Mayan Innovation
Calendar
- The Mayans are known for creating an advanced calendar system based on the movement of the stars in they sky.
- The calendar was based on the one created by the Olmec, one of the first mesoamerican civilizations located around Veracruz.
- Check out this Calendar Converter and see what today's date would look like.
Days of the Month
Roads
The Mayans made raised roads called, sacbe, to connect plazas, pyramids, and ceremonial cities. Some areas of the Mayan Empire find these road connecting cities, most likely to serve as trade routes. Many of these roads have been discovered in very recent years using Lidar (laser and radar) technology.
The roads were usually raised 2-4 feet, and sometimes up to 8 feet in swampy areas. They were made out of large stones, covered by rubble, and then finally with a stucco.
The roads were usually raised 2-4 feet, and sometimes up to 8 feet in swampy areas. They were made out of large stones, covered by rubble, and then finally with a stucco.
Aquaducts
Mayan aquaducts are most notable in the city of Palenque. Aquaducts are important for bringing water to the city, and controlling water within the city itself. It is said that here, in Palenque, the Maya figured out how to pressurize the water, making the worlds first plumbing system!
Cenotes
- The Mayans situated their main city around natural water caves called "cenotes"
- This allowed the Mayans to irrigate their crops
- Some sacrifice ceremonies took place near the cenotes. Today, many people visit the Cenotes while on vacations in the Yucatan Peninsula. Sometimes people can swim, snorkel, or scuba dive.
Cisterns
Where natural caves for water were not available, the Mayans created man-made cisterns, called chultuns. These were bottle shaped underground water storage areas, lined with plaster so water would not seep out.
Images are from:
Wikipedia
Wikipedia