WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:05.880 Since time immemorial, the night sky has fascinated humanity. 2 00:00:05.880 --> 00:00:08.647 Even today, we still look upwards in our quest 3 00:00:08.647 --> 00:00:12.180 to understand the origin and future of our world. 4 00:00:13.520 --> 00:00:16.060 Technological progress has changed our understanding 5 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:17.300 of the things we see. 6 00:00:17.320 --> 00:00:20.390 The sky is no longer the home of the gods alone. 7 00:00:21.239 --> 00:00:26.120 And yet we're still influenced by the discoveries of ancient civilizations. 8 00:00:26.120 --> 00:00:28.420 Like the Maya of Central America. 9 00:00:30.080 --> 00:00:33.760 They left a unique legacy in the shape of this mysterious document, 10 00:00:34.040 --> 00:00:36.430 compiled by Mayan astronomers. 11 00:00:36.440 --> 00:00:38.290 What could it still tell us today? 12 00:00:41.920 --> 00:00:45.720 The sophisticated hieroglyphics reveal the accumulated knowledge 13 00:00:45.720 --> 00:00:46.820 of the Maya. 14 00:00:46.840 --> 00:00:49.540 When will the next solar eclipse take place? 15 00:00:50.870 --> 00:00:53.460 When will Venus appear as a morning star? 16 00:00:53.470 --> 00:00:58.070 Experts around the world are still in awe of the meticulous calculations 17 00:00:58.070 --> 00:00:59.160 of the Maya. 18 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:04.163 It's amazing that they were able to produce these calculations 19 00:01:04.163 --> 00:01:05.996 thousands of years ago. 20 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:07.830 How in the world did they do this? 21 00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:10.700 How could they do it if they didn't have computers and telescopes? 22 00:01:11.480 --> 00:01:17.230 In their day, so until 1492, the Maya were way ahead of the Europeans 23 00:01:17.240 --> 00:01:20.107 in mathematics and in astronomy too. 24 00:01:21.440 --> 00:01:25.090 It's not clear how the document made its way to Europe, 25 00:01:25.090 --> 00:01:30.110 whether it was looted by the colonialists or passed as an official gift. 26 00:01:30.430 --> 00:01:32.770 That's still the subject of research. 27 00:01:32.830 --> 00:01:36.430 What's clear is that the document ended up in Dresden, Germany. 28 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:40.373 And it's still here today, 29 00:01:40.373 --> 00:01:44.140 stored at the Saxon State and University Library. 30 00:01:44.160 --> 00:01:48.920 It's one of just four authentic Mayan Codices known to us worldwide. 31 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:53.480 Researchers like Carlos Pallán Gayol have helped us understand the document, 32 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:56.260 known as the “Dresden Codex”. 33 00:01:56.320 --> 00:01:59.960 Deciphering it has forever changed the way we see Mayan cultures. 34 00:02:01.493 --> 00:02:05.270 The Dresden Codex has greatly enriched our understanding of 35 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:09.160 Mayan mythology, religion, astronomy and hieroglyphics. 36 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:14.710 It spans 39 pages, written on both sides. 37 00:02:15.030 --> 00:02:20.310 The 3.5 m long document served as a pocket book for religious rituals. 38 00:02:22.960 --> 00:02:27.360 Today we assume that the tables on eclipses were used to give warning 39 00:02:27.370 --> 00:02:30.960 about when a solar or lunar eclipse was due. 40 00:02:31.040 --> 00:02:34.280 People were very afraid of these events. 41 00:02:36.050 --> 00:02:37.320 It's really about religion. 42 00:02:37.320 --> 00:02:41.560 Knowing the proper time to make an offering to the gods. 43 00:02:41.720 --> 00:02:44.990 It might have to do with the cure of a disease. 44 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:48.300 A safe, healthy birth. 