Mundo Maya Blog
About this blog
Travelers to Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras in 2012 can expect a yearlong celebration of Maya culture, past and present—and Moon Maya 2012 author Joshua Berman is blogging about all of it.
Recent Posts
- Maya 2012: A Round-up of Celebrations in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize & Honduras
- Reporting for National Geographic on Maya winter solstice in Belize
- Maya calendar cycle celebrated throughout Central America
- Feliz B'aktun! The New Dawn is Here: The First Sunrise in Caracol, Belize
- Maya Calendar 101: What Does “December 21, 2012” Really Mean?
- Gifts for Mayaphiles
- Books on the Maya: Suggested Reading for 2012
- Izapa Sunrise Story by Mary Jo McConahay
- Tranquilo Radio Tour 2012: Seven hours straight of talking about travel
- Tune in this Wednesday! Maya 2012 author Josh Berman on a radio show near you!
- End Maya-Aztec calendar confusion now!
- Q&A with Maya Experts on Satellite Imagery of Archaeological Sites
- Maya response to 'doomsday' 2012 stories
- Only a couple of rooms left for "The Great Return: Copan 2012" tour of a lifetime!
- 5 Questions about Traveling in the Mundo Maya for Rafael Garcia
Maya 2012: A Round-up of Celebrations in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize & Honduras
There was reason to celebrate. 13 b’aktun, the long awaited “end” of an important Maya calendar cycle was a big deal. Most (but not all) Maya scholars acknowledge that an important cycle of the Maya Long Count does indeed have an end-date that correlates to December 21, 2012. Except that it’s not an “end-date” and the Maya never said anything about a 2012 apocalypse. So while the rest of the world joked and obsessed about “end-of-the-world” nonsense, the Maya region observed the cycle change in a variety of ways.
The cycle is 13 b’aktuns, as December 21, 2012, is called in Mayan, the end an exact measure of 1,872,000 days, or 5,125 years. [Related article: “Maya Calendar 101: What does “December 21, 2012″ really mean?”] more >>
Reporting for National Geographic on Maya winter solstice in Belize
CARACOL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE, DECEMBER 21, 2012 — The black sky sparkles with white-diamond stars, splashed across the universe above me.
I’m lying on my back atop Caana, or Sky Temple, one of the largest, most impressive pyramids in the Maya world — on one of the most important dates in Maya history: 13 b’aktun.
READ THE WHOLE STORY ON NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S INTELLIGENT TRAVEL BLOG: "A Night on Sky Temple: Honoring the Long Count at CaracoL" more >>
Maya calendar cycle celebrated throughout Central America
SAN IGNACIO, BELIZE — It's been exciting yet tranquilo here in my little corner of the Maya world. You can see me in the blue shirt in the photo above, atop Caana, Sky Temple (PHOTO BY JOSH BROWN). Celebrations are continuing throughout the region. Here is a quick round-up of reports by yours truly and a few friends:
GlobalPost: "Maya calendar cycle celebrated throughout Central America" by Joshua Berman: This week, across the "Mundo Maya" — swaths of territory once ruled by the indigenous group in southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and parts of El Salvador and Honduras — modern Maya villages, as well as the archaeological sites are awash in celebration and ceremony.... more >>
Feliz B'aktun! The New Dawn is Here: The First Sunrise in Caracol, Belize
Caana, or Sky Temple, at Caracol archaeological site in western Belize, is one of the largest, most impressive pyramids in the Maya world. Even more than a thousand years after it was built, Caana remains the tallest manmade structure in all of Belize.
Caracol is located at the end of a long, red-clay road near the Guatemalan border. On December 21, 2012, the Belize Institute of Archaeology issued special camping permits and off-hours access to travelers. The reason? 13 b’aktun: the completion of the Maya Long Count calendar.
This is where I rang in the next 13 b'aktuns -- sleeping under the stars on Sky Temple! Where were you? What did you see? more >>
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