The Olmecs: Mesoamerica's Mysterious First Civilization

Olmec Calendars and Astronomy (1x11)

Air date: Jan 01, 2025

No Olmec writing or calendars are known before the first century BCE, but Epi-Olmec script offers clues into how the civilization kept time and understood the year. Dr. Barnhart walks you through the "long count" used by the Epi-Olmecs and the Mayans. Then, he turns to sparse astronomical references and LiDAR evidence of the Mesoamerican celestial worldview.