The ancient Mayan civilization left behind many mysteries, including predictions of a possible “end of the world.” Interest in this topic grew especially in 2012, when one of the cycles of their calendar, the so-called Long Count, was coming to an end.
The Mayan calendar consisted of several cycles, and December 21, 2012 marked the end of a large 5125-year period. However, there is no historical evidence that the Maya themselves considered this date to be the end of the world. In fact, archaeological evidence suggests that the calendar was simply moving into a new cycle, similar to the change of centuries in the Gregorian calendar.
Some modern researchers and mysticism enthusiasts have mistakenly interpreted the end of the calendar as a prophecy of the apocalypse. In fact, the Maya were more interested in astronomical phenomena, rituals, and the cyclical nature of time than in catastrophic events.
Thus, the claim that the Maya predicted the end of the world is a myth that arose from a misinterpretation of their complex chronological system. This civilization left us not a prophecy of doom, but a reminder of the cyclical nature of time and the need to live in harmony with nature.
The Maya were an ancient people who lived in Mesoamerica about 2000 years ago. They were known for their understanding of astronomy and mathematics, as well as developed cultural traditions such as writing, architecture, art, and religion.
There is some evidence that the Mayans had a calendar system that ended on December 21, 2012. This led some people to take this date as the end of the world or as a prophecy of global catastrophe.
However, it is worth noting that the ancient Maya did not predict the end of the world. On the contrary, their calendar system was cyclical, which means that after the end of one cycle, they started a new one. Some researchers believe that on December 21, 2012, the Mayans simply ended one cycle and began a new one, as their predecessors had done for many centuries.
So, there is no evidence that the ancient Maya predicted the end of the world. Moreover, the Maya believed in change and transformation, so their culture and traditions continue to live and develop to this day.
The emergence of the Maya
Formed around 2000 B.C., the settlements of the ancient Indians, which grew into cities, existed relatively prosperously until the beginning to the middle of the first millennium AD. This was the heyday of the classical Mayan era. From the II-III centuries AD, a powerful Mayan state had already existed and flourished on the Yucatan Peninsula. However, having counted 600-700 years in its flourishing era, it suddenly withered and fell into decline, the reasons for which have not yet been clarified. We know about the internecine wars of the pre-Columbian decades that preceded the conquest. The reasons for the fragmentation of once-unified states are well understood, and the Maya are no exception. Historians are not inclined to explain the decline of the Maya by infighting. Exhausting wars alone are not enough to leave hundreds of cities to their fate, many of which are not even destroyed.
The decline of the Maya
However, from the tenth to the fifteenth century, the Maya continued to decline, which is exactly what it is: a large densely populated population left all the cities for no apparent reason and seemed to dissolve into the jungle. The plague or other epidemic described by Diego de Landa does not explain the mass exodus: people did not die, they founded cities again in a new place and built them, for centuries… And then they left these new cities, striving to go somewhere else again. There are no traces of mass deaths from floods or earthquakes (although these disasters also occurred). And the cities are left, judging by the impression made, as if for five minutes. So could the Mayans have known what awaited humanity in the future and when exactly the life of our civilization would end? Nowadays there are many opinions and versions of possible events in 2012. According to astrologers, a planetary configuration predicted by the world’s oldest civilization will take place. When the Sun passes through the axis of the center of the galaxy during the December solstice, the world will be renewed, reborn. Our civilization is at the last stage of its development, one step away from complete disappearance. The time for “renewal” is coming. Where does all this information come from? From the Bible, according to the predictions of Nostradamus, or are people more inclined to believe the ancient Mayan civilization that went “nowhere”? With the advent of each new version, the tangle becomes even more tangled and it becomes harder to settle on one specific reason that could explain everything. Some believe that the ancient Maya predicted the coming of a new era, while others believe they predicted the end of the world. What if their prediction was accurate? And they knew something that we don’t? Maybe we should still pay attention to ancient predictions? After all, no one has yet been able to find an explanation for the reasons that prompted the Mayans to create such complex timekeeping systems, and where they got the date of the end of the modern era – 21.12.2012… The Mayan calendar ends on this terrible date, but was it correctly translated into our chronology? If not, then we will see the end of the world only in many years. And so, there is no reason to worry. At least, not yet…
Perhaps the topic of the end of the world is currently the most popular and discussed around the world. After all, it concerns all of us. And here religion and race do not matter anymore… We are all united in the face of a catastrophe. A possible catastrophe… Now we have only one thing to do: to speculate, to talk about the percentage of probability of a future event of global significance and to believe. And as long as the same unquenchable faith lives in each of us, there is hope for salvation.
Although the Maya as a people no longer exist, their cultural and scientific achievements continue to influence world history and modernity. Studying their traditions and heritage helps us understand the cultural diversity and spirituality of humanity, and enriches our knowledge of science and mathematics.
Conclusion
The Maya. Could the ancient people have predicted the end of the world? The Maya did not predict the end of the world, but only recorded the completion of the next cycle of their calendar. Their knowledge of time and space was impressive, but modern interpretations of their records are often distorted. This civilization had a deep understanding of astronomy, observed the movements of the planets and the sun, and created precise calendar systems that were used to predict seasonal changes and astronomical phenomena.
The myths about the end of the world associated with the Mayan calendar arose from a misinterpretation of their chronological system. In fact, the Maya perceived time as a cyclical process, not as a linear trajectory to catastrophe. Their ideas about time remind us of the importance of natural rhythms and the need to maintain harmony between people, nature, and the universe.
Thus, instead of fearing the apocalypse, the Mayan heritage calls for an understanding of natural cycles, an awareness of our role in the universe, and a harmonious coexistence with the world around us.
