Page 182 - A Historical Lie: The Stone Age

A HISTORICAL LIE: THE STONE AGE

their relationships with one another, and their relationships with the
Earth.
So accurate was the Mayans' knowledge of astronomy that they
were able to determine that one day needed to be subtracted from
the Venusian orbit every 6,000 years. How did
they acquire such information? That is still a
matter of debate for astronomers, astro-
physicists and archaeologists. Today,
such complex calculations are made

Astronomical knowledge that can calculate the one
day that needs to be subtracted from the orbit of Venus
every 6,000 years is an important example of the ad-
vanced civilization of the past peoples.

Opposite page: Detail from the coffin
cover of the tomb of the Mayan ruler
Pacal. The vehicle Pacal is sitting on
resembles a kind of motorbike, which
may be a powered vehicle used at the
time.

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