History of calendars

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/history-of-calendars

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the earliest documented continuous calendar?Yoruba Kojoda calendar, originating circa 8042 BC
2. What is the oldest potential archaeological calendar?Wurdi Youang stone arrangement, Victoria, Australia (over 11,000 years old)
3. What is a calendar and why did people make one?A calendar is a way to keep track of days, months, and years. People made calendars to organize time for farming, festivals, and everyday life.
4. How did ancient people use the sun and moon to create calendars?They watched the sun’s daily path, the moon’s 29.5‑day cycle, and the yearly sun cycle to mark days, months, and seasons.

Synodic Month (Lunation): The period of approximately 29.5 days for the Moon to complete one cycle of phases as seen from Earth.
Solar Year: The time it takes Earth to complete one orbit around the Sun, approximately 365.2422 days.
Intercalation: The practice of adding extra days or months to a calendar to keep it synchronized with astronomical or seasonal cycles.
Lunisolar Calendar: A calendar system that synchronizes lunar months with a solar year, often by adding intercalary months.