them from observing nature. Pi is derived from the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. Phi, or the Golden Ratio, is derived from the property of 2 quantities having the same ratio as the larger quantity to the sum of the 2 quantities. So the fact that our ancestors derived mathematical constants from observing nature suggests that they chose to divide the circle into 360 units/degrees because they observed a circle in nature composed of 360 units.

 

And what circle in nature did our ancestors observe that was divided into 360 units? I do not know of any circle in nature today that is composed of 360 units. However, what if the Earth's orbit around the Sun was once 360 days? The fact that the Mayan and Egyptian Solar Calendars are divided into 2 parts consisting of 360 days and 5 1/4 days ( THE LOST REALMS, Zechariah Sitchin, Page 81) suggests that the Earth's orbit around the Sun was once 360 days. In addition, the Sumerian Solar Calendar consisted of a 360 day Solar Year in which the Sumerians intercalated an additional year after so many 360 day years to account for the difference in days (Ibid.), which also suggests that the Solar Year was previously 360 days. Thus, the Mayan, Egyptian, and Sumerian Solar Calendars suggest that our ancestors chose to divide a circle into 360 units or degrees because at that time they observed the circular orbit of the Earth around the Sun as being 360 days.

 

Think about it: what if a comet impacted the Earth right now, destroying our technology and most of the human race and slowing the Earth's orbit around the Sun by 5 days. What would the survivors do? Well, for starters, they would have to grow their own food. To grow their own food, they would need to know the seasons of the year. To know the seasons of the year, they would need to know how many days was the solar year. And with our technology destroyed, they would have no way of knowing that the Earth's orbit around the Sun had slowed and thus determining how many days was the year. So they would assume that a year was still 365 1/4 days. After about 10 years, they would notice that the seasons no longer matched their old Solar Calendar. So they would start measuring the year. After a couple of years, they would determine that the Earth's orbit was now about 370 days. However, they might assume (or hope) that the solar year would return to the old period of 365 1/4 days, in which case they would mark their Solar Calendars as 365 1/4 days plus 5 days. Kind of like the Egyptians and the Mayans with their Solar Calendars of 360 days plus 5 1/4 days.

 

And why are the 5 1/4 days vague or dangerous? The fact that the Mayans and Egyptians referred to these 5 1/4 days as dangerous suggests that these days were an ad hoc solution, added on to the calendar at a later date to reconcile a change in the Earth's orbit around the Sun. Also, if our ancestors had intended to divide the Solar Calendar into 2 or more parts, then they would have divided the parts more elegantly. For example, into 2 equal parts of 182 5/8 days or maybe 3 equal parts of 121 3/4 days. Dividing the Solar Calendar into 2 such unequal and inelegant parts suggests that our ancestors applied an ad hoc solution or fudge factor to a change in the Earth's orbit around the Sun after they had already established a Solar Calendar of 360 days.

 

Of course, the Egyptians and the Mayans could have revised their Solar Calendars to simply be 365 1/4 days. So why didn't they? This decision to not revise their Solar Calendars leads us into a discussion of the Precession of the Equinoxes. Our ancestors were keen to record the cycle known as the Precession of the Equinoxes so that we would know when the current cycle was ending. Many ancient cultures encoded their myths with numbers related to the Precession of the Equinoxes (see, for example FINGERPRINTS OF THE GODS, Graham Hancock, Pages 225-272, discussing HAMLET'S MILL). The fact that many ancient cultures encoded the Precession of the Equinoxes into their myths indicates that this subject was very important to them.

