Tzolk'in (in the revised Guatemala Mayan languages Academy orthography which is now preferred, formerly and commonly tzolkin) is the name bestowed by Mayanist scholars upon the version of the 260-day Mesoamerican calendar which was used by the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. The orthography of a language specifies the correct way of writing in that language. ... Mayanist is a term which has been in widespread use from the late 19th century onwards, to refer to scholars who have specialised in research and study of the Central American pre-Columbian Maya civilization. ... The Pre-Columbian people of Mesoamerica kept track of time with calendars which had ritual and religious meaning. ... The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as its spectacular art, monumental architecture, and sophisticated mathematical and astronomical systems. ... The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the Americas continent. ... The cultural areas of Mesoamerica Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Spanish: Mesoamérica) was a geographical culture area extending from central Honduras and northwestern Costa Rica on the south, and, in Mexico, from the Soto la Marina River in Tamaulipas and the Rio Fuerte in Sinaloa on the north. ...

The tzolk'in, the most fundamental and widely-attested of all the Maya calendars, was based in the 26,000-year cycle of the Pleiades, and was a pre-eminent component in the society and rituals of the ancient Maya. The tzolk'in calendar remains in use amongst several Maya communities in the Guatemalan highlands. Its use is marginal but spreading in this region, although opposition from Evangelical Christian converts has erased it from some communities. The Maya calendar is actually a system of distinct calendars and almanacs used by the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and by some modern Maya communities in highland Guatemala. ... Pleiades refers to: Pleiades (star cluster) an open cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus. ... this article concerns in particular the contemporary indigenous peoples and cultures who descend from, or remain, speakers of the Mayan languages of southern Mesoamerica. ... The word evangelicalism usually refers to a broad collection of religious beliefs, practices, and traditions which are found among conservative Protestant Christians. ...

The word, meaning "count of days", was coined based on Yukatek Maya. The corresponding words in the K'iche' and Kaqchikel cultures of Guatemala, which have maintained an unbroken train of observance for over 500 years, are, respectively, Ajilabal q’ij and Cholq'ij. The actual names of this calendar as used by the pre-Columbian Maya are not known. The corresponding Postclassic Aztec calendar, probably based on extinct central Mexican observance, was called by them tonalpohualli, in the Nahuatl language. This article cites very few or no references or sources. ... Yukatek Maya (in the revised orthography of the Academia de Lenguas Mayas, now preferred by scholars; also frequently Yucatec) is a Mayan language spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula, northern Belize and parts of Guatemala. ... The Kiche (or Quiché in Spanish spelling), are a Native American people, one of the Maya ethnic groups. ... The Kaqchikel (in modern orthography; formerly also spelled Cakchiquel) are one of the indigenous Maya peoples of the midwestern highlands in Guatemala. ... It has been suggested that Mexica be merged into this article or section. ... The Tonalpohualli,the day-count in English, is the 260 day sacred calendar of early Mesoamericans. ... Nahuatl ( [1] is a term applied to a group of related languages and dialects of the Aztecan [2] branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family, indigenous to central Mexico. ...

The Maya used several cycles of days, of which the two most important were the Tzolk'in, or Sacred Round of 260 days and the approximate solar year of 365 days or Haab. The Sacred Round combined the repeating cycle of numbers 1-13 with 20 day names ... so that any particular combination would recur in 13 x 20 or 260 days; the day name and the number changed together: 1 Imix, 2 Ik, 3 Akbal ... as we might say Monday 1, Tuesday 2, Wednesday 3, and so on The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as its spectacular art, monumental architecture, and sophisticated mathematical and astronomical systems. ... The Maya Haab calendar is a 365-day solar calendar whose dates indicate the position of the Sun at noon relative to the zenith over the Yucatan peninsula. ...

Tzolk'in table of named days

The tzolk'in calendar combines a cycle of twenty named days with another cycle of thirteen numbers (the trecena), to produce 260 unique days (i.e., 20 × 13 = 260). Each successive named day was numbered from 1 up to 13 and then starting again at 1. There were 20 individual named days, as shown in the table below: A trecena is a 13-day period used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican calendars, which divides the 260-day calendar into 20 trecena of 13 days each. ...

The Tzolkin does not have a generally-recognized start and end. Some view it as completely circular with no start, while others suggest different days for the "start". Taking one such suggestion:

• 1 Imix is the first day of the Tzolkin.
• 2 Ik
• 3 Akbal
• 4 Kan
• 5 Chicchan
• 6 Cimi
• 7 Manik
• 8 Lamat
• 9 Muluc
• 10 Oc
• 11 Chuen
• 12 Eb
• 13 Ben is the 13th day of the Tzolkin
• 1 Ix is the 14th day of the Tzolkin
• 2 Men
• 3 Cib
• 4 Cabab
• 5 Eznab
• 6 Cauac
• 7 Ahau
• 8 Imix
• 9 Ik
• 10 Akbal
• 11 Kan

...

