Maya calendar facts for kids

The Maya calendar is an amazing system of calendars that the ancient Maya people used in Mesoamerica. Even today, many communities in places like Guatemala and parts of Mexico (like Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Chiapas) still use it!

This calendar system has been around for a very long time, at least since the 5th century BC. It's similar to calendars used by other ancient groups in the region. These include the Zapotec and Olmec, and later ones like the Mixtec and Aztec calendars.

According to Maya mythology, a god named Itzamna is often given credit for teaching the Maya about this amazing calendar system. He's also believed to have taught them about writing and other important parts of their culture.

How the Maya Calendar Works

The Maya calendar isn't just one calendar. It's actually made up of several different cycles or "counts" of time. Imagine it like having a few different clocks all running at the same time!

• The 260-day cycle is called the Tzolkin.
• The 365-day cycle is like our solar year and is called the Haabʼ.

These two cycles, the Tzolkin and the Haab', work together to form a bigger cycle called the Calendar Round. This Calendar Round lasts for 52 Haab' years. Many groups in the Guatemalan highlands still use the Calendar Round today.

For tracking really long periods of time and marking important historical dates, the Maya used another calendar called the Long Count. This calendar counts days from a special starting point in their mythology. Most Maya researchers agree that this starting point is like August 11, 3114 BC, on our modern calendar.

The Long Count uses a special number system. It's kind of like how we use ones, tens, and hundreds. But instead of using a base-10 system (where each place is 10 times bigger), the Maya used a base-20 system. This means each place value was usually 20 times bigger than the one before it. However, there was one important difference: the second place value represented 18 x 20 (360 days). This was closer to the length of a solar year. This allowed the Long Count to track dates far into the past or future.

Many Long Count inscriptions also include extra information. This includes the lunar phase (how much of the moon is lit up) and which of the nine Lords of the Night was ruling.

The Maya also tracked other cycles, but these are less common or not fully understood. One example is an 819-day Count.

The Tzolkʼin: The Sacred 260-Day Calendar

The tzolkʼin (pronounced "tsol-keen") is what researchers call the Maya Sacred Round, or the 260-day calendar. The word tzolkʼin means "count of days" in the Yucatec Maya language. The ancient Maya probably had different names for it. The Aztecs had a similar calendar called Tōnalpōhualli.

The Tzolkʼin calendar combines twenty different day names with thirteen different day numbers. This creates 260 unique days before the pattern repeats. It was used for religious events, ceremonies, and even for telling the future!

Here's how it works:

• Days are numbered from 1 to 13, then start again at 1.
• Separately, each day gets a name from a list of 20 names.

So, you might have 1 Imix, then 2 Ikʼ, then 3 Akʼbʼal, and so on, up to 13 Bʼen. After 13 Bʼen, the number goes back to 1, but the day name continues: 1 Ix, 2 Men, etc. Once all 20 day names are used, they start over. Because the 13 numbers and 20 names are cycling at the same time, it takes 260 days for every possible combination to happen once.

The oldest known example of a Tzolkʼin date is from an Olmec earspool. It dates back to September 2, 678 BC.

