The blockbuster film 2012 hits DVD and Blu-Ray this week, which depicts the end of the world in dramatic fashion.
To celebrate the release, we decided to find out the truth about the Mayan theory that the world will end on December 20, 2012 – and our questions were answered by Dr Julian Droogan, a professional archaeologist and historian of religious myths and symbols.
Find out the truth and whether we should start packing after the jump!
2012 is available on DVD and Blu-Ray right now.
How did this Mayan theory begin?
No one is quite sure when, but about 3000 years ago an ancient and mysterious people from Mexico, the Olmec, invented a way of measuring time called the ‘long count’. This calendar measured time from a start date of August 11, 3114 BC, and was later adopted by other early American civilizations such as the Maya. However they measured the time in a series of smaller bits, and recorded it in an elaborate fashion, and so when you put these all together the calendar eventually ends and runs out. This is set to happen in December 20 or 21, 2012 – a long time in the future for the ancient Olmec and Maya, but not that far away for us!
Why will the ‘world end’ on 20/12/12 and not 12/12/12?
The repeating numbers 12/12 in the end of the ancient calendar is just a coincidence. It comes about when ancient American way of writing is translated into the Western calendar system, invented by the ancient Babylonians, Greeks and Romans.
If this theory was indeed true, would it be possible to build ‘arks’ for people to survive inside, like in the film 2012?
Who knows? The idea of humanity being endangered by a cataclysmic flood that destroys the world, with only a remanent surviving in some sort of an ark is a theme that reappears in many ancient and modern religions. The Christians, Jews and Muslims all have the story of Noah and the Ark, the ancient Babylonians also believed that flood would end the world and that only a divine ferryman could save people. The Hindus have another sort of story, that when the world is destroyed by flood the god Vishnu can save only a single man by becoming a giant fish and letting him catch a ride hanging onto his nose – personally I think the ark sounds more comfortable.
In ‘2012′, the end of the world is depicted in a stunning visual – did the Mayans specifically mention how the world would be destroyed, by earthquakes or floods?
The writing of Maya has only been fully deciphered recently and much work is still going on discovering and translating their records. But from what has been translated it appears that the Maya weren’t quite sure what would happen when their calendar runs out. They did believe that the world had been created and destroyed many times previously – but they don’t say how. Some of their texts do hint that the Mayan gods would return to earth at this time. They probably believed that on the day after the end of the calendar the world would be re-created, or perhaps it would simply be time to write a new calendar?
We are pretty much left to fend for ourselves if the events of ‘2012′ come true here in Australia. Anything we should do to prepare?!
Definitely. If starting work building a giant ark is a little time invasive and beyond the means of your home toolshed and DIY skills, I suggest taking up a new calendar system. The Hindu and Buddhist calendars are still good to go for many hundreds of thousands of years. The Christian one seems pretty much indefinite (as far as we know!). If all else fails why not see out the end snuggled up on the couch with some popcorn and a good movie like 2012?
A huge thankyou to Dr Julian Droogan for answering our questions, and make sure to pick up 2012 on DVD or Blu-Ray!
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