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London: The oldest
Mayan Calendar found in an ancient Guatemalan house offers no hint
of the alleged end of the world Dec 21 this year, researchers
said.
The walls reveal the oldest known astronomical tables from the
Maya. Scientists already knew they must have been keeping such
records at that time, but until now the oldest known examples
dated from about 600 years later.
Astronomical records were key to the Mayan calendar, which has got
traction because of doomsday warnings predicting the end of life
in December 2012.
Experts say it makes no such prediction. The new finding provides
a bit of backup: The calculations include a time span longer than
6,000 years, meaning it could extend well beyond 2012, the journal
Science reports.
"Why would they go into those numbers if the world is going to
come to an end this year," asks Anthony Aveni of the Colgate
University in Hamilton, New York, an expert on Mayan astronomy.
"You could say a number that big at least suggests that time
marches on," said Aveni, who co-authored the study with William
Saturno of the Boston University, and others, according to the
Telegraph.
The room is part of a large complex of Mayan ruins in the rain
forest at Xultun in northeastern Guatemala. The walls also contain
portraits of a seated king and some other figures, but it's clear
those have no connection to the astronomical writings, researchers
said.
One wall contains a calendar based on phases of the moon, covering
about 13 years. The researchers said they thought it might have
been used to keep track of which deity was overseeing the moon at
particular times.
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