National Geographic - Have We Been Misreading a Crucial Maya Codex for Centuries?

A new look at the Dresden Codex may change our understanding of the ways the Maya used the night sky to plan their ceremonial calendars.

 AN EXCERPT:

 By combining a new reading of the text, tricky mathematical equations, and field observations, Gerardo Aldana at the University of California, Santa Barbara has simplified the way Maya scribes would have corrected their calendars.

 “There is some really elegant math that’s going on there that has not been recognized before,” says Aldana.

 His work not only casts new light on how the Maya tied their ceremonies to the sky, it may also call into question every date we have for events in the ancient Maya world.

Have We Been Misreading a Crucial Maya Codex for Centuries?

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