Dresden Codex

The book is named after the city of Dresden, Germany, where the manuscript is permanently housed in the Saxon State and University Library. It was purchased in Vienna in 1739 by the library's director, Johann Christian Götze.

The codex is an astronomical almanac heavily focused on the cycles of the planet Venus and lunar eclipses. It features detailed tables that allowed Maya priests to predict celestial events for agricultural and ritual purposes.

The surviving pages of the Dresden Codex were likely compiled during the Postclassic period of Mesoamerica, around the 11th or 12th century. However, the astronomical data and calendar rounds it contains are based on much older Classic Maya observations.

The Dresden Codex consists of 39 surviving leaves of bark paper, written on both sides. They are glued together to form a screen-folded strip that measures about 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) in length.