The Mayan Calendar has bewildered scholars for quite some time. Its accuracy and detail makes it a well-studied piece of history. Many would say that it’s the most accurate calendar created by any culture. Others believe that it held a more scientific explanation. Throughout the centuries, its meanings have been studied by scholars and discussed at large. Many have linked the calendar to a deeper meaning: the end of days prediction. Propelled by media and notoriety, the association with the Mayan calendar and the end of days prediction has resonated with the public. Despite the overwhelming publicity generated by the December 21, 2012 date, there has been no evidence in the Mayan calendar that would predict an apocalyptic future on a set date.
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The Mayans “were a group of indigenous American ethic groups living in Mesoamerica, which is modern day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and surrounding areas” (Brown). In general, the Mayan civilization was arranged into three periods: the preclassical period (200 B.C. to 300 A.D.), classical period (300 A.D. to 900 A.D.), and postclassical (900 A.D. to the Spanish conquest 500 years ago) (Brown). The Mayans were pioneers of their time, creating a fully developed system of math and language. Their theory of time in general was based around phases that repeat themselves and spread across history (Brown). In the Mayan culture, the numbers 13 and 20 were significant; 20 because of the number of fingers and toes on the human body and 13 for the levels of heaven in the Mayan religion. Since these two numbers were largely important to the culture, they were also incorporated into their calendars. Many have argued that the Mayans, engraved into their calendar the day the world would end as being December 21, 2012 …show more content…
He believes that the theories of the apocalypse based on their calendar have arisen out of a misunderstanding of the calendar itself and mythology (Lopez). “Priests and historians used the Long Count to track mythology back to 3114 B.C. and even earlier,” Aldana said. “But they only really recorded their history for the time between A.D. 300 and 900. They then extended the calendar far into their and our own future, as far as A.D. 4772,” he added (Lopez). Research has provided several discoveries into the purpose for creating such a calendar. It was thought that the Mayans used the calendar as a means to explain the scientific occurrences and for kings to leave their mark in history (Lopez). These kings saw themselves as a personification of time and used this as a method to fix themselves into the universe as being an integral
The Mayans “were a group of indigenous American ethic groups living in Mesoamerica, which is modern day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and surrounding areas” (Brown). In general, the Mayan civilization was arranged into three periods: the preclassical period (200 B.C. to 300 A.D.), classical period (300 A.D. to 900 A.D.), and postclassical (900 A.D. to the Spanish conquest 500 years ago) (Brown). The Mayans were pioneers of their time, creating a fully developed system of math and language. Their theory of time in general was based around phases that repeat themselves and spread across history (Brown). In the Mayan culture, the numbers 13 and 20 were significant; 20 because of the number of fingers and toes on the human body and 13 for the levels of heaven in the Mayan religion. Since these two numbers were largely important to the culture, they were also incorporated into their calendars. Many have argued that the Mayans, engraved into their calendar the day the world would end as being December 21, 2012 …show more content…
He believes that the theories of the apocalypse based on their calendar have arisen out of a misunderstanding of the calendar itself and mythology (Lopez). “Priests and historians used the Long Count to track mythology back to 3114 B.C. and even earlier,” Aldana said. “But they only really recorded their history for the time between A.D. 300 and 900. They then extended the calendar far into their and our own future, as far as A.D. 4772,” he added (Lopez). Research has provided several discoveries into the purpose for creating such a calendar. It was thought that the Mayans used the calendar as a means to explain the scientific occurrences and for kings to leave their mark in history (Lopez). These kings saw themselves as a personification of time and used this as a method to fix themselves into the universe as being an integral