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You will be surprised to know that this myth is actually a myth itself.
The Myth of 2012 and the Mayans
The “2012 Doomsday/Apocalypse” (shortened: 2012) prediction that many cranks and doomsayers hang their hat on is actually a part of a eschatological (dealing with the end of the world) myth that originated with Christopher Columbus and Franciscan missionaries, and not the ancient Mayan calendar. It was Columbus, and not the Mayan Calendar, who connected Mayan culture with the Apocalypse. Of course, there are those who say that the Mayan calendar ends on 2012, which seems to imply that it is the source of the prediction, and there are also those who say the cycle that the calendar is based on merely continues (like a new year). But, as we will see below, though the Mayans and their calendar have now been twisted and contorted to fit Columbus’ early writings, they are not the origin of this myth.
Planets align all the time and nothing happens
In a paper presented in January at the Oxford IX International Symposium on Archaeoastronomy in Lima, Peru, University of Kansas anthropologist and Maya scholar John Hoopes tracks the 2012 Maya myth origins through various revivals into the 21st century. The myth is rooted in an early 16th-century European combination of astrological and biblical prophecies to explain the new millennium. It may not be surprising to find out that these cultist musings are the product of religious reasoning. Christopher Columbus believed that his discovery of the world’s “most remote land” would lead to Spain’s re-conquest of Jerusalem and fulfill world-end events described in the Book of Revelations.
To validate his convictions, Columbus wrote his own “Book of Prophecies” that included an account of his interview with a “Maia” leader in 1502. The reference inspired early speculation by explorers and missionaries, indirectly influencing crackpots as well as scholars to link ancient Maya, before any contact with Europeans, with the astrological and religious beliefs popular in Europe in the 1500s.
Misinterpretations and distortions flowed with each revival of interest in Maya culture. It was again deployed in the 1960′s, with the “Age of Aquarius” movement, and again recently as “New Age” delusions surrounding “consciousness” took hold in American culture.
With every distortion, the myth mutated from just being a rambling from the pages of a religiously inspired Columbus to eventually become the cultist 2012 prediction that it is today. It has nothing to do with the Mayans or their calendar; it is magical thinking propelled into mythical legend.
Myths and Pseudoscience Abound
More than 1,000 books have been published on the 2012 myth, not to mention thousands of Web sites on the topic. When people are scared or unsure, the doors for claims that fit their beliefs, even tangentially, swing open. Everything then falls into line with their motivated reasoning. It’s hard to get out of conspiracy-style thinking such as this because every piece of evidence against the conspiracy is considered part of the conspiracy. We fear death, and so often our minds try to ease the burden of a realized mortality by conjuring up fanciful tales that have no basis in reality. The 2012 myth, not to mention the recently publicized prediction failures by Harold Camping, is no different.
End-of-the-world and transformative beliefs are found in many ancient cultures but have been a fundamental part of modern times since 1499, Hoopes point out. Modern America is no stranger to such beliefs. The fundamental value of religious freedom has opened up the spectrum of beliefs for cults, the occult, and pseudoscience to thrive.
Astrology, Ouija boards, séances, channeling, spiritualists, extraterrestrial visitors and a host of pseudosciences all have had acceptance in parts of America. Mary Todd Lincoln used séances to contact her son. Nancy Reagan consulted astrologists. Parents sometimes refuse to vaccinate their children. People fight disease with homeopathy. Many think that the Earth is less than 10,000 years old. You name it, we’ve got it. If we are trying to establish a track record of sorting bunk from truth, we are off to a bad start. That is to say, doomsayers do not realize that 2012 is myth because they have poor bogus-detectors as it is. This is where skepticism comes in.
Wishful or magical thinking help perpetuate myths and beliefs that have no basis in science. First recognizing that the “2012 Apocalypse” is a myth then becomes a teaching tool for learning how to think critically and to distinguish science and nonsense.
