Saturday, March 19, 2011
Ronaldo's Big Adventure: January 29, 2011 (Part 5) Returning from Tikal
Ronaldo's Big Adventure: January 29, 2011 (Part 5) Returning from Tikal: "My visit to Tikal had been wonderful with the exception that I did not allow myself enough time to explore it thoroughly. My transport TO th..."
January 29, 2011 (Part 5) Returning from Tikal
My visit to Tikal had been wonderful with the exception that I did not allow myself enough time to explore it thoroughly. My transport TO the site had been economical and like clockwork (with the exception of a little stress at the border crossing after finding that I had been in Belize illegally!). The problem came with my return to San Ignacio. I had been told earlier to look for a white van in a particular place in the parking lot at 2:30 PM. I made it a point to be there at 2:30 PM but was somewhat distressed to find no van waiting at the spot. After waiting patiently for about 20 minutes I decided to try to fend for myself. I chased down a couple of local taxi drivers but was told that they would have to charge me a lot to drive me all the way back to the border (like about US$100). I kept trying, however, and eventually hooked up with two other American guys who were sharing a cab back to Flores. The cabbie said I could join them and split the fare to "the crus" where the road forks to either Flores or "la frontera". My portion of the taxi to "the crus" ended up being only 50 Quetzales (about US$7.00), and I was dropped on the highway with assurances that the "bus" to la frontera would come by shortly. I waited out in the middle of nowhere in Guatemala looking for some kind of bus when the strangest thing happened. What appeared to be an old recycled American school bus painted army green pulled up right across the road from where I was waiting and about 17 young Guatemalan soldiers carrying machine guns piled out of the bus. The soldiers headed toward the house on the corner - only about 100 feet from where I was sitting along the street - and proceeded to scurry about the back yard doing who knows what. I was seriously worried that a drug bust might be going down and I would end up in the middle of a machine gun battle!
I was DYING to whip out my trusty camera and take a couple photos of this craziness-- but I worried that someone might see me and they might confiscate my camera. So I waited about 20 minutes until they got back on the bus and took off to take a photo. My photo of the bus is above-- and remember that about 17 young soldiers (with machine guns) are on this bus. I never did find out what the soldiers were doing at this house. I am just glad that no gun battles broke while I was waiting for the bus.
Shortly after the army bus left a large van came flying by "the crus" and stopped for me. "Climb in" the driver hollered. I followed his instructions - even though the van was already full. I think I crushed three young girls climbing into the van. For the next 20 miles or so the van stopped and started dozens of times as locals climbed off and on in turn. I was definitely the only tourist on the bus, and it was actually a pretty cool experience. It took a while to get to the border, but the price was certainly right. The fare collected by the 12 year old conductor was only 20 Quetzales (about US$2.50!). Not bad for a once in a lifetime experience! I was a LITTE disappointed, however, that there weren't any chickens strapped to the roof of the van. The chicken bus dropped me near the customs building at the border, and I quickly made it through Passport control and customs. On the other side I had no trouble finding a Belizean cab driver to bring me back to my "home away from home" in San Ignacio. This ride cost some big bucks -- a little over US$10.00 for another half hour taxi ride.
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| Army Bus I Encountered in Guatemala Waiting for the Chicken Bus |
I was DYING to whip out my trusty camera and take a couple photos of this craziness-- but I worried that someone might see me and they might confiscate my camera. So I waited about 20 minutes until they got back on the bus and took off to take a photo. My photo of the bus is above-- and remember that about 17 young soldiers (with machine guns) are on this bus. I never did find out what the soldiers were doing at this house. I am just glad that no gun battles broke while I was waiting for the bus.
Shortly after the army bus left a large van came flying by "the crus" and stopped for me. "Climb in" the driver hollered. I followed his instructions - even though the van was already full. I think I crushed three young girls climbing into the van. For the next 20 miles or so the van stopped and started dozens of times as locals climbed off and on in turn. I was definitely the only tourist on the bus, and it was actually a pretty cool experience. It took a while to get to the border, but the price was certainly right. The fare collected by the 12 year old conductor was only 20 Quetzales (about US$2.50!). Not bad for a once in a lifetime experience! I was a LITTE disappointed, however, that there weren't any chickens strapped to the roof of the van. The chicken bus dropped me near the customs building at the border, and I quickly made it through Passport control and customs. On the other side I had no trouble finding a Belizean cab driver to bring me back to my "home away from home" in San Ignacio. This ride cost some big bucks -- a little over US$10.00 for another half hour taxi ride.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Ronaldo's Big Adventure: January 29, 2011 (Part 4) TIKAL, Part One
Ronaldo's Big Adventure: January 29, 2011 (Part 4) TIKAL, Part One: "My plan for Saturday, January 29 was to possibly meet my Canadian friend Kirby at the greatest of all excavated Maya sites-- Tikal. To get ..."
