Oldest known Maya mathematician identified: his name was Satán

First Maya mathematician-astronomer identified: his name was Satán

A team from MIT has achieved what seemed impossible: putting a name to a Maya scholar who, more than a thousand years ago, recorded astronomical calculations on a wall in Yucatán. The discovery, published in the journal Antiquity, reveals that the author of a formula unique among more than 50 mathematical microtexts was called Satán. The name, which in Classic Maya has nothing to do with the devil, has triggered a cascade of jokes.

Until now, the names of pyramid builders or vase painters were known, but the geniuses behind the calendar and astronomical predictions remained anonymous. Franco D. Rossi, of MIT, explains that this inscription is "unique" because the author explicitly claims credit for the observations. It is the first case of a Maya scientist signing his work.

The paradox of splendor and decline

The discovery reopens an old question: how did a civilization with such mastery of mathematics and astronomy end up collapsing? The hypotheses range from ecological exhaustion to alien intervention — yes, some people do claim that — but what nobody disputes is the contrast between the sophistication of its scientific elite and its general technological underdevelopment. Some suggest that knowledge was so centralized that, when the caste disappeared, everything was lost.

The awkward name

The fact that a Maya sage was called Satán has generated inevitable wisecracks: from altar wax to the wheel that, according to the cliché, they never invented. But the Maya did know the wheel; they simply never applied it to transport. In any case, the discovery shows that the history of science is not exclusively European: there were anonymous geniuses who measured time with millennial precision.

Why did such a brilliant culture fade away? The question remains open. Perhaps the answer is hidden in another wall microtext.