Finally, consider this: if the Mayans actually could predict the end of the world, why couldn’t they predict their own demise at the hand of the conquistadors only a few years in the future? That’s a pretty huge oversight, don’t you think?
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You really don’t seem to know much. You might want to just stop now.
The notion of 2012 being the end has nothing to do with Columbus, it has to do with the end of the Mayan “Long Count” calendar system.
You are correct in that it doesn’t represent the end of the world, any more than hitting December 31st on our calendar represents the end. But saying “the Mayans have nothing to do with 2012″ shows you know nothing of the Mayan calendar.
http://www.mayan-calendar.com/ancient_longcount.html
Ad hominem attacks do not get you very far on this blog.
What you are speaking of is exactly what this article is addressing–Columbus originated the myth, not the Mayan calendar. I hardly think that the representing the words of an anthropologist who has spent half his career tracking down the origins of this myth shows that I know nothing. If anything, it shows that the myth is strong enough to cloud your apparently absent skepticism.
The calendrics of the Mayans are interesting, no doubt, but it is not the origin of the myth. I trust expert analysis, not ancient coincidence.
I also believe that your opening paragraph is not accurate for several reasons. The “Mayan Calendar” or “2012 Doomsday/Apocalypse”,as you say, are not synonyms — 2012 Apocalypse is supposedly “predicted” by the Mayan calendar. They are related but not the same.
“…is actually a part of a eschatological (dealing with the end of the world) myth that originated with Christopher Columbus and Franciscan missionaries, and not the ancient Mayan calendar.” Actually, it seems from this statement that Columbus twisted the Mayan Calendar to predict the end of the world, no? If so, your next statement “The Mayans had nothing to do with 2012.” Is quite misleading, for how could Columbus twist the Mayan Calendar to predict 2012 Apocalypse without the Mayans?
In short, I believe you meant to say “The Mayans did not predict a 2012 Apocalypse. That was Columbus’s original idea twisted out of their calendar”. And I think that’s accurate. But the Mayans certainly had something to do with the myth, twisted or not, thanks to Columbus.
By the way, the twisted truth is that the world will “end”. Instead, it is declared by Mayans as a new “age/period” — similar to the example of the the Dec 31st/New Year above.
“When people are scared or unsure, reason typically takes a back seat to emotion.” Personally, I can’t stand this line of justification for other’s reasoning. It usually demonstrates laziness by the author to appreciate the critical thinking and effort in logic that has been put forth by those who are seeking truth. (See my next comment for further analysis.) And it goes both ways just as easily. “It’s emotional” is a scientific argument cop-out to dismiss all proposed evidence from opposing views. This goes for libelously labeling others as crackpot, cult-thinker, etc. I recommend that you always avoid this tempting rationalization in the future, letting your readers come to their own final conclusions.
Finally, just remember that even “myths” sometimes turn out to be true — Thus a “myth” does not imply final truth or falsity. From the very site you reference for this 2012 post: http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-11-anthropologist-debunks-doomsday-myths.html (See my next comment for further analysis.)
Thanks for your comments Steve, I have made the necessary corrections.
When I mention crackpots or cult-thinkers I think that it is abundantly clear what I mean. I do not mean that anyone who even entertains the idea is stupid, I am talking about the people who go out of their way to perpetuate a hypothesis for which there is no reason or evidence to believe it.
A myth does indeed imply falsity. Something that is a myth is not considered on the same plane as say a story, an anecdote, or a report. A “myth” has the connotation of likely falsehood built into the meaning of the word because I believe my usage is clear; a myth is an unfounded or false notion, not a traditional belief or parable, etc.
Saying that “even myths sometimes turn out to be true” is a non-argument. Under that reasoning, the burden of proof is useless. We don’t hold open our minds for absolutely every hypothesis regardless of its supporting evidence or reasons; we use science, logic, and empiricism to sort the plausible ideas from the myths.
Apologies, here is the correct “myth” link : http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-11-viking-sunstone-myth.html
I did quite a bit of research on Mayan calendrics in the hopes I could decipher some of their mystery.
