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What we can learn from Mayan astronomy

The crumbling ruins of a stone domed structure called Tz'iknal, also known as the Caracol or the Observatory, at the Chich'en Itza archeological site in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.
Gerardo Aldana
Tz'iknal (also known as the Caracol or the Observatory) at Chich'en Itza

Gerardo Aldana is a professor at University of California, Santa Barbara. Our Living Lands producer Daniel Spaulding spoke to Aldana about Mayan astronomy, Mesoamerican culture, and the importance of Indigenous knowledge.

“If we think of Indigenous cultures and their approaches, especially Mesoamerican cultures and their approaches to astronomy, it wasn't to transform and control nature,” Aldana said. “It was to find ways to open up dialogues with nature so that now your engagement with your environment can be a productive and a healthy one.”

I joined Boise State Public Radio as the Indigenous Affairs Reporter and Producer for Our Living Lands, a weekly radio show that focuses on climate change and its impact on Indigenous communities. It is a collaboration between the Mountain West News Bureau, Native Public Media and Koahnic Broadcast Corporation.