The Mayans Never Predicted Doomsday
Before we continue, it's worth emphasizing that this meso-american calendar (as used by several cultures, including the Maya, in Central and South America before the continent was colonized by the Europeans) predict an apocalypse.
The Mayan civilization existed from 250-900 A.D. in the current geographical location of southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and some of Honduras.
Archaeologists studying this fascinating culture have been able to decipher their many calendars, but their longest period calendar, the "Long Count", is what set alarm bells off in the fertile minds of a few conspiracy theorists, doomsayers and business-men.
So, where's the problem?
The Long Count was used by the Maya to document past and future events. Their other calendars were simply too short to document any date beyond 52 years. The 52-year calendar -- known as the "Calendar Round" -- was used as it spans a generation, or the approximate lifetime of an individual.
Using the Calendar Round meant that events in a person's life could be chronicled over 52 years - or 52 "Haab's," spanning 18,980 unique days. But what if the Maya wanted to keep note of a historical event that occurred more than 52 years ago? Or perhaps mark a date more than 52 years into the future?
It's Just a Numerical Coincidence
Using remarkable ingenuity, the Maya created the "Long Count" calendar, a departure from the shorter calendars. The Long Count is a numerically predictable calendar, not based on archaic measures of time.
Now, purely as a consequence of the Long Count's numerical value, many Mayan scholars agree that the calendar will "run out" after 5,126 years (or, at least, it's first cycle does). The Mayans set this calendar to begin in the year 3114 B.C. (according to our modern Gregorian calendar). If the Long Count began in 3114 B.C. and it's calculated to continue for 5126 years, the "end date" will be, you guessed it, 2012 A.D. Further refinement sets the date to Dec. 21, the winter solstice for the Northern Hemisphere.
Additional pages you may find useful/informative are:
http://www.webexhibi...ndar-mayan.html
http://news.discover...t-be-wrong.html
I personally believe that it's a load of crap - sure, there have been instances that seem it to be very likely, but still, I like to plant myself in modern science and logic:
This is just a money-making scheme, and the only things that will bring about a change on this sort of magnitude will be something the Mayans couldn't predict.
So, doomsday theories and/or the Mayan Calendar - what's your stance on the subject?
