December 21, 2012

If you are reading this, then you know that the world has not ended on December 21, as many people thought the ancient Maya had predicted (though they hadn’t). What happened?

The Maya developed a magnificent civilization in Central America and southern Mexico that flourish between about A.D. 250 and 900. They produced remarkable architecture, painting, pottery, and sculpture. The Maya also made great advances in astronomy and mathematics and developed several calendars, including a complex and accurate yearly calendar. Another of the Maya calendars, called the Long Count calendar, was based on a 5,128-year cycle. Many scholars have calculated that the Mayan Long Count cycle was scheduled to end on December 21, 2012, on the Gregorian calendar that we use today.

A Mayan mural depicts a scene at the royal court at Bonampak, where the King (center) is presented with prisoners captured in battle. Defeated rulers and other important prisoners of war were sacrificed to the gods in religious ceremonies. This restored mural was painted toward the end of the Classic Period, around 790 A.D., as rival cities in the Mayan civilization began to fight each other. (© Della Zuana Pascal, Sygma/Corbis)

Some people came to believe that the Mayan Long Count calendar forecast the end of all time. Reports that the end of the world was coming on December 21 spread quickly in newspapers, magazines, and television shows, and flourished on the Internet. Theories about the cause of the apocalypse varied. Some stated that Earth would collide with a rogue planet or asteroid. Others suggested the Earth’s magnetic poles would flip or solar flares would engulf the planet.

Most experts viewed such predictions as nonsense. But people in some areas began to prepare for the worst. Panic buying was reported in Russia, China, and France, as people stocked up on food, candles, and other necessities before the dreaded date. Officials predicted a surge of visitors to Mexico and Central America, with tourists flocking to Maya sites for the fateful day.

Archaeologists who study the ancient Maya noted that no predictions of the end of the world exist in Maya writings or inscriptions. They also pointed out that the end of the Long Count calendar on December 21, 2012, simply marks the beginning of a new calendar cycle.

In response to public anxiety and numerous questions, NASA scientists tried to explain online and during a press conference that Maya-related end-of-the-world predictions were not based on reality. “The world will not end in 2012,” the website stated. “Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.” As one NASA scientist said, “Just as the calendar you have on your kitchen wall does not cease to exist after December 31, the Mayan calendar does not cease to exist on December 21, 2012. This date is the end of the Mayan long-count period but then–just as your calendar begins again on January 1–another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar.” In fact, NASA was so confident the world would not end that it prepared and released beforehand a video that explains to bewildered believers why they are still here.

Additional articles in World Book:

• Chichén Itzá
• Stephens, John Lloyd
• Tikal
  
• The Ancient Maya: Deciphering New Clues (a special report)
• Latin America (1929) (a Back in Time article)