Any Mayan Calendar experts here?

[W1GUH]

No...this isn't about "the sky is falling." It's more about checking out what some of the shows lately seen to state as fact that it's got a 26,000 year cycle that corresponds with the "great galactic alignment."

Has anyone slogged through the literature to ascertain if it is accepted by the main stream that it is, in fact, 26000 years? Or is that still a preliminary and/or controversial assertion?

I'm not particularly worried that the sky is going to fall (but then, Skylab did, if fact fall!), but IF it is well accepted to be a 26000 year cycle, the fact that the civilization knew about that is truly amazing and raises lots and lots of questions.

Not looking for opinions about the "end of the world" -- just to get pointed in a direction to check this out.

[W2NAP]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milankovitch_cycles

The Earth's axis completes one full cycle of precession approximately every 26,000 years

[W1GUH]

Yea, but what I'm looking for are mainstream academic papers that accept the Mayan 26000 year cycle as pretty much "proven." Is it really that number, if, in fact, it really is a calander, and doe it really predict eclipses? Or are these simply speculations that haven't been proven yet.

[w3bny]

The only mayan calendar I am familiar with is the one that they used to give away at the panaderia down the street when I was a kid. Always had some mayan tittie chick on the thing and my grandmother would take a maker to it.

[KA5PIU]

Hello.

So far the Mayan calendar has been pretty close but to answer your question.
The Mayan calendar does indeed span 26000 years but is not all that detailed going 5000 years and below.
The consensus is that the calendar itself only dates back 5000 years.
This would be much like our current calendar that can extend to any date BC one cares to count to, except that the way the Mayan calender is set up there is no one exact event, such as a Jesus, so it does not have one exact point of reference.
It was explained to me as a kid, and I was at one time able to use it, but that was 30+ years ago.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_calendar

[W3WN]

Who is she, and what magazine did she pose in?

Oh, darn, I thought you were asking about Maya Calendar... never mind...

[n2ize]

I researched the Mayan calendar a while back when I was trying to convince a neurotic friend that the world was not going to end in a few years. Unfoortunately I forgot a great deal of what I read about it. Time to go back to the books. LOL

[KG4CGC]

Who is she, and what magazine did she pose in?

Oh, darn, I thought you were asking about Maya Calendar... never mind...
and was she peer reviewed?

[NQ6U]

I just read the Wikipedia article on the Mayan calendar that Rudy linked to and found it interesting that the Mayans were using a positional numerical system similar to the one we use now (only base 20 instead of base 10--I guess they took their shoes off to count) a thousand years before the Europeans were.

[W1GUH]

I researched the Mayan calendar a while back when I was trying to convince a neurotic friend that the world was not going to end in a few years. Unfoortunately I forgot a great deal of what I read about it. Time to go back to the books. LOL

Do you remember enough to hazard a guess to the answers to a question or two I posed in the original post?

[KA5PIU]

Hello.

I have gone over the material and, yes, the Mayan timeline comes up with a 26000 year cycle.
It also comes up with a point when the planets are in alignment but I am not sure of a connection.
The trouble is that the Mayan record keeping is not one simple system but several calendars.
In short, there is no easy answer.
One can say that based on this one calendar this happens and based on another that happens.
But if given enough options (chances) sooner or later one is going to be right.
Remember even a broken clock is right 2 times a day.

[NQ6U]

Remember even a broken clock is right 2 times a day.

I got a broken 24 hour clock. It's only right once a day.

[ab1ga]

Astronomers refer to the 26,000 year cycle as the precession of the equinoxes. Much like the axis of a top wobbles, so the Earth's axis of rotation wobbles, so that the sky visible from a point on earth is ever so slightly different from the view in the previous year.

It's well accepted that the Greeks knew about the precession before the time of Christ, so it's not inconceivable that the Mayans made a similar discovery. But in the Wikipedia article on precession of the equinoxes, there's a statement that scholars of the Mayans have not yet been convinced that this was the case. It would have required close observation and good bookkeeping, which is likely in a culture with religious events tied to astronomical relationships. And yet the history of science is riddled with opportunities missed, and the Mayans just might not have noticed, since the effect is very small.

And if you're wondering what "the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius" really is, it's when a reference location on the Earth at the vernal equinox crosses from the sector of the sky called Pisces to the sector called Aquarius due to this precession, which will occur in about 600 years, more or less. Unfortunately, astrologers have not incorporated the precession of the equinoxes into their sky charts, which means your actual sign is one over from the one you think you have. (Good for a chuckle among astronomy undergraduates).

[KG4CGC]

Astronomers refer to the 26,000 year cycle as the precession of the equinoxes. Much like the axis of a top wobbles, so the Earth's axis of rotation wobbles, so that the sky visible from a point on earth is ever so slightly different from the view in the previous year.

