Chapter 11
A History of Mathematics: An Introduction · 4 exercises
Problem 2
Given the Mayan date \((8,10,193)\), determine the Mayan date that is \(0,2,3,5,10\) days later.
5 step solution
Problem 3
Find an algorithm for deciding the minimum number of days between two Mayan dates \(\left(t_{0}, v_{0}, y_{0}\right)\) and \(\left(t_{1}, v_{1}, y_{1}\right)\). It might be easier to first ignore the 365 -day cycle altogether and simply determine the minimum number of days between the two almanac dates of \(\left(t_{0}, v_{0}\right)\) and \(\left(t_{1}, v_{1}\right)\). For help with this problem, consult the works of Closs, Lounsbury, or Ascher mentioned in note 3 .
3 step solution
Problem 5
Work out the group table of the kin structure in Malekulan society. For a woman in each of the six sections, determine the section of her husband, her mother, her father, and her children.
6 step solution
Problem 11
Read the paper by Anna Sofaer, Rolf M. Sinclair, and Joey B. Donahue, "Solar and Lunar Orientations of the Major Architecture of the Chaco Culture of New Mexico," in Proceedings of the Colloquio Internazionale Archeologia e Astronomia (Venice, 1990 ) and some of the references cited in the paper. Do these articles convince you that the Anasazi used mathematical tools in the orientation and
6 step solution