Which mayan calendar predicts 2017

Nowadays though, we can just go online and use a computer programme. Some of the Maya cycles were similar to ours, with one lasting days, so similar to our calendar year. Because of this, Graham said some people make the mistake of talking about years in the Maya calendar: "But they did not have a named cycle for 'year' that is equivalent to our So figuring out equivalents by assuming the Maya calculated 'years' isn't going to work.

She said it is unclear why doomsday stories get associated with the Maya calendar. But Biblical tales get associated with doomsday events, too. Susan Gillespie, a Professor at the University of Florida's Department of Anthropology, also told Newsweek there was "no correction needed" to the Maya calendar. One way the Maya attempted to understand the will of the gods was through astronomy.

Over time, these evolved from observation of data to theory in the form of astronomical tables designed to allow priests to predict future similar events.

The priests would then link the occurrence of an astronomical event with a terrestrial event e. For even more background on the Maya, check out our "Deeper Text" from Dr. Dylan Clark. Also, as you can see from the image above, our course logo is inspired from the image of a Maya astronomer, from the Madrid Codrex. The Diviner's Guide expert on the Maya is Dr. The Mayans were extremely literate, University of Colorado anthropology professor Payson Sheets said. The ancient civilization would diligently record its history, including when kings and queens were crowned, equinoxes and solstices, and solar and lunar eclipses.

Just how precise? The prediction was rooted in centuries of history and in an interpretation of ancient Mayan calendars: As explained by National Geographic , the ancient Mayan long-count calendar appeared to end on Dec. This calendar started in B. Many took this to mean that the world would implode or undergo some other disastrous event, eliminating life as we know it and wiping everything we love off the Earth in one fell swoop. Another interpretation was that it would mean a sort of spiritual "rebirth" for humanity , but humans tend to like jumping to the worst possible conclusions.

If we want to get a little more specific, in the Mayan calendar system, Dec. This was further indication to some that the end of days was really coming — especially given the fact that, according to National Geographic , some Mayan scholars once cited a stone tablet found at an archaeological site in Mexico as proof that there was greater significance to the end of the 13th B'ak'tun.

While the glyphs carved into the tablet are partially damaged, some translations suggested that the Mayans believed a god would descend when this period came to a close — aka, on Dec. It was unclear what would actually happen if and when that god arrived, but the mere notion was enough to fuel the armageddon panic of five years ago.