Econintersect: It has long been thought that the Mayan calendar did not extend 
beyond December 2012. New archeological finds now say differently. Archaeologists have discovered what appears to be the workshop for the preparation of Mayan calendars and the markings on the walls show that the Mayan “time Keepers” had a view of time that extended far beyond the December 2012 end of the current calendar cycle. The research was led by William Saturno of Boston University and was supported by The National Geographic Society. The excavations have been made in the remote and little explored Mayan site named Xultun in the Peten region of Guatemala. Click on caption graphic for larger image of Mayan Jaguar mask.
The picture above shows William Saturno at the excavation site. Many more pictures and an short National Geographic video are available at MSN. The research results have been reported in the May 2012 issue of Science and will be the subject of a feature article in the June issue National Geographic Magazine.
To all the friends of Global Economic Intersection who planned to gather in Guatemala for the end of the world in December, you can still go to celebrate the start of the 14th Baktun of the Mayan calendar system and welcome the start of another 144,000 day cycle.
The authors of the Science article are William A. Saturno, David Stuart, Anthony Aveni and Franco Rossi.
Sources:
- Maya calendar workshop documents time beyond 2012 (Alan Boyle, MSN, 10 May 2012)
- Ancient Maya Astronomical Tables from Xulton, Guatemala (William A. Saturno et al, Science, 11 May 2012)
