Archaeologists have identified the name of a Maya mathematician-astronomer who worked more than 1,200 years ago. The discovery, detailed in a study published in the journal Antiquity, reveals a sophisticated formula linking planetary cycles and calendar systems, signed at its close by a man known as Sak Tahn Waax.
The chamber where the text was found lies within Structure 10K-2 at Xultun in Guatemala. First excavated in 2011, the room contains more than 50 mathematical and astronomical microtexts painted on its interior walls. It served as a workspace for calendrical calculations and bookmaking between approximately 650 and 950 CE.
At the heart of the new analysis sits a unique astronomical formula. It relates the 260-day ritual calendar, the 365-day solar year, and the synodic cycles of Venus and Mars within a 2920-day interval. The formula concludes with glyphs that read "so says Sak Tahn Waax", a phrase that translates as "White-chested Fox".
The identification and work of an eighth-century Maya mathematician
This marks the first known instance of a Classic-period Maya scholar identified by name claiming direct credit for intellectual work. The text dates to around 781 CE, corresponding to the Long Count 9.17.10.17.3. Xultun itself was an important Maya city with a powerful dynasty during the fifth to ninth centuries CE.
The finding underscores a simple truth. Across civilisations and epochs, humans have turned to precise observation and mathematical reasoning to make sense of the heavens. The Maya intellectual tradition, preserved in these fragile wall texts, forms part of the deeper record of that enduring drive. No codices survive from this exact period, which lends particular weight to inscriptions found in situ.
Franco Rossi, David Stuart and Heather Hurst, the authors of the Antiquity paper, present the work as evidence of original observational insight rather than rote copying. The formula links planetary and calendar cycles in a previously unseen way, employing intervals that follow a Fibonacci-like sequence. Such elegance points to a mind engaged in genuine inquiry into the natural order.
