Exciting New Publication Co-Authored by Alliance Team Member

Former Science Program Manager Paula Ezcurra is co-author on a new paper from the Ezcurra Lab at UC Riverside about timekeeping methods used by the Aztecs.

Stone causeway atop Mount Tlaloc, Mexico. Credit: Ben Messiner/UCR

Former Science Program Manager Paula Ezcurra is co-author on a new paper published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), and appearing in the New York Times and Universe Today, among others. The research, led by Exequiel Ezcurra, sheds light on the way that Aztecs were able to keep time so accurately, allowing their farmers to feed up to 3 million people at a time. Their investigation found that Aztecs must have stood at the same place every day and marked points on the basin where the sun rose, creating an extremely accurate calendar that accounted for leap years and made sure that farmers could plant the right crops at the right times.

Exequiel, the biologist who led the study, was joined by Paula Ezcurra, former Science Program Manager for Climate Science Alliance, and Ben Meissner, an independent filmmaker. The study illustrates a great example of interdisciplinary collaboration and the importance of understanding the past so that we may better navigate the future. It also demonstrates the value of respecting different ways of knowing and understanding the world.

Congratulations to Exequiel, Paula and the whole team for their findings and publication!