The apocalyptic prophecy that has inspired authors and
filmmakers never appears in the tall T-shaped stone calendar
that was carved by the Maya around the year 669 in southeastern
Mexico. In reality, the stone recounts the life and battles of a
ruler from that era, experts said. And the last date on the
calendar is actually December 23, 2012, not the 21st, and it
merely marks the end of a cycle, they stated. “The Mayas had a
cyclical idea of time. They were not preoccupied with the end of
the world,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Mexican
archaeologist Jose Romero as saying. “The last inscription
refers to December 23, 2012, but the central theme of Monument 6
is not the date, it’s not the prophecies or the end of the
world. It’s the story of (then ruler) Bahlam Ajaw,” Romero
stated. The final date represents the end of a cycle in the
Mayan long count calendar that began in the year 3114 before
Christ. It is the completion of 13 baak t’uunes, a unit of time
equivalent to 144,000 days. “It is not the end of