[Aztlan] Perhaps Calendrics, architecture

[Sid Hollander]

Perhaps *Calendrics, architecture*

Some (the ancient among you)will recall the early 60's, Sputnik and
Yale's  answer
to our civilizations' math decline - SMSG (School Mathematics Study
Group-sometimes referred to as Some Math, Some Garbage). As a beginning math
teacher I was enthralled by it. I taught various number bases and historical
numeration systems (but not the Maya). Imagine my surprise when on vacation
in the Yucatan I discovered the Maya and thus began my Maya calendar
studies.  So much for the background.



>From that time I have been trying (w/o success) to piece together a possible
chronological sequence of events that would trace development  of  the Maya
Calendar within their mathematical and astronomical knowledge. Of course,
this sequence would need to be:



   - Mathematically and otherwise reasonable
   - Not conflict with current historical and/or archaeological 'fact'





I am NOT trying to create a time line, merely a hypothetical sequence.



I am inspired by the current thread  *Re: [Aztlan] Calendrics, architecture
 *because, it appears to me, that those speaking to the subject take the
whole calendar as if it was unveiled in its entirety one bright day by the
calendar committee in a neat packaged. If you believe this, what has
happened to the system used before this.  There had to be one!  Certainly
the data had to be recorded and I mean recorded for many, MANY centuries.
Doesn't that in itself call for some type of calendar/recording system?  What
was it?  Surely, to follow the current thread one must believe the CR etc.
is as it is because to be otherwise would not fit the ideas being presented
(i.e. solar tracking, solstices, beginning of long counts and these use of
all to 'track' tropical years to umpteen digits past the decimal point.  We
all love the Maya but I think that some are trying to reverse engineer their
calendar to fit your hypothesis.



So, where does it all begin?



No doubt with a limited counting system where by the Maya made a 1 to 1
correspondence with their digits. Without numerals perhaps they did  some
kind of 'signing' I imagine them extending fingers on one hand towards the
listener.  The listener sees the ends of the fingers as small circles.
Perhaps when the signer extended his hand in a hand shaking manner five
circles (one on top the other) in a 'bar'. Well it doesn't take too much to
imagine pictographs developing to make 20 different digits (namely 1 thru
20!) in a bars-dots system.



We are at a critical point here.   We have no Zero, we have no positional
notation (i.e. a LC).  But what 'calendar' development capacity do we have?
If we had 20 gods we could number them at least.  If we did, I doubt that we
would be ready to combine them with 13 for the lack of easy counting (but
doable with just plain stacking of 20's and perhaps this eventually leads to
a positional number system based on perhaps 20 but I need to be convinced of
this.  We (sorry that I say we but I am trying to imagine myself there) also
with this 1 to 1 correspondence could easily track lunations (after all a 29
or 30 count is not difficult to imagine) and throw in a C, D and E glyph
without more math sophistication.  Goodness we could even handle Lords of
the Night!. So, where are we?  It is easier to ask, "Where aren't we?"  We
are not at the point where we can collect large numbers to record lengthy
astronomical data.   It is very, very difficult to record LONG periods of
astronomical phenomena with piles of twenties. It would be like trying to
record Bill Gates net worth with stacks of 4 nickels!

Are some of you on this list willing to develop this hypothetical sequence
at greater length?


--
Sid Hollander
Merida, Yucatan
Mexico CP 97310
52-999-941.OO.21