Maya Mathematician’s Name Revealed After Centuries

Guatemalan researchers confirmed the name of an important Maya mathematician and astronomer, Sak Tahn Waax (“White-breasted Fox”), based on inscriptions at the Chultún archaeological site. The team identified the scholar through a wall carving containing mathematical formulas linked to astronomical calendars. These calculations were used by the Maya to schedule important events like royal inaugurations.

The researchers focused on a set of 11 glyphs, dubbed “Text 19,” measuring approximately 10 centimeters in height. They determined the first nine glyphs detail the logic for converting Maya calendar and astronomical cycles.

This formula cracks the pattern of a 2920-day cycle, aligning with various Maya calendar units and accurately correlating it with five Venus cycles of 584 days each and eight solar years of 365 days each. The inscription also connects this cycle to the 20-day month, the 260-day sacred calendar, the 360-day year, and the 780-day Mars cycle. Determining Sak Tahn Waax was male relied on the absence of feminine prefixes in the inscription.