Great information for those of us who wouldn't miss observing Pi Day:

[Judi Lynn]

Happy Pi Day 2015

3.14.15 9:26:53... - Today seems perfect for reporting research results related to pi. Yes, I've dug up some pi to report. Well, today is not your usual Pi Day holiday. Some are calling it Super Pi Day, others proclaim the Pi Day of the Century. So, no ordinary discovery of pi in prehistory will do today, great accuracy is a must, at least 3.14159. Of all the times I've uncovered pi as an archaeologist, this one certainly wins one pi contest, accuracy:

[center]White Pyramid - Pyramid of the Sun - El Paraiso
Teotihuacan to White Pyramid arc = earth's circumference ÷ 3
Teotihuacan to El Paraiso arc = diameter ÷ 3
Arc distances ratio atop the Pyramid of the Sun:
1.0 : 3.14159[/center]

[center]
[font size=1]
Examine the result in Google Earth:
http://www.jqjacobs.net/kml/pi_pyramids.kml [/font][/center]
Coincidence, when random, can explain pi recurring in research results, in archaeology and elsewhere. Coincidence does not easily explain this finding, with too many coincidences in one relationship set. Three monuments, each a center of a civilization, each the largest center of civilization on a continent (albeit only two of the three at once), and each monument ranking in some largest category for its time and place. This is not a comparison of cities, rather the very centerpoints of their largest monuments present the precise ratio of pi.

Accuracy is one way to assess the probability of coincidence. On the global scale, accuracy is an applicable method. The monument center-on-center arcs precisely express the ratio one to pi. Precise, in this case, means as accurate as the method of determining the coordinates. Using my research application (spherical trigonometry), the shorter arc result is within 4m of precisely equaling the larger arc divided by pi. El Paraiso IV, the largest mound at El Paraiso, is over 400m long and the four meters of inaccuracy is in relation to one-third of earth's diameter, well over 4,000,000 meters. In other words, the prehistoric pi ratio is accurate to one part in one million. My math result using the coordinates listed below is 1.0 : 3.141590. Quite an accurate slice of pi, besting anything in history written with little letters during the same time.

[center]
[font size=1]
Piramide del Sol, view is the westward side facing the central avenue.
Teotihuacan, the Largest Prehistoric City in the Americas
http://www.jqjacobs.net/mesoamerica/teotihuacan.html[/font][/center]
Far more valuable information brought together at this link. It's one to keep:
http://www.jqjacobs.net/blog/

Anthropology:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12292085

[niyad]

1. k and r for that fascinating information.