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Mayan chronology and ‘the spectrum of time’

Abstract

By applying methods used in varve1 and tree-ring2 analysis to link the floating Mayan chronology with the anchored chronology of calculated planetary positions a new correlation has been derived. The intervals between certain Mayan dates are known to be multiples of the synodic periods of several planets. Mayan astronomers are assumed to have observed close conjunctions of two or more planets; this is tested by comparisons with observed or calculated conjunctions. I conclude that the Mayan dates as conventionally expressed are 27.3 yr too old. The suggested correlation number is 594,250 ± 1d, the difference between the Julian and the Mayan day numbers.

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Schove, D. Mayan chronology and ‘the spectrum of time’. Nature 261, 471–473 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/261471a0

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