3rd year undergrad essay - The world didn’t end in 2012 as some predicted. What, exactly, was 2012...

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Maya Archaeology

Candidate Number BXCL2

The world didn’t end in 2012 as some predicted. What, exactly, was 2012 all about? If the Maya dates didn’t predict the ‘end of the world’, what DID they do, and what were they for?

“There were quite a few End-‐of-‐the-‐World parties going on all over our neighborhood. I'm sure many many people woke up the next morning with an

apocalyptic hangover to say the least.” -‐ Quote & comic, Downs, 2012

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Introduction

History is littered with examples of ‘doomsday prophecies’ that have come and gone

without incident. More recently, our fascination with the end of the world, or at

least the end of the world as we know it today, centred on the alleged Maya

prophecies regarding A.D.2012. During the twenty years or so preceding 2012, these

predictions quite understandably amassed global attention and sparked much

debate.

One of the defining features of Maya civilisation was their aptitude for studying the

skies, and predicting the movements of celestial bodies. To those outside of

archaeological circles the Maya are widely (if not almost exclusively) known for the

complex and precise calendrical systems they developed and the apocalyptic

predictions they allegedly foretold. Numerous theories, mostly of dubious scientific

provenance, predicted that the end of the 13th Baktun, or 13.0.0.0.0, 4 Ajaw, 3

K’ank’in (G.M.T 21st December, 2012 A.D.) marked the end of the world. Evidently,

none of these doomsday predictions materialised and the frenzied speculation which

once surrounded them has since dissipated.

This essay provides a brief overview of these doomsday prophecies before

considering the more practical significance of 2012 in the Maya calendrical system.

This will include an exploration of Maya knowledge and attitudes towards their

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creation beliefs and the Long Count date 13.0.0.0.0 based on evidence gathered by

archaeologists, historians and epigraphers.

New Age interpretation of Maya “doomsday prophecies”

Jose Argüelles

“A temporal planetary Tollan at which time their presence will be perceived by some as an inner light and by others as feathered serpent rainbow wheels turning in the air. Accompanying the resonant frequency shift, the luminous wave-‐forms of Quetzalcoatl will re-‐enter the atmosphere…[and thus resulting in] the elimination of Armageddon” (Argüelles, 1987, pp. 325-‐325).

In the late eighties, Jose Argüelles’s book titled The

Mayan Factor advanced an apparently complex

theory, predicting the end of the world (the

“Beams End”) in 2012. Argüelles drew inspiration

from calendars created by the Mesoamericans who

were, he claimed, inspired in turn by their extra-‐

terrestrial ancestors.

According to astronomer and respected Maya

researcher Anthony Aveni (2009a, p.18), Argüelles’s theories lacked scientific basis:

“Although I have spent years studying Mesoamerican calendars, I must confess that I

cannot understand even one of Argüelles’s complicated-‐looking diagrams. Nor can I

follow his explanations, which like so many other 2012 narratives, is punctuated with

scientific jargon incomprehensible even to scientists”.

Jose Argüelles, self-‐styled President of the Foundation for the Law of Time. Photo: AP

(Robertson, 2011).

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Despite the scientific deficiencies in Argüelles’s work, it attracted a significant

following and, on the morning of 16 August 1987, thousands of people convened

around the world at points of “planetary light-‐body grid points in the body of mother

earth” (Argüelles, 1987, p. 170) to experience an anticipated mass cultural

awakening and, ultimately, save the world from destruction. Arguably, the fact that

his audience was so receptive to a largely incomprehensible theory demonstrates a

strong human desire to find a higher meaning in life. Following the events of 1987,

Argüelles devised his own “Dreamspell” calendar, a 13-‐month, 28-‐day calendar

based on the moon, which he urged all cultures of the world to adopt. Argüelles

himself passed away shortly before he could see whether his predictions were

indeed correct (Robertson, 2011).