45 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:50.500 A good crop. 46 00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:54.900 The Maya were obsessed with calculating and pinpointing 47 00:02:54.900 --> 00:02:56.870 the right time to do things. 48 00:02:56.880 --> 00:03:00.560 They were able to calculate a precise date way in advance. 49 00:03:01.680 --> 00:03:04.797 A big advantage for them was that they recognized 50 00:03:04.797 --> 00:03:06.933 the importanceof a zero. 51 00:03:09.267 --> 00:03:12.880 Because the zero, which we can see here very nicely from this sign 52 00:03:12.880 --> 00:03:15.653 here in red between the black digits, 53 00:03:15.653 --> 00:03:19.340 enables us to calculate long periods of time. 54 00:03:21.590 --> 00:03:25.169 Very long periods of time, even up to our modern day. 55 00:03:25.169 --> 00:03:29.697 One example: the total solar eclipse of April 2024 56 00:03:29.697 --> 00:03:32.980 could have been predicted just using the Dresden Codex. 57 00:03:34.357 --> 00:03:37.557 It's a very revelatory, revealing experience 58 00:03:37.557 --> 00:03:41.610 to see darkness in the middle of the day. 59 00:03:41.990 --> 00:03:46.713 And you might feel an identity with these people, the ancient Maya, 60 00:03:46.713 --> 00:03:51.880 who would look up to the gods and say, where can I bring an offering? 61 00:03:51.880 --> 00:03:55.480 They believed the cosmic order could be broken 62 00:03:55.480 --> 00:03:58.143 if the prescribed rituals were not observed. 63 00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:04.980 This is the symbol of the sun and the darkness is the eclipse. 64 00:04:04.980 --> 00:04:07.580 It hangs on this celestial band. 65 00:04:07.580 --> 00:04:10.813 And here we have a serpent swallowing it. 66 00:04:10.813 --> 00:04:14.600 So there was a fear that the sun would never rise again. 67 00:04:16.213 --> 00:04:18.730 They feared the cycle of the sun could be disrupted, 68 00:04:18.730 --> 00:04:21.283 meaning it wouldn't go down to the underworld 69 00:04:21.283 --> 00:04:23.064 and reappear the next day. 70 00:04:25.493 --> 00:04:29.600 The prospect of neverending night was greatly feared by the Maya. 71 00:04:29.960 --> 00:04:33.480 That's why they were so keen to be able to predict eclipses. 72 00:04:34.270 --> 00:04:38.270 Observing the sky was not driven by scientific interest, 73 00:04:38.270 --> 00:04:41.320 but by a desire to appease the gods. 74 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:45.916 They weren't terribly motivated to find out the path of totality, 75 00:04:45.916 --> 00:04:47.947 the geometry of eclipses. 76 00:04:48.589 --> 00:04:52.140 So the Mesoamerican cultures had no scientific goals. 77 00:04:52.589 --> 00:04:55.750 They observed the sky in order to have a reliable calendar. 78 00:04:57.110 --> 00:05:00.910 The Dresden Codex calendar shows how science and religion 79 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:02.320 went hand in hand. 80 00:05:02.640 --> 00:05:05.380 Not something we see happening much today. 81 00:05:05.630 --> 00:05:08.657 But we can all relate to that desire to understand 82 00:05:08.657 --> 00:05:10.440 what's happening around us. 83 00:05:12.230 --> 00:05:15.236 The end result is that people develop their own understanding 84 00:05:15.236 --> 00:05:16.750 of their lives and the cosmos. 85 00:05:16.770 --> 00:05:21.440 This interest in knowing about the past shouldn't just be driven 86 00:05:21.450 --> 00:05:24.830 by curiosity, but a vital need. 87 00:05:24.839 --> 00:05:28.560 The better we understand the past, the more solid the foundation will be 88 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:31.940 for building our future and understanding our present. 89 00:05:34.960 --> 00:05:38.987 So studying an ancient document, and unlocking its secrets, 90 00:05:38.987 --> 00:05:43.150 can help with our own understanding of the universe, even today.