If you surf the Internet, watch television or read newspapers and magazines,
chances are you will have detected the faint whiff of something with a distinctly
Mayan flavour bubbling in the social melting pot. What’s that all about,
you might ask? And that is a very good question. Especially given that the 5,125
year countdown of the Mayan long count calendar could quite reasonably be described
as an enigma, wrapped in a mystery, sealed in a large manila envelope with the
letters ‘WTF’ scrawled across it in big, bold letters. Yet somehow
ancient Mayan calendars have permeated our comfortable 21st century existence,
and have become embedded in our brains somewhere between celebrity gossip and
sports results. But wow did that happen?
The End of the
World in 2012
The reason Mayan culture has become something of a contemporary topic
is that the Mayan long count calendar, which is effectively a very (very,
very, very) extended countdown clock, is getting close to its conclusion.
Because of this, people have begun to question what the end of the countdown
might mean. Some believe that it foretells the end of the world as we
know it and some are even saying that the year 2012 will herald the final
chapter in the story of humankind. This is why the concept of an apocalyptic
disaster in 2012 has wormed its way into the public consciousness. In
fact it is such as hot topic that Hollywood has already made a blockbuster
movie about it, the blogosphere is chattering about it, and newspapers
and television stations are giving it valuable column inches and airtime.\
Who Are the Mayans and what’s
the Deal with Their Calendars?
Thousands of years ago ancient civilisations spread far and wide across a large
parts of what we now know as South and Central America, as far as Guatemala,
Belize and even southern Mexico. Among these resourceful people were a civilisation
called the Maya, and as their society and culture developed over the centuries,
so too their abilities in science, astronomy and mathematics became more advanced.
They observed the position and movement of the sun, the moon and the stars, and
with that the Maya people used calendars of different types to predict the seasons
and to acknowledge dates that were significant to their society. It is thought
that long count calendar system was actually invented by the Olmec people, another
Mesoamerican civilisation that pre-dated the ‘Classic Period’ of
Mayan civilisation between 300-900 AD, but nevertheless, it is the Mayan version
of the long count calendar that has come to the attention of modern western societies.
What is the Mayan Calendar 2012 Connection?
Unlike our familiar 12 month, 365 day Gregorian calendars, the
5,125 year Mayan long count calendar is a non-repeating, vigesimal
(Base-20) countdown calendar.
That is, rather than being a monthly wall chart on which to record birthdays,
anniversaries and dental appointments, the Mayan long count calendar quite
simply counts down from one date to another. The start date that the Mayans
gave to their calendar equates to about 11 August 3,114 BC in our Gregorian
calendar, and it ends on a date that approximates to 23 December 2012. There
are now all kinds of theories as to what the outcome of might be when the
countdown finally reaches its conclusion in December 2012, but
some people already fear
the worst!
Why Did the Mayans Create the Long Count Calendar?
The start date of the long count calendar was significant for the ancient Maya
people, because this was the date on which they believed the world was created
- or at least the world that we presently live in. Certainly this date marked
what they believed was the end of a previous world and the beginning of the current
one. So what might have been the basis for this belief, why does the long count
start in 3,114 BC? Evidence suggests that something very significant may have
occurred around 5,200 years ago, which affected the whole world on a global scale,
and this may have prompted the Mayans to set the start of their long count calendar
as they did.
What Happened 5200 Years Ago?
An explanation of why the Mayan long count calendar began its countdown in 3,114
BC could be given by climate records. Yes, you read that correctly, the Mayan
calendar that’s receiving so much attention right now could actually be
related to climate change! What a coincidence you might think, or is it? One
proponent of the theory that something big and important happened to the Earth’s
climate 5,200 years ago is Ohio State University professor, Lonnie Thompson.
Thompson is professor of Geological Sciences and he and his team have studied
glacial ice all over the world. In researching issues relating to our current
climate change problem, they have uncovered evidence that points to very significant
climate change 5,200 years ago. Plants preserved in the ice Peruvian mountains,
the preserved body of a man found in the Alps in 1991, tree ring records in the
British Isles, changes in the Saharan landscape from lush pastures to barren
desert, low-level methane levels in ice core sample from both polar regions – all
point to the same conclusion; a significant reduction in solar energy reaching
the Earth, causing a period much colder climate conditions. Professor Thompson
also warns that such changes could occur again, and that human interference with
the Earth’s natural climatic cycles could upset the balance, with devastating
consequences.
What Caused the Long Winter?
There is no clear reason for these harsh climate changes, which occurred
more than 5,000 years ago, although theories have been be posited.
However they
would certainly have had a huge impact on developing civilisations such as
those that pre-dated the Mayans. It is therefore at least feasible that the
Mayans were aware of the severe climatic changes that had affected their ancestors,
and the long count calendar could be a reference to that. Perhaps there was
a period of sustained volcanic activity that created a large amount of dust
in the atmosphere, or maybe there was dust caused by meteor impacts such as
the one that some people believe brought about the destruction of Soddom and
Gommorah, as described by a Sumerian astronomer in what is usually called the
Köfels Impact Event. But whatever the cause, there is increasing evidence
to suggest that something happened to the Earth’s climate around the
time Mayan long count calendar started, and as 2012 approaches, something is
happening to our climate once again.
Apocalyptic Fiction