Daniel Akill-Attieh's Blog | 388: THE MAYANS AND THE DRESDEN CODEX – an ancient people not to be underestimated or taken for fools

Dear Readers and Fellow-Apes; 2008 was a Murky and Hapless Year! Let us hope that 2009 does not turn out to be even More Murky and Hapless!

I intentionally did not wish you a Merry Christmas, because Christmas is another story for another Posting at another time; and I do not wish you a Happy New Year, since I believe that ONLY FOOLS ARE, OR CAN BE, HAPPY ALL YEAR ROUND. I do, however, wish all of you A GOOD YEAR! With a little Good in one's life, one can be a little happy, which is all one can ask for in one's short sweet dream one calls a life-time. BY GOD AND SATAN!

A Jack of many trades and master of all; I am honest to the core and I hate lies, deceits, pretensions, hypocrisy, treachery, betrayal, and stoic compliance; and I despise – and actually pity – Human-Apes who follow-the-herd-or-pack

I expose and reveal the lies, deceits, pretensions, hypocrisy, treachery, betrayal, and blind, deaf, and stoic compliance, and Human-Apes who follow-the-herd-or-pack; I tell or write the truth; and I say what I mean and mean what I say

I fear nothing; least of all, death

If I must fear anything at all in life, then let me fear what I think and know of myself; because, in the end, one’s knowledge and opinion of oneself is what counts most. All the world may think and believe one is such and such, but one knows one is such and such. Also, I like to look in the mirror and like what I see and know about me.

I invite comments, remarks, criticisms, and even insults – so long as they are straight to the point, in order for me to correct or adjust myself accordingly. What I do not welcome and won’t accept or tolerate is HORSE-SHIT!

Dear readers and felow-Apes; with every page, every report or article, every paragraph, every sentence, every word, and every letter; I thank you for taking the trouble and the time to read My Not-So-Humble Comments.

« Previous Post Next Post »

388: THE MAYANS AND THE DRESDEN CODEX – an ancient people not to be underestimated or taken for fools

28 September, 2008

THE MAYANS AND THE DRESDEN CODEX – an ancient people not to be underestimated or taken for fools

The Dresden Codex, named after the city where it had been lodged is a strange book inscribed with hieroglyphs which no one could decipher until 1880. A German scholar, who worked at the Dresden library, managed to crack the code of the Mayan calendar and made it possible for other academics to translate the many dated inscriptions found on buildings, stelae, and other ancient Mayan artifacts.

He discovered that the Codex contained detailed astrological tables that calculated the year to be 365.2420 days long, more accurate than the Julian calendar we use today – and to calculate the lunar cycle as 329.53020 days, thousands of years ago, only 34 seconds out – and without the latest modern scientific instruments, too!

The tables were used exclusively by the Mayan astronomers to predict the solstices and equinoxes, the path of the planets in our solar system, the cycles of Venus and Mars, and other celestial phenomena. Other information we have today has been gleaned from the Chilam Balam and Popol Vuh – books written just after the Spanish had arrived. The knowledge found in these books and codices, combined with the uncovering of mysterious pyramids, demonstrate that the Maya had an intelligence to rival – if not surpass – the Greeks and the Egyptians.

Stela / Stelae: ancient stone slab(s) or pillar(s), usually engraved, inscribed, or painted, and set upright.

Lunar cycle: a calendar that is based on the cycles of the Moon. The Moslem calendar is based on the lunar cycle. It requires constant revision or intercalation, which the solar calendar does not.

Intercalation: the insertion of an extra day or month into a calendar year in order to keep it consistent with the solar year.

Solstice: either of the times when the Sun is farthest from the equator, on or about 21^st June and 21^st December. The summer solstice falls in June in the northern hemisphere and in December in the southern hemisphere; and vice versa for the winter solstice.

Equinox: either of the two annual crossings of the equator by the Sun, once in each direction, when the lengths of days and nights are approximately equal everywhere on Earth. The equinoxes occur around 21^st March and 23^rd September.

The Mayan Chilam Balam books are collections of disparate texts in which Mayan and Spanish traditions were coalesced. Due to their often allusive metaphorical nature and the archaic Yucatec used, the Chilam Balam texts present formidable challenges to scholars and translators. The quality of existing translations varies greatly…

The Popol Vuh is the Mayan story of creation

Posted by akill 16:43 | General | Comment(2) | Permalink

Comments

play online roulette
best online blackjack
online casino blackjack
video poker casino
poker reviews
best iphone software
horse racing betting

zombo | 20/11/2008, 04:05 [ Reply ]

GAMBLING !!!!!!
GAMBLING AND DRUGS ARE ADDICTIONS!
The two worst, most dangerous and contagious social diseases.
Like HIV/AIDS, CANCER, EBOLA, and other incurable diseases, they lead to DEATH – with bankruptcy, poverty, squalor, and misery in-between!
Watch out for my posting on Gambling......coming soon
Daniel

Daniel in The Lion’s Den | 20/11/2008, 04:38 [ Reply ]