John Major Jenkins

John Major Jenkins gives a somewhat more scientific

prognosis albeit still with a few mystical tones in Maya

Cosmogenesis 2012 and other works. Allegedly, during

his first visit to a Maya site, whilst sitting atop one of the

temples at Tikal, Guatemala, Jenkins heard “the wind

whisper messages of a far off time and of another

world” (Jenkins, 1998, p. xxxii), and thus gifting him with

special insight into the magic Maya moment of our

shared immediate future.

Software engineer John Major Jenkins, one of the main advocates for the 2012 prophesies. (James,

2012)

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Central to his argument is the site of Izapa, where Jenkins argues that Izapan

shaman-‐astrologers targeted 2012 due to a rare astronomical alignment, which in

turn was coordinated with a spiritual teaching of “sacrifice, transformation and

renewal” (Jenkins, ND). It is worth noting, however, that Izapan isn’t actually a Maya

site (Aveni, 2009a, p. 22). Nevertheless, akin to Argüelles’s harmonic wave theory,

Jenkins’s concepts maintain that a great astronomical alignment will maximise

celestial harmony when the sun at the solstices and equinoxes aligns with the Galaxy

(Aveni, 2009a, p. 23). Furthermore, he contends that last time the autumn equinox

fell out of alignment some 6400 years ago, all of humanity responded by descending

into warfare and conflict (Aveni, 2009a, p. 23). It is unclear where Jenkins finds his

evidence for this claim however, and one would like to point out that throughout

history humanity has regularly engaged in warfare and conflict.

Jenkins’s theories have not been well received among Maya scholars, who remain

sceptical of subjective analogies and knowledge acquired through mystic revelation.

Jenkins remains reproachful of the academic community and Mayanists who, he

claims, have put him under “academic attack”, rendering his interpretations as

“something best ignored [and] swept under the carpet” (Jenkins, ND).

Argüelles and Jenkins are but two examples of a multitude of 2012 doomsday

theorists. NASA in their article Beyond 2012: Why the World Didn’t End (2012)

includes a list of the possible ways in which various theorists thought the Maya

apocalypse would manifest itself:

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1) Planetary alignment that could impact the Earth

2) A plant or brown dwarf called Nibiru, Planet X or Eris approaching our planet

with widespread destruction

3) A polar shift in which the Earth’s rotation is reversed.

4) Meteor impacts.

5) Solar storms causing havoc.

The Maya Calendar

We as Westerners place great importance upon the chronicling of time. We tie

together our years to create decades, our decades to create centuries, and our

centuries to create millennia. We separate different periods of time into ages -‐ the

Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, the Age of Enlightenment, the Age of Reason -‐ which

are then bundled into eras, such as the Christian and pre-‐Christian eras. The Maya

were no different when it came to the subject of time, and the intricately

Table 1 : The length of Maya “days” “months” and “years” in relation to the Gregorian calendar.

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interlocking calendar systems they devised were as precise as modern day calendars

(FAMSI, ND).

As noted by Thomson (1960) Maya thought conceived of time “as something without

beginning or end” (p.149). All chronological records need to have a fixed point from

which to count on from, with different societies using different events as a starting

point. The Greek calendar, for example, begins in 776BC, calculating time in four-‐

year periods called Olympiads, whereas our arbitrary starting date is the traditional

year for the birth of Christ (Graham & Quintana, 2012). The fixed-‐point base used in

Maya chronological systems corresponds to the end of the preceding cycle of

thirteen Baktuns (Sharer & Traxler, 2005, p. 110). The end of this previous cycle,

13.0.0.0.0 4 Ajaw 8 Kumk’u , or 3114B.C. in our calendar, marks the creation of the

Maize men and the beginning of the current world in Maya cosmology. According to

the commonly accepted calendrical correlation, the current cycle will end on

December 21, 2012 (Sharer & Traxler, 2005, p. 110).

The Maya took note of time using 3 interrelated calendars: the Tzolk’in (260 day

count), the Haab (360/365 day count), and the Long Count.

