Changes

The Long Count calendar, which was discontinued under [[Spanish]] colonization, is also called the 13th ''baktun'', and tracks more than 5,000 years, then resets at year zero.  A “Grand Cycle” consists of 13 baktuns, each of which numbers 144,000 days, making for a grand total 1,872,000 days, equating to 5,139.44 solar years, and marking the number of days that have elapsed since the beginning of the present world, as determined an unknown priest in the year 236 B.C.<ref>Vincent H. Malmström, Professor Emeritus (Geography) Dartmouth College, ''The Astronomical Insignificance of Maya Date 13.0.0.0.''</ref>   

The Long Count calendar, which was discontinued under [[Spanish]] colonization, is also called the 13th ''baktun'', and tracks more than 5,000 years, then resets at year zero.  A “Grand Cycle” consists of 13 baktuns, each of which numbers 144,000 days, making for a grand total 1,872,000 days, equating to 5,139.44 solar years, and marking the number of days that have elapsed since the beginning of the present world, as determined an unknown priest in the year 236 B.C.<ref>Vincent H. Malmström, Professor Emeritus (Geography) Dartmouth College, ''The Astronomical Insignificance of Maya Date 13.0.0.0.''</ref>   

On the winter solstice in 2012, at 11:11 p.m. (UT), the sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way for the first time in about 26,000 years.  However, scientists greatly doubt that the Mayas foresaw any event of astronomical significance taking place on that date, and astronomer Phil Plait<ref>Bad Astronomy blog</ref> states that the alignment do not fall precisely in 2012, and that distant stars do not exert any force which could harm Earth.   

On the winter solstice in 2012, at 11:11&nbsp;p.m. (UT), the sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way for the first time in about 26,000 years.  However, scientists greatly doubt that the Mayas foresaw any event of astronomical significance taking place on that date, and astronomer Phil Plait<ref>Bad Astronomy blog</ref> states that the alignment do not fall precisely in 2012, and that distant stars do not exert any force which could harm Earth.   

In addition, the use of the Long Count among Mayan city-states was not uniform,  and some evidence suggests that some of the [[pagan]] priests understood that the cycle would end after 20 baktuns.<ref>[http://www.famsi.org/research/vanstone/2012/index.html by Mark Van Stone, ''It's Not the End of the World: What the Ancient Maya Tell Us About 2012]</ref> Archaeologist, Guillermo Bernal of Mexico's National Autonomous University states there are other inscriptions at Mayan sites for dates far beyond 2012. The Mayan LongCount  calendar is seen to allow a far greater age for the earth. <ref>[http://www.blackcatsys.net/calMayan.html The Mayan Calendar]</ref>

In addition, the use of the Long Count among Mayan city-states was not uniform,  and some evidence suggests that some of the [[pagan]] priests understood that the cycle would end after 20 baktuns.<ref>[http://www.famsi.org/research/vanstone/2012/index.html by Mark Van Stone, ''It's Not the End of the World: What the Ancient Maya Tell Us About 2012]</ref> Archaeologist, Guillermo Bernal of Mexico's National Autonomous University states there are other inscriptions at Mayan sites for dates far beyond 2012. The Mayan LongCount  calendar is seen to allow a far greater age for the earth.<ref>[http://www.blackcatsys.net/calMayan.html The Mayan Calendar]</ref>

Erosion and a crack in the Monument Six stone also renders the end of the inscription to be almost illegible. Bernal understands the final and eroded symbolic art as perhaps stating, "He will descend from the sky", and states there are other inscriptions at Mayan sites for dates far beyond 2012.

Erosion and a crack in the Monument Six stone also renders the end of the inscription to be almost illegible. Bernal understands the final and eroded symbolic art as perhaps stating, "He will descend from the sky", and states there are other inscriptions at Mayan sites for dates far beyond 2012.

   

   

The general scientific consensus is that there is no evidence that the Mayans thought that the world would come to an end at the end of the Great Cycle.<ref>Susan Milbrath, Florida Museum of Natural History</ref>  David Stuart, a specialist in Mayan epigraphy at the University of Texas at Austin, states, "The Maya never said the world is going to end, they never said anything bad would happen necessarily, they're just recording this future anniversary on Monument Six."<ref>Mark Stevenson, ''2012 isn't the end of the world, Mayans insist'', Associated Press, Sunday, October 11, 2009 </ref> Rather than an apocalypse being expected, research reveals that this day would have been a grand celebration, due to having made it to the end of a whole cycle, and construing Dec. 21, 2012 to be a doomsday is “a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in.”<ref>Sandra Noble, executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies in Crystal River, Florida.</ref>

The general scientific consensus is that there is no evidence that the Mayans thought that the world would come to an end at the end of the Great Cycle.<ref>Susan Milbrath, Florida Museum of Natural History</ref>  David Stuart, a specialist in Mayan epigraphy at the University of Texas at Austin, states, "The Maya never said the world is going to end, they never said anything bad would happen necessarily, they're just recording this future anniversary on Monument Six."<ref>Mark Stevenson, ''2012 isn't the end of the world, Mayans insist'', Associated Press, Sunday, October 11, 2009</ref> Rather than an apocalypse being expected, research reveals that this day would have been a grand celebration, due to having made it to the end of a whole cycle, and construing Dec. 21, 2012 to be a doomsday is “a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in.”<ref>Sandra Noble, executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies in Crystal River, Florida.</ref>

   

   

As of October 11, 2009, there were over 264 results for books listed on Amazon.com dealing with  dealing with 2012 prophecy. Its popularity over Bible prophecy may be seen as being due to the lack of a moral message, which is seen in the prophecies of the Bible.   

As of October 11, 2009, there were over 264 results for books listed on Amazon.com dealing with  dealing with 2012 prophecy. Its popularity over Bible prophecy may be seen as being due to the lack of a moral message, which is seen in the prophecies of the Bible.   

==References==

==References==

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[[category:Conspiracy Theory]]

[[Category:Conspiracy Theory]]