 

If the Earth's orbit around the Sun slowed down during the Precession of the Equinoxes, then we would need a couple of pieces of information to correctly know when the Precession of the Equinoxes was completing a cycle:

  • the length of 1 cycle of the Precession of the Equinoxes (how many years to complete 1 cycle)
  • either 1 of the endpoints (beginning or ending date of the cycle) or the midpoint (date of 1/2 completed cycle of the Precession of the Equinoxes)
  • how many days was the Earth's orbit around the Sun before the change/slowing down (the previous Solar Calendar)
  • when did the change/slowing down in the Earth's orbit occur (date of solar year change)
  • how many days is the current Earth orbit around the Sun (the current Solar Calendar)

Curiously, the ancient Egyptians recorded most of these pieces of information. The Egyptian Solar Calendar, like the Mayan Solar Calendar, consists of 360 days plus 5 1/4 days. So the previous calendar/Solar Year of 360 days is recorded in Egypt's current calendar/Solar Year. And the time of the change, 10,500 B.C.E. (near the beginning of the Younger Dryas Period), is encoded in the Pyramids and Sphinx on the Giza plateau. 10,500 B.C.E., also appears to record the midway point of the cycle of the Precession of the Equinoxes.

I speculate that a cometary impact during the Younger Dryas Period caused the Earth's orbit around the Sun to slow from 360 days to 365 1/4 days. I speculate that a planet existed between Mars and Jupiter that exploded in the recent geological past, like around 13,000 B.C.E. This planet exploded when Mars was nearby and the Earth was on the opposite side of the Sun. The planetary fragments from this exploding planet devastated Mars, rendering it lifeless. In addition, Mars' gravitational field caused some of the planetary fragments that missed hitting Mars to arc around Mars and spiral into a collision course with Earth. I further speculate that our ancestors observed this astronomical event and prepared for the cometary impact.

 

 

Explosion of planet between Mars and Jupiter and the
subsequent path of the comet storm that impacted the Earth

 

To check this theory, we would need to examine the comet impact craters on and offshore of the U.S. east coast, determine the size of the comets/meteors that caused these impact craters, the velocity at which they hit the Earth, and then calculate by how much such an impact would have slowed the Earth's orbit around the Sun. And considering that the Younger Dryas Period began and ended with abrupt climate changes, the Earth may have experienced 2 (or more) cometary impacts that slowed its orbit around the Sun from 360 days to 365 1/4 days.

 

The Mayan Baktun also supports this observation. The 394 1/4 year Baktun cycle roughly corresponds with the synchronization of the Earth's core and outer crust of about 392 years ( THE SOURCE FIELD INVESTIGATIONS, David Wilcock, Pages 347-358). As mentioned above, a cometary impact affected the Earth's orbit. And if this cometary impact affected the Earth's orbit, then logically it would also affect the rotational speed of the Earth's crust, mantle, and core. In particular, this cometary impact could affect the rotational speed of the Earth's crust, mantle, and core differently, causing them to move out of sync with each other. The fact that the Baktun is close to the synchronization of the Earth's core and outer crust (but not exact) suggests that the Baktun correctly reflected the synchronization cycle of the Earth's core and outer crust prior to the cometary impact that slowed the Earth's orbit from 360 days to 365 1/4 days (I am of course setting aside the questions of how the Mayans could know about the Earth's core and outer crust synchronizing cycle or how they went about measuring it).

 

Where did the Mayan Solar Calendar originate?

 

And the final question is, of course: where did the Mayan Solar Calendar originate? As discussed above, the Mayans appear to have inherited their Solar Calendar. Which means that they inherited their Solar Calendar from somewhere and somebody else. Or to put the question another way: who colonized the Mayans and when?

When 1 culture colonizes another culture, the dominant culture usually imposes their customs and traditions on the submissive culture. Consider the European colonies of the last 500 years: European countries (France, Spain, England) colonized various cultures in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia. These European countries imposed their written and spoken languages on the colonized cultures, along with their religious beliefs, calendars, etc. And even after these colonies received their independence, they still speak and write their respective European languages. For example, India, Australia, the United States, and Canada still speak and write the English language (India and Australia even retain the English accent). More specifically, the Maya and Inca and other cultures of Latin America still speak and write the Spanish language.

 

Going further back, the Roman Empire colonized most of Europe, including Spain, most of England, France, and Germany around 1 C.E. And today, roughly 2,000 years later, Spain, England, France, and Germany (among other European nations that the Romans colonized) still retain the roots of the Latin language in their current languages and practice the Roman state religion of Christianity. Thus, any culture that gave the Mayans their Solar Calendar would also have given them their written and spoken language along with their religion, among other things. And the Mayans would still be practicing those languages (or contain the roots of the mother language) and beliefs even after 2,000 years.

