Did Maya astronomers rival Copernicus? Ancient text suggests they mapped the planets 700 years before the Polish mathematician
- Scientists studied the Venus Table from the ancient Maya Dresden Codex
- They say details about the movement of Venus were real observations
- This suggests the Maya observed the orbit of Venus as early as 800AD
- Copernicus worked out the orbit of the planets around the sun in 1500s
They are known to have mapped the stars to help them calculate the length of the months and years in the tropical jungles far more accurately than any Europeans at the time.
But the mathematical and astronomical achievements of the Maya may have been vastly underestimated according to a new study of one of their most famous texts.
A leading anthropologist claims he has uncovered evidence that suggests Maya astronomers were making observations of the planets up to 1,000 years ago in a way that would rival those made centuries later by Renaissance astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.
The Venus Table from the Dresden Codex (pictured) may depict actual historical observations of Venus in the night's sky, which suggests the Maya were accomplished astronomers far earlier than had previously been believed
Dr Gerardo Aldana, an anthropologist at the University of Californai Santa Barbara, examined the Venus Table in the famous Dresden Codex and offers a new interpretation of what it contains.
He believes the intricate observations depicted in the Dresden Codex, a tenth or eleventh century Maya book from Chichén Itzá, Mexico, have been largely overlooked.
He claims rather than simply being numerology as many archaeologists have claimed, it shows an extended period of astronomical observations being made at the Maya city.
He says this could have been developed as early at 870AD, long before Copernicus formulated the idea that the sun lay at the centre of the solar system in the early 16th Century.
He said: 'When you see it as historical record, it changes the interpretation.
'They're using Venus not just to strictly chart when it was going to appear, but they were using it for the ritual cycles.
'They had ritual activities when the whole city would come together and they would do certain events based on the observation of Venus.'
The Venus Table has been known to contain mathematical corrections for charting the passage of Venus across the sky in order to correct the Maya calendar.
As Venus's cycle is irregular – 583.92 days – it requires some correction much like the Leap Years used in the Gregorian calendar today.
The Caracol structure at Chichen Itza in Mexico has been widely interpreted as an observatory. The new study supports the idea that the Maya had astronomers who made detailed obervations of the planets as early as 800AD
But Dr Aldana believes traditional interpretations of the Venus Table and the heiroglicis accompanying it underestimate the scientific achievements of the ancient Maya.
His findings, which are published in the Journal of Astronomy in Culture, lead him to conclude the Maya were performing astronomy at Chichén Itzá during a very specific window.
He claims it appears to have occurred under the patronage of K'ak' U Pakal K'awiil, one of the city's most prominent historical figures and rulers who died in 890AD.
Dr Aldana said: 'This is the part that I find to be most rewarding, that when we get in here, we're looking at the work of an individual Mayan, and we could call him or her a scientist, an astronomer.
'This person, who's witnessing events at this one city during this very specific period of time, created, through their own creativity, this mathematical innovation.'
Unravelling the mysteries of the Venus Table required Dr Aldana to pour over the hieroglyphics until he found a key verb, k'al, had a different meaning than normally believed.
Used through out the table, he believes it means 'to enclose' in a historical and cosmological context.
He also examined another record of Venus found at another Maya site, Copán in Honduras.
He claims the similarities between the two support the idea that they are historical observations.
Chichén Itzá (El Castillo pyramid pictured) was one of the largest and most powerful Maya cities
Dr Aldana said: 'I'm calling it "discovering discovery", because it's not just their discovery, it's all the blinders that we have, that we've constructed and put in place that prevent us from seeing that this was their own actual scientific discovery made by Mayan people at a Mayan city.
'If you say it's just numerology that this date corresponds to - it's not based on anything you can see.
'And if you say, "We're just going to manipulate them [the corrections written] until they give us the most accurate trajectory", you're not confining that whole thing in any historical time.
'If, on the other hand, you say, "This is based on a historical record", that's going to nail down the range of possibilities.
'And if you say that they were correcting it for a certain kind of purpose, then all of a sudden you have a very small window of when this discovery could have occurred.'
Most watched News videos
- Terrifying moment driver overtakes van and narrowly avoids crash
- Sally Nugent hilariously finds out 'hedgehog' is a hat bobble
- Camilla hands out gifts at Royal Maundy ceremony on behalf of King
- Queen Camilla greets children after traditional Maundy service
- Starmer and Rayner embrace as they launch election campaign
- Three men seen running out of Beckenham station after knife attack
- British man fighting for Putin posts video from Russia online
- 'Satan took over me': Hamas terrorist confesses of raping woman
- Tourist is filmed napping in his tent on the beach with a crocodile
- Hilarious moment King's Guard shout 'make way' at pigeons in London
- Russian plane spiralling out of control crashes in sea in Crimea
- Police tape off Kennington station after 'multiple stabbings'