1. Mayan Astronomy Julieta Fierro Instituto de Astronomía de la UNAM julieta@astroscu.unam.mx Julieta Fierro Instituto de Astronomía de la UNAM julieta@astroscu.unam.mx

2. Many thanks to UNESCO and specially to Françoise Combes

3. IAU has honored the Mayas: Crater on Mercury

4. Abstract The culture  The calendar  Equinoxes  Zenith pass  Venus The culture  The calendar  Equinoxes  Zenith pass  Venus

5. Maya land, meso America

6. Slave society, so a calendar was required to organize activities during the rainy and dry seasons.

7. Sites served ritual, commerce and time keeping purposes, a well know example is Chichen-Itza

8. Descent of Kukulkán

9. Models  Predict alignments, shadows, eclipses.

10. No animal transportation nor metal tools

11. Great craftsmen

12. One of the five written languages of antiquity: Dresden Codex

13. Sculpture has been preserved

14. Calendar  Solar: 365 days  Ritual: 260 days  365 x 52 = 260 x 73  Solar: 365 days  Ritual: 260 days  365 x 52 = 260 x 73

15. Solar and ritual calendars

16. Same calendar across Meso -America

17. Alignments with constructions, flat land

18. Naked eye observations

19. Spring solstice

20. Zenith pass

21. Ball game: social, religious, political, mythological and time keeping purposes

22. Ixhel lunar goddess

23. Built observatories

24. Snail: curving corridor with observation windows

26. Bonampak

27. Murals at Bonampak

28. Milky Way

29. 8 solar years = 5 Venus period at the same position of Earth and stars

30. Maya culture was known throughout Mesoamerica: Venus at Cacaxtla

31. Venus observations  Venus’ platform at Chichen-Itza

32. Venus transit was registered at Mayapan

33. Next Venus transit at the rising sun