• 9 Cib
• 10 Cabab
• 11 Eznab
• 12 Cauac
• 13 Ahau is the 260th day of the Tzolkin.

It was used to determine the time of religious and ceremonial events and for divination.

Tzolkin is part of Maya Long Count Calendar. The Maya calendar is actually a system of distinct calendars and almanacs used by the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and by some modern Maya communities in highland Guatemala. ...

Meanings

Each of the twenty days is linked to a different god in Mayan mythology ^[2]

• Imix : 'Crocodile' - the reptilian body of the planet earth, or world
• Ik : 'Wind' - breath, life. Also violence.
• Akbal : 'Night-house' - darkness, the underworld, realm of the nocturnal jaguar-sun. Also evil.
• Kan : 'Maize' - sign of the young maize lord who brings abundance, ripeness. Also lizard, net.
• Chicchan : 'Snake' - the celestial serpent
• Cimi : 'Death'
• Manik : 'Deer' - sign of the Lord of the Hunt
• Lamat : 'Rabbit' - sign of the planet Venus, sunset.
• Muluc : 'Water' - symbolised by jade, an aspect of the water deities, fish
• Oc : 'Dog' - who guides the night sun through the underworld.
• Chuen : 'Monkey' - the great craftsman, patron of arts and knowledge. Also thread.
• Eb : 'Grass' or 'Point' - associated with rain and storms.
• Ben : 'Reed' - who fosters the growth of corn, cane, and man.
• Ix : 'Jaguar' - the night sun. Also maize.
• Men : 'Eagle' - the wise one, bird, moon
• Cib : 'Owl/Vulture' - death-birds of night and day. Also wax, soul, insect.
• Caben : 'Earthquake' - formidable power. Also season, thought.
• Etz'nab : 'Knife' - the obsidian sacrificial blade.
• Cauac : 'Rain' or 'Storm' - the celestial dragon serpents and the chacs, gods of thunder and lightning.
• Ahau : 'Lord' - the radiant sun god

Uses

The Tzolk'in was extensively used in Mayan inscriptions and codices. Symbolism related to the Tzolk'in is also observed in the Popol Vuh (which, though written in the early post-conquest period, is probably based on older texts). For instance, when Ixbalanque has set an impossible task for Ixquic of collecting a netful of corn from one stalk and Ixquic successfully completes it, she leaves the imprint of her net in the ground, and the day "net" is the opening of the Venus cycle which follows "ahau" ("ajpu" in K'iche'), just as her child is the heir of Hun Hunajpu.^[3] The Popol Vuh (Quiché for Council Book or Book of the Community; Popol Wuj in modern spelling) is the book of scripture of the Quiché, a kingdom of the post classic Maya civilization in highland Guatemala. ... In Maya-Quiché mythology, Ixbalanque or Xbalanque is a son of Hun-Hunahpu and Xquic, the daughter of one of the lords of the underworld. ... Xquic (alternatively, Ixquic, sometimes glossed as Blood Moon or Blood Girl/Maiden in English) is a mythological figure known from the 16th century Quiché Maya manuscript Popol Vuh. ...

It is not known what other uses the ancient Maya had for it. However, among Mayan communities where its use has survived:

• This 260 periods was, and is used for precise cycles in the Maize cultivation.( The zenith transit days may have been circumstantially significant for agriculture along the south coast of Guatemala. The April 30 zenith transit occurs just before the beginning of the rainy season. Farmers in the region presently plant their corn at the end of April or early in May. In August 13 zenith transit the Maya initiate its current era in this day', approximates the time of the harvest of the dried corn.
• In the modern Guatemalan highlands, several groups use this period in the training of the Aj k'ij, the keeper of the 260-day-calendar. It is nine months after the beginning of training in divination that the young novice is actually "born" and solemnly initiated into his office. Thus, in the perception of the Maya, man and calendar have the same roots; they are both of the same lunar origin.
• There are certain repeating rituals which are performed every 260 days on the same day. Most famous is the "New Years'" celebration of 8 Chuwen, known in the K'iche language spoken in Momostenango as Waxakib' B'atz.
• Certain days are seen as more or less suitable for certain actions. For instance, a a low-numbered Ak'ab'al or B'en would be a good day for a wedding, whereas K'an would be a good day for building or maintaining a house.
• Tedlock, in Momostenango, reports an extensive system of divination based on casting lots and counting forward through the calendar from the current day to arrive at certain days which are then interpreted. This is not pure cleromancy because somatic twitches of "blood lightning" can either be specifically consulted or arise spontaneously during the process.
• Many traditional mayan names are based on calendar days, often birthdays. As in astrology, personal characteristics are associated with birthdays.

