A phenomenon that is becoming more and more common today is the end of the Mayan calendar.  Much like other end of time escathologies out there, people point to this as proof that the end of the world is immminent.  It's an idea that seems to be gathering steam in our collective consiousness much like Y2K or SARS once did.  I first came across it in a news article by National Geographic and had a chuckle.  At least I did at first.  Then the part where scientists were asked about the destruction by teens and soccer moms, so they could commit suicide before the end, struck me.  It stopped being funny.

Whether you talk about the Christian idea of the end of times, or Y2K, SARS, dirty bombs, anthrax scares you find that people project their fears and sense of helplessness onto these situtaions.  This can lead people to lose hope and consider actions they otherwise would never contemplate.  Well the sure antidote to bad information and supersticous fears is good information and rational thinking.  So first, let me introduce you to the Maya, then their long count calendar and finally we'll debunk some of the myths people seem to labor under regarding the Maya.

The Maya were a people who, at their greatest extent, had a culture that spanned the Yucatan Peninsula and areas that are now parts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and El Salvador.  Most people, when they think of Mayan civilization, they think of the Classical Period. The classical period ran from about the seventh century to the ninth century AD.  Mayan agriculture and the rise of villages and towns began as far back as 700 BC, at least with the lowland Maya.

This emerging civilization shared many cultural details with other Mesoamerican civilizations. Namely, domestication of plants like maize, the erection of temple complexes, the emergence of art and ritual-based religions. One of the share details was the calendar.  Why the Maya disappeared is still debated among archaeologists, yet they seem to have declined after 1000 AD.  The Maya encountered by the Spanish in the 16th century were far different from the ones they would have encountered in the year 1000. So much so that the use of the Long Count calendar was no longer in use by the 16th century Maya.

Quite possibly unique among Mesoamerican calendars is the Mayan Long Count calendar.  Unlike many Mesoamerican calendars, which are merely circular in nature, the Long Count calendar is much more like a European calendar. It's divided up into days, months and years. Unlike a European solar calendar, the Long Count calendar is a base 20.  For example, a month is made up of 20 days, 18 months make up a year, with 20 years making up a katun and 20 katun making up a baktun, or Grand Cycle of 144,000 days.  This is where we get the approximately 5.144 years in a grand cycle.

According to this count Creation began on or around August 13, 3114 BC.  Archaeology tells us, however, that humanity existed long years prior to that date. Another thing to consider, is that the Maya probably were not the ones to begin the date that far back, but more likely it was some unnamed Olmec priest long before there were any proto-Maya, much less Classical Maya.

Another common misconception is the fact that the calendar "resets" after 13 Grand Cycles.  This comes from several monuments memorializing events of the Mayan mythic age.  In these texts account resets from 13 baktun or Great Cycles.  So the thinking goes that since the mythic age ended after 13 Great Cycles, then the current age must end after 13 great cycles.

So what's the big deal? If this is just a vestigial piece of a now vanished civilization, why are so many people starting to freak out?  A big part of is is that little is known about the Incan people.  Prior to the Rosetta Stone being found, the Egyptians were the target of charlatans and people who wanted to evoke "the mysteries of the ancients".  Nobody could read the language, so people made stuff up to give their ideas credibility.

Another reason this date is getting so much attention is due to the New Age movement in the West.  The movement has been long predicting the Changing of the Age and this is just another date for them to use as proof that change is going to come.  It's not all that different from Jehova's Witnesses or Seventh Day Adventists changing the formula they use to predict the start of the Tribulation.

So there's no real need to freak out.  If you're worried about something happening in 2012, just take sensible steps like making sure you have sufficient food and water for about a week, just in case.  It's something you should be doing anyway and the feeling of security you get from being prepared should help you with any pre-2012 jitters.