Lunisolar Calendars – Reference Table
| Calendar Name | Region / Civilization | Approx. Introduction | Structure | Intercalation Method | Notes / Legacy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babylonian Calendar | Mesopotamia (Sumer → Babylon) | By c. 2nd millennium BCE (britannica.com) | 12 lunar months (~354 days) | Extra month added 7 times in 19 years (Metonic principle later formalized) | Basis of Hebrew and Greek calendars; influenced Persia. |
| Hebrew Calendar | Ancient Israel (codified later) | Post-Exilic period (6th c. BCE), fixed rules by 4th c. CE (britannica.com) | 12 lunar months; leap year has 13 months | 7 leap years in 19-year cycle (Metonic) | Still used today for Jewish holidays; months named after Babylonian terms. |
| Chinese Calendar | China | Oracle bone evidence c. 1300 BCE; codified by Zhou/Han dynasties (timeanddate.com) | 12 months based on new moons | Leap month added when 13 new moons fall between 2 winter solstices (~7 in 19 years) | Still in use for Lunar New Year and festivals; influenced Korea, Vietnam, Japan. |
| Greek Lunisolar (Metonic Cycle) | Athens (Meton of Athens) | 432 BCE (britannica.com) | 12 months of 29/30 days | 7 leap months per 19 years (Metonic cycle) | Foundation for later Hellenistic/Eastern Mediterranean calendars. |
| Celtic Coligny Calendar | Gaul (2nd c. CE) | Discovered Coligny, France (en.wikipedia.org) | 5-year cycle, 62 lunar months | Intercalary month inserted ~every 2.5 years | Shows advanced knowledge of lunar/solar reconciliation in Celtic world. |
| Hindu Lunisolar Calendars | India (various regional traditions) | Vedic times (at least 1st millennium BCE) | 12 months by moon; adhika māsa (“extra month”) when Sun doesn’t transit zodiac | Leap month inserted every ~32.5 months | Still in use across India; governs Hindu festival timing. |
| Buddhist Lunisolar | South & SE Asia | Derived from Hindu models; Theravāda states | 12 lunar months with leap months | Similar to Hindu cycles; occasional leap day instead of month | Used for Vesak, other Buddhist observances in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand. |
| Other East Asian (Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese) | Adaptations of Chinese system | Historical → present | Lunisolar | Leap month ~7/19 years | Used historically; some still for holidays/festivals. |
Lunisolar Calendars – Image Examples
several images of Babylonian / Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets relevant to lunar / lunisolar calendars.