Among the most exciting advances in archaeology has been our ability use scientific methods to assign a date to artifacts. However, science is not our only means of dating archaeological material. Cultures with a well developed calendar system often marked their monuments and other objects with dates. If we convert these dates into our own calendar it is possible to construct an accurate chronology - but such conversions are not always easy.

For this activity, use your book and internet searches to answer the following questions about the Maya calendar.

1. How would one write a zero in the Maya numerical system? How would one write a number one, and a number five?


2. How many days are in the "Sacred Round" of the Maya calendar? What is the Sacred Round commonly known as to Maya archaeologists? How many years long is the cycle produced by the Sacred Round combined with the recorded solar year?


3. The first month of the eighteen-month Maya solar year is called Pop. What does the word Pop mean in Maya?


4. Search online to find a tool that allows you to calculate your birthday according to the Maya calendar. What is your birthday according to the Maya Long Count?


5. What is the "start date" of the Maya calendar? What do you think happens on December 23, 2012, based on your readings about the Maya calendar?