The Maya live in the region that is now Southern Mexico and northern Central America. The Maya and their neighbors had more than one calendar. For everyday purposes they used a calendar of 18 periods that we will call months. Each month had 20 days. Fivewdays Were added at the end.

1. Using the information given above, how many days were in the Maya year? How does it compare with our year?

design When the Maya inscribed periods of time on their stone moments, they used a different system. For this purpose the year had 360 days 18 months of 20 days each. Read the number to your left as: 5 years, 13 months, 9 days to calculate the number of days:
(5 x 360) + (13 x 20) + (9 x 1) = 2,069 days.

design 2. Using the monument to your right, show how you calculate the number of days for the period of time.

years, months, days
= _ + __ + _ days

Now Try This
Work with a partner. Write two Maya calendar numbers for your partner to calculate. Is your partner correct? Research the three types of Maya calendars. How do we set the dates for holidays like Labor Day or New Year's Day? Discuss the dates for holidays in different religions and cultures.