A Possible Solution of the Number Series on Pages 51 to 58 of the Dresden Codex

audiobook

A Possible Solution of the Number Series on Pages 51 to 58 of the Dresden Codex

by Carl E. (Carl Eugen) Guthe

EN·~1 hours·2 chapters

Chapters

2 total

NOTE

0:50

A POSSIBLE SOLUTION OF THE NUMBER SERIES ON PAGES 51 TO 58 OF THE DRESDEN CODEX

1:04:26

Description

An elegantly detailed study, this work tackles a long‑standing mystery hidden in the Dresden Codex, one of the few surviving Maya manuscripts. The author reconstructs a complex series of numbers spread across eight pages, explaining how each column intertwines upper and lower values, day glyphs, and occasional illustrative strips. By grounding the analysis in careful arithmetic and calendrical logic, the paper presents a coherent reading that had eluded scholars for decades.

The solution reveals that the sequence records a sweep of 11,960 days—essentially a full cycle of lunar synodic revolutions—broken into uneven segments that correspond to Maya day names and their numeric designations. The method shows how each upper number accumulates preceding lower values while the lower figures express the incremental gaps between columns. This approach not only clarifies the numerical pattern but also sheds light on the sophisticated astronomical knowledge encoded by the ancient Maya.

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Details

Language

en

Duration

~1 hours (62K characters)

Publisher of text edition

Project Gutenberg

Credits

Produced by Julia Miller, Fred Salzer and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

Release date

Mar 16, 2013

Rights

Public domain in the USA.

About the author

Carl E. (Carl Eugen) Guthe

Carl E. (Carl Eugen) Guthe

1893–1974

A pioneering American anthropologist and archaeologist, he helped build the University of Michigan’s anthropology program and led important fieldwork in the Philippines. His career also ranged into Maya studies and museum leadership, giving him a wide influence on twentieth-century anthropology.

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