January 29, 2011 (Part 4) TIKAL, Part One
| My plan for Saturday, January 29 was to possibly meet my Canadian friend Kirby at the greatest of all excavated Maya sites-- Tikal. To get to the site from Belize you need to travel from San Ignacio to the border town of Benque Viejo del Carmen. Here you need to clear customs and have your Passport stamped (and it is here that I discovered that my Passport had never been stamped when I entered Belize!). From the border Tikal is about another hour by automobile or van. I had arranged for transportation that morning by van with a San Ignacio travel hustler named "Max". I only had to pay US$25.00 for transportation to the border (about 40 minutes) and the rest of the way to Tikal. I left my return "open" because I thought I might run into Kirby and wanted to remain flexible. The entry fee for admission to the national park was US$20.00 (so I needed to trade some Belize dollars for Guatemalan "quetzales"). I never ended up finding Kirby at Tikal (as hings turned out he visited Tikal the following day) but I really enjoyed my visit. The park was quite crowded but the structures and other attractions were amazing. Tikal is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the Tikal was the capital of a conquest state that became one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya. Though monumental architecture at the site dates back as far as the 4th century BC, Tikal reached its apogee during the Classic Period (200 to 900 AD). During this time, the city dominated much of the Maya region politically, economically, and militarily, while interacting with areas throughout Mesoamerica such as the great metropolis of Teotihuacan in the distant Valley of Mexico. There is evidence that Tikal was conquered by Teotihuacan in the 4th century AD. Following the end of the Late Classic Period, no new major monuments were built at Tikal and there is evidence that elite palaces were burned. These events were coupled with a gradual population decline, culminating with the site’s abandonment by the end of the 10th century.
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Tikal is an amazing place to behold—not only for the engineering accomplishments of the Maya, but also for the jungle splendors of the Petén region in Guatemala. The site of Tikal is a national park-- where the native flora and fauna still flourish relatively undisturbed. In addition to its numerous well-excavated temples and pyramids, Tikal presents an excellent opportunity for animal and bird-watching. Roaring howler monkeys and squawking parrots provide nature's soundtrack and along the paths, spider monkeys, gray foxes, coatis-mundis, dear, and peccary are visible to the visitor.You can can sit atop a huge pyramid that is over a thousand years old, gazing down at the Great Plaza and roof-combs rising up from the sea of jungle and imagine the times more than a thousand years ago when the plaza was alive with activity and the city was surround by cultivated fields dotted with houses. Jasaw Chan K'awiil I and his heir Yik'in Chan K'awiil.
· The Temple of the Great Jaguar (150 feet in height); and
Tikal has five great pyramids in all, which give this ceremonial centre a majestic grandeur unique among Maya cities. The height of the temples, crowned with tremendous roof combs; the complicated assemblage of the palace structures of the central Acropolis; and the complexity of the chronology of the North Acropolis are staggering to anyone visiting Tikal for the first time. Among the many highlights are several colossal pyramids, including:
.
· Temple II (120 feet in height).
| There is no coherent history of Tikal and there may never be one. Bits and pieces of information are picked up from drawings on pottery and bone, tools, similarities in artistic styles between Tikal and other Mayan and Non-Mayan centers, and the few glyphs that have been deciphered up to now. Tikal attracts archeologists from all around the globe and the wild-life surrounding the ruins, make Tikal a naturalist's dream. This combination of archaeological remains and the natural environment of the Petén, makes Tikal the only place in the world which has been declared by UNESCO as both a Natural & World Cultural Heritage site. My visit to Tikal was fabulous-- but I made a huge mistake in not allowing sufficient time to take it all in. Tikal requires a ful day-- maybe even more if you can manage it. Due to my transportation issues (to be detailed in my next blog) I had to try to explore the site in only about four hours-- which is ridiculous. Nevertheless I did see a great deal of the site, and I climbed the 100 step wooden platform to behold the panoramic view from the upper platform of the amazing Temple V. It was a great workout, and the view of the surrounding jungle countryside was breathtaking. |
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
January 29, 2011 (Part 3) [Maya Calendar Basics]
The Maya calendar system uses three different dating systems in parallel: The Long Count, the Tzolkin (divine calendar), and the Haab (civil calendar). Of the three systems, only the Haab has a direct relationship to the length of the year. A typical Mayan date looks like this: 12.18.16.2.6, 3 Cimi 4 Zotz.
