Researchers have gained new insights into the Maya calendar and, in particular, the ability to predict eclipses. Like other advanced ancient civilizations, the Maya looked at the sky for auspicious signs and divine punishment, but their calendar is quite different from what we are used to, making its use an enduring mystery to modern archaeologists. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

The Maya astrological calendar had 260 days, and it was used to divine individuals' destinies. In the Dresden Codex, there is a table with 405 new Moons, which amounts almost exactly to 46 of these 260-day cycles, so they could predict the occurrence of the full Moon or new Moon to within one day.

Eclipses happen either at full Moon (lun

See Full Page