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| Mayan Calender |
Mayan doomsday prediction on the rise, the day passed with out any casualties all over the world.
As predicted in movies, television shows and numerous advertisements, the end of the world predicted in ancient Mayan lore strikes on Dec. 21, 2012, the last day of the Mayan calendar, bringing with it floods, earthquakes, the reversal of the Earth's magnetic poles and the beginning of a new spiritual age.
This unlikely doomsday story has become a prominent thread in the national conversation, and if it resembles everything that Americans expect in a Hollywood blockbuster, that's probably because it's mostly an American creation, not a Mayan one.
"The scientists speculated that the Maya had this cycle and when the calendar went to 13.0.0.0.0, the gods started the clock running again," said Professor Mark Van Stone who studies Mayan hieroglyphs and calligraphy.
The Mayan Long Count calendar is separated into 360 day years called "Tuns," 20 year periods called "Katuns," and 400 year periods called "Baktuns."
The end of the 13th Baktun, or 13.0.0.0.0, falls on Dec. 21, 2012. In the mid-1970s scholars who had previously speculated on the Mayan cycle found references to dates far beyond 13.0.0.0.0.
The Professor Stone added that, "This escaped the general understanding, the scholars said, 'Oh, we were wrong,' but the memo didn't get out to the general public."
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