MIT's Franco Rossi used spectral scanning to finally read tiny glyphs on the walls of Xultun, Guatemala. Text 19, just 20cm tall and only 2cm wide, holds 11 painted glyphs with four distance numbers. Researcher David Stewart identified the name Sak Tahn Waax (White-Breasted Fox) as the credited mathematician behind the work. Those numbers — 20, 260, 1,560, and 1,080 days — add up to 2,920 days, revealing a 5:8 ratio between the Venus and solar cycles. Remarkably, the Babylonians were the only other known ancient culture to recognize this Venus-Sun synchronicity. What a find.
First named Maya astronomer identified at Xultun
GuatemalaEpigraphySignificant Find
Key facts
- Franco Rossi of MIT used spectral scanning methods to read previously illegible texts on the walls of Xultun
- Text 19 is one of approximately 52 individual calculation texts on the same wall, measuring only 20 cm tall by 2 cm wide with 11 painted glyphs
- Text 19 contains four distance numbers: 20 days (uinal/Maya month), 260 days (tzolkin sacred calendar), 1,560 days (6 × 260 or 2 × 780-day Mars synodic period), and 1,080 days (3 tuns of 360 days)
- The name Sak Tahn Waax (White-Breasted Fox) was deciphered by David Stewart at the end of Text 19, identified as the author or credited mathematician of the calculations
- The four distance numbers total 2,920 days, revealing a 5:8 ratio between the Venus cycle (584 days × 5) and the solar cycle (365 days × 8)
- The Babylonians were the only other known ancient culture to recognize this Venus-Sun synchronicity
Site mentioned
Sources
Ancient Maya astronomical tables from Xultun, Guatemalapubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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