12.04.2013 - 13:30 [ EurekAlert! ]

Maya Long Count calendar and European calendar linked using carbon-14 dating

The Maya are famous for their complex, intertwined calendric systems, and now one calendar, the Maya Long Count, is empirically calibrated to the modern European calendar, according to an international team of researchers.

„The Long Count calendar fell into disuse before European contact in the Maya area,“ said Douglas J. Kennett, professor of environmental archaeology, Penn State.