Dr. Geoffrey E. Braswell is an anthropologist and an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, San Diego. He recently attended a meeting of experts to discuss the Maya calendar.
Braswell compared the Maya calendar with his first analog odometer on his car. Braswell states, "My first car (odometer) only had six wheels so it went up to 99,999.9 miles. That didn't mean the car would explode after reaching 100,000 miles."
No, it only returned to 00,000.0, and the cycle started over again. Braswell compares this action to the Maya calendar, which just ends a cycle on December 21, 2012, and then starts another cycle on December 22, 2012.
Braswell made his comments at a meeting held last week in Mexico City, where archaeologists, anthropologists and other scientists met to discuss the Mayan Long Count calendar, made up of 394-year periods.
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According to the Fox News article "Mayans: They Predicted the Moon, Not the End of the World, Experts Say" the Maya calendar is described as: "Experts estimate the system starts counting at 3114 B.C., and will have run through 13 baktuns, or 5,125 years, around Dec. 21. Experts say 13 was a significant number for the Mayans, and the end of that cycle would be a milestone — but not an end."
Braswell adds in the Fox News article, "There are many ancient Maya monuments that discuss events far into the future from now. The ancient Maya clearly believed things would happen far into the future from now." He adds a specific example: "The king of Palenque, K'inich Hanaab Pakal, believed he would return to the Earth a couple of thousand years from now in the future. Moreover, other monuments discuss events even before the creation in 3114 B.C."
The Fox News article ends with, "Only a couple of references to the 2012 date equivalency have been found carved in stone at Mayan sites, and neither refers to an apocalypse, experts say."
So, be rest assured that the only thing to happen on December 21, 2012, is that you might go Christmas shopping, watch "It's a Wonderful Life" on TV, and maybe even have too much egg nog before settling down for a long winter's nap.
