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
Tranquilo Radio Tour 2012: Seven hours straight of talking about travel
"I have good news for you, Jay [or Tom, Roger, Kid, Shelley...] — the world is NOT going to end!"
That's how I began most of my sixteen radio interviews yesterday morning, opening with the requisite doomsday/apocalypse chuckles before moving to Maya calendar 101, Mesoamerican geography/history, then ending with a discussion of Mundo Maya travel strategies and opportunities.
Longer interviews allowed me to tell the story of paddling up the Macal River two years ago, when I was first inspired to write my latest book, Maya 2012: A Guide to Celebrations in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize & Honduras.
Thanks to my publisher, Moon Travel Guides, and to Auritt Communications for setting up this voice marathon. I am happy to say that it could not have been coordinated or executed more smoothly! more >>
Tune in this Wednesday! Maya 2012 author Josh Berman on a radio show near you!
This Wednesday, November 28, less than a month away from the end of the 13th bak'tun (as December 21, 2012 is called in Mayan), I'll be going live on fifteen (count em: 15!) consecutive radio interviews. Some are national, some on your local country station 'morning zoo' show, some on AM talk shows. Please check the schedule below and tune in! I'll be discussing why the world will not end next month, and why right now is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to the Maya region. Tune in. Turn on. Get out!
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2012
local NPR affiliate, EASTERN TIME 7:10-7:20 AM, GRAND RAPIDS, MI, WGVU-FM (NPR), LOCAL MORNING EDITION TAPE
EASTERN TIME 7:30-7:40 AM RALEIGH & WASHINGTON DC WCBQ-AM, WHNC-AM, WHFS-AM MORNING SHOW TAPE Dr. Alvin Jones
EASTERN TIME 7:48-7:55 AM NATIONAL USA RADIO DAYBREAK USA LIVE Jay, format: nationally syndicated morning talk program with guest interviews more >>
End Maya-Aztec calendar confusion now!
Come on, people, we can clear this up right now! For years, designers and editors of articles and books about the Maya have mistakenly used the Aztec calendar round (the one with the face and four directions in its middle) to represent the Maya calendar. Not only is the physical appearance of the two calendar rounds different, but so were the Maya and Aztec calendar systems and the time spans represented in the graphics above (which, by the way, I found on the Museum of Belize facebook page). For one excellent explanation of the difference between the two, and to learn more about why they are so often confused, read Master Mayanist David Stuart's book,The Order of Days: The Maya World and the Truth About 2012 (Harmony, 2011). more >>
Q&A with Maya Experts on Satellite Imagery of Archaeological Sites
Here is an interesting Q&A with Maya experts Bill Saturno and Tom Sever that followed the NOVA scienceNOW special about how experts use NASA satellite photography to find ancient Maya architecture deep inside Guatemala.
"It’s a marriage of 21st-century technology and centuries-old archeological techniques that has already unearthed some striking Maya remains, including a jungle-covered temple containing an extremely rare, 2,000-year-old mural." It's a few years old, but still interesting. Here's a link to the original NOVA video. more >>
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