They are known to have mapped the stars to help them calculate the length of the months and years in the tropical jungles far more accurately than any Europeans at the time.

But the mathematical and astronomical achievements of the Maya may have been vastly underestimated according to a new study of one of their most famous texts.

A leading anthropologist claims he has uncovered evidence that suggests Maya astronomers were making observations of the planets up to 1,000 years ago in a way that would rival those made centuries later by Renaissance astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.

The Venus Table from the Dresden Codex (pictured) may depict actual historical observations of Venus in the night's sky, which suggests the Maya were accomplished astronomers far earlier than had previously been believed

Dr Gerardo Aldana, an anthropologist at the University of Californai Santa Barbara, examined the Venus Table in the famous Dresden Codex and offers a new interpretation of what it contains.

THE DESDEN CODEX This Maya codex is one of the oldest surviving books from the Americas. It is thought to date from the 11th or 12th Century but may be a copy of an earlier text written about three or four hundred years earlier. Consisting of 39 sheets, inscribed on each side, it has a total length of 11.7 feet. It was purchased by the Royal Library at Dresden from a private owner in Vienna in 1739. How it came to be in Vienna is unknown. But some has speculated it was sent by Hernan Cortes to King Charles I of Spain in 1519. It contains many astronomical tables of great accuracy including those depicting eclipses of the moon and the movement of the planet Venus. It also contains astrological tables and ritual schedules, which are divided into a 260-day cycle. Advertisement

He believes the intricate observations depicted in the Dresden Codex, a tenth or eleventh century Maya book from Chichén Itzá, Mexico, have been largely overlooked.

He claims rather than simply being numerology as many archaeologists have claimed, it shows an extended period of astronomical observations being made at the Maya city.

He says this could have been developed as early at 870AD, long before Copernicus formulated the idea that the sun lay at the centre of the solar system in the early 16th Century.

He said: 'When you see it as historical record, it changes the interpretation.

'They're using Venus not just to strictly chart when it was going to appear, but they were using it for the ritual cycles.

'They had ritual activities when the whole city would come together and they would do certain events based on the observation of Venus.'

The Venus Table has been known to contain mathematical corrections for charting the passage of Venus across the sky in order to correct the Maya calendar.

As Venus's cycle is irregular – 583.92 days – it requires some correction much like the Leap Years used in the Gregorian calendar today.

The Caracol structure at Chichen Itza in Mexico has been widely interpreted as an observatory. The new study supports the idea that the Maya had astronomers who made detailed obervations of the planets as early as 800AD

But Dr Aldana believes traditional interpretations of the Venus Table and the heiroglicis accompanying it underestimate the scientific achievements of the ancient Maya.

THE MAYA AND THE STARS Mayan civilisation thrived for more than 2,000 years with its heyday being 300 to 900 AD. During that time, the ancient people built incredible cities using advanced machinery and gained an understanding of astronomy, as well as developing advanced agricultural methods and accurate calendars. The Maya believed the cosmos shaped their everyday lives and they used astrological cycles to tell when to plant crops and set their calendars. This has led to theories that the Maya may have chosen to locate their cities in line with the stars. It is already known that the pyramid at Chichén Itzá was built according to the sun’s location during the spring and autumn equinoxes. When the sun sets on these two days, the pyramid casts a shadow on itself that aligns with a carving of the head of the Mayan serpent god, History.com reported. The shadow makes the serpent's body so that as the sun sets, the terrifying god appears to slide towards the earth. Advertisement

His findings, which are published in the Journal of Astronomy in Culture, lead him to conclude the Maya were performing astronomy at Chichén Itzá during a very specific window.

He claims it appears to have occurred under the patronage of K'ak' U Pakal K'awiil, one of the city's most prominent historical figures and rulers who died in 890AD.

Dr Aldana said: 'This is the part that I find to be most rewarding, that when we get in here, we're looking at the work of an individual Mayan, and we could call him or her a scientist, an astronomer.

'This person, who's witnessing events at this one city during this very specific period of time, created, through their own creativity, this mathematical innovation.'

Unravelling the mysteries of the Venus Table required Dr Aldana to pour over the hieroglyphics until he found a key verb, k'al, had a different meaning than normally believed.

Used through out the table, he believes it means 'to enclose' in a historical and cosmological context.

He also examined another record of Venus found at another Maya site, Copán in Honduras.

He claims the similarities between the two support the idea that they are historical observations.

Chichén Itzá (El Castillo pyramid pictured) was one of the largest and most powerful Maya cities

Dr Aldana said: 'I'm calling it "discovering discovery", because it's not just their discovery, it's all the blinders that we have, that we've constructed and put in place that prevent us from seeing that this was their own actual scientific discovery made by Mayan people at a Mayan city.

'If you say it's just numerology that this date corresponds to - it's not based on anything you can see.

'And if you say, "We're just going to manipulate them [the corrections written] until they give us the most accurate trajectory", you're not confining that whole thing in any historical time.

'If, on the other hand, you say, "This is based on a historical record", that's going to nail down the range of possibilities.