1. The Tzolkin (260 Day) Calendar § a numbered week of 13 days, in which the days were numbered from 1 to 13
The Tzolkin calendar is the sacred calendar of the Maya. The Tzolkin date is a combination of two "week" lengths. While the calendar used in most of the world today uses a single week of seven days, the Tzolkin calendar used two different lengths of week:
§ a named week of 20 days, in which the names of the days were as follows:
In addition to the names of the days, each day was also associated with a “glyph” or "logogram" as shown in the carved art below:
2. Haab' 365 Day Calendar (18 months/20 days each + five days)
The Haab was the civil calendar of the Mayas. It consisted of 18 "months" of 20 days each, followed by 5 extra days, known as Uayeb. This gives a year length of 365 days.
To the eighteen regular months the Maya appended a special five-day month called Wayeb composed of 5 days which were considered unnamed and unlucky. Thus the days were counted: One Imix, Zero Pohp, Two Ik, One Pohp. When the thirteenth day was reached the next day was Thirteen Ben, Twelve Pohp; then One Ix, Thirteen Pohp, Two Men, Fourteen Pohp. After Seven Ahaw, Nineteen Pohp, the next day was Eight Imix, Zero Wo. The names of the months in the Haab’ calendar were as follows:
In contrast to the Tzolkin dates, the Haab month names changed every 20 days instead of daily; so the day after 4 Zotz would be 5 Zotz, followed by 6 Zotz ... up to 19 Zotz, which is followed by 0 Tzec.The Haab’ days of the month were numbered from 0 to 19. This use of a 0th day of the month in a civil calendar is unique to the Maya system; it is believed that the Mayas discovered the number zero, and the uses to which it could be put, centuries before it was discovered in Europe or Asia. The Uayeb days acquired a very derogatory reputation for bad luck; known as "days without names" or "days without souls," and were observed as days of prayer and mourning. Fires were extinguished and the population refrained from eating hot food. Anyone born on those days was "doomed to a miserable life."
3. Calendar Round
Neither the Tzolk'in nor the Haab' system numbered the years. The combination of a Tzolk'in date and a Haab' date was enough to identify a date to most people's satisfaction, as such a combination did not occur again for another 52 years, above general life expectancy.
Because the two calendars were based on 260 days and 365 days respectively, the whole cycle would repeat itself every 52 Haab' years exactly. This period was known as a "Calendar Round". The end of the Calendar Round was a period of unrest and bad luck among the Maya, as they waited in expectation to see if the gods would grant them another cycle of 52 years.
4. The Long Count Calendar
The Maya also used special glyphs to indicate time periods. The "kin" represented one day. "Winals" are periods of 20-days which we now call a month. The "Tun" was a year of 360 days and the "K'atun" was a time period of 20 years of 360 days each. The K'atun ending was a special time period celebrated by the Maya. It has its parallel in the modern world-- the period of time which we call a decade. The Maya also counted 400-year periods called "Baktuns". The Maya used these time periods in a special day count which is now called the "Long Count". Today, a typical long count date is written thus: 9.14.12.2.17. This represents 9 baktuns, 14 k'atuns, 12 tuns, 2 winals and 17 k'ins. [Special note: All names given here are in the new orthography developed by native Maya of Guatemala. Their system is being accepted by many various organizations of Maya and similar forms of this orthography are being adopted by other Maya groups. In reality, this system probably makes it easier for English speakers to pronounce the actual words. Given the Maya propensity for words and language it is only a natural development.]
