The Mayan Scientists

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the Mayan civilization, which remains a mystery to today's scientists. The paper addresses questions, such as, how a civilization so primitive could manage to become such skillful mathematicians and scientists and why a group this advanced in their scientific studies would just pick up and leave without a trace. The paper also points out that the Mayas were a religious culture that put much emphasis on the study of many branches of science, especially astronomy. The paper concludes that this undeniably advanced civilization managed to blend both science and religion, keeping each in its place yet allowing them to work together, providing emotional fulfillment, intellectual development, and a better understanding of the universe that they lived in.

From the Paper:

"Contrasting the views of many Western-Europeans, the Mayas incorporated religion into their astronomical discoveries. The Mayans believed that the planets were actually spirits and that time was "a bridge between the real world and the spirit world" (http://mayanastro.freeservers.com/mayan3.html) and to the Mayas, the only planet more important than the sun was the planet Venus, and they knew that planet, quite possibly, better than any other society of their time. Many wars were timed specifically in relation to the location of Jupiter and Venus and sacrifices to the Gods were made on the first day that the planet appeared after "Superior Conjunction," which is the time in which Venus, the Earth, and the Sun are aligned therefore blocking the view of Venus from Earth."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Criscenzo, Jeeni. Place of Mirrors: Lessons Of The Ancient Maya, Reed Business Informations, Inc., 1996.
• http://www.jaguar-sun.com
• http://www.indians.org/welker/maya.htm
• http://www.mayanmajix.com
• http://www.spiritweb.org/Spirit/mayan-calendar.html

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