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Whiterabbit-- t1_j3g5tgb wrote

> Scientists had suspected that the calendar, which is tied to cycles of maize agriculture and human reproduction ...

OK. can someone explain to me why maize and human reproduction is on a 260 day calendar?

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WanderingAnchorite t1_j3gfpc6 wrote

I have done zero research but here's my guess.

Modern pregnancy lasts 280 days.

Malnutrition and other lifestyle factors shorten that, so a 260-day gestation may have been standard, at the time and in that place.

The corn part, I imagine, is actually broken down into three cycles of just over 86 days, which is right around how long corn takes to go from seed to harvest: so each year allowed for three cycles of crop, because they were in the tropics, where you can grow all year.

It's also important to understand that this idea of "day" is different, in cultures who use multiple calendars - the Chinese and the Jewish are known for using both a solar and a lunar calendar, which don't sync up, but are used together to understand one's position in time.

I'd guess that's more how this calendar worked, as it was more about seasons than it was about the length of a day, because it's not like you'd have a 260-day year that resulted in 33-hour days: you can't change the earth's rotation any more than you can the position of the moon and stars.

So the functional day was still 24-hours-ish, but then there was another calendar used for rituals, planting, etc.: basically every civilization makes calendars to figure out when floods come.

Floods bring fertility to the soil, allowing it to produce - that's why all major civilizations originate in flood plains - it's why, once you figure out the flood cycle, complex language and temporality emerge very quickly.

Humans are already familiar with cyclic floods in our own, everywhere we exist, from pre-history: we saw that people producing children also seemed to have a cycle and it gets kinda'...wet.

Women's menstrual cycle has been referred to as a "flood" in many cultures, throughout history, strengthening this connection, with the time of menstruation also called a "moon," in many cultures, strengthening that connection, as well.

In ancient Rome, the owning couple was required to have sex in any newly-anointed agricultural field, to ensure productivity.

Connections between sex and agriculture exist in nearly every culture.

So my guess is that the Mesoamericans were birthing slightly malnourished children slightly premature, and it was the standard at the time, while also bringing in a corn crop three times a year (let's call them "trimesters" wink wink).

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searucraeft t1_j3gxr6x wrote

This doesn't exactly read like a comment with zero research tied to it. Thanks for it! Very interesting take.

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Braincoater t1_j3hd44s wrote

Awesome read. Egyptian pharaohs would ejaculate on the Nile to ensure a good harvest every year.

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tyco_brahe t1_j3i81im wrote

This is really interesting, and I think you hit the nail on the head with the human gestation period.

It might not even be mal-nutrition. If you count from the first missed period, you get around 36 weeks / 9 months / 252 days. It's completely possible for the 260 days to be what they observed from the first indication of pregnancy (missed period) to birth and it doesn't require mal-nutrition or premature birth.

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Fluffy_Town t1_j3kvgri wrote

You've also got a pregnant lady whose water breaks just before birth.

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WanderingAnchorite t1_j3lb3co wrote

That's also true!

I think a lot of this stuff makes the origins of religions much more understandable.

You see people try to justify the historical reality of "the great flood" by saying how every culture on Earth has a story about an ancient great flood.

Almost like maybe there was no massive flood and we were all just surrounded by the same basic conditions, leading us to similar conclusions.

It's like how every culture independently creates some form of flatbread: that doesn't make the bread divine (though, historically, many people associate bread and the divine - Yahweh rained bread down from Heaven, etc.).

Or how the universe was created by Hera, spilling her breastmilk, creating the stars in the sky: that's why we call The Milky Way...The Milky Way.

The Chinese actually call it "The Silver River," to this day, because they didn't have the same origin story for it.

OK, I gotta' stop...I'd be the worst history teacher...I'd be the guy that kids are like "Just ask any question, then let him go..." hahaha

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Fluffy_Town t1_j3mjzvk wrote

>It's like how every culture independently creates some form of flatbread: that doesn't make the bread divine (though, historically, many people associate bread and the divine - Yahweh rained bread down from Heaven, etc.).

I watched this cooking show on Netflix and apparently there's a lot of dumpling recipes throughout the world that have different names but are essentially the same thing.

>OK, I gotta' stop...I'd be the worst history teacher...I'd be the guy that kids are like "Just ask any question, then let him go..." hahaha

...or the opposite is true. Your passion for the subject comes through the screen. Teachers with passion inspire students to become great.

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4x4is16Legs t1_j3kmsdp wrote

Thoughtful and interesting for Zero research. You’re very brilliant. I hope it’s all accurate and you get everything you need in life 😍

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jpastore t1_j3i8mwe wrote

You have some amazing guesses for no knowledge LOL

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quarktothemax t1_j3gfxod wrote

I don’t know about maize, but that’s around how long it takes to gestate a baby, especially if you count from the missed period.

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Gloomy_Possession-69 t1_j3gnzk9 wrote

Don't forget the human menstrual cycle is quite regular as well. Could have been around 26 days so it would cover two "glyphs" which seems to be like months.

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