Tzolkʼin calendar: named days and associated glyphs

Seq. Num. 1	Day Name 2	Glyph example 3	16th-c. Yucatec 4	K'iche'	Reconstructed Classic Maya 5		Seq. Num. 1	Day Name 2	Glyph example 3	16th-c. Yucatec 4	Quiché	Reconstructed Classic Maya 5
01	Imix		Imix	Imox	Imix (?) / Haʼ (?)		11	Chuwen		Chuen	Bʼatzʼ	(unknown)
02	Ikʼ		Ik	Iqʼ	Ikʼ		12	Ebʼ		Eb	Eʼ	(unknown)
03	Akʼbʼal		Akbal	Aqʼabʼal	Akʼbʼal (?)		13	Bʼen		Ben	Aj	C'klab
04	Kʼan		Kan	Kʼat	Kʼan (?)		14	Ix		Ix	Iʼx, Balam	Hix (?)
05	Chikchan		Chicchan	Kan	(unknown)		15	Men		Men	Tzikin	Men (?)
06	Kimi		Cimi	Kame	Cham (?)		16	Kʼibʼ		Cib	Ajmaq	(unknown)
07	Manikʼ		Manik	Kej	Manichʼ (?)		17	Kabʼan		Caban	Noʼj	Chabʼ (?)
08	Lamat		Lamat	Qʼanil	Ekʼ (?)		18	Etzʼnabʼ		Etznab	Tijax	(unknown)
09	Muluk		Muluc	Toj	(unknown)		19	Kawak		Cauac	Kawoq	(unknown)
10	Ok		Oc	Tzʼiʼ	(unknown)		20	Ajaw		Ahau	Ajpu	Ajaw
NOTES: The sequence number of the named day in the Tzolkʼin calendar Day name, in the standardized and revised spelling of the Guatemalan Academia de Lenguas Mayas An example picture (logogram) for the named day. There are often different versions; these are typical of carved stone monuments. Day name, as written down in the 16th century from Yucatec Maya records. The actual day name spoken during the Classic Period (around 200–900 AD) is often not known. The versions here are guesses based on language clues; a '?' means it's not certain.

The Haabʼ: The 365-Day Solar Calendar

The Haabʼ calendar was similar to our solar year. It had eighteen months, each with twenty days. At the end of the year, there was a short period of five extra days called Wayeb' (pronounced "why-eb").

The five days of Wayebʼ were considered a bit dangerous. People believed that during this time, the doors between the human world and the Underworld opened up. Bad spirits could cause problems! To protect themselves, the Maya had special customs. For example, they might avoid leaving their homes or washing their hair during Wayebʼ.

Historians think the Haabʼ was first used around 550 BC. The names of the Haabʼ months we know today come from records written in the 16th century. However, the names for these months actually changed quite a bit depending on the region and time period in ancient Maya history.

Each day in the Haabʼ calendar was identified by a day number and the month name. The first day of a month was often called the "seating of" that month, like "0 Pop." This was followed by 1 Pop, 2 Pop, and so on, up to 19 Pop. Then it would be 0 Wo, 1 Wo, and so on for the next month.

Because the Haabʼ had exactly 365 days, it didn't perfectly match the Earth's actual trip around the sun (which is about 365.2422 days). This meant the Haab' calendar slowly drifted compared to the real seasons.

Haabʼ months: names and glyphs in sequence

Seq. Num.	Yucatec name	Hieroglyph	Classic Period glyph sign	Meaning of glyph	Reconstructed Classic Maya
1	Pop				k'anjalaw
2	Woʼ				ik'at
3	Sip				chakat
4	Sotzʼ			bat	sotz'
5	Sek				kaseew
6	Xul				chikin
7	Yaxkʼin				yaxk'in
8	Mol				mol
9	Chʼen			black	ik'siho'm
10	Yax			green	yaxsiho'm
11	Sak			white	saksiho'm
12	Keh			red	chaksiho'm
13	Mak				mak
14	Kʼankʼin				uniiw
15	Muwan				muwaan
16	Pax				paxiil
17	Kʼayab				k'anasiiy
18	Kumkʼu				ohl
19	Wayebʼ			five unlucky days	wayhaab

The Calendar Round: Combining the Cycles

A Calendar Round date combines a date from the Tzolkʼin and a date from the Haabʼ. This combined date will repeat every 52 Haabʼ years, which is 18,980 days. For example, the current creation in Maya belief started on the date 4 Ahau 8 Kumkʼu. When this exact date happens again, it's called a Calendar Round completion.

Think of it like two gears spinning. One gear has 260 teeth (Tzolk'in), and the other has 365 teeth (Haab'). They both have to turn until they line up exactly the way they started. This happens after 18,980 days.

Not every combination of Tzolkʼin and Haabʼ dates is possible. For example, if a Tzolkʼin day is Imix, Kimi, Chuwen, or Kibʼ, its Haabʼ day can only be 4, 9, 14, or 19.

What is a Year Bearer?

A "Year Bearer" is the name of the Tzolkʼin day that falls on 0 Pop, which is the first day of the Haabʼ year. Since there are 20 Tzolkʼin day names and 365 days in the Haabʼ, the Tzolkʼin day name for each new 0 Pop shifts by 5 days in the cycle. Also, the Tzolkʼin day number for each new 0 Pop increases by 1.