The mayan calendar is impressive but there is no evidence that ancient maya assumed the world would end in 2012. In fact Linda Schele found inscriptions at Palenque showing dates extending far beyond the end of the so called “great cycle”.
The 2012 date is based on a cycle of 13 baktuns, when the mayan calendar system for all smaller time units were counted in 20s. The inscriptions at Palenque counted 20 baktuns which would put the end of the baktun cycle around the year 4000 or so.
I think the theory that the apocalypse elements originated from Europe is the best I’ve heard.
There seems to be a fascination with end-of-the-world scenarios.
Hypothesis: Certain individuals have difficulty dealing with the idea that the world will continue in their absence. The idea that the entire world will end, in their lifetime, is strangely comforting because it means the world will end when they do.
and some people have trouble dealing with the reality that the world/life existed prior to their time on earth — ergo the short sighted views of changes in planetary geology and the time space continuem…along universal lines. “nothing new under the sun”.
Thanks for the reasonable article — the early renaissance hadn’t quite un-shackled the realm of myth from the hands of the religions powers nor embraced reason and logic in thought. This is said by no means to deny faith and sprituality — but that is different from religious dogma and power…whether it be eastern or western.
I find no mention here about the sun’s upcoming cycle and scientifically predicted solar flare storms in 2012, and its effect on technology devices and thus society. Do you believe this is just misinformation meant to scare the thoughtless masses in the pseudo name of science? Or is there valid concern?
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/04/2012storms/
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/themis/news/themis_leaky_shield.html
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12507#description
(Note: there is an interesting relationship here between solar flares and Mayans, as they are renowned for their highly advanced study and understanding of the cosmos…)
It don’t think that this is misinformation, there is a real concern about intense “coronal mass ejections” and the like, because the charged particles from these ejections can induce massive electrical currents in our electronics and basically fry them. We actually deal with this problem all the time (every year, in fact) and we have lost some of our satellites this way. I believe that this is indeed something that we should be worried about, but it would not be the end of the world as the 2012 doomsday predicts. Losing everything that is electronic would be catastrophic, but it would not be the kind of “boiling seas of blood” Apocalypse that is predicted by these “Book of Revelation” style claims.
The fact that a large ejection may happen around 2012 is merely coincidence. Numerous ejections happen every year. It is perfectly logical to think that the Mayans could predict solar events with some degree of accuracy. We know that the Sun follows cycles, and empirical observation of these cycles would lead to some predictive power. But we too have this power (and more of it). There is no reason to think that we, with all of our modern knowledge about the universe, could not predict something that the Mayans also predicted. That is to say, if a solar doomsday was coming, we would see it coming. Conversely, we certainly know much more than they ever did, and many of their predictions are incorrect.
It is interesting to think about, but I think it is an artificial bridge we are constructing to make this connection.
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Finally, consider this: if the Mayans actually could predict the end of the world, why couldn’t they predict their own demise at the hand of the conquistadors only a few years in the future? That’s a pretty huge oversight, don’t you think?
Because predicting astronomical events is based on scientific calculations of real physical changes and progressions in the solar system, not based on the folly of man and what genocidal mood he may happen to wake up in one day. That’s why.
That all assumes that you can predict the end of the world astronomically (which I would submit they could not).
>That all assumes that you can predict the end of the world astronomically
Predicting the astrological demise of a civilization and predicting the political (i.e. not nature/scientific) demise of a civilization are mutually exclusive. They must be argued separately. One assumption cannot lead to the conclusion of another.
On second thought, I think that both cases are moot. The Mayans were supposedly predicting the coming of a deity to their world and starting a new age of some sort (via celestial observations). This is a metaphysical prediction not based on politics or scientific astronomy. My argument is that if they could predict the coming of a god, why could they not see other more obvious things?
[Further, the Mayans were never truly wiped out, many thousands of descendants still live today]
The world has ended and started again . The mayans were trippin on something . Psyans ..