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The '''Mayan 2012 prediction''' refers to a fanciful or fraudulent belief that the ''Long Count calendar'' of the ancient [[Maya]] civilization, foretells the end of the world on December 21 or 23, 2012, the date of the winter solstice, at the end of the ''Grand (or Great) Cycle''.  

The '''Mayan 2012 prediction''' refers to a fanciful or fraudulent belief that the ''Long Count calendar'' of the ancient [[Maya]] civilization, foretells the end of the world on December 21 or 23, 2012, the date of the winter solstice, at the end of the ''Grand (or Great) Cycle''.  

The prediction is based on a dubious interpretation of an inscription on the ''Monument Six'' tablet, found at an obscure ruin in southern Mexico, which was uncovered during highway construction in the 1960s.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,563621,00.html?test=latestnews</ref> However, the prediction that the world will end in December 2012 is seen to have begun by misconstruing Sumerian documents.<ref>David Morrison, ''Nibiru and Doomsday 2012: Questions and Answers'', NASA, June 1, 2009, http://astrobiology.nasa.gov</ref>  

The prediction is based on a dubious interpretation of an inscription on the ''Monument Six'' tablet, found at an obscure ruin in southern Mexico, which was uncovered during highway construction in the 1960s.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,563621,00.html?test=latestnews</ref> However, the prediction that the world will end in December 2012 is seen to have begun by misconstruing Sumerian documents.<ref>David Morrison, ''Nibiru and Doomsday 2012: Questions and Answers'', NASA, June 1, 2009, http://astrobiology.nasa.gov</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>   

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>