Fun with Maps ISSUE 2025-126

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (August 11, 2025) – In today’s edition of Fun with Maps, we study the start of time – from an ancient calendar system.

AWAH, 8  KUMK’U – AUGUST 11, 3114 BC

According to the Mayans, time began on August 11 in the year 3114 BC.  Or at least it does if you use the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar.

The Mayan calendar system is made of interconnecting calendar parts – Tzolk’in or Sacred calendar made of a 260 day cycle used for ritual, Haab or solar calendar which equals the Gregorian 365 day cycle but is divided into 18 months of 20 days each, and the Long Count calendar which never repeats and is used for historic monuments and records since it starts with the beginning of time.

The calendar is represented as a combination of the sacred and solar calendars, and was very accurate for the prediction of recurring events like seasons and lunar phases.  It takes 52 years to complete a rotation where the 2 cyclical calendars meet again. 

The Mayans calendar was not just a method of timekeeping, but it was ingrained in their mythology, beliefs, and rituals.

McNally created this map of Mexico and Central America in 1866.  The Mayans occupied most of today’s Central America and southern Mexico.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.