 

Well, curiously the Mayans and Egyptians share the same solar calendar of 360 days with 5 1/4 days ( THE LOST REALMS Zechariah Sitchin, Page 81). The Mayan and Egyptian Priests also dressed similarly, with Egyptian Priests wearing Leopard skins and Mayan Priests wearing Jaguar skins ( THE LOST REALMS Zechariah Sitchin, Page 67). So, in theory, the Mayans could have received their Solar Calendar from the ancient Egyptians. At the very least, these similarities in culture indicate that the Mayans and ancient Egyptians either had contact or inherited their cultures from a common source culture.

 

However, the Mayans did not get their Solar Calendar from Egypt. If the Mayans had received their Solar Calendar from Egypt, then they would have similar arts, culture, beliefs, and spoken and written language to Egypt. However, the Mayans do not share the same arts and culture (including spoken and written languages) and beliefs of the Egyptians, which they would have if they got their arts and culture and beliefs from the Egyptians. In particular, Mayan hieroglyphs do not look like Egyptian hieroglyphs. The fact that the Mayans do not share the same arts and culture (including spoken and written languages) and beliefs of the Egyptians suggests that the Mayans did not get their Solar Calendar from Egypt. Thus, the Mayans and ancient Egyptians appear to have inherited their Solar Calendar from a common source culture.

 

Egyptian Hieroglyphs from Kom Ombo.

Mayan Hieroglyphs from a
sculpture along the sidewalk to
the museum at Dzibilchaltun.

 

The Mayans and Egyptians did not get their Solar Calendar from the Sumerians. As mentioned above, the Sumerians had a Solar Calendar of 360 days with a 13th month intercalated every so many years (THE LOST REALMS Zechariah Sitchin, Page 81). The fact that the Sumerians intercalated a 13th month every so many years instead of simply adding a month of 5 1/4 days like the Mayans and Egyptians suggests that the Mayans and Egyptians did not get their Solar Calendar from the Sumerians. Furthermore, neither the Mayans not the ancient Egyptians speak or write the Sumerian language. Thus, the fact that neither the Mayans nor the Egyptians intercalated a 13th month in their Solar Calendar, combined with the fact that neither the Mayans nor the Egyptians spoke or write the Sumerian language, suggests that the Mayans and Egyptians did not get their Solar Calendar from the Sumerians.

Similarly, the Mayans did not get their Solar Calendar from the Phoenicians. Although the Mayans shared some similarities with the Phoenicians such as:

  • an advanced knowledge of mathematics and astronomy (which the Phoenicians picked up the from the Babylonians), including a place value in their mathematics
  • the concept of 0
  • the ability to express large numbers (i.e., million and above)
  • measuring the [solar] year in 360 and 365 days
  • accurately measuring the Moon's return/ the Lunar cycle
  • awareness that the Morning and Evening Star (Venus) are the same
  • hieroglyphic writing
  • the custom of deforming the heads of newborn children
  • the use of incense
  • phallus worship
  • depicting Deities floating horizontally over the heads of mortals involved in conversation
  • twisted rope borders on sarcophagi and seals
  • pyramidal temples that rose in terraces to a truncated top, where they were used as astronomical observatories
  • worship of the Sun and Moon, to whom temples were raised
  • the use of Gnomons to measure the Sun's shadow and determine latitude
  • clay figurines depicting dwarfs
  • representing the rain god (Tlaloc in Central America) as a white man with a handlebar mustache and long beard holding a thunderbolt of lightning

(THE MYSTERIES OF THE MEXICAN PYRAMIDS Peter Tompkins Pages 350-351, citing FAIR GODS AND STONE FACES Constance Irwin) [I edited this list], they also differed from the Phoenicians in the following significant ways:

  • the Mayans did not speak or write the Phoenician language
  • the Mayans dressed differently than the Phoenicians
  • the Mayans did not practice infant sacrifice like the Phoenicians and Olmecs and other Mexican Cultures like Teotihuacan

The fact that the Mayans did not speak or write the Phoenician language or dress like the Phoenicians or practice their religion suggests that the Mayans did not get their Solar Calendar from the Phoenicians.