The Tzolk’in 260 day count

One of the most common calendar forms found in Maya culture is the Tzolk’in

calendar of 260 days. The Tzolk’in calendar frequently has been considered to be a

lunar cycle, which also approximates the human gestational cycle from late

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menstruation. An indication of such a

connection is the Mesoamerican practice of

naming children by the day of their birth in the

Tzolk’in calendar (Rice, 2007, p. 38).

The Tzolk’in calendar has two components:

numerical values of 1 – 13, which run against a

cycle of 20 day names, with their number-‐day

combination restarting every 260 days (13 x 20 =

260) (Rice, 2007, p. 31; FAMSI, ND; Rice, 2007, p.

31).

Haab 365 day count

The second most important calendar ran

concurrently to the Tzolk’in, and was called

the Haab cycle [fig.2]. The Haab cycle is an

approximation of the 365 solar year,

consisting of 18 months of 20 days each (18 x

20 = 360), plus an additional month of 5 days

(FAMSI, ND; Rice, 2007, p. 39; Graham &

Quintana, 2012). In the rotation of days, only

four could occupy the first position in any

Figure 1: Day Signs of the Maya Tzolk’in Calendar. [Edited Drawing by John Montgomery © Foundation

for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc.,

www.famsi.org].

Figure 2: Diagram illustrating the meshing of the 260-‐day cycle (A and B) with the 365-‐day year (C), the latter represented here by a wheel for just

one of the Maya months (Keh) [edited] (Sharer & Traxler, 2005, p. 108).

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haab month; these four days were called the Year Bearers. In Classic times these

were the days Ak’bal. Lamat, Ben and Etz’nab (Sharer & Traxler, 2005, p. 109). By the

time of the Spanish Conquest, the year-‐bearers had shifted forward to the days

named K’an, Muluk, Ix and Kawak (Sharer & Traxler, 2005, p. 109).

The Long Count

The Long Count calendar system is, as

noted by Rice (2007, p.44), “the

quintessential achievement of

Mesoamerican numeracy”. This

calendrical system allowed the Maya to

cover incredibly long periods of time,

calculating dates millions of years into

the future or past. Our method for

writing Long Count dates uses the format

of five numbers separated by four periods

(e.g. 13.0.0.0.0). Beginning from the left,

each number provides a quantity of

measured time; the baktun, katun, tun,

winal, and k’in [see tab.1] (FAMSI, ND; Rice, 2007, p. 44). As noted before, the Long

Count cycle began with an arbitrary date at 3114BC. On December 21st (or 23rd

according to some scholars), the calendar completed its chief cycle, one lasting 13

baktuns or almost 5,200 years.

Figure 3: Hypothetical inscription denoting the date January 1st A.D.1, or 7.17.18.13.3 in

the Long Count. The Large introductory glyph signals that a date will follow, with its

centre representing the month of the ensuing date – in this case “Mol”. Each glyph

below indications a place in the count. [edited] (Aveni, 2009b, p. 33).

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Maya ideas about creation & destruction

The Popol Vuh

“THIS IS THE BEGINNING of the old traditions of this place called Quiché. Here we shall write and we shall begin the old stories, the beginning and the origin of all that was done in the town of the Quiché, by the tribes of the Quiché nation.” (Recinos, 1991, p. 77)

An instrumental source for

understanding Maya mythology,

astronomy, history and religion

was written by the Quiché Maya in

the Guatemalan highlands during

the colonial period. The cosmic

epic, the sacred Popol Vuh, is

divided into three sections: the

first describes the creation of the world and its inhabitants; the second narrates the

story of the Hero Twins; and the third section details the founding of the Quiché

dynasties. Parallels can be drawn between this post-‐conquest narrative and scenes

depicted in pre-‐Colombian art [fig. 4] -‐ thus demonstrating the antiquity of this Maya

creation story. Many interpretations of Maya mythology, cosmology and religion are

closely tied with the Popol Vuh, so it is appropriate to give a brief overview of this

text.

