The Mayan Long Count Calendar and 2012

The Mayan calendars  are methods of measuring time that were developed by the ancient Mayans. They are rather impressive and have evoked the curiosity of many astronomy and/or archaeology experts. They have been studied extensively and they appear to be interpreted well. However, there is one calendar, developed by the ancient Mayans that has caused a great deal of controversy and frustration. The interpretation of the Mayan Long Calendar has left a surprisingly widespread and significant number of people on the cusp of panic.

The so-called "Maya (or Mayan) Calendar" is actually only one of four calendars developed by the ancient Mayans. The calendar that is widely known as the "Maya Calendar" is actually the Mayan Long Count Calendar. All of the Mayan calendars served a purpose. The purpose of the Long Count Calendar was to measure time well into the future or past. Quite simply, it was used to measure hundreds or thousands of years, as opposed to the days, weeks and months in our modern calendars. The Mayan Long Count Calendar is round and covered in ancient Mesoamerican hieroglyphs. Each of these hieroglyphs represents a specific time frame. These are arranged to count the passage of time in multiples of 13 and 20.  Read more of this article.  Image source.