The Art of Time-Keeping, Part 5: Maya Calendar

I can’t believe it’s been a few years since I built the French Republican Calendar web application and explained how it works in a blog post, which is really part of the series on the art of time-keeping. However, I was not exactly satisfied with making a web application for that one calendar when there are so many more interesting calendars in the world. Thus, I decided to explore a different calendar system with a completely different philosophy—the Maya1 calendar. Whereas the original version of the French Republican Calendar is completely based on astronomy and required calculation of the autumnal equinox, the Maya calendar system is entirely based on math and fixed-length cycles. I thought this would make a lovely contrast in calendar design philosophies. However, before we dive in deeper, it is important to mention that there isn’t just one “Maya calendar,” but rather three—the Tzolkʼin2, Haabʼ, and the Long Count. These cycles are also not exclusive to the Maya, but are used by…