This means that only four specific Tzolkʼin day names can be Year Bearers: Ik', Manik', Eb', and Kab'an.

The Maya believed that the Year Bearer day gave the whole year its special characteristics and even had its own gods. These Year Bearers also helped define the local community, almost like a town's special day.

Different Maya regions used slightly different systems for Year Bearers over time. The classic system (Ik', Manik', Eb', Kab'an) is still used in parts of Guatemala and Mexico today.

The Long Count: Tracking History Over Long Periods

East side of Stela C, Quirigua with the mythical creation date of 13 baktuns, 0 katuns, 0 tuns, 0 uinals, 0 kins, 4 Ahau, 8 Cumku – August 11, 3114 BC in the proleptic Gregorian calendar

Since Calendar Round dates repeat every 52 years (about one human lifetime), the Maya needed a way to record history more precisely. That's where the Long Count calendar came in! It allowed them to mark dates over much longer periods.

The Maya had specific names for units of time in the Long Count:

• A day was called a kʼin.
• Twenty kʼins made a winal or uinal.
• Eighteen winals made one tun.
• Twenty tuns made a kʼatun.
• Twenty kʼatuns made a bʼakʼtun.

The Long Count calendar counts the number of days from a mythological Maya creation date: 4 Ahaw, 8 Kumkʼu. This date is equivalent to August 11, 3114 BC, on our calendar.

The Long Count uses a modified base-20 number system. This means that each position in a Long Count date represents a larger group of days. For example, 0.0.0.1.5 means 1 winal and 5 k'ins (20 + 5 = 25 days). The only exception is that a winal is 20 k'ins, but 18 winals make a tun (360 days), not 20 winals (400 days). This made the tun closer to a solar year.

There are also even bigger cycles, but they were rarely used: piktun, kalabtun, kʼinchiltun, and alautun.

Because Long Count dates are unique and don't repeat for thousands of years, they were perfect for carving onto monuments to record important historical events. These carvings would usually show the 5 digits of the Long Count, plus the Tzolkʼin and Haabʼ dates.

You might remember hearing about the "end of the world" in 2012. This idea came from a misunderstanding of the Long Count calendar. December 21, 2012, was simply the day the calendar reached the end of a bʼakʼtun cycle (13.0.0.0.0). It was like our calendar rolling over from 1999 to 2000, not the end of time! The next b'ak'tun started on March 26, 2407.

Supplementary Series: Extra Calendar Details

Many ancient Maya carvings include a set of extra symbols called the Supplementary Series. These symbols give more information about the date.

Lords of the Night

The Maya believed that each night was ruled by one of nine special lords from the underworld. This was a nine-day cycle. The carvings usually showed two symbols: one for the group of Nine Lords, and one for the specific lord ruling that night.

Lunar Series: All About the Moon

The Lunar Series usually has five symbols that tell us about the current moon cycle. This includes how old the moon is (how many days since the new moon), which number lunation it is in a series of six, and how long that particular moon cycle is (29 or 30 days).

The Maya were very good at observing the moon. They had ways to show if a lunar month was 29 or 30 days long. They even had a very accurate calculation for the average length of a moon cycle!

The 819-Day Count

Some Maya monuments also mention an 819-day count. This count was linked to four colors and directions: black for west, red for east, white for north, and yellow for south. This cycle might have been connected to the planet Jupiter, as the god Kʼawill, who is sometimes linked to Jupiter, appears with these counts.

Short Count: A Shorter Cycle

Later in Maya history, especially in Postclassic Yucatán, the Maya started using a shorter calendar system called the Short Count instead of the very long Long Count.

The Short Count is a cycle of 13 kʼatuns (which is 260 tuns, or 187,200 days). Each kʼatun in this cycle was named after its ending day, which was always "Ahau" (meaning 'Lord'). The cycle would go from kʼatun 11 Ahau to kʼatun 13 Ahau, then repeat. This system is found in old Maya books like the Chilam Balam.

See also

In Spanish: Calendario maya para niños

• Maya religion
• Mayanism
• Tres Zapotes#Stela C
• Maya Astronomy
• Aztec calendar