The End of the World? I don't think so
2012 isn't the end of the world, Mayan insist
The Mayan civilization, which reached its height from 300 A.D. to 900 A.D., had a talent for astronomy.
Its Long Count calendar begins in 3,114 B.C., marking time in roughly 394-year periods known as Baktuns. Thirteen was a significant, sacred number for the Mayas, and the 13th Baktun ends around Dec. 21, 2012.
"It's a special anniversary of creation," said David Stuart, a specialist in Mayan epigraphy at the University of Texas at Austin. "The Maya never said the world is going to end, they never said anything bad would happen necessarily, they're just recording this future anniversary on Monument Six."
Bernal suggests that apocalypse is "a very Western, Christian" concept projected onto the Maya, perhaps because Western myths are "exhausted."
[Thanks, nightdog_barks, for posting this link]
Seriously, Apoca-crazies: stop scaring stupid unsuspecting people with this 'world will end in 2012, Mayas say so' stories. They never said anything of the sort. Many Baktuns had come and go, and the world is still here. It's a little like predicting when a future eclipse is going to occur -- surprising for those who don't know how it's done, but with nothing supernatural behind it.
If all you know about this thing comes from the internets, the tabloids and the TV alarmist shows, then Trust Me (and give me all your monies): I hold the truth (not), one fourth of my blood is Mayan*, I've lived all my life surrounded by Mayan culture, visiting Mayan archeological sites many times a year, and knowing about the existence of such things as Baktuns and other astronomical and mathematical concepts discovered by Ancient Mayans.
*waves her hands mysteriously*
*huffs in annoyance*
* An eighth is Spaniard and the rest is a mix of the next indigenous cultures (I know close to nothing about these, sadly): Zapoteca, Mixteca, Mazateca, Mixe, Chontal, Tzetzal and Nahuatl.
This entry is also posted at DW.
The Mayan civilization, which reached its height from 300 A.D. to 900 A.D., had a talent for astronomy.
Its Long Count calendar begins in 3,114 B.C., marking time in roughly 394-year periods known as Baktuns. Thirteen was a significant, sacred number for the Mayas, and the 13th Baktun ends around Dec. 21, 2012.
"It's a special anniversary of creation," said David Stuart, a specialist in Mayan epigraphy at the University of Texas at Austin. "The Maya never said the world is going to end, they never said anything bad would happen necessarily, they're just recording this future anniversary on Monument Six."
Bernal suggests that apocalypse is "a very Western, Christian" concept projected onto the Maya, perhaps because Western myths are "exhausted."
[Thanks, nightdog_barks, for posting this link]
Seriously, Apoca-crazies: stop scaring stupid unsuspecting people with this 'world will end in 2012, Mayas say so' stories. They never said anything of the sort. Many Baktuns had come and go, and the world is still here. It's a little like predicting when a future eclipse is going to occur -- surprising for those who don't know how it's done, but with nothing supernatural behind it.
If all you know about this thing comes from the internets, the tabloids and the TV alarmist shows, then Trust Me (and give me all your monies): I hold the truth (not), one fourth of my blood is Mayan*, I've lived all my life surrounded by Mayan culture, visiting Mayan archeological sites many times a year, and knowing about the existence of such things as Baktuns and other astronomical and mathematical concepts discovered by Ancient Mayans.
*waves her hands mysteriously*
*huffs in annoyance*
* An eighth is Spaniard and the rest is a mix of the next indigenous cultures (I know close to nothing about these, sadly): Zapoteca, Mixteca, Mazateca, Mixe, Chontal, Tzetzal and Nahuatl.
This entry is also posted at DW.