Cultural Connections to Space

Cultural Connections to Space

Learning Target: I will be able to answer questions about how a few different cultures use observations from the sky to measure time. 

Recap

• Yesterday you learned about cultural connections to space in several Native American communities.

• Today you will learn about cultural connections to space in a few other communities around the world.

Many cultures share a connection to space through their unique ways of measuring time.

Measuring Time

Cultures around the world observed the sky and measure time differentlly. Just like today, calendars are filled with significant cultural events that people's cultures and cultural identities.

Modern Calendars

Today, most countries use the same calendar for official dates (national holidays, etc.). However, there are many different calendars that determine cutural or religious holidays around the world.

The Mayan Civilization

Mayan Civilization

The Mayan Civilization was an incredibly creative, advanced and organized civilization in what is now Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. It lasted about 2,000 years from around 300 BCE - 1500 AD.

Connection to Space

The Maya and the Mayan culture were very connected to space. They observed the sky and calendars to predict solar and lunar eclipses, the cycles of the planet Venus, and the movements of the constellations. These occurrences were far more than mere mechanical movements of the heavens, and were believed to be the activities of gods replaying mythical events from the time of Creation.

Mayan Calendar

Among the many incredible things the Mayan people are known for, they are also known for their intricate and exact calendar.

Multiple Choice

The Tzolkʼin (Mayan Calendar) is best known around the world for what?

• It's intricacy and exactness.

• How inaccurate it is.

Multiple Choice

How many wheels work together to form the Tzolkʼin (Mayan calendar)?

• 3

• 2

• 1

Multiple Choice

The Tzolkʼin (Mayan Calendar) is still used by the Maya people.

• true

• false

Chichen Itza

The Maya people were so exact with their astronomy skills, that many of the temples they built were designed to be illuminated at certain times of the day or days in a year. The most famous example of this kind of alignment can be observed at Chichén Itzá, the principal Maya city of the Yucatán Peninsula.

Chichen Itza

People still gather there each year, as they have for centuries, to observe the sun illuminate the stairs of a pyramid dedicated to Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent god. At the equinoxes, the Sun gradually illuminates the pyramid stairs and the serpent head at its base, creating the image of a snake slithering down the sacred mountain to Earth.

Lunar Calendars

Lunar Calendars

Many ancient cultures developed calendars based on a lunar calendar, and not on the sun. These calendars are still used today!

Multiple Choice

What is the lunar calendar based on?

• the movement of the Moon around the Earth

• the movement of the Earth around the Sun

• the movement of the stars

Multiple Choice

What is the solar calendar (Gregorian Calendar) based on? This is the calendar we use in the United States for official dates.

• the movement of the Earth around the sun

• the movement of the Moon around the Earth

• the movement of the stars

Multiple Choice

Which is shorter?

• solar (Gregorian) calendar

• lunar calendar

Lunar Calendars Around the World

Here are just a few examples of holidays celebrated around the world based on a lunar calendar!

Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year is a celebration celebrated by billions of people around the world! Observed in many Asian countries and by many Asian people around the world, it is a holiday that honors ancient traditions. It just happened last month!

Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and it means "head of the New Year" in Hebrew. The Jewish calendar is a lunisolar calendar, which means that months are based on a lunar calendar, but years are based on a solar calendar.

Hijri

Hijri is the New Year celebration in the Islamic calendar, and it means "migration" in Arabic. The Islamic calendar is lunar.

Multiple Choice

Most calendars were created by observing the sky and noticing changes.

• true

• false

Multiple Choice

All cultures measure time the same way.

• true

• false