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When was the calendar invented?
Posted Date: 01 Jan 2008 Resource Type: Articles/Knowledge Sharing Category: General
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Posted By: Mala Member Level: Diamond
Rating:  Points: 4
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There are no specific date or period has been determined for the invention of the calendar, since it is believed that humans around the world have used different means to mark the cycles of nature throughout time. For instance, the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese, and Mayans all had various calendar systems based on natural observations of the Moon's cycles and seasonal changes. The Egyptians were the first to work out a formula for the solar year (based on the position of the Sun), which differs slightly from the lunar year (based on the phases of the Moon). This formula was eventually adopted by the Romans and was the forerunner to the modern calendar.
The first Roman calendar had ten months and utilized a number of blank days or "filler" months when necessary to stretch the year to its proper 365 days. The earliest Egyptian calendar was based on the moon's cycles, but later the Egyptians realized that the "Dog Star" in Canis Major, which is now called Sirius, rose next to the sun every 365 days, about when the annual inundation of the Nile began. Based on this knowledge, they devised a 365-day calendar that seems to have begun in 4236 B.C., the earliest recorded year in history.
In Babylonia, again in Iraq, a year of 12 alternating 29-day and 30-day lunar months was observed before 2000 B.C., giving a 354-day year. In contrast, the Mayans of Central America relied on not only the sun and moon, but also the planet Venus, to establish 260-day and 365-day calendars. This culture flourished from around 2000 B.C. until about 1500 A.D. They left celestial-cycle records indicating their belief that the creation of the world occurred in 3113 B.C. Their calendars later became portions of the great Aztec calendar stones. Other civilizations, including the modern West, have adopted a 365-day solar calendar with a leap year occurring every fourth year.
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