The Mayans knew a lot because they watched the sky very carefully. It was important to them for religious reasons, but also so they could tell when to plant crops and when to harvest and so on. In fact, their calendar was more accurate than some of the calendars used by Europeans hundreds of years later.
However, this knowledge does not mean they knew anything special about the future. There was concern about the “end” of their calendar last year, but that wa no different than when our calendar ends — you just go buy a new calendar for the next year.
So it is basically what modern astronomers do too – careful observation and measurement. We have better instruments to help us, but we are not better observers
The Mayans knew a lot because they watched the sky very carefully. It was important to them for religious reasons, but also so they could tell when to plant crops and when to harvest and so on. In fact, their calendar was more accurate than some of the calendars used by Europeans hundreds of years later.
However, this knowledge does not mean they knew anything special about the future. There was concern about the “end” of their calendar last year, but that wa no different than when our calendar ends — you just go buy a new calendar for the next year.
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@kodeman: They looked at the sky and learned! It’s amazing what you can find out by looking… 🙂
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So it is basically what modern astronomers do too – careful observation and measurement. We have better instruments to help us, but we are not better observers
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