Code Aztec decoded

2008/05/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Matematika
• Historia

Before the Spaniards arrived in America, the Aztecs had a complex and complete mathematical system. The Bergara Code is an example. This code, of approximately 1540, consists of schematic drawings and numbers.

So far, the meaning of those images and numbers was a mystery. Now, however, researchers at the Autonomous University of Mexico, together with those of Wisconsin-Rock County, have analyzed the code and found that the code collects land surfaces. The way in which the Aztecs calculated the surface of the fields in an irregular way, according to the researchers, they used different types of algorithms to calculate the surfaces and were very practical.