The first known calendar was devised by the ancient Egyptians around 3000 BCE. They created a solar calendar that consisted of 12 months of 30 days each, with an additional five days added to total 365 days in a year.
This calendar was based on the annual flooding of the Nile River, which was a crucial event for agriculture in the region. The Egyptians’ careful observations of the solar cycle allowed them to create a system that improved agricultural planning and religious celebrations.
While the Egyptians are credited with creating one of the earliest solar calendars, other ancient cultures, like the Mesopotamians and the Mayans, also developed their own calendars based on lunar or solar cycles, further indicating the importance of timekeeping in human history.