Figure 4: An early depiction of the Hero Twins and Itzamná painted on the wall of the South Patio of Group 6C-‐XVI in the Mundo Perdido at Tikal (Kerr,

ND)

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The Popol Vuh Creation Myth

“This is the first account, the first narrative. There was neither man, nor birds, fished, crabs, trees, stones, caves, ravines, grasses nor forests; there was only the sky. The surface of the earth had not appeared. There was only the calm sea and the great expanse of sky... There was nothing standing;... Nothing existed” (Recinos, 1991, p. 81). “Thus let it be done! Let the emptiness be filled! Let the water recede and make a void, let the earth appear and become solid; let it be done. Thus they spoke. Let there be light, let there be dawn in the sky and on the earth!” (Recinos, 1991, p. 83)

Beginning in a primeval epoch when the universe was dark, the two creator gods,

Tepeu and Gucumatz, worked together to create life and light; a process known as

“the sowing and the dawning” (Tedlock, 1996, pp. 30-‐31).

“Because it has not been possible for you to talk, you shall be changed… There shall be those who adore us, we shall make other [beings] who shall be obedient. Accept your destiny: your flesh shall be torn to pieces. So shall it be” (Recinos, 1991, p. 85).

Once the earth was created, the gods populated it with animals that were given

specific orders relating to the calendar – “speak, pray to us, keep our days” (Tedlock,

1996, p. 67). However, the animals were unable to speak and therefore could not

worship them. For this reason, the gods created men from mud and had the animals’

role relegated to food.

“Of earth, of mud, they made man’s flesh. But they saw it was not good. It melted away, it was soft, did not move, had no strength… At first it spoke, but had no mind… And the Creator and the Maker said: ‘Let us try again because our creatures will not be able to walk nor multiply.’… Then they broke up and destroyed their work and their creation” (Recinos, 1991, pp. 86-‐87). “And instantly the figures were made of wood. They looked like men, talked like men, and populated the surface of the earth. They existed and multiplied; they had daughters, they had sons, these wooden figurines; but did not have souls, nor minds, they did not remember their Creator, their Maker… And for this reason they were killed, they were deluged… So was the ruin of the men who had been created and formed, the men made to be destroyed and annihilated; the mouths and faces of them were mangled… And therefore the monkey looks like the man, and is an example of generations of men which were created and made but were only figurines.” (Recinos, 1991, pp. 89-‐93).

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And so a generation of humans was made from mud. However, these humans were

weak and were soon destroyed. The gods made other attempts and created men

from wood and women from rushes who populated the world and procreated. Yet

still the humans soon forgot their gods and were punished with a flood. The few that

survived were transformed into monkeys.

“This was when there was just a trace of early dawn on the face of the earth, there was no sun. But one who magnified himself; Seven Macaw was his name… ‘I am great. My place is now higher than that of the human work, the human design. I am their sun and I am their light, and I am also their months’” (Tedlock, 1996, pp. 73-‐74).

The sky and earth had been established, however there was no sun or moon. An

arrogant bird named Seven Macaw, pretender to power, claimed to be both the sun

and the moon and glorified himself. Part two of the epic tales the demise of Seven

Macaw. In response to his false claims, the Hero Twins, Hunajpu and Xbalanqué, are

sent to defeat the liar and do so by shooting him with blowguns and tricking him into

giving up his glory. He and his wife perish, transforming into the big and little dipper

constellations.

