The end of the Maya long-count calendar does not predict a global catastrophe, let alone the end of the world, say native activists and elders who spoke to IPS News in Guatemala. But what are coming to an end are the world's natural resources, as a result of human activity, they warn. According to the Maya calendar, Dec. 21, 2012 will mark the end of a grand cycle of 13 144,000-day "baktuns", lasting 5,126 years. But the end of a cycle does not mean the end of the world, and the collective hysteria triggered by the supposed 2012 Maya doomsday prediction does not at all reflect the thinking of today's Maya Indians in Guatemala.
According to historians, the grand cycle began on Aug. 11, 3,114 BC, and ends on Dec. 21 this year, which marks the winter solstice - and the start of a new long-count cycle.
"What does cause us a great deal of concern is how to bring people together in the effort to refocus our behaviour with respect to nature, global warming and the neoliberal policies that only extract oil and minerals and install large factories, posing a serious threat to humanity," said to IPS News Antonio Mendoza, an activist with Oxlajuj Ajpop, a local NGO whose name in the Maya Quich‚ language refers to the 13 forces represented by the Maya calendar.
The ancient Maya civilisation was initially established around 2000 BC in present-day southern Mexico, Guatemala, western Belize and northwestern Honduras. It flourished until about 900 AD, which marked the start of the post-classic Maya period that ended with the Spanish conquest.
The contemporary Maya live in Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras and El Salvador, and five states in southeastern Mexico. At the height of the Maya culture, during the classic period - 250 to 900 AD - it was one of the most advanced civilisations in the world, noted for its architecture and city planning, sophisticated mathematics, accurate astronomical calculations and hieroglyphic writing system.