Early Civilizations in the Americas Primary Sources | Long Count

Illustrations showing how the Mayas used the Long Count system to record dates

Date of origination: first century B.C.E.

Virtually all Mesoamerican societies from the Olmecs forward used both the sacred tzolkin calendar and a solar calendar, but only a few groups used the Long Count, most notably the Olmecs and the Mayas (pronounced MY-uhs). Many scholars believe the Long Count originated with the Olmecs sometime around the first century B.C.E. Stela C, found at the Olmec site of Tres Zapotes, has long been thought to be one of the oldest dated written documents of the Americas, dating back to 32 B.C.E. An even earlier Olmec Long Count date of 36 B.C.E. was...