The Tzolk'in is the basis for the modern, New Age invention of the "Dreamspell" calendar, developed by the esoteric author Jose Arguelles. The Dreamspell calendar is sometimes mistakenly identified as an authentic interpretation or extension of the original Maya calendar, although Arguelles himself acknowledges the Dreamspell calendar is intended as a new and synchretic creation, which is inspired by elements combined from a number of different esoteric sources. “Corn” redirects here. ... In broad terms, the zenith is the direction pointing directly above a particular location (perpendicular, orthogonal). ... In broad terms, the zenith is the direction pointing directly above a particular location (perpendicular, orthogonal). ... This article is about the religious practice of divination. ... Cleromancy, sortilege, casting lots or casting bones is a form of divination in which an outcome is determined by random means, such as the rolling of a die. ... Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut (1888). ... New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ... Jose Arguelles (b. ...

Origins and purpose

Use of the 260-day calendar was widespread across all of the Mesoamerican cultural region, and it is regarded as being the oldest and most important of the calendar systems attested in the region, with an origin pre-dating its first appearances in Maya inscriptions.^[4] . It is uncertain which Mesoamerican culture first developed this calendar. Stelae with the earliest known Long Count dates come from this general area some of the oldest unargued calendric inscriptions in this format are from the early Zapotec phases in the Oaxacan highland valleys at sites such as Monte Albán, dating from the mid 1st-millennium BCE. A few earlier-dated inscriptions and artifacts have what appear to be calendric glyphs, such as at San José Mogote and in the Olmec Gulf Coast region. However, either the dating method or the calendric nature of the glyphs have been disputed by some scholars.^[5] To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Catedral de Santo Domingo The Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca or simply Oaxaca   is one of the 31 states of Mexico, located in the southern part of Mexico, west of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. ... Monte Albán is a large archeological site in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC - 460s BC - 450s BC Events and trends September 13, 509 BC - The temple of Jupiter on Romes Capitoline Hill is... San José Mogote is a pre-Columbian archaeological site of the Zapotec, a Mesoamerican culture which flourished in the region of what is now the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. ... Monument 1, one of the four Olmec colossal heads at La Venta. ... The Gulf Coast of Mexico stretches along the Gulf of Mexico from the border with the United states at Matamoros all the way to the tip of the Yucatán Peninsula at Cancún. ...

The original purpose of devising such a calendar, with no obvious relation to any astronomical or geophysical cycle, is not securely known, but there are several theories. One theory is that the calendar came from mathematical operations based on the numbers thirteen and twenty, which were important numbers to the Maya. The number twenty was the basis of the Maya counting system, taken from the number of human fingers and toes. (See Maya numerals). Thirteen symbolized the number of levels in the Upperworld where the gods lived, and is also cited by modern daykeepers as the number of "joints" in the human body (ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, wrists, and neck). The numbers multiplied together equal 260. Mayan numerals. ...

Barbara Tedlock, studied this system among some modern Maya, in the municipality of Momostenango in highland Guatemala, an ethnically K'iche' town. She went to the extent of serving a formal apprenticeship in the divining technique with a local adept, and was initiated as a diviner in 1976. She says: "The Momostecan calendar embraces both the 260-day cycle and the 365-day solar year, with the four Classic Maya Year-bearers, or Mam, systematically linking the two. The 260-day cycle is conceived as linked firmly to worldly or earthly affairs, mirroring no astronomical period but rather the period of human gestation. Past ethnographic accounts of this cycle contain various conflicting opinions as to what its first day is, but a comparison of the present results and those of previous studies indicates that there is no fixed first day. The Kiche (or Quiché in Spanish spelling), are a Native American people, one of the Maya ethnic groups. ...

