alb3805515

Mayan Number System, Codex Dresdensis

Maya numerals are a vigesimal (base-twenty) numeral system used by the Pre-Columbian (before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents) Maya civilization. The numerals are made up of three symbols; zero (shell shape), one (a dot) and five (a bar). The Mayans used a zero in their mathematical system well before the West received the concept from India. The Dresden Codex is a pre-Columbian Maya book of the eleventh or twelfth century. This Maya codex is believed to be a copy of an original text of some three or four hundred years earlier. It is the oldest book written in the Americas known to historians. The Dresden Codex is considered the most complete of the three indisputably authentic Maya codices. It is speculated that it was sent by Hernán Cortés as a tribute to King Charles I of Spain in 1519. The codex has been in Europe ever since.
Share
pinterestPinterest
twitterTwitter
facebookFacebook
emailEmail

Add to another lightbox

Add to another lightbox

add to lightbox print share
Do you already have an account? Sign in
You do not have an account? Register
Buy this image
Loading...
Title:
Mayan Number System, Codex Dresdensis
Caption:
Maya numerals are a vigesimal (base-twenty) numeral system used by the Pre-Columbian (before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents) Maya civilization. The numerals are made up of three symbols; zero (shell shape), one (a dot) and five (a bar). The Mayans used a zero in their mathematical system well before the West received the concept from India. The Dresden Codex is a pre-Columbian Maya book of the eleventh or twelfth century. This Maya codex is believed to be a copy of an original text of some three or four hundred years earlier. It is the oldest book written in the Americas known to historians. The Dresden Codex is considered the most complete of the three indisputably authentic Maya codices. It is speculated that it was sent by Hernán Cortés as a tribute to King Charles I of Spain in 1519. The codex has been in Europe ever since.
Personalities:
Credit:
Album / Science Source / New York Public Library
Releases:
Model: No - Property: No
Rights questions?
Image size:
2100 x 5007 px | 30.1 MB
Print size:
17.8 x 42.4 cm | 7.0 x 16.7 in (300 dpi)