The third cycle of the epic story reverts to the story of the Hero Twins and their

ascent to glory. In summary, the Death Lords of Xibalba, summon Hunajpu and

Xbalanqué, like their father and uncle, to play a momentous ball game. In a virtual

‘Harrowing of Hell’, the twins trick the lords into defeat, eventually rising into the

heavens, becoming the Sun and Moon. Through their actions, the Hero Twins paved

the way for the planting of maize, for human beings to live on Earth, and for the

fourth creation of the Maya:

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"After that they began to talk about the creation and the making of our first mother and father; of yellow corn and of white corn they made their flesh; of cornmeal dough they made the arms and the legs of man. Only dough of corn meal went into the flesh of our first fathers, the four men, who were created... And as they had the appearance of men, they were men; they talked, conversed, saw and heard, walked, grasped things; they were good and handsome men, and their figure was the figure of a man."

Finally, the gods decided to create a race of man from

maize. The first four men were the founders of the

Quiché noble dynasties, and were able to worship the

gods sufficiently. The book closes with the list of the

Quiché lineages up until the 16th century.

So what did the Maya have to say about an impending apocalypse?

The Dresden Codex & The Chilam Balam Books

According to Aveni (2009a p.47), the only clear

statement given in the codices that might have referred

to the end of the world occurs on page 74 of the Dresden

Codex [fig.5]. This scene could be a depiction of the

floods mentioned in the Popol Vuh, however, Mark Van

Stone (ND) points out that “there are no people being

washed away, nor other indications of destruction,

except the black warrior God L, who also presided at the

4 Ajaw 3 Kumk'u Creation (3114 BCE) on the Vases of the

7 Gods and of the 11 Gods”. Continuing on to examine the eclipse glyphs, Van Stone

(ND) argues that neither the 13.0.0.0.0 occurring on 3114BCE, nor the one on

Figure 5: Page 74 of the Dresden Codex.

The scene shows water being expelled from the mouth of a

sky serpent, thought to represent the celestial realm. More water emanates from

two eclipse glyphs pained upon the serpent’s body: the sun and the moon. Furthermore, water is being poured from a vessel held by an old women

deity, while a male deity wields a spear and some arrows below her. [Aglio, 1825, published on © FAMSI,

www.famsi.org].

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2012BCE falls anywhere near a lunar or solar eclipse. Thus, anyone wanting to

postulate the Dresden “Deluge” page as a scene depicting a world-‐ending flood,

cannot assume it to be one occurring in 2012. The partial section of text above the

scene read “Storm, black sky, black earth, first year…” (Aveni, 2009a, p. 48), which

parallels to a similar flood event described in one of the Chilam Balam books:

“And then great Itzam Cab Ain (the caiman sky deity) ascended back then that this deluge may complete the word of the katun (prophecy) series… One fetching of rain, (the flood being poured from a vase) One lancing of rain (a reference to the deity’s spear)” (Schele, 1997, p. 199, in Aveni, 2009, p.48)

Monumental inscriptions referring to 13.0.0.0.0

There are only two Maya inscriptions directly

relating to 13.0.0.0.0. The much-‐cited

Monument 6 [fig.6] at El Tortuguero has

remained the subject of much scrutiny over

the past few decades, and to many, forms

the linchpin for understanding Maya thought

about the end of the Baktun in 2012.

Epigrapher David Stuart feels that he is partly

to blame for New Age interest given to the

monument when he gave a brief analysis of

the glyphs, labelling the passage The

Tortuguero Prophecy, stating, “Little did I know back then this would soon help set

off a frenzy on many New Age websites, associated forum discussions, and even a

few book chapters” (Stuart, 2011).

Figure 6: The final section of Tortuguero Monument 6. [Drawing by D. Stuart]

(Stuart, 2011)

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The handful of glyphs at the very end of Monument 6 state the following:

“Tzuhtz-‐(a)j-‐oom u(y)-‐uxlajuun pik (ta) Chan Ajaw ux(-‐te’) Uniiw. Uht-‐oom Ek’-‐? Y-‐em(al)?? Bolon Yookte’ (K’uh) ta ?.” “The Thirteenth ‘Bak’tun” will be finished (on) Four Ajaw, the Third of Uniiw (K’ank’in). ? will occur. (It will be) the descent(??) of the Nine Support? God(s) to the ?” (Stuart, 2011).

