24 replies to this topic

[Muc'ul Ajwalil]

Another thing to note about the Mayan calendar.  Right now the area for the five unhappy days falls in mid to late August (I think August 16-21, but I could be off by a few days).  There were no leap years calculated to the best of my knowledge, so it would have been off a day every four years off of the Julian and Gregorian calendar systems.  Using our calendar system there are leap years every four years, minus the turn of the century years in which the years were not divisible by 400 (for example, 1600 and 2000 are leap years, 1700, 1800, and 1900 are not).

It is currently 2008.  Assume for every century, except for 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th, there are 24 leap years, or 24 extra days.  On the remaining centuries, 25 leap years, or 25 extra days.  Add two days for this century and 13 days for the century of the Nephite conflict.

Doing the math, you come to 125 (five centuries * 25 days) + 360 (15 centuries * 24 days) + 15 (remaining leap days between 2001-2008 and 52 BC-1BC) you come to 500 days.

500 - 365 = 135.  That is four months and a half. Doing the calculations for this this would have taken place around April 1 through 5 during this time period.  This is the height of the hot dry season in Mesoamerica.

Fascinating, huh?

[Muc'ul Ajwalil]

phaedrus ut, on Dec 2 2008, 03:51 PM, said:

It depends what are you using for New Years Day?  The Julian calendar? The Jewish new year Rosh Hashanah? If they were observant Jews where is the observation of Leviticus 23:24?

What season was New Years day in 60ish BCE in the 260 day Mayan Calendar?
Phaedrus

The Mayans had two calendars, the 260 day religious calendar containing 13 20 day months, and the 365 day solar calendar containing 18 20-day months, plus five days known as the unhappy or the unlucky days.  The 365 calendar had no leap years, and right now the unhappy days fall in the middle of August.  Calculating for no leap years going back to the conflict of Captain Moroni, you could see that the unhappy days fell in the hottest part of the year, in early April.

[Mola Ram Suda Ram]

Muc'ul Ajwalil, on Dec 3 2008, 04:58 PM, said:

Another thing to note about the Mayan calendar.  Right now the area for the five unhappy days falls in mid to late August (I think August 16-21, but I could be off by a few days).  There were no leap years calculated to the best of my knowledge, so it would have been off a day every four years off of the Julian and Gregorian calendar systems.  Using our calendar system there are leap years every four years, minus the turn of the century years in which the years were not divisible by 400 (for example, 1600 and 2000 are leap years, 1700, 1800, and 1900 are not).

It is currently 2008.  Assume for every century, except for 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th, there are 24 leap years, or 24 extra days.  On the remaining centuries, 25 leap years, or 25 extra days.  Add two days for this century and 13 days for the century of the Nephite conflict.

Doing the math, you come to 125 (five centuries * 25 days) + 360 (15 centuries * 24 days) + 15 (remaining leap days between 2001-2008 and 52 BC-1BC) you come to 500 days.

500 - 365 = 135.  That is four months and a half. Doing the calculations for this this would have taken place around April 1 through 5 during this time period.  This is the height of the hot dry season in Mesoamerica.

Fascinating, huh?

Quite!
Are there any sources for them not having leep years? You just seemed a little unsure about that fact. Not that I am questioning you but its just nice to dot the "I's" and cross the "T's"

[Muc'ul Ajwalil]

Mola Ram Suda Ram, on Dec 3 2008, 05:09 PM, said:

Quite!
Are there any sources for them not having leep years? You just seemed a little unsure about that fact. Not that I am questioning you but its just nice to dot the "I's" and cross the "T's"

That is understandable.  While I was a missionary in SE Mexico, I knew that the Mayans used two calendars, the religious lasting 260 days, and the solar lasting 365 days.  I was unaware of leap years in the Mayan calendar, so I left that thought open, rapidly googled it, and could then confirm that the Mayans indeed had and still don't have leap years.  Just 18 20-day months plus the five unhappy or unlucky days.  I did the calculations assuming those norms on the 365 day calendar and came up with the conflicts of Moroni as being in early April, which is the hottest time of the year in Mesoamerica.

There are several sources available via google when maya calendar is typed...also there is a good wiki article on the subject.

Edited by Muc'ul Ajwalil, 03 December 2008 - 05:53 PM.

[semlogo]

Sargon, on Dec 2 2008, 04:34 PM, said:

Except for the exact things I mentioned above, right?

Edit: Sorenson points out the lack of cold or snow in the entire narrative, something which we would expect to read about in a narrative about the activities of New England cultures. Furthermore, the mention of intense heat at new year's day signals a climate quite opposite to the one Joseph was familiar with.

That's a good point.