So the Mayans inherited their Solar Calendar from a culture that also colonized ancient Egypt, indicating that the common source culture existed prior to approximately 3,200 B.C.E. And, as stated above, this common source culture was not Sumeria. So, by process of elimination, I speculate that the Mayans inherited their Solar Calendar from Atlantis.

 

The Edgar Cayce readings support the Mayans inheriting their Solar Calendar from the Atlanteans. The Edgar Cayce readings state that the Atlanteans brought their culture to Egypt and Central America, among other places. And according to the readings of Edgar Cayce (see also the A.R.E. website), the survivors of Atlantis fled to the Yucatan and Egypt prior to the final destruction of Atlantis circa 9,600 B.C.E. (See, for example, THE LOST HALL OF RECORDS John van Auken and Lora Little, Page 265). The fact that the survivors of Atlantis fled to Egypt and the Yucatan, combined with the fact that the Egyptians and Mayans share the same Solar Calendar, suggests that the Egyptians and Mayans received their Solar Calendar from the Atlanteans.

 

The Mitochondrial DNA ("mtDNA") evidence supports the Edgar Cayce readings. The areas where scientists found the Haplogroup X mtDNA are the same areas that Edgar Cayce stated that the survivors of Atlantis fled to after the catastrophe of around 10,500 B.C.E. (ANCIENT SOUTH AMERICA Gregory L. Little, Ed.D., John Van Auken, and Lora Little, Ed.D., Page 51). Scientists found in a 2001 study that a tribe in the Altaic Mountains of the Gobi Desert possessed Haplogroup X (Ibid). Scientists also found Haplogroup X in Finland and Italy, and the Edgar Cayce readings link the people of these countries to Atlantis (Ibid.). Furthermore, scientists also found Haplogroup X in the Basque country of northeastern Spain and southern France, Egypt, and Israel ( ANCIENT SOUTH AMERICA Gregory L. Little, Ed.D., John Van Auken, and Lora Little, Ed.D., Page 50, Paragraph 5). The fact that the areas where scientists found Haplogroup X mtDNA are the same areas that Edgar Cayce stated that the survivors of Atlantis fled to after the catastrophe of around 10,500 B.C.E. suggests that Haplogroup X mtDNA is Atlantean mtDNA. Thus, the mtDNA evidence supports the Edgar Cayce readings that the Atlanteans brought their culture and Solar Calendar to these areas, including to the Mayans.

 

The mtDNA evidence also supports the Edgar Cayce readings with respect to the timing of the Atlantean Migrations. The Edgar Cayce readings say that the Atlanteans migrated around 28,000 B.C.E., and 10,500 B.C.E. ( ANCIENT SOUTH AMERICA Gregory L. Little, Ed.D., John Van Auken, and Lora Little, Ed.D., Page 51). These mtDNA tests indicated that people with Haplogroup X mtDNA migrated to Central and South America around 28,000 B.C.E., and 10,000 B.C.E. The fact that people with Haplogroup X mtDNA migrated to other parts of the world around 28,000 B.C.E., and 10,000 B.C.E., corroborates the Edgar Cayce readings about the Atlanteans migrating to other parts of the world around 28,000 B.C.E., and 10,500 B.C.E. Thus, the mtDNA evidence also supports the Edgar Cayce readings as to when the Atlanteans migrated.

 

So, to summarize: the Mayan Solar Calendar originated in Atlantis prior to the Younger Dryas Period around 10,500 B.C.E., when the Earth's orbit around the Sun was 360 days. The Atlanteans who fled to the Yucatan and Egypt prior to 10,500 B.C.E., brought their original 360 day Solar Calendar with them. These Atlanteans subsequently revised their Solar Calendar to account for the new 365 1/4 day solar year. However, to accurately track the "Great Year", or cycle of the Precession of the Equinoxes, they retained their original 360 day Solar Calendar by breaking up the new Solar Calendar into 2 parts: a 360 day part, and a 5 1/4 day "vague" part. These Atlanteans subsequently passed on their Solar Calendar to the Mayans.