[Aztlan] Classic Maya Unit of Length

[Hube Smith]

Just as a side note: The Maya of today remain dedicated (and I do not use 
the term lightly) to measurement when

it comes to their agricultural lands. Moreover, the mecate remains 
fundamental.


We were amazed to find that a field (or milpa) was carefully mesaure WHILE 
THE LAND ITSELF WAS SCRUB

JUNGLE. Thus, square mecates were measured and carefully marked with stone 
cairns by dragging mecate-length

poles through dense underbrush. The work was, of course, arduous in the 
extreme. Only after these exacting measurements

were complete was the jungle felled and burned.


When we suggested that the measurement might be less laborious if the scrub 
was felled, burned, and subsequently

measured, we were regarded with amused tolerance.










----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Hixson" <aztlandave at yahoo.com>
To: "Lawrence Lo" <lorentz at cs.stanford.edu>; <aztlan at lists.famsi.org>
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 1:33 PM
Subject: Re: [Aztlan] Classic Maya Unit of Length


> This is an excellent question.  I have read documents from the early 
> colonial period, written in Maya, that measure land in units of "Mecates" 
> (such as wills and land deeds).  This unit is still used today for 
> measuring land area, and is translated as a 20 x 20 meter unit of space. 
> However, I do not know whether this is a truly Maya unit of measurement, 
> or if it is something devised during the conquest to mitigate between the 
> Old World and New World systems of measurement.
>
>  -Dave
>
> Lawrence Lo <lorentz at cs.stanford.edu> wrote:
>  Estimados listeros,
>
> I have a question. Does anybody know of what units of measuring length the
> Classic Maya employed? And if so, do we know the conversion to modern
> units?
>
> Thank you!
>
> Larry
> ______________________________
> Lawrence Lo
> www.ancientscripts.com
> Ancient Scripts of the World
>
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