Abstraktun

Abstraktun is a term that appears in some modern, non-scholarly discussions of the Maya Long Count calendar. It is described as a proposed higher-order unit placed above the traditional baktun, which is the largest unit attested in classical Maya inscriptions. Because the classical record does not define or use abstraktun, it has no standard length and is not part of the canonical Maya calendar system.

In practice, abstraktun is encountered mainly in online calendars, fan wikis, and speculative writings. The word combines the English word abstract with the Mayan-style suffix that marks long-count units, echoing other supposed higher units such as piktun or kalabtun that are sometimes mentioned in noncanonical contexts. Because there is no agreed definition, sources differ on whether an abstraktun represents a wholly distinct interval or simply serves as a placeholder for an undefined, much larger unit in a hypothetical extension of the Long Count.

Relationship to other units is therefore informal and interpretive. Canonical Long Count usage centers on k’in (days), uinal, tun, katun, and baktun. When higher units are discussed, they appear in modern, often speculative schemes rather than in surviving inscriptions or scholarly consensus. Abstraktun, then, functions more as a linguistic or conceptual tool for imagining extremely long time spans than as a historically attested measure.

See also: Maya Long Count, baktun, piktun, kalabtun, k’in, uinal, tun.