One can understand why New Age thinkers might interpret this as some sort of

doomsday prediction; the mention of the descent of the nine gods/lords, also known

as Bolon Yookte, god of the nine levels of underworld, could certainly be construed

by some as a bad omen, especially with his manifestation as the god who heralds the

destruction of the world in the Flood in the Chilam Balam narratives (Restall & Solari,

2011a, p. 25).

However, one only needs to observe the fragmented inscriptions carved onto the

monument to see that it formed part of a much longer text. Given that many of the

glyphs are barely visible and some are completely unreadable, it would seem rather

misguided to base the Maya 2012 “prophecy” on such an unreliable foundation.

A number of scholars also highlight further difficulties with interpreting Monument 6

as a doomsday prediction. For example, Restall & Solari (2011a, p.27) firmly states,

“the Tortuguero monument tells us no such thing”. They question the circumstances

surrounding the initial use of the Long Count dates arguing, “in terms of the 2012

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predictions, the implications are resounding. Simply put, the element of arbitrariness

in the placing of the Long Count is such that it alone – all other evidence aside –

undermines the credibility of Maya-‐based 2012 prophecies” (p.31).

Furthermore Stuart (2011) suggests that, far from conveying a major Maya prophecy

foretelling destruction and doom, Monument 6 was merely a document highlighting

the historical and ritual life of the local ruler B’ahlam Ajaw, commemorating the

building and dedication of some ritual structure he commissioned. Restall & Solari

(2011b) agree, stating, “It is not a doomsday prophecy but a bold assertion that the

seventh-‐century building once marked by the plaque would still stand in 2012. For

2012ologists, however, the original interpretation is the true one”.

Mayanist Elizabeth Graham (2011) emphasises the fact that Monument 6 never

actually featured the 2012 period ending, except in reference to the future baktun.

She argues it is very unlikely that “the prophecy takes into account anything ‘ending’

if you take Maya languages into account… the verb the Maya used for ‘ending’ also

meant ‘beginning’ or ‘seeding’”.

The second, more recently discovered reference to the 13th baktun was discovered

in April 2012 at La Corona, Guatemala (Graham & Quintana, 2012). The hieroglyphic

stairway of Structure 13R-‐10 had been previously looted in the 1960’s, however the

looters had luckily missed the bottom-‐most step – Block V -‐ containing important

inscriptions.

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While Block V does mention the period ending 13.0.0.0.0 4 Ahaw 3 K’ank’in, Stuart

(2012) notes that rather than being about 2012, the inscription is mostly about the

commemoration of a visit to La Corona by the important Calakmul ruler Yuknoom

Yich’aak K’ahk’ on January 29th 696A.D. Additionally, the text mentions, in a

damaged and incomplete passage, the possible establishment of the Kan or Kanul

royal court at Calakmul in 635 (Stuart, 2012).

Conclusions

Examining the evidence objectively, it is clear that New Age theorists have taken

fundamental aspects of Maya civilisation, their system’s and beliefs out of context.

Remnants of stories and passages from the Maya era can, without careful

consideration, be easily misunderstood particularly as our worldview today is very

different to that of the Maya. One should be mindful of the human tendency to

project our own systems of belief on others.

The inscriptions of the Maya were not about prophecy in a literal sense; rather, the

intention was to reinforce political power and to maintain stability. This is evidenced

by the numerous examples of monumental structures inscribed with dates

stretching thousands of years into the past and future. The calendrical systems of

the Maya were intimately intertwined with their political and religious values, which

offer some insight into why their scribes frequently recorded the coming and goings

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of various periods in their calendar, including future ones. Moreover, the Maya

believed the period ending 13.0.0.0.0 4 Ahaw 3 K’ank’in to be worthy of a mention in

its own right as it was the future station of a big calendar cycle.

