Wednesday, December 12, 2012

End of the Mayan World - December 21st, 2012 – The shortest day of the year



The ancient Maya possessed the most advanced civilization in the Americas with astronomy, agriculture, mathematics, medicines, and a written history.

Above a Mayan shaman gazes into his crystal ball and envisions the coming destructive force of the zealous inquisition crazed Spanish conquistadors that would mark their doom. 

Today charlatans preaching gloom and disaster, not shamans, have stepped up to capitalize on the end of the Mayan long count calendar.

Charlatans never seem to run out of sycophantic sympathizers who march behind them like hoards of lemmings. The number of crank religions world wide today attest to this ever expanding phenomenon. 

[Above painting is a portion of a mural from the Valladolid, Yucatan municipal building.]


Recommended reading:

Final Report an archeologist excavates his past by Michael D. Coe Extensive tops in research, the ultimate in documentation with cutting edge facts, this is the very best of the lot.

Time Among the Maya by Ronald Wright, An eye opening look at the real Mayan people and places untouched by the outside world…excellent!

Yucatán’s Magic:Mérida Side Trips by John M. Grimsrud, Visit the places that tourists miss most in the Mayan world of Yucatan

2 comments:

alinde said...

Good post there. I sure agree about the charlatans.

But I also have found a bit of humor in the thought, when one worries about future events: "It won't matter, the world will be over before then anyhow."

Anonymous said...

"Good post there. I sure agree about the Charlatans.

But I also have found a bit of humor in the thought, when one worries about future events: "It won't matter, the world will be over before then anyhow."

Alinde