Re: Why not 13 months? (Was La Systeme Metrique)

Elizabeth Olivier (Elizabeth@zosma.demon.co.uk)
Tue, 11 Jul 95 22:44:07 GMT

In article <mls-0807951911320001@mls.dialup.access.net>
mls@panix.com "Michael L. Siemon" writes:

>
> There is (to the best of my knowledge) NO evidence whatsoever for
> early 28-day months, nor any evidence before Ezekiel (post-exilic)
> for a continuous 7-day cycle of days.
> --
> Michael L. Siemon (mls@panix.com)
>
Forgive me, I have no knowledge of evidence concerning 28, 29, or 30 day months
in ancient calendars but I am reading this thread, and it occurs to me that a
cycle of 7 days might be likely to occur pretty early in mankind's counting
development, since it is the nearest number of whole days to a quarter phase
in the lunation cycle. We see the moon go from the flat-sided half-moon
to the full in seven whole days plus a quarter of a day, then from full to
last quarter in the same amount of days, and then another 14 and a half days
later it's the 1st quarter again. So seven days shows a distance in time
between clear-cut moon-shapes.
-Liz
Elizabeth@zosma.demon.co.uk