Origins of the 2012 Mayan Prophecy Hoax

Gerardo Aldana, Ph.D., Chicano Studies professor at UC Santa Barbara, discusses the origins of the so-called ‘2012 Mayan Prophecy.’

It turns out there was never a prophecy and that December 21, 2012, widely accepted as the Gregorian date corresponding to the end of the 13th B’ak’tun, may be off by years.

In other words, the 13th B’ak’tun, as originally counted by the Maya, likely already happened.

A B’ak’tun is approximately 394 solar years and is part of a system called the Long Count still in use in many parts of Guatemala and Mexico.

Professor Aldana credits “The Maya,” a book written in 1966 by American anthropologist Michael D. Coe, with first introducing the notion of the end of the 13th B’ak’tun as the “end of the world as we know it.” From there, the misconceptions were born.

Of course, the Mayan Calendar does not end with the 13th B’ak’tun, it simply marks the end of one time period - similar to a Christian 100-year century - and the beginning of a new one.

It also does not mark a “new era” of human consciousness, as many have suggested.

What it does mark is the commodification of Indigenous culture and science by New Agers and, unfortunately, even the government of Mexico that has shamelessly sought to cash-in on all the hype.

For more information, visit: Ce-Akatl @ UCSB

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Source: thinkmexican

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    I KNEW IT WASN’T GOING TO FUCKING HAPPEN. BECAUSE IT ALREADY DID. MOST LIKELY ///YEARS AGO///
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    reblogging cuz Professor Aldana is fine.
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    Regarding the source of the “Maya Apocalypse” idea: I was taught that the people who started the idea weren’t academics...
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    PEOPLE OF THE WORLD