Since Calendar Round dates can only distinguish in 18,980 days (equivalent to around 52 solar years) -- the cycle repeats roughly once each lifetime, and thus, a more refined method of dating was needed if history was to be recorded accurately. To measure dates, therefore, over periods longer than 52 years, Mesoamericans devised the Long Count calendar. The Maya name for a day was k'in. Twenty of these k'ins are known as a winal or uinal. Eighteen winals make one tun. Twenty tuns are known as a k'atun. Twenty k'atuns make a b'ak'tun.
How the Three Systems Work Together
As the named week is 20 days -- and the smallest Long Count digit is 20 days, there is synchrony between the two. If, for example, the last digit of today’s Long Count is 0, today must be Ahau; if it is 6, it must be Cimi. Since the numbered and the named week were both "weeks," each of their name/number change daily; therefore, the day after 3 Cimi is not 4 Cimi, but 4 Manik, and the day after that, 5 Lamat. The next time Cimi rolls associations connected with each day, and for this reason, it became known as the "divinatory yeararound". 20 days later, it will be 10 Cimi instead of 3 Cimi. The next 3 Cimi will not occur until 260 (or 13 x 20) days have passed. This 260-day cycle also had good-luck or bad-luck associations. Note that for most of these glyphs, several different forms are recorded; the ones shown above are typical of carved monumental inscriptions. The "years" of the Tzolkin calendar are not counted. The word tzolk'in means the "count of days". The various names of this calendar as used by precolumbian Maya peoples are still debated by scholars. The tzolk'in calendar combines twenty day names with the thirteen numbers of the trecena cycle to produce 260 unique days. It is used to determine the time of religious and ceremonial events and for divination. Each successive day is numbered from 1 up to 13 and then starting again at 1. Separately from this, every day is given a name in sequence from a list of 20 day namesThe Maya also tracked a vague solar year in which they counted 365 days per year. Because they could not use fractions, the "quarter" day left over every year caused their calendar to drift with regard to the actual solar year. The 365-day year contained months were also given names. numbers 0-19 before they changed, so that the count goes Zero Pohp to 19 Pohp, then continues with Zero Wo.
| 12.18.16.2.6 is the “Long Count” date. |
| 3 Cimi is the Tzolkin date. |
| 4 Zotz is the Haab date. |
1. The Tzolkin (260 Day) Calendar § a numbered week of 13 days, in which the days were numbered from 1 to 13
The Tzolkin calendar is the sacred calendar of the Maya. The Tzolkin date is a combination of two "week" lengths. While the calendar used in most of the world today uses a single week of seven days, the Tzolkin calendar used two different lengths of week:
§ a named week of 20 days, in which the names of the days were as follows:
| 0. Ahau | 1. Imix | 2. Ik | 3. Akbal | 4. Kan |
| 5. Chicchan | 6. Cimi | 7. Manik | 8. Lamat | 9. Muluc |
| 10. Oc (ok) | 11. Chuen | 12. Eb | 13. Ben | 14. Ix |
| 15. Men | 16. Cib | 17. Caban | 18. Etznab | 19. Caunac |
In addition to the names of the days, each day was also associated with a “glyph” or "logogram" as shown in the carved art below:
 |
| The glyphs for each day are shown above |
2. Haab' 365 Day Calendar (18 months/20 days each + five days)
The Haab was the civil calendar of the Mayas. It consisted of 18 "months" of 20 days each, followed by 5 extra days, known as Uayeb. This gives a year length of 365 days.