The meaning of some Maya passages including their creation story, for example,

should be taken figuratively. These texts were not intended as a ‘real history’ in the

modern Western sense of dated events, but served a symbolic function. The

narrative was not intended to presage the end of the world; rather, it provided a

framework or template for the passing on of old ways and the purification and

renewal that takes place in all time cycles.

Some may infer from the Popol Vuh, The Chilam Balam and parts of the Dresden

Codex that the end of the world is somehow linked with a “cleansing” of Earth

through flooding. However, such a literal interpretation seems misguided given that

many creation stories play a wider role by conveying religious beliefs or value in a

symbolic way. For example, Seven Macaw embodied the Maya belief that modesty

was of much higher value than ostentatiousness; and as a result, his demise was

thereby culturally justified. Scholars familiar with Maya prophesy can draw

similarities with those who have studied Biblical prophecy, who also believe that the

prophesies where never intended to be interpreted literally.

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One could also draw parallels with our own practices of celebrating the end of our

calendrical cycle. We often celebrate to excess as the stroke of midnight

approaches, before undertaking our own form of purification the following morning

by means of making New Year’s resolutions in anticipation of the year ahead. In

other words, when celebrate the arrival of a new year, or more relevently, the dawn

of a new millennium; we are marking the passage of time and anticipating the

future, rather than the end of the world. There is no reason to believe that the

Maya were radically different in this way.

The end of the world seems to captivate people in a morbid way, through a

combination of anticipation over how the end might actually occur, and more

distinct feelings about our own extinction and purpose. However, Maya prophecies

should be interpreted discerningly. The handful of texts and passages we do have

are fragmented to a large extent and in all likelihood form part of a much longer

story – one that we may never truly understand.

Word Count: 2978

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Works Cited

Aglio, A. (1825). The Kingsborough version of the Dresden Codex. Retrieved Feb 28, 2014 from FAMSI:

http://www.famsi.org/mayawriting/codices/pdf/kings5.pdf

Argüelles, J. (1987). The Mayan Factor: Path Beyone Technology. Rochester, Vermont: Bear &

Company.

Aveni, A. (2009a). The End of Time: The Maya Mystery of 2012. Boulder, Colorado: University Press of

Colorado.

Aveni, A. (2009b, Nov/Dec). Apocalypse Soon? Archaeology , 62 (6), pp. 30-‐35.

Downs, C. (2012, Dec 23). A Diary of a Work in Progress. Retrieved Feb 26, 2014 from

http://sirwdchosen.blogspot.co.uk/2012_12_01_archive.html

FAMSI. (ND). Calendrics. Retrieved Feb 28, 2014 from FAMSI:

http://www.famsi.org/research/calendrics/index.html

Graham, E., & Quintana, D. (2012, December 14). UCL Lunch Hour Lectures: Apocalypse in 2012?

History, myth and science. Retrieved March 2, 2014 from YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP_VWwkQUew

James, G. (2012, October 3). John Major Jenkins, les Mayas, 2012 et tout le bataclan. Retrieved March

5, 2014 from SOTT: http://fr.sott.net/article/11577-‐John-‐Major-‐

Jenkins-‐les-‐Mayas-‐2012-‐et-‐tout-‐le-‐bataclan

Jenkins, J. (ND). On 2012. Retrieved Feb 28, 2014 from John Major Jenkins: books, creativity, research

and travels: http://johnmajorjenkins.com/?page_id=27

Jenkins, J. (1998). Maya Cosmogenesis 2012: The True Meaning of the Maya Calendar End Date. Santa

Fe: Bear and Co.

Kerr, J. (ND). The Kerr Collections: The Transformation of Xbalanqué or The Many Faces of God A1.

Retrieved Feb 20, 2014 from FAMSI: http://www.famsi.org/research/kerr/articles/xbalanque/

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NASA. (2012, Dec 22). Beyond 2012: Why the World Didn't End. Retrieved March 8, 2014 from NASA:

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