The Complete Idiot's Guide to 2012 - Dr. Synthia Andrews Nd [22]
Keeping Track of Numbers
To record amounts, the Maya used a system of bars and dots. A dot stood for one and a bar stood for five. Zero was signified by a conch shell. Dots and bars were used to count to 20; large numbers were counted as powers of 20. We count in powers of 10. Any number under 20 would be written in combination of bars and dots as depicted in the following illustration.
The dots stand for ones and the bars stand for five.
Numbers over 20 would be written as a combination of bars and dots that were either added to or multiplied by 20. For example, 53 would be expressed as 2 times 20 plus 13. When writing numbers, the Maya located the positions in columns rather than in rows as we do. When we write a three-digit number, such as four hundred fifty-one, we write 451. We know that the third position to the left stands for the hundreds (10×10), the second position for the tens, and the first position for the ones. To write higher numbers, we add positions to the left that stand for powers of 10 (1,000; 100,000; 1,000,000). In the Mayan system using powers of 20, the bottom position is for 0 to 20; the middle position is for multiples of 20 (1×20); and the top position is for the 400s (20×20). To write higher numbers, you would add positions to the top of the column that stand for higher powers of 20 (8,000, 160,000, 3,200,000). So 451 in Mayan columns would look like the following illustration.
The Mayan system easily handles large numbers in a similar manner to our own. The number in the top position is multiplied by 400, in this case 1×400; the number in the middle position is multiplied by 20, in this case 2×20; the number in the bottom position is not a multiple. So this represents 400 + 40 + 11 = 451.
Simple Math
Adding and subtracting was very easy with this system. It was only a matter of adding bars and dots located in the same column position. Just like we line up numbers and add the ones column first, then the tens, then the hundreds, it worked for the Mayan system in the same way. If it sounds complicated in words, take a minute to check out the following illustration, and with a little concentration you’ll be surprised just how easy and accurate it is!
You can see how easy it is to add and subtract large numbers. It’s also claimed that they multiplied and divided as well.
Although simple, you can see that this system can handle large numbers with relative ease. The main drawback is that they did not use fractions. When calculating astronomical cycles, this created a problem. The only way around it is to watch the sky for long periods of time for whole numbered cycles to repeat. The significance of this becomes apparent in Chapter 4.
Spiritual Qualities of Numbers
To the Maya, numbers were invested with specific spiritual qualities. Each of the 20 numbers was represented by a glyph and a name. When used in the calendars, they are called day-signs. Each day-sign represents an important theme in everyday Mayan life and suggested a progression of self-development. A day-sign signifies what the spiritual quality of the number will be that is expressed on a given day. Each month also had a spiritual quality, as did the year. Knowing the day’s energy allowed the Maya to plan events.
For example, if you were a Maya, a 9 Muluc day, which emphasizes payments and the law of cause and effect, might be a good day for a ritual to appease the gods or to pay off your debts. On the other hand, you might not want to do these things on a 7 Manik day, which is more likely to manifest deception. You’ll learn more in Chapter 5. For now it’s enough to know that numbers had significance beyond keeping count of material objects or time periods, or to make calculations.