--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A millennium before Europeans were…" description: "\"A millennium before Europeans were willing to divest themselves of the Biblical idea that the world was a few thousand years old, the Mayans were think..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/carl-sagan-160_biblical_a-millennium-before-europeans-were-willi_2402485.jpg" --- # A millennium before Europeans were willing to divest… ![“A millennium before Europeans were willing to divest themselves of the Biblical idea that the world was a few thousand years old, the Mayans were thinking of millions and the Hindus billions.” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/carl-sagan-160_biblical_a-millennium-before-europeans-were-willi_2402485.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/carl-sagan-160_biblical_a-millennium-before-europeans-were-willi_2402485.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ced/carl-sagan-160_biblical_a-millennium-before-europeans-were-willi_2402485.jpg) > “A millennium before Europeans were willing to divest themselves of the Biblical idea that the world was a few thousand years old, the Mayans were thinking of millions and the Hindus billions.” [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ancient cultures held vastly different cosmological timescales, challenging modern assumptions. **In simple terms:** Ancient peoples imagined much longer timelines. Key Takeaway Consider diverse perspectives on time. Themes history cosmology culture Mood curious respectful Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - education - science communication - museum curation - dialogue - policy making Key Concepts anthropology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What can we learn from ancient cosmologies? - How do cultural timelines shape worldview? A Different Perspective Modern science may still overlook non-Western insights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biblical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biblical/) [Hindu religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hindu-religion/) [Hinduism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hinduism/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Mayans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mayans/) [Millennium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/millennium/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thousand years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-years/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [The Hindu religion is the only of the World's great faiths dedicated to the idea that the Cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-hindu-religion-is-the-only-of-the-world-s-great-faiths-dedicated/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The Hindu religion is the only one of the world’s great faiths dedicated to the idea that the Cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-hindu-religion-is-the-only-one-of-the-world-s-great-faiths/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [... For such as truly love the world, a thousand years would fade like the dream of one night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoshida-kenk/for-such-as-truly-love-the-world-a-thousand-years-would-fade-like-the/) [Yoshida Kenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoshida-kenk/) > [The world has a thousand creeds, and never a one have I; Nor church of my own, though a million spires are pointing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/the-world-has-a-thousand-creeds-and-never-a-one-have-i-nor-church-of/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [ “and the number is six hundred and sixty-six,” that is, six times a hundred, six times ten, and six units. \[He gives this\] as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-church-fathers/and-the-number-is-six-hundred-and-sixty-six-that-is-six-times-a/) The Church Fathers > [“You can give them the world a thousand times over, and they will throw it away a thousand and one times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-c-estrada/you-can-give-them-the-world-a-thousand-times-over-and-they-will-throw/) [Alejandro C. Estrada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-c-estrada/) > [“Nature's silence is its one remark, and every flake of world is a chip off that old mute and immutable block. The Chiense say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/nature-s-silence-is-its-one-remark-and-every-flake-of-world-is-a-chip/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“Books, like men their authors, have no more than one way of coming into the world, but there are ten thousand to go out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/books-like-men-their-authors-have-no-more-than-one-way-of-coming-into/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [If you're not religious, then look at it this way. This world of ours is four thousand, six hundred million years old. It could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/if-you-re-not-religious-then-look-at-it-this-way-this-world-of-ours/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Scientists can routinely predict a solar eclipse, to the minute, a millennium in advance. You can go to the witch doctor to lift the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/scientists-can-routinely-predict-a-solar-eclipse-to-the-minute-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [If it turns out that the Mayans are right and the world is going to end, you know what this means? Lindsay Lohan is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-it-turns-out-that-the-mayans-are-right-and-the-world-is-going-to/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [America did not need to be discovered because quite simply America had the American-Indians. There were whole groups of people that already lived there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-castro-espin/america-did-not-need-to-be-discovered-because-quite-simply-america/) [Alejandro Castro Espin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-castro-espin/) > [Oprah's quitting in 2011. Now we know why the Mayans ended their calendar in 2012](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/oprah-s-quitting-in-2011-now-we-know-why-the-mayans-ended-their/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [Human societies as temporally and spatially far-flung as the Mesopotamians, Mayans, and Easter Islanders likely came to ruin by expanding beyond the capacity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-rees/human-societies-as-temporally-and-spatially-far-flung-as-the/) [William E. Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-rees/) > [The Mayans have predicted the world is supposed to end on December 21. If the world doesn't end on December 21, you can bet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/the-mayans-have-predicted-the-world-is-supposed-to-end-on-december-21/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) ## More by Carl Sagan > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Telepathy’ literally means to feel at a distance, just as ‘telephone’ is to hear at a distance and ‘television’ is to see at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/telepathy-literally-means-to-feel-at-a-distance-just-as-telephone-is/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“On the scale of worlds—to say nothing of stars or galaxies—humans are inconsequential, a thin film of life on an obscure and solitary lump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/on-the-scale-of-worlds-to-say-nothing-of-stars-or-galaxies-humans-are/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-one-of-us-is-in-the-cosmic-perspective-precious-if-a-human/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [In our time, we have sifted the sands of Mars, we have established a presence there, we have fulfilled a century of dreams!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-our-time-we-have-sifted-the-sands-of-mars-we-have-established-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ “\[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :\] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-a-religious-couple-wrote-to-sagan-about-fulfilled-prophecies-he/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Don't judge everyone else by your own limited experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/don-t-judge-everyone-else-by-your-own-limited-experience/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-permit-us-to-voyage-through-time-to-tap-the-wisdom-of-our/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-on-a-hunk-of-rock-and-metal-that-circles-a-humdrum-star-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [A tiny blue dot set in a sunbeam. Here it is. That's where we live. That's home. We humans are one species and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/a-tiny-blue-dot-set-in-a-sunbeam-here-it-is-that-s-where-we-live-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Any sufficiently crisp question can be answered by a single binary digit-0 or 1, yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/any-sufficiently-crisp-question-can-be-answered-by-a-single-binary/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/humans-who-enslave-castrate-experiment-on-and-fillet-other-animals/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every star may be a sun to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-star-may-be-a-sun-to-someone/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) [Explore all 1,043 Carl Sagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More Biblical quotes > [The Louvre! The Louvre has me in its clutches. Every time I'm there rich blessings rain down upon me. I am coming to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-modersohn-becker/the-louvre-the-louvre-has-me-in-its-clutches-every-time-i-m-there/) [Paula Modersohn-Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-modersohn-becker/) > [“Richard Dawkins regards faith as an evil to be eliminated; he takes all religious faith to be blind faith. (Dawkins says) ‘Scientific belief is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennox/richard-dawkins-regards-faith-as-an-evil-to-be-eliminated-he-takes/) [John Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennox/) > [ The fall \[of your soul\] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-fall-of-your-soul-from-perfection-into-duality-was-naturally/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Even Superman's name reflects his creators' biblical knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/even-superman-s-name-reflects-his-creators-biblical-knowledge/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [“And I pray mark how he begins: he sets not up trophies to himself, but triumphs in his God-- "I will love thee, O…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/and-i-pray-mark-how-he-begins-he-sets-not-up-trophies-to-himself-but/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [Scripture is not inerrant; believers are called to interpret biblical texts in light of tradition and reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/scripture-is-not-inerrant-believers-are-called-to-interpret-biblical/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [“The Bible isn’t a list of requirements; rather, it’s a list of results after experiencing God’s love. Following God isn’t an action but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-haas/the-bible-isn-t-a-list-of-requirements-rather-it-s-a-list-of-results/) [Peter Haas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-haas/) > [I portray myself as wicked, hoping I will not be regarded as wicked. But I may be wicked in the biblical sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-flynn/i-portray-myself-as-wicked-hoping-i-will-not-be-regarded-as-wicked/) [Errol Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-flynn/) > [ \[John Calvin's\] treatment of the person and work of Christ, of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, of prayer and liturgy,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-d-crisp/john-calvin-s-treatment-of-the-person-and-work-of-christ-of-the-holy/) [Oliver D. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-d-crisp/) > [If I had to choose between the two ways of approaching the deity, I should prefer the existential relational way, to the abstract philosophical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/if-i-had-to-choose-between-the-two-ways-of-approaching-the-deity-i/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [We have used the Bible as if it was a mere special constable's handbook — an opium-dose for keeping beasts of burden patient while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/we-have-used-the-bible-as-if-it-was-a-mere-special-constable-s/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Mother's Day is among the most appropriate to reflect on the true meaning of love. -I Corinthians 13:4-7](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/mother-s-day-is-among-the-most-appropriate-to-reflect-on-the-true/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [ The words 'God is love' conclude a biblical warning, not a warm and fuzzy slogan. 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