It's well accepted that the Greeks knew about the precession before the time of Christ, so it's not inconceivable that the Mayans made a similar discovery. But in the Wikipedia article on precession of the equinoxes, there's a statement that scholars of the Mayans have not yet been convinced that this was the case. It would have required close observation and good bookkeeping, which is likely in a culture with religious events tied to astronomical relationships. And yet the history of science is riddled with opportunities missed, and the Mayans just might not have noticed, since the effect is very small.

And if you're wondering what "the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius" really is, it's when a reference location on the Earth at the vernal equinox crosses from the sector of the sky called Pisces to the sector called Aquarius due to this precession, which will occur in about 600 years, more or less. Unfortunately, astrologers have not incorporated the precession of the equinoxes into their sky charts, which means your actual sign is one over from the one you think you have. (Good for a chuckle among astronomy undergraduates).
To the latter, it's called the 13th House.
I'm not even sure this describes it. It is more ethereal in nature. http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2004/17dec_heliumstream/

http://2012-predictions-review.blogspot.com/2008/01/dark-rift-nasa.html Yeah. That one is bloggy.

[NQ6U]

To the latter, it's called the 13th House.
I'm not even sure this describes it. It is more ethereal in nature. http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2004/17dec_heliumstream/

A helium wind...that sounds a lot like a description of one of Rudy's posts.

[KG4CGC]

I can't imagine absorbing enough helium to get yourself raptured.

[ab1ga]

In reality, the end of the world isn't going to occur for another few thousand years.

You see, those Mayans did almost all of their important writing in stone, not on paper. And writing out a calendar in stone is not just boring, but tedious, especially for a young Mayan bureaucrat on Friday afternoon.

I figure he looked out at the warm summer sun and thought of taking in the afternoon ballgame with the kids, so he snuck out early. He probably thought he had plenty of time to finish the job, and even if he didn't 2012 (Mayan equivalent) was a long way off, and the rest of the calendar could wait.

Then Cortez showed up.

[kf0rt]

For what little it's worth....

In 2009, the wifey and I took a tour of Chichen Itza, complete with a Mayan descendant tour guide. He spent a lot of time debunking the 2012 myth and the bottom line was that the Mayan calendar is like most other calendars. It resets in 2012, but this isn't a predictor of doom -- it's just the start of the next calendar.

Here's to another 25,000 years!

[ki4itv]

In reality, the end of the world isn't going to occur for another few thousand years.

You see, those Mayans did almost all of their important writing in stone, not on paper. And writing out a calendar in stone is not just boring, but tedious, especially for a young Mayan bureaucrat on Friday afternoon.

I figure he looked out at the warm summer sun and thought of taking in the afternoon ballgame with the kids, so he snuck out early. He probably thought he had plenty of time to finish the job, and even if he didn't 2012 (Mayan equivalent) was a long way off, and the rest of the calendar could wait.

Then Cortez showed up.

:agree:
I'll have to go with this one. :lol:

[W1GUH]

I can't imagine absorbing enough helium to get yourself raptured.

What's the point of your Avatar?

[W1GUH]

Enjoy the side discussions...they're interesting and stimulating. But they don't answer the question posed...and that is, is the alleged 26000 year cycle of the Mayan Calendar accepted by mainstream science/archeology? I'm going to be researching this myself, because if it does there are profound questions about them. If not...all I've seen and heard is BS and I can ignore it.

Again...does mainstream Archeology/Science accept that the Mayan Calendar , in fact, accurately coincide with the galactic alignments? Looking for academic, scientific input here.

[KG4CGC]

:agree:
I'll have to go with this one. :lol:
I'd have to say that in today's political climate, this is closer for want of the mainstreamed truth.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/bebop5/ad-apocalypse.jpg

[N7YA]

I have no scientific solution for the 2012 thing, i simply dont think the world will end on 12/21/2012.

However, i AM concerned about the well armed wackos out there who are psyching up for it sooo much that when the big golden cadillac doesnt roll by to pick them up, they are going to damned well make sure SOMETHING happens!!

[KE7DKN]

I have no scientific solution for the 2012 thing, i simply dont think the world will end on 12/21/2012.

However, i AM concerned about the well armed wackos out there who are psyching up for it sooo much that when the big golden cadillac doesnt roll by to pick them up, they are going to damned well make sure SOMETHING happens!!

Meh. Sounds a little too much like pre-Y2K.

[N7YA]

Well, that one was supposed to be the end of the world for some, but come on, its the BIG ONE...2012!! This is god related, god is coming for the faithful and such...Y2K was mostly about crashing computers and failing internals clocks.

[KE7DKN]

It's been "the big one" since after the year 2000. Y2K also had its god's wrath/return of Jesus/rapture/etc. associations. The year 1988 was another "big one" for the end times.

The only question is what the next disappointing doomsday prediction will be after 2012 passes.

[N7RJD]

I got a broken 24 hour clock. It's only right once a day.

Cut it in half and it will be right twice a day, unless you keep the left half that is.

[KA5PIU]

Hello.

The world is going to end!
http://library.thinkquest.org/C001245/SunSn.html
Can I have a taco before than?

[kc7jty]

Sí muchacho, tengo tu taco. Está entre mis piernas.