Mayan Long Count Calander

       The Maya long count calender commonly considered the Maya's linear count of days is yet another cycle but its massive length of at least 5126 years makes it a count through Mayan history. The earliest Maya long count was recorded in 32 AD. Like the calender we use today the long count has a start date: ours January 1 of 0 AD and theirs is August 11 3114 BC(as far as we know). Unlike ours though the long count has a end date, December 21, 2012 AD.
      The long count is represented as a five place notation system of ascending cycles - kins (days), winals (20-day months), tuns (360 days), k'atuns (20 tuns), and bak'tuns (20 k'atuns). It is important to note that the long count's version of a year, the tun, is only 360 days, not the solar count of 365. This means the long count diverges from the Haab by five days every year, making it a completely unique and separate cycle. The largest of the long count's five cycles, the bak'tun, is a period equaling 400 tuns. Many believe the full cycle of the Long Count is complete when 13 bak'tuns have passed since the beginning of the creation of this current universe, identified as the 4th creation in the Maya "story of creation", the Popol Vuh. That date, currently of such great interest to those anticipating an "end of days", will occur on December 21, 2012 AD. Another widely held belief about the Long Count is that the bak'tun in fact does not reset at 13, but is rather another cycle of 20 like all the other place values, with the exception of the months, or winals. The winals are 18, and that is likely because the Maya solar calendar, the Haab, is divided into 18 months of 20 days each.

Piktun	20 Bak'tuns	8000 tuns	2,880,000 days
Kalabtun	20 Piktuns	160,000 tuns	57,600,000 days
Kinichiltun	20 Kalabtuns	3,200,000 tuns	1,152,000,000 days
Alautun	20 Kinichiltuns	64,000,000 tuns	23,040,000,000 days

 
     These higher cycles are not uncommon in the inscriptions. They appear multiple times in the Dresden Codex, and in the carved and painted inscriptions of Palenque, Copan, Quirigua, Tikal, Yaxchilan, and Coba. The very existence of these higher cycles calls into question the notion that the Long Count resets at the 13th bak'tun. If it did, why then would there be a need for these higher order cycles?
     Going back to the question of whether the bak'tun place runs in a cycle of 13 or 20 bak'tuns, an example from Palenque has long been used to support the argument for 20 bak'tuns equaling one piktun. The text from the Western Tablet of the Temple of the Inscriptions mentions the date of Pakal's birthday and then counts far into the future in order to arrive at 1 piktun.
In conclusion, while it is uncertain that 2012 AD will mark the reset of the long count cycle, it is most certainly the beginning of the 13th bak'tun. The ancient Maya would have considered it a time of great change. If every bak'tun was a time of great change, then the 13th turn must have held special significance, perhaps the beginning of a new era in world history. Time will tell.
      The Mayan calendar will continue to be a source of much fascination, spurring people to write books and films about the heraldic date in 2012. Although current computers or o2 mobile phones have Christian calendars, the Mayan culture will remain with us even after it may or may not be proven to be obsolete. We hope you enjoyed this article, and of course, if you have any thoughts or comments on or about the information discussed, please do not hesitate to get in touch.


Information Obtained at mayan-calendar.com