Question

The Spanish and Mayan calendars are both:

a) On a cycle of 52 years
b) Based on the beginning and end of the world
c) Closely tied to religion
d) Focused on ritual sacrifice

Answer 1

The Spanish and Mayan calendars are both based on a cycle of 52 years, which is deeply tied into their cosmology and rituals. The Mayan calendar also includes the Long Count, marking time without repetition for longer periods.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Spanish and Mayan calendars share the characteristic of being on a cycle of 52 years. These interlocking cyclical calendars marked the passage of time and were integral to various rituals and ceremonies. The Mayan calendar, in particular, was not solely cyclical; it included a Long Count calendar that marked time along an extended line that doesn't repeat, which could account for much longer stretches of time.

Both cultures viewed these calendars as linked to cosmology and ritual practices, with the Maya performing ceremonies like temple renovations aligned with these calendar cycles. For the Maya, the end of one of these cycles, especially the 13th bak'tun, which corresponds to roughly every 5,125 years, was marked by December 21, 2012, a date that attracted modern apocalyptic interpretations, though it simply represented the end of a cycle in the Mayan calendar.