| 12.18.16.2.6 is the “Long Count” date. |
| 3 Cimi is the Tzolkin date. |
| 4 Zotz is the Haab date. |
1. The Tzolkin (260 Day) Calendar § a numbered week of 13 days, in which the days were numbered from 1 to 13
The Tzolkin calendar is the sacred calendar of the Maya. The Tzolkin date is a combination of two "week" lengths. While the calendar used in most of the world today uses a single week of seven days, the Tzolkin calendar used two different lengths of week:
§ a named week of 20 days, in which the names of the days were as follows:
| 0. Ahau | 1. Imix | 2. Ik | 3. Akbal | 4. Kan |
| 5. Chicchan | 6. Cimi | 7. Manik | 8. Lamat | 9. Muluc |
| 10. Oc (ok) | 11. Chuen | 12. Eb | 13. Ben | 14. Ix |
| 15. Men | 16. Cib | 17. Caban | 18. Etznab | 19. Caunac |
In addition to the names of the days, each day was also associated with a “glyph” or "logogram" as shown in the carved art below:
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| The glyphs for each day are shown above |
2. Haab' 365 Day Calendar (18 months/20 days each + five days)
The Haab was the civil calendar of the Mayas. It consisted of 18 "months" of 20 days each, followed by 5 extra days, known as Uayeb. This gives a year length of 365 days.
Month Names and Approximate Meanings | |||
| Pohp | Mat | Yax | Green |
| Wo | ?? | Zak | White |
| Sip | ?? | Keh | Red |
| Sotz' | Bat | Mak | ?? |
| Sek | ?? | K'ank'in | ?? |
| Xul | Dog | Muwan | Owl |
| Yaxk'in | New Sun | Pax | ?? |
| Mol | Water | K'ayab | Turtle |
| Ch'en | Black ?? | Kumk'u | ?? |
To the eighteen regular months the Maya appended a special five-day month called Wayeb composed of 5 days which were considered unnamed and unlucky. Thus the days were counted: One Imix, Zero Pohp, Two Ik, One Pohp. When the thirteenth day was reached the next day was Thirteen Ben, Twelve Pohp; then One Ix, Thirteen Pohp, Two Men, Fourteen Pohp. After Seven Ahaw, Nineteen Pohp, the next day was Eight Imix, Zero Wo. The names of the months in the Haab’ calendar were as follows:
| 1. Pop | 7. Yaxkin | 13. Mac |
| 2. Uo | 8. Mol | 14. Kankin |
| 3. Zip | 9. Chen | 15. Muan |
| 4. Zotz | 10. Yax | 16. Pax |
| 5. Tzec | 11. Zac | 17. Kayab |
| 6. Xul | 12. Ceh | 18. Cumku |
In contrast to the Tzolkin dates, the Haab month names changed every 20 days instead of daily; so the day after 4 Zotz would be 5 Zotz, followed by 6 Zotz ... up to 19 Zotz, which is followed by 0 Tzec.The Haab’ days of the month were numbered from 0 to 19. This use of a 0th day of the month in a civil calendar is unique to the Maya system; it is believed that the Mayas discovered the number zero, and the uses to which it could be put, centuries before it was discovered in Europe or Asia. The Uayeb days acquired a very derogatory reputation for bad luck; known as "days without names" or "days without souls," and were observed as days of prayer and mourning. Fires were extinguished and the population refrained from eating hot food. Anyone born on those days was "doomed to a miserable life."
3. Calendar Round
Neither the Tzolk'in nor the Haab' system numbered the years. The combination of a Tzolk'in date and a Haab' date was enough to identify a date to most people's satisfaction, as such a combination did not occur again for another 52 years, above general life expectancy.
Because the two calendars were based on 260 days and 365 days respectively, the whole cycle would repeat itself every 52 Haab' years exactly. This period was known as a "Calendar Round". The end of the Calendar Round was a period of unrest and bad luck among the Maya, as they waited in expectation to see if the gods would grant them another cycle of 52 years.
4. The Long Count Calendar
The Maya also used special glyphs to indicate time periods. The "kin" represented one day. "Winals" are periods of 20-days which we now call a month. The "Tun" was a year of 360 days and the "K'atun" was a time period of 20 years of 360 days each. The K'atun ending was a special time period celebrated by the Maya. It has its parallel in the modern world-- the period of time which we call a decade. The Maya also counted 400-year periods called "Baktuns". The Maya used these time periods in a special day count which is now called the "Long Count". Today, a typical long count date is written thus: 9.14.12.2.17. This represents 9 baktuns, 14 k'atuns, 12 tuns, 2 winals and 17 k'ins. [Special note: All names given here are in the new orthography developed by native Maya of Guatemala. Their system is being accepted by many various organizations of Maya and similar forms of this orthography are being adopted by other Maya groups. In reality, this system probably makes it easier for English speakers to pronounce the actual words. Given the Maya propensity for words and language it is only a natural development.]
Since Calendar Round dates can only distinguish in 18,980 days (equivalent to around 52 solar years) -- the cycle repeats roughly once each lifetime, and thus, a more refined method of dating was needed if history was to be recorded accurately. To measure dates, therefore, over periods longer than 52 years, Mesoamericans devised the Long Count calendar. The Maya name for a day was k'in. Twenty of these k'ins are known as a winal or uinal. Eighteen winals make one tun. Twenty tuns are known as a k'atun. Twenty k'atuns make a b'ak'tun.
How the Three Systems Work Together
As the named week is 20 days -- and the smallest Long Count digit is 20 days, there is synchrony between the two. If, for example, the last digit of today’s Long Count is 0, today must be Ahau; if it is 6, it must be Cimi. Since the numbered and the named week were both "weeks," each of their name/number change daily; therefore, the day after 3 Cimi is not 4 Cimi, but 4 Manik, and the day after that, 5 Lamat. The next time Cimi rolls associations connected with each day, and for this reason, it became known as the "divinatory yeararound". 20 days later, it will be 10 Cimi instead of 3 Cimi. The next 3 Cimi will not occur until 260 (or 13 x 20) days have passed. This 260-day cycle also had good-luck or bad-luck associations. Note that for most of these glyphs, several different forms are recorded; the ones shown above are typical of carved monumental inscriptions. The "years" of the Tzolkin calendar are not counted. The word tzolk'in means the "count of days". The various names of this calendar as used by precolumbian Maya peoples are still debated by scholars. The tzolk'in calendar combines twenty day names with the thirteen numbers of the trecena cycle to produce 260 unique days. It is used to determine the time of religious and ceremonial events and for divination. Each successive day is numbered from 1 up to 13 and then starting again at 1. Separately from this, every day is given a name in sequence from a list of 20 day namesThe Maya also tracked a vague solar year in which they counted 365 days per year. Because they could not use fractions, the "quarter" day left over every year caused their calendar to drift with regard to the actual solar year. The 365-day year contained months were also given names. numbers 0-19 before they changed, so that the count goes Zero Pohp to 19 Pohp, then continues with Zero Wo.
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