Month Names and Approximate Meanings | |||
| Pohp | Mat | Yax | Green |
| Wo | ?? | Zak | White |
| Sip | ?? | Keh | Red |
| Sotz' | Bat | Mak | ?? |
| Sek | ?? | K'ank'in | ?? |
| Xul | Dog | Muwan | Owl |
| Yaxk'in | New Sun | Pax | ?? |
| Mol | Water | K'ayab | Turtle |
| Ch'en | Black ?? | Kumk'u | ?? |
To the eighteen regular months the Maya appended a special five-day month called Wayeb composed of 5 days which were considered unnamed and unlucky. Thus the days were counted: One Imix, Zero Pohp, Two Ik, One Pohp. When the thirteenth day was reached the next day was Thirteen Ben, Twelve Pohp; then One Ix, Thirteen Pohp, Two Men, Fourteen Pohp. After Seven Ahaw, Nineteen Pohp, the next day was Eight Imix, Zero Wo. The names of the months in the Haab’ calendar were as follows:
| 1. Pop | 7. Yaxkin | 13. Mac |
| 2. Uo | 8. Mol | 14. Kankin |
| 3. Zip | 9. Chen | 15. Muan |
| 4. Zotz | 10. Yax | 16. Pax |
| 5. Tzec | 11. Zac | 17. Kayab |
| 6. Xul | 12. Ceh | 18. Cumku |
In contrast to the Tzolkin dates, the Haab month names changed every 20 days instead of daily; so the day after 4 Zotz would be 5 Zotz, followed by 6 Zotz ... up to 19 Zotz, which is followed by 0 Tzec.The Haab’ days of the month were numbered from 0 to 19. This use of a 0th day of the month in a civil calendar is unique to the Maya system; it is believed that the Mayas discovered the number zero, and the uses to which it could be put, centuries before it was discovered in Europe or Asia. The Uayeb days acquired a very derogatory reputation for bad luck; known as "days without names" or "days without souls," and were observed as days of prayer and mourning. Fires were extinguished and the population refrained from eating hot food. Anyone born on those days was "doomed to a miserable life."
3. Calendar Round
Neither the Tzolk'in nor the Haab' system numbered the years. The combination of a Tzolk'in date and a Haab' date was enough to identify a date to most people's satisfaction, as such a combination did not occur again for another 52 years, above general life expectancy.
Because the two calendars were based on 260 days and 365 days respectively, the whole cycle would repeat itself every 52 Haab' years exactly. This period was known as a "Calendar Round". The end of the Calendar Round was a period of unrest and bad luck among the Maya, as they waited in expectation to see if the gods would grant them another cycle of 52 years.
4. The Long Count Calendar
The Maya also used special glyphs to indicate time periods. The "kin" represented one day. "Winals" are periods of 20-days which we now call a month. The "Tun" was a year of 360 days and the "K'atun" was a time period of 20 years of 360 days each. The K'atun ending was a special time period celebrated by the Maya. It has its parallel in the modern world-- the period of time which we call a decade. The Maya also counted 400-year periods called "Baktuns". The Maya used these time periods in a special day count which is now called the "Long Count". Today, a typical long count date is written thus: 9.14.12.2.17. This represents 9 baktuns, 14 k'atuns, 12 tuns, 2 winals and 17 k'ins. [Special note: All names given here are in the new orthography developed by native Maya of Guatemala. Their system is being accepted by many various organizations of Maya and similar forms of this orthography are being adopted by other Maya groups. In reality, this system probably makes it easier for English speakers to pronounce the actual words. Given the Maya propensity for words and language it is only a natural development.]
Since Calendar Round dates can only distinguish in 18,980 days (equivalent to around 52 solar years) -- the cycle repeats roughly once each lifetime, and thus, a more refined method of dating was needed if history was to be recorded accurately. To measure dates, therefore, over periods longer than 52 years, Mesoamericans devised the Long Count calendar. The Maya name for a day was k'in. Twenty of these k'ins are known as a winal or uinal. Eighteen winals make one tun. Twenty tuns are known as a k'atun. Twenty k'atuns make a b'ak'tun.
How the Three Systems Work Together
As the named week is 20 days -- and the smallest Long Count digit is 20 days, there is synchrony between the two. If, for example, the last digit of today’s Long Count is 0, today must be Ahau; if it is 6, it must be Cimi. Since the numbered and the named week were both "weeks," each of their name/number change daily; therefore, the day after 3 Cimi is not 4 Cimi, but 4 Manik, and the day after that, 5 Lamat. The next time Cimi rolls associations connected with each day, and for this reason, it became known as the "divinatory yeararound". 20 days later, it will be 10 Cimi instead of 3 Cimi. The next 3 Cimi will not occur until 260 (or 13 x 20) days have passed. This 260-day cycle also had good-luck or bad-luck associations. Note that for most of these glyphs, several different forms are recorded; the ones shown above are typical of carved monumental inscriptions. The "years" of the Tzolkin calendar are not counted. The word tzolk'in means the "count of days". The various names of this calendar as used by precolumbian Maya peoples are still debated by scholars. The tzolk'in calendar combines twenty day names with the thirteen numbers of the trecena cycle to produce 260 unique days. It is used to determine the time of religious and ceremonial events and for divination. Each successive day is numbered from 1 up to 13 and then starting again at 1. Separately from this, every day is given a name in sequence from a list of 20 day namesThe Maya also tracked a vague solar year in which they counted 365 days per year. Because they could not use fractions, the "quarter" day left over every year caused their calendar to drift with regard to the actual solar year. The 365-day year contained months were also given names. numbers 0-19 before they changed, so that the count goes Zero Pohp to 19 Pohp, then continues with Zero Wo.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
January 29, 2011 (Part 2) [Did the Maya Predict the World Would End in 2012?]
