Mayan
Mathematics
By:
Marissa Steudler
And
Judy Landis
Discovery of Mayan Math
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Landa discovered the religious practices,
hieroglyphics, and the history of the Mayans while
he lived amongst them. In 1566, he wrote a book
on the Mayans. The book described the
hieroglyphics, customs, temples, religious
practices, and history of the Mayans. The book
resurfaced in 1869. Landa was Christian and
thought that the books were all writings of the
devil, therefore he ordered that all Mayan books
be burned and all idols be destroyed. Some
documents that survived Landa’s destruction was
the Dresden codex and various other original
documents, which helped understand the Mayan
way of thinking.
The Dresden Codex
The Discovery of Mayan Math
(Continued)
 Mayan
math started with the counting of
fingers and then adding toes. Therefore it
is based on 20 units. The Mayans were the
first to come up with zero. One of the
biggest purposes was to represent large
numbers by only using 3 symbols. The
Mayan counting system allowed the
people to record long periods of time and
also arithmetic.
The Concept of
Mayan Math…
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Was to represent numbers
by only using 3 symbols; a
dot, a bar, and a symbol for
zero.
The dot is worth 1 unit
The bar is worth 5 units
The zero is symbolized by a
shell.
Used base 20.
Large numbers were
expressed by using place
values.
By using the base 20 system,
they were able to calculate
larger numbers
Number system for addition
and subtraction.
Prevailing View Before the
Discovery
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Prior to the discovery of Mayan mathematics
European countries were so advanced in
mathematics that they already had algebra.
So, it didn’t directly effect their current views.
The discovery effected the way we
understand the Mayan culture and helped
explain who they were.
The Mayans discovery documented one of
the earliest working number systems that they
weren’t aware of.
How the Discovery Impacted
Society
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Impacted the calendar to measure the days.
Used the number system to find out how long it
took the planets to orbit.
Used for religious rituals and prophecies.
The Dresden codex in which we have any written
evidence of this mathematical system.
At the time that the Mayans had a working
number system, Europe was still struggling to use
the Roman numeral system.
Astronomy, mythology, and the calendar were
important parts of Mayan society.
Two fundamental ideas behind mathematics
 Positional value
 The concept of zero