Ancient Mayan astronomers predicted that December 21, 2012 will be the end of the current incarnation of the world and the beginning of the next one.
Wondering how they came up with that date?
First we have to understand how the Mayans measured time. The Mayans used two different calendars to mark of the days of their lives – a 365-day solar calendar which they called the Haab, and a 260-day lunar calendar called the Tzolk’in. When they had to pin a date on something, they would give both the Haab and Tzolk’in date, as together they formed a unique combination that would not repeat for another 52 years. So Mayan party invitations looked like this:
Chief Jaguar Claw's Birthday Bash! 3:00pm-9:00pm Haab 146, Tzolk'in 25 BYOM! (Bring Your Own Maize)
But what if they wanted to talk about a date in longer-than-52-year timeframes? For that they used the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar, which involved an awful lot of math. Here is how it denoted time: 20 days made a uinal, 18 uinals made a tun, 20 tuns made a k’atun, and 20 k’atuns made up a b’ak’tun. Got it?
Learn these Mayan numbers - this WILL be on the test.
Each B’ak’tun would last about 394 years, and the Mayans would notate time like software versions, with the B’ak’tun number coming first and all the others following. So, 12.19.19.17.19 would mean – the twelfth b’ak’tun, the nineteenth k’atun, and nineteenth tun, the seventeenth…you get the idea.
That particular date – 12.19.19.17.19 – had a special relevance to the Mayans. According to the Popul Vuh (a book compiling ancient Mayan legends and prog/kraut-rock guitar tabs), we are in the fourth incarnation of the world. The gods tried to make three previous versions, but those worlds failed.
And the previous world failed on 12.19.19.17.19.
Why is that notable for us?
Well, the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar started the counting from 5,125 years ago. Which, if you do the math (note: I’m definitely NOT going to do the math, but I trust that all the people who did are right about this) means that 12.19.19.17.19 will hit around December 21st of 2012.
Sometime this December 21st, the calendar will roll over into 13.0.0.0.0 – the start of the 14th b’ak’tun, and the start of the fourth world.
Is December 21 2012 Really the End?
A lot of professional Mayan scholars are no-fun-Charlies and negative-Norberts when it comes to this well-covered December 21 Doomsday thing.
First off, some dispute that 13.0.0.0.0 is the correct roll-over date for the worlds. Mayanologist Lloyd Anderson believes that 14.0.0.0.0 is the correct roll-over (so we’re safe for a few hundred years). Sir Eric J. Thompson was convinced that the b’ak’tuns roll over at 20 (as most of the other segments in the Long Count Calendar do). Since there aren’t any ancient Mayan priests running around to ask, it’s hard to judge which theory is correct.
Then there are scholars (including Susan Milbrath, Sandra Noble and E. “wacchu talkin bout” Wyllys Andrews) who dispute the very idea that the End of the Fourth World is a big fiery Apocalyptic deal. They point out that the Mayan hieroglyphs tha
t announce the Long Count Calendar end date are pretty matter-of-fact about it, and that there’s nothing in Mayan history or any surviving artwork suggesting they thought it was a particularly nasty occurrence. In fact, since by their accounting, the Long Count Calendar cycles came and went regularly, and time was seen as cyclical in nature, December 21 2012 mighta been seen as “just another Friday” to the Mayans.
OK, maybe. But…here’s a counterpoint to that view. Why the hell would the ancient Mayans have been exercised by this idea? Maybe it was more that they didn’t think the 2012 end-of-the-world was a big deal FOR PEOPLE LIVING IN THE 800s. They saw it as less an MP (my problem) than as a GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGP (great-great-great-etc. grandkids problem).
It’s not as if there isn’t abundant contemporary evidence that this is how humans think.
So…what exactly will happen this December 21st? Fuck if I know. Ask me on the 22nd.
Their main concern was the sun and their belief in an apocalyptic event. They knew more about the subject then we do even though it was thousands of years ago. We may be prepared for global changes even if we cannot control them. This surely must be the responsible attitude of all true people of the world. The cost of preparing for doomsday isn’t cheap.
Uh, anyone like to expilan how such a backward blood cult was able to know the exact date of the earth’s demise??? Didn’t these idiots kill each other off, die of drought and become extinct or homegenized with other indian tribes? Guess the wishful thinkers with the pretty pictures don’t take things like that into consideration, eh? WTF! I want my time back!!!!!!
[...] " "))]); }); OK. So, as we’ve documented, the ancient Mayans predicted that this world will come to a close in December, and people around the world are fascinated. From TV to documentaries to big Hollywood movies to [...]
Anybody typing God and End of the world are silmpy retard and unconscious people. I just want to clear that up with everyone.We are only a little blue dot in that infinite universeUsing end of the world just show to everybody are brainless and limited you are
[...] utilized three different calendars for telling time – and their long-count calendar says our time is about [...]
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