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Re: Why 7 day week ?
(dcohen@cix.compulink.co.uk)
Wed, 15 Feb 1995 23:13:53 GMT
In message <1995Feb12.025153.22060@bhprtc.scpd.oz.au>,
kemp@bhprtc.scpd.oz.au said:
, I had thought (if
> I ever thought about it at all) that the 7 day week must be a fairly
> recent (<2000 yrs) invention in western society.
>
> So is the 7-day week a traditional calendar in Japan (& rest of Asia),
> or is it a recent importation ?
I had lways assumed that the 28-day month was based on moon cycles (though
strictly speaking the cycle is nearer 29 days than 28), and the 7-day week
is a convenient way of breaking the month into shorter periods. If this
is true, it would suggest that both are ancient and widespread without need
for importation.
Daniel Cohen
e-mail: D.E.Cohen@qmw.ac.uk or dcohen@cix.compulink.co.uk
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