Final answer:
The Maya in Central America invented a superior calendar which was more sophisticated and complex than contemporary European calendars. Their system tracked the passage of days and was particularly adept at predicting astronomical events.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Maya invented a calendar that was superior to that of their European contemporaries. More than a thousand years ago, in Central America, the Maya developed a sophisticated and complex calendar that differed from European calendars. Unlike European calendars that attempted to correlate with the length of the solar or lunar year, the Maya calendar was primarily a system to track the passage of days and to count time for both past and future events. It was particularly useful for predicting astronomical happenings, such as the position of Venus in the sky. The Maya's calendar was divided into 18 named months of 20 days each, plus a 'short month' of 5 unlucky days known as Wayeb, making up a 365-day year without the correction of a leap year. This calendar slowly drifted in relation to the solstices, but it remained a cornerstone of Mayan culture and day-to-day life.