The Maya Calendar's Views on Maya Time

With the development of the long calendar using the decimal system (which is usually considered to have originated from other Central American cultures), the Mayans had an excellent system to record different events in a linear relationship. Theoretically, this system can easily represent any required length of time, and only need to increase the number representing the higher position, thus generating an infinite product of days, so that each day in the sequence can occupy a unique long calendar number. In fact, most Mayan long-term calendar inscriptions are limited to the last five coefficients in the system (calculated in b'ak'tun units), which is more than enough to represent historical or modern dates (the period is about 5 125 solar year). Even so, some remaining inscriptions reveal or imply the existence of a longer sequence. This shows that the Mayans quite understood the linear concept of time (past, present and future). However, like other Central American societies, the repetition of various calendar cycles, the cycles of observable natural phenomena, and the recurring images of death and rebirth in their mythological traditions have had a great and universal impact on Mayan society. This view of attaching importance to the "circulation" of time is very unique, and many festivals are related to the end and restart of many different cycles.

When a specific calendar configuration is repeated again, it will also produce related "supernatural" effects. A specific calendar configuration has a unique "role" for them, which will affect the events that occur on the configuration date. Because the events of the future date will be influenced by the corresponding date of the previous cycle, we can use this omen for divination. Festivals and major events will be held on a good day, not on a bad day.

The end of a major calendar cycle (such as the end of a specific time, such as the k'atun cycle) is usually marked on a specific monument (mostly a stone tablet) as a memorial, accompanied by a tribute ceremony. In Maya's creation myth, the idea of circulation is also mentioned, pointing out that before the world where human beings live today, there were other worlds (according to different traditions, there were one to five), which were shaped into different forms by God, but they were all destroyed one by one. Today's world is also a fragile existence, and it needs to maintain the balance of everything through regular prayers and sacrifices. Similar views have been found in other Central American societies.