Content deleted Content added
m Dating maintenance tags: {{Cn}} |
GreenC bot (talk | contribs) Reformat 1 URL (Wayback Medic 2.5) |
||
| (17 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown) | |||
Line 2:
{{stack begin|float=right}}
[[Image:maya.svg|thumb|right|Maya numerals]]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; margin-left:1em; float: right" [[Mayan Numbers/Numerals: Explained in a table]]
|-
|400s
Line 19:
| {{Horizontal Maya|5}}
|-
| Total(s)
|▼
| 33
| 429
Line 27:
{{stack end}}
The '''Mayan numeral system''' was the system to represent [[number]]s and [[calendar date]]s in the [[Maya civilization]]. It was a [[vigesimal]] (base-20) [[positional notation|positional]] [[numeral system]]. The numerals are made up of three symbols: [[Zero number#The Americas|zero]] (a shell),<ref>{{
Numbers after 19 were written vertically in powers of twenty. The Mayan used powers of twenty, just as the [[Hindu–Arabic numeral system]] uses powers of ten.<ref>{{cite web |author=Saxakali |date=1997 |year= |title=Mayan Numerals |url=http://saxakali.com/historymam2.htm
For example, thirty-three would be written as one dot, above three dots atop two bars. The first dot represents "one twenty" or "1×20", which is added to three dots and two bars, or thirteen. Therefore, (1×20) + 13 = 33.
:{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align:center;"
|+Addition (single)
|- style="font-size: 150%;"
| (1×20)
| +
| 13
| =
| 33
|-
| {{Horizontal Maya|1}}
▲|
| {{Horizontal Maya|13}}
|
| {{Horizontal Maya|1}}{{Horizontal Maya|13}}
|}
Upon reaching 20<sup>2</sup> or 400, another row is started (20<sup>3</sup> or 8000, then 20<sup>4</sup> or 160,000, and so on). The number 429 would be written as one dot above one dot above four dots and a bar, or (1×20<sup>2</sup>) + (1×20<sup>1</sup>) + 9 = 429.
:{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align:center;"
|+Addition (multiple)
|- style="font-size: 150%;"
| (1×20<sup>2</sup>)
| +
| (1×20<sup>1</sup>)
| +
| 9
| =
| 429
|-
| {{Horizontal Maya|1}}
|
| {{Horizontal Maya|1}}
|
| {{Horizontal Maya|9}}
|
| {{Horizontal Maya|1}}{{Horizontal Maya|1}}{{Horizontal Maya|9}}
|}
Other than the bar and dot notation, Maya numerals were sometimes illustrated by face type glyphs or pictures. The face glyph for a number represents the deity associated with the number. These face number glyphs were rarely used, and are mostly seen on some of the most elaborate monumental carvings.
Line 39 ⟶ 80:
| title = Codex Dresdensis - Mscr.Dresd.R.310
| publisher = Saxon State and University Library (SLUB) Dresden
}}</ref> It has been suggested that these pointed, oblong "
| url = https://mayadecipherment.com/2012/06/15/the-calligraphic-zero
| title = The Calligraphic Zero
Line 66 ⟶ 107:
== Origins ==
Several Mesoamerican cultures used similar numerals and base-twenty systems and the [[Mesoamerican Long Count calendar]] requiring the use of zero as a place-holder. The earliest long count date (on [[Chiapa de Corzo Stela 2#Notable finds|Stela 2]] at Chiappa de Corzo, [[Chiapas]]) is from 36 BC.
Since the eight earliest Long Count dates appear outside the Maya homeland,<ref>{{cite book|title=The Olmecs: America's First Civilization|last=Diehl|first=Richard|publisher=Thames & Hudson|year=2004|isbn=0-500-02119-8|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/olmecsamericasfi0000dieh/page/186 186]|oclc=56746987|author-link=Richard Diehl|url=https://archive.org/details/olmecsamericasfi0000dieh/page/186}}</ref> it is assumed that the use of zero and the Long Count calendar predated the Maya, and was possibly the invention of the [[Olmec]]. Indeed, many of the earliest Long Count dates were found within the Olmec heartland. However, the Olmec civilization had come to an end by the 4th century BC, several centuries before the earliest known Long Count dates—which suggests that zero was ''not'' an Olmec discovery.
Line 77 ⟶ 118:
==See also==
*[[Kaktovik numerals]], a similar system from another culture, created in the late 20th century.
== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
== References ==
| |||