It's finally here, summer...which means that after tonight, it's a slow but inevitable downward slide into the darkest time of the year...a time I might actually prefer in some respects. It's so much easier to turn to a good book while tucked under a down comforter or crawl into bed and watch a movie on my computer when it is cold and pitch black outside. I feel guilty right now for wanting to stop working outside at 8 pm because it is still so light out!
The Mayans had a 360 day calendar round that they followed, with the last five days of the year considered a time of bad luck. Called the Wayeb or Uayeb depending on which interpretation you read, the opening between the Underworld and this world was much closer during those five days and all kinds of weird things could happen. The hieroglyph used to depict this time of the calendar was a picture of a stone "with a U-shaped skeletal maw on its top" (Ancient Maya World, p 253.) The Mayans believed the Gods could descend and deliver all kinds of disease, death and decay, so to prevent this, they conducted special dances and offered a variety of sacrifices.
The Mayans observed both the solstices and the equinoxes as well as the movement of planets, especially Venus. They are well-known for their accurate astronomy and various buildings like the Observatory at Chichen Itzá and another at Mayapan.
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