Empires of time: calendars, clocks, and cultures

Abstract

In this wide-ranging, intriguing journey across centuries, Aveni traces the modern calendar's roots back to Greek pastoral poetry and prehistoric African bone markings, then compares Western, Chinese, Maya, Inca and tribal time systems. He also fathoms our division of time into days, weeks, months, seasons and years for clues to our psychology and worldview. He notes that scientists who believe that previous universes existed before the Big Bang echo the Maya and Aztec view of time as cyclical.