Aveni, believes there is no one answer. But he says: "Once a Maya genius may have recognized that somewhere deep within the calendar system lay the miraculous union, the magical crossing point of a host of time cycles: 9 moons, 13 times 20, a birth cycle, a planting cycle, a Venus cycle, a sun cycle, an eclipse cycle. The number 260 was tailor made for the Maya Aveni proposes that the Mayans used a Venus calendar in the way other astronomers have used a solar calendar. He suggests that the "Venus Table" in the Dresden Codex, is an accurate ephermeris for making predictions of Venus positions. Aveni also notes that the basic agricultural cycle in highland Guatemala is also about 260 days, called a tzolkin. There may also be a relation with the average length of time it takes between appearances of the planet Venus as morning or evening star, which is in round numbers 263 days. Aveni notes that "the average duration between successive halves of the eclipse season, at 173 ½ days, fits into the tzolkin in the ratio of 3 to 2." This may seem contrived, but there is evidence that the Maya used the tzolkin to predict positions of Venus and occurrences of eclipses. Maya codices (singular codex) are books written by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, using the Maya hieroglyphic script. ...

Another theory is that the 260-day period came from the length of human pregnancy. This is close to the average number of days between the first missed menstrual period and birth, unlike Naegele's rule which is 40 weeks (280 days) between the last menstrual period and birth. It is postulated that midwives originally developed the calendar to predict babies' expected birth dates.^[6] Gestation is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. ... The menstrual cycle is the periodic change in a womans body that occurs every month between puberty and menopause and that relates to reproduction. ... Naegeles Rule is a standard way of calculating the due date for a pregnancy. ... // Midwifery is the term traditionally used to describe the art of assisting a woman through childbirth. ...

One hypothesis put forward by several researchers such as Vincent Malmström^[7] identifies a correlation between the 260-day cycle and an observable natural phenomenon concerns the 260-day gap between zenithal transits of the sun. According to this hypothesis, the 260-day cycle originated in the narrow latitudinal band (14º42'N to 15ºN) in which the sun is vertically overhead about 12-13 August and again 260 days later about 30 April-l May (Malmström identifies the proto-Classic Izapan culture as one suitable candidate at this latitude). This period may have been used for the planting schedule of maize. However, a number of other researchers have raised objections to this conception, including noting that while the 260-day calendar runs continuously the interval between autumn-spring and spring-autumn positions alternates between 260 and 105 days, and that the earliest-known calendric inscriptions are from considerably further north of this zone.^[8] Consequently this theory is not widely supported. In broad terms, the zenith is the direction pointing directly above a particular location (perpendicular, orthogonal). ... “Sol” redirects here. ... Latitude,usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi, , gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator. ... // Overview Izapa was a very large pre-Columbian site located in Chiapas, Mexico, often placed in the Late Formative period. ... “Corn” redirects here. ...

It is of course also possible that the number 260 is multiply determined, that it was noted as repeating for some combination of the above reasons, or for unknown reasons, and thus chosen as a basis for the calendar.

See also

• Maya calendar
• Maya script
• Haab'
• Mesoamerican calendars
• Tonalpohualli

The Maya calendar is actually a system of distinct calendars and almanacs used by the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and by some modern Maya communities in highland Guatemala. ... Maya glyphs in stucco at the Museo de sitio in Palenque, Mexico The Maya script, commonly known as Maya hieroglyphs, was the writing system of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica, presently the only deciphered script of the Mesoamerican writing systems. ... The Maya Haab calendar is a 365-day solar calendar whose dates indicate the position of the Sun at noon relative to the zenith over the Yucatan peninsula. ... The Pre-Columbian people of Mesoamerica kept track of time with calendars which had ritual and religious meaning. ... The Tonalpohualli,the day-count in English, is the 260 day sacred calendar of early Mesoamericans. ...

Notes

Zelia Maria Magdalena Nuttall (September 6, 1857 - April 12, 1933) was an American archeologist and anthropologist who specialised in Mexican manuscripts and the pre-Aztec culture in Mexico. ...

References

• Kettunen, Harri; and Christophe Helmke (2005). Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs (PDF), Wayeb and Leiden University. Retrieved on 2006-05-05. 
• Lo, Lawrence (n.d.). Mesoamerican Writing Systems. Ancient Scripts. Ancientscripts.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
• Malmström, Vincent H. (1973). "Origin of the Mesoamerican 260-Day Calendar" (PDF reprinted). Science 181: 939–941. Retrieved on 2006-11-15. 
• Miller, Mary; and Karl Taube (1993). The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05068-6. 
• Tedlock, Barbara. Time and the Highland Maya, 1982, p. 174-177. 
• Aveni, Anthony. Empires of Time: Calendars, Clocks and Cultures p 197. 

PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (126th in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Mary Miller is the master of Saybrook College at Yale University and the Vincent Scully Professor of the History of Art. ... Karl Andreas Taube is an American Mayanist, anthropologist, epigrapher and ethnohistorian, known for his publications and research into the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica and the American Southwest. ...

External links

• Maya Calendar with Names and color Glyphs