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Maya text cites 2012 as end of calendar cycle, not end of world
Archaeologists say inscription doesn't refer to doomsday, but to long-term stability
A newly discovered Mayan text reveals the "end date" for the Maya calendar. But unlike some modern people, ancient Maya did not expect the world to end on that date, researchers said.
"This text talks about ancient political history rather than prophecy," Marcello Canuto, the director of Tulane University Middle America Research Institute, said in a statement. "This new evidence suggests that the 13 bak'tun date was an important calendrical event that would have been celebrated by the ancient Maya; however, they make no apocalyptic prophecies whatsoever regarding the date."
The Maya Long Count calendar is divided into bak'tuns, or 144,000-day cycles that begin at the Maya creation date. The winter solstice of 2012 (Dec. 21) is the last day of the 13th bak'tun, marking what the Maya people would have seen as a full cycle of creation.
Some New Age believers and doomsday types have attributed great meaning to Dec. 21, 2012, with some predicting an apocalypse and others expecting some sort of profound global spiritual event.
If you want to dig more on this topic and have enough time check this MSNBC link.
Archaeologists say inscription doesn't refer to doomsday, but to long-term stability
![120628-science-panel-1215p.grid-8x2.jpg](/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fmsnbcmedia1.msn.com%2Fj%2FMSNBC%2FComponents%2FPhoto%2F_new%2F120628-science-panel-1215p.grid-8x2.jpg&hash=32507d3df5d8232ca4806cd50d55b4e7)
A newly discovered Mayan text reveals the "end date" for the Maya calendar. But unlike some modern people, ancient Maya did not expect the world to end on that date, researchers said.
"This text talks about ancient political history rather than prophecy," Marcello Canuto, the director of Tulane University Middle America Research Institute, said in a statement. "This new evidence suggests that the 13 bak'tun date was an important calendrical event that would have been celebrated by the ancient Maya; however, they make no apocalyptic prophecies whatsoever regarding the date."
The Maya Long Count calendar is divided into bak'tuns, or 144,000-day cycles that begin at the Maya creation date. The winter solstice of 2012 (Dec. 21) is the last day of the 13th bak'tun, marking what the Maya people would have seen as a full cycle of creation.
Some New Age believers and doomsday types have attributed great meaning to Dec. 21, 2012, with some predicting an apocalypse and others expecting some sort of profound global spiritual event.
If you want to dig more on this topic and have enough time check this MSNBC link.