A ''kʼatun'' (, ) is a unit of time in the
Maya calendar
The Maya calendar is a system of calendars used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and in many modern communities in the Guatemalan highlands, Veracruz, Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico.
The essentials of the Maya calendar are based upon a system which ha ...
equal to 20 ''
tuns'' or 7200 days, equivalent to 19.713
tropical year
A tropical year or solar year (or tropical period) is the time that the Sun takes to return to the same position in the sky of a celestial body of the Solar System such as the Earth, completing a full cycle of seasons; for example, the time ...
s. It is the second digit on the normal
Maya
Maya may refer to:
Civilizations
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (Ethiopia), a popu ...
long count date. For example, in the Maya Long Count date 12.19.13.15.12 (December 5, 2006), the number 19 is the ''kʼatun''. There are 20 ''k'atuns'' in a ''
baktun''.
The end of a kʼatun was marked by numerous ceremonies and, at
Tikal
Tikal () (''Tik’al'' in modern Mayan orthography) is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal, found in a rainforest in Guatemala. It is one of the largest archeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Co ...
, the construction of large
twin pyramid complexes to host them. The kʼatun was also used to reckon the age of rulers. Those who lived to see four (or five) kʼatuns would take the title 4-(or 5-)kʼatun ruler. In the
Postclassic period when the full Long Count gave way to the
Short Count
The Maya calendar is a system of calendars used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and in many modern communities in the Guatemalan highlands, Veracruz, Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico.
The essentials of the Maya calendar are based upon a system which had ...
, the Maya continued to keep a reckoning of kʼatuns, differentiating them by the
Calendar Round
The Maya calendar is a system of calendars used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and in many modern communities in the Guatemalan highlands, Veracruz, Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico.
The essentials of the Maya calendar are based upon a system which ha ...
date on which they began. Each kʼatun had its own set of prophecies and associations.
Notes
References
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Maya calendars
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