With the apocryphal date of December 21, 2012 fast approaching, the intricate Maya calendar system has become a popular topic for thousands of curious citizens of the world to ponder. Publishers and filmmakers alike are helping their fans gear up and count down to this special date that ancient Mayan societies were anticipating thousands of years ago. In 2007, three books on the subject arrived in mainstream bookstores. A fourth was due later that year. Each book arrived in the wake of the 2006 success of 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, which sold thousands of copies every month since its release in May, 2006. These books built on the popular interest in the Maya fueled in part by Mel Gibson's December 2006 film about Mayan civilization, Apocalypto.
The authors of these books disagree about what humankind should expect on December 21, 2012, when the Maya's "Long Count" calendar marks the end of a 5,126-year era. This historic day marks the day the long count calendar will complete a “great cycle” of thirteen b’ak’tuns—each b’ak’tun consisting of a period of 144,000 days—since the mythical creation date of the calendar’s current era (supposedly August 11, 3114 BC). Journalist Lawrence Joseph forecast widespread catastrophe in Apocalypse 2012: A Scientific Investigation Into Civilization's End. Spiritual healer Andrew Smith predicted a restoration of a "true balance between Divine Feminine and Masculine" in The Revolution of 2012: Vol. 1, The Preparation. In 2012, Daniel Pinchbeck anticipated a "change in the nature of consciousness," assisted by indigenous insights and psychedelic drug use.
The buildup to 2012 echoes excitement and fear expressed on the eve of the new millennium-- popularly known as Y2K-- though on a smaller scale, says Lynn Garrett, senior religion editor at Publishers Weekly. She says publishers seem to be courting readers who believe humanity is creating its own ecological disasters and desperately needs ancient indigenous wisdom. "The convergence I see here is the apocalyptic expectations, if you will, along with the fact that the environment is in the front of many people's minds these days," Garrett says. "Part of the appeal of these earth religions is that notion that we need to reconnect with the Earth in order to save ourselves." But many scholars are bristling at attempts to link the ancient Maya with trends in contemporary spirituality. Maya civilization, known for advanced writing, mathematics and astronomy, flourished for centuries in Mesoamerica, especially between A.D. 300 and 900. Its Long Count calendar, which was discontinued under Spanish colonization, tracks more than 5,000 years, then resets at year zero.
"For the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle," says Sandra Noble, executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies in Crystal River, Fla. To render Dec. 21, 2012, as a doomsday or moment of cosmic shifting, she says, is "a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in." Part of the 2012 mystique stems from the stars. On the winter solstice in 2012, the sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way for the first time in about 26,000 years. This means that "whatever energy typically streams to Earth from the center of the Milky Way will indeed be disrupted on 12/21/12 at 11:11 PM Universal Time," according to Lawrence Joseph.
But most scholars doubt the ancient Maya extrapolated great meaning from anticipating the alignment — if they were even aware of what the configuration would be. Astronomers generally agree that "it would be impossible the Maya themselves would have known" about the alignment," says Susan Milbrath, a Maya archaeoastronomer and a curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History. What's more, she says, "we have no record or knowledge that they would think the world would come to an end at that point." University of Florida anthropologist Susan Gillespie says the 2012 phenomenon comes "from media and from other people making use of the Maya past to fulfill agendas that are really their own."
