Original upload date: Tue, 29 Mar 2016 00:00:00 GMT
Archive date: Tue, 30 Nov 2021 19:58:16 GMT
RSR's important website http://360dayyear.com asks: "Did the whole world once use a 360-day calendar?" If so, why? Real Science Radio hosts Bob Enyart and Fred Williams look at the Mayans, Egyptians,
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Aztecs, Indians, Sumerians, Babylonians, Armenians, Greeks, Romans, Chinese, and the Hebrew Bible to answer the first question: Yes, ancient civilizations used a 360-day calendar. To answer the question why, one must keep in mind the sophistication of ancient astronomers. Nasa reports that in 650 B.C., "Mayan astronomers [made] detailed observations of Venus, leading to a highly accurate calendar." And the Encyclopedia of Time says of the Aztecs that, "they carried on and further developed calendrical traditions that had their roots some 2,000 years before their own time." RSR investigates the reason why the ancient world used a 360-day calendar and discusses a mechanism for speeding up the rotation of the Earth that in historical times could add 5.24 days to the year. See more at http://rsr.org/360 and at http://360dayyear.com.
