Science Fact Finder | Time, Weights, and Measures - Besides The Julian And Gregorian Calendars, What Other Calendars Have Been Used?

Besides the Julian and Gregorian calendars, what other calendars have been used?

Babylonian calendar—A lunar calendar (based on the orbital period of the moon around the Earth), composed of alternating 29-day and 30-day months. It was developed and used by the people of the ancient empire of Babylonia (which flourished from around 2800 to 1750 B.C.), located in present-day Iraq. When the calendar became too out of synch with the seasons, an extra month was added. In addition, 3 extra months were added every 8 years to coordinate this calendar with the solar year (the period of the Earth's revolution around the sun).

Chinese calendar—A calendar containing 12 lunar months (a lunar month is the period of the moon's revolution around the Earth). Since there are approximately 29.5 days from new moon to new moon, each month has either 29 or 30 days. (A new moon is the phase of the moon,...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass