Before 1492, the Maya merchant class grew rich as they traveled along the coasts of Central America and the Caribbean Sea. In his ship’s log, Christopher Columbus described an encounter with a Maya trading ship that carried both passengers and cargo, a vessel as long as his galleon and powered by twenty-five pairs of rowers. The Maya valued chocolate and used cacao beans like money, and their rope, made from the fibers of a native cactus, was the best in the world until the invention of synthetic fibers. In fact, their cord was strong enough to carve jade, the toughest mineral in the world.

In the sixteenth century, the Spaniards with their guns and horses made an easy conquest of the Yucatán, even though the Maya resisted them with misinformation, ambushes, and traps. The Maya had a written language and valued books, an advanced culture not appreciated by the conquistadores, who wanted gold. 

If you enjoy reading about the ancient Maya, you will enjoy my novel Jaguar Princess: The Last Maya Shaman by Marjorie Bicknell Johnson available at online retailers. The book, crafted from the unique geography, history, and culture of the Yucatan, takes you on an archaeological adventure. Chanla Pex, descendant of a Maya king, learns to read the Mayan glyphs and unearths an ancient bark book, a rare find, since they all were burned in 1562.  She uses her talents as a shaman to trace stolen Maya artifacts to the black market and becomes the Indiana Jones of the Yucatan.

What will happen on December 21, 2012? There are many theories about what will happen at the end of our year 2012, when the Maya Long Count calendar reaches the 13th Bak’tun. Some scholars say that the Maya calendar will reset, others say it continues. Doomsday soothsayers predict disaster, while spiritualists expect an age of enlightenment. However, while the ancient Maya hieroglyphic texts say nothing at all about 2012, ancient kings celebrated the end of a Katun and erected monuments; bak’tun endings, much less frequent, were viewed as major times of change.

 

At the start of the 9th bak’tun, AD 435, the age of kings began and many new cities were established. In AD 830, the 10th bak’tun, the age of kings ended and many cities were abandoned. The 11th bak’tun, AD 1224, brought the abandonment of Chichen Itza and the rise of Mayapan with a new council form of regional government. The mighty Itza, last kingdom of the Maya, announced to the Spaniards in AD 1618 (12th bak’tun) that a great cycle had ended and that they were prepared for change.

 

Now, at the dawn of the 12th bak’tun, we can only guess how the Maya would have prepared. However, the ancient Maya believed that the turn of a bak’tun was not something to be feared but rather an opportunity for change in their lives.

The Mayan Calendar

January 1, 2012 was day 12.19.19.1.16 in the Mayan numbering system, 324 days until the 13th Bak’tun, 13.0.0.0.0. As you can see from writing the dates in Mayan, changing from the 12th to the 13th Bak’tun is much like changing the year from 1999 to 2000. However, the Maya would write the date December 22, 2012 as 0.0.0.0.1, the same as the day 0.0.0.0.1, August 12, 3114 BC, where one takes August 11, 3114 BC as the beginning date of the 12th Bak’tun.

The Mayan calendar system has four interlocking cycles: the Tzolk’in, the Haab, the long count, and the Lunar Series. The days given here are from the long count. The 260-day Tzolk’in, or sacred calendar, is the oldest calendar known in Mesoamerica, dating back to at least 600 BC. The Tzolk’in is still observed today among traditional Maya groups.

To learn more about the meanings of the sacred calendar’s days and calculate your own birthday, go to mayan-calendar.com

Today, May 5, 2011, is 595 days from December 21, 2012, the day that the Mayan calendar changes to a new baktun, the day given as 13.0.0.0.0  .   Doomsday prophets predict everything from the end of the world to the day that the earth’s poles reverse (so that the north pole is now the south pole) They give various reasons, all interesting reading. Most archaeologists and scholars in Mayan studies call it only the beginning of a new baktun, something like New Year’s day in 2000.

Google December 21, 2012 and tell me what you think.

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Imagine a Maya astronomer uploading his star chart. Would it look like what you see in the sky at midnight? Astronomers sat cross-legged and sighted stars by using crossed sticks and known landmarks on the horizon. Their calculations were correct to within five minutes in three years.

The Maya had thirteen constellations, not  twelve, a more sensible system than ours, since a year has 13 lunar months. Mayan astronomy predicted  dates to begin a successful war and lucky dates for a child to be born as well as having links to Mayan myths and creation stories. A more mundane use was to know when to plant crops and when the rainy season would begin.

learned from bill belew’s blogging workshop

Several links to websites that discuss Mayan astronomy follow.