The concept of a year, defined as the length of time it takes for the Earth to complete one orbit around the sun, has been recognized by humans for thousands of years. However, determining the precise length of a year, measured in days, was a complex and challenging problem that took many centuries to solve. Let’s start the main conversation on the how humans discovered that a year has 365 days & who was the first to discover it?
Early Calendars
The earliest human civilizations developed calendars based on the phases of the moon, which repeat approximately every 29.5 days. These lunar calendars were used for religious and agricultural purposes, but they were not accurate for measuring the length of a year, as the number of lunar cycles does not precisely match the length of a solar year.
Solar Calendars
The first solar calendars were developed by ancient civilizations in Egypt, Babylon, and China around 4000 years ago. These calendars were based on the observation of the sun’s movement across the sky, and were much more accurate than lunar calendars for measuring the length of a year.
The ancient Egyptians, for example, developed a solar calendar that had 365 days, divided into 12 months of 30 days each, with an additional five-day period at the end of the year to account for the difference between the solar and lunar cycles. This calendar was used for religious and agricultural purposes, and served as the basis for the modern-day Gregorian calendar.
The First to Discover the 365-Day Year
While many ancient civilizations developed solar calendars with a year of 365 days, it is not known who was the first to discover that the length of a year was approximately 365 days. However, it is likely that the Babylonians, who were renowned for their astronomical observations, were among the first to determine the length of a year with a high degree of accuracy.
The Babylonians developed a sophisticated system of astronomy that allowed them to track the movements of the sun, moon, and planets across the sky. Using this system, they were able to develop a solar calendar that had a year of 365 days, divided into 12 months of varying lengths.
The Babylonian calendar was later adopted by other civilizations, including the Greeks and the Romans, and served as the basis for the modern-day Gregorian calendar, which is used by most of the world today.
Read the more exciting articles below
Conclusion
In summary, humans have recognized the concept of a year for thousands of years, but determining the precise length of a year, measured in days, was a complex and challenging problem that took many centuries to solve. Early civilizations developed lunar calendars, but the development of solar calendars allowed for more accurate measurement of the length of a year. While it is not known who was the first to discover that a year has approximately 365 days, the Babylonians were among the first to determine the length of a year with a high degree of accuracy, and their calendar served as the basis for the modern-day Gregorian calendar.