Write An Essay On Mayan Civilization

The Mayan civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization that began about 500 BCE. This civilization began in southeastern Mexico. This included Guatemala, Belize and some parts of Honduras and El Salvador. Mayans were extremely interested in studying the sky. They believed the sky was a way to the heavens. Mayans thought that astronomy effected every Mayan person. Mayans believed that celestial events were a way to speak to the Gods. They had priest astronomers called illhuica tlamatilizmatini which means, wise man who studies heaven. These priests were thought to be able to predict the future through the sky. Priests recorded the movement of the sun, eclipses and stars and believed that if an astronomic event happened once, it will most likely happen again. Mayans also believed that the sky and the position of constellations could tell them about good planting seasons and whether they would have food or starve. Mayans could also predict accurately about the seasons, months, and days of the year.
They watched and recorded the suns position in the sky and when it rose and set and could predict that a year was 365 days long based on this observation. The Mayans thought of the moon as a female deity. The waxing moon was representation of a beautiful women and the waning moon was an old female who ruled childbirth. Mayans kept track of the different moon phases and their repetition over a long period. They were able to calculate that the average lunation was 29.53 days. This is almost the exact to the actual lunation average. A lunation average is the days it takes for the moon to go through the phases and is what our months are based on. The lunation average today is 29.53059 days. Mayans believed that Venus was “the morning star” and symbolized the rebirth of the Maya Hero Twins. The Maya Hero twins are thought of as complimentary to each other, like life and death, or day and