This month’s #ConnectingCollections theme is ancient calendars. Throughout history, people have measured time by tracking the movements of celestial bodies. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ In ancient Mesopotamia, Babylonian and Assyrian science was the most advanced of its time and contributed to the development of mathematics, geometry, and astronomy throughout the ancient world. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ This cuneiform tablet from museelouvre contains a zodiac calendar of the cycle of Virgo. The zodiac is a Babylonian invention created in the first millennium BCE. The 12 zodiac signs, each occupying 30 degrees of the sky, correspond to the 12 months and appear in 12 boxes on this tablet.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Don’t miss the image of Virgo on the right, shown as a woman holding a sheaf of wheat, representing the sixth month, "Elulu" (August-September). Then comes the Star Mercury, followed by a Raven above a partially-preserved Hydra (for the constellation Corvus).⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Fun fact: the Babylonians’ observations of the planets, moon, and constellat...