The authors of these books disagree about what humankind should expect on December 21, 2012, when the Maya's "Long Count" calendar marks the end of a 5,126-year era. This historic day marks the day the long count calendar will complete a “great cycle” of thirteen b’ak’tuns—each b’ak’tun consisting of a period of 144,000 days—since the mythical creation date of the calendar’s current era (supposedly August 11, 3114 BC). Journalist Lawrence Joseph forecast widespread catastrophe in Apocalypse 2012: A Scientific Investigation Into Civilization's End. Spiritual healer Andrew Smith predicted a restoration of a "true balance between Divine Feminine and Masculine" in The Revolution of 2012: Vol. 1, The Preparation. In 2012, Daniel Pinchbeck anticipated a "change in the nature of consciousness," assisted by indigenous insights and psychedelic drug use.
The buildup to 2012 echoes excitement and fear expressed on the eve of the new millennium-- popularly known as Y2K-- though on a smaller scale, says Lynn Garrett, senior religion editor at Publishers Weekly. She says publishers seem to be courting readers who believe humanity is creating its own ecological disasters and desperately needs ancient indigenous wisdom. "The convergence I see here is the apocalyptic expectations, if you will, along with the fact that the environment is in the front of many people's minds these days," Garrett says. "Part of the appeal of these earth religions is that notion that we need to reconnect with the Earth in order to save ourselves." But many scholars are bristling at attempts to link the ancient Maya with trends in contemporary spirituality. Maya civilization, known for advanced writing, mathematics and astronomy, flourished for centuries in Mesoamerica, especially between A.D. 300 and 900. Its Long Count calendar, which was discontinued under Spanish colonization, tracks more than 5,000 years, then resets at year zero.
"For the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle," says Sandra Noble, executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies in Crystal River, Fla. To render Dec. 21, 2012, as a doomsday or moment of cosmic shifting, she says, is "a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in." Part of the 2012 mystique stems from the stars. On the winter solstice in 2012, the sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way for the first time in about 26,000 years. This means that "whatever energy typically streams to Earth from the center of the Milky Way will indeed be disrupted on 12/21/12 at 11:11 PM Universal Time," according to Lawrence Joseph.
But most scholars doubt the ancient Maya extrapolated great meaning from anticipating the alignment — if they were even aware of what the configuration would be. Astronomers generally agree that "it would be impossible the Maya themselves would have known" about the alignment," says Susan Milbrath, a Maya archaeoastronomer and a curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History. What's more, she says, "we have no record or knowledge that they would think the world would come to an end at that point." University of Florida anthropologist Susan Gillespie says the 2012 phenomenon comes "from media and from other people making use of the Maya past to fulfill agendas that are really their own."
January 29, 2011 (Part 1)
Today was a very special day for me-- it was the day I had arranged to visit perhaps the greatest of all excavated Maya sites-- TIKAL. But before I talk about my incredible trip to Tikal, I want to "go back two spaces" to January 27, 2011-- the day I visited both Xunantunich and Cahal Pech". During my visit to Xunantunich I met a young Maya gentleman named "Elmer" near the spot where visitors take the hand-drawn ferry across the river. Elmer was selling hand-carved slate pieces on which he had carefully etched both versions of the Maya calendar -- "glyphs" and all --along with a special drawing in the middle (such as a Maya medicine man or a map of Belize). Elmer had created the slate pieces with only screwdrivers and chisels, and he explained how he had learned his craft from his father. I was sufficiently impressed with these items that, after completing my tour of the Maya site I purchased six pieces from Elmer. He finished a couple pieces he had underway and delivered all six pieces to my hotel in San Ignacio the next day. I have inserted a photo of several of the pieces I purchased below:
A couple comments about these awesome art works carved from slate by hand by a young native of the region: 1.) It cost me just as much to ship them back to the USA as I paid for them (but at least they arrived back home undamaged!); 2.) All these interesting glyphs and numbers -- and all the recent talk about the "end of the world" supposedly forecast by the Maya and detailed in a number of recent books and moviesmade me very curious about the history of the history and the science behind the various Maya calendar systems. I never knew the calendar could be so amazing! My next couple blogs will provide some background for anyone else who is curious about this.
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| Haab' calendar on the outer ring, Tzolk'in calendar on inner ring (Medicine Man) |
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| Haab' calendar on the outer ring, Tzolk'in calendar on inner ring |
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| Haab' calendar on the outer ring, Tzolk'in calendar on inner ring (Map of Belize) |
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| Haab' calendar on the outer ring, Tzolk'in calendar on inner ring (Medicine Man) |
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| Haab' calendar on the outer ring, Tzolk'in calendar on inner ring (Maya Temple) |
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