2012 and the End of the World

Starred review from April 15, 2011

Media are full of doomsday predictions related to the Maya Long Count calendar end date, December 21, 2012, in today's Western calendar. Restall and Solari (history, anthropology & women's studies and art history, respectively, Pennsylvania State Univ.) take a serious look at Maya calendar development, archaeology, and history to seek the truth behind the so-called Maya doomsday prophecy, which adherents believe may forecast the end of the world. The authors see no evidence that Long Count calendar dates for the future, carved on stone monuments at Maya archaeological sites in Mexico and Central America, indicate predictions of doom. Their thorough examination of Maya carvings, images, and writings leads them to the conclusion that the preconquest Maya were not particularly millenarian. By contrast, their Spanish conquerors came from a culture steeped in eschatological thinking. The authors effectively provide scholarly evidence to back up their hypothesis that millenarianism probably came via the Spanish and is not intrinsic to the traditional Maya worldview and to debunk prophecies of doom. VERDICT This readable analysis based on credible scholarship is a needed and balanced counterpoint to the many sensationalist works on the Maya doomsday prophecy as 2012 approaches. Highly recommended for all seeking a reasoned perspective on Maya calendar systems.--Elizabeth Salt, Otterbein Univ. Lib., Westerville, OH

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2011
Well, heres a much-needed breath of fresh, rational air. A welcome counterpoint to the seemingly endless end-of-the-world tomes, this well-documented, well-presented book (written by a pair of history professors) explores the origins of the alleged Mayan prediction that the world will end on December 21, 2012. For conspiracy buffs, the authors conclusions will prove decidedly disheartening. For example: they show that there is no hard evidence that the Mayan calendar has any predictive function; the Long Count calendar (which is key to the 2012 date) has a purely arbitrary start date, rendering the 2012 date meaningless; and (despite common misperception) the Mayans were not especially apocalyptic in outlook. The authors have a simple mission, to explain what the 2012 fuss is all about, and they do it admirably. They dont go as far as saying the world wont end in December 2012, but they do say this: there is no evidence, either historical or textual, that the Mayans were predicting the end of the world in 2012 or any other year.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)