首位被命名的古玛雅天文学家身份揭晓

The identity of an ancient Maya scientist has finally been revealed. The signature of Sak Tahn Waax appears at the end of a calendrical table painted over 1,200 years ago on the wall of a Maya ruin, scientists report in Antiquity. That presentation implies Sak Tahn Waax claimed credit or was being credited for the work. While the names of other Maya luminaries are known (rulers are often named in writings and on monuments, and some artists signed their works) this is the first known name of an astronomer. Maya texts related historical events and natural cycles, and “individuals like Sak Tahn Waax were not only observing these cycles but linking them with each other,” says MIT archaeologist Franco Rossi. …