Mayan Calendar

The Mayan calendar is known by many names. It has been called the Sun stone as well as the Aztec calendar and the Mesoamerican calendar. The Mayan calendar was created by the ancient Mayan people, but their calendar was adopted by other Mesoamerican tribes and nations. These nations built their own calendars based on their adaptations of the Mayan calendar. In fact, the Mayan calendar is the basis of the modern day calendar that we use today called the Gregorian calendar.

The Mayan calendar is a complex system of three different calendars that all are tracking the same period of time. The religious calendar, the solar calendar, and the long count calendar were the three main calendars the Mayan developed. The religious calendar only consists of two hundred eighty days and the weeks are thirteen days long. Each week in the religious calendar has a depiction, name, and important significance related to the Mayan culture.

The Mayans were a very advanced people for their time. Their advancements in math, science, geology, and astronomy far surpassed other nations and tribes that surrounded the Mayans. They were a very spiritual people as well. The advancements by the Mayan people make it easy to believe that they knew that it took three hundred sixty five days for the Earth to orbit the sun. Their solar calendar is three hundred sixty five days long, but it has eighteen months that are divided into twenty days each. Near the end of the solar calendar’s cycle, there are five days that do not fit into the divide and are thought to be unlucky or cursed. As the with the religious calendar, there are emblems, names, and an important significance to each month and week. While these calendars strongly suggest that the Mayan people were scientifically and mathematically advanced for their time, the Mayan calendar that is directly connected with the 2012 Doomsday theory is the Long Count.

The Mayan Long Count

The Long Count is a fairly complicated system that has been counting down days since the beginning of time starting with one. The Long Count only lasts for five thousand one hundred twenty six years. Our modern Gregorian calendar uses four digits to format our years, for example 1991. The Long Count calendar on the other hand, uses five digits to format years and they are separated with the use of a comma.

To figure out the Long Count, a mathematical equation is needed. The mathematical formula is fairly simple, but most be followed correctly to identify the correlating number on the Long Count. For example, the Long Count number 3.10.7.12.0  can easily be calculated by applying the following formula. (3 x 144000) + (10 x 7200) + (7 x 360) + (12 x 20) + (0 x 1) = 506,760 long count days.

The first number in the sequence is a multiple of one while the second is a multiple of twenty. The third number is a mutilate of three hundred sixty while the fourth number is a multiple of seven thousand two hundred. The fifth number is a multiple of one hundred forty four thousand.

Theories Surrounding The Long Count

When the Mayans created their calendar, they backdated the calendar all the way to the beginning. Why they did this has left many scientist and archeologists scratching their heads in confusion. The Mayan Long Count is due to end on December 21, 2012. There are many questions and theories that have sprung up due to the end of the Long Count. Many wonder why the Mayans did not finish their calendar since they did backdate it as far back as 3114 B.C. Doomsday believers say that this date marks the beginning of some cataclysmic event. The Winter Solstice also occurs on this date.  There is also much debate about whether or not there is any correlation between the Winter Solstice and the end of the Long Count. The fact that there is a galactic alignment due to occur  on the same day adds to the fear and paranoia that a lot of people are feeling.  Some people believe that the Mayans were counting down to the galactic alignment that is due to occur in 2012. These people fear that the galactic alignment will cause a polar shift in the Earth’s magnetic field.

There are some people who believe that the Long Count will simply start over again at one while others fear that the Mayans were not tracking time at all, but were counting down time to the end of the world as we know it. Whether or not the Mayans were counting down to a cataclysmic event can only be answered on December 21, 2012.