The main sources for Maya cosmology of the Classical and Postclassic period are primarily the surviving Mayan codices. To date, only four have been found. The codes mainly contain texts of a religious orientation, as well as computational tables of the movement of celestial bodies and phenomena. Numerous inscriptions that tell about the creation and structure of the world, we can see on architectural monuments and on Maya pottery.

The religions of Mesoamerica, as well as the religions of the East, are characterized by ideas about the repeated cycles of creation and destruction of the world. The Aztecs and Mayans believed that the universe had already passed four such cycles and our era is the fifth cycle of creation, which is destined to perish due to earthquakes. These assumed the existence of time cycles of great duration. In this aspect, the Mayan ideas are similar to the Hindu ideas about kalpas.

The length of each of these cycles was 13 so-called baktuns, approximately equal to 5200 years. Thus, we can calculate that our world was created on August 11, 3113 BC, and the end of the world should come on December 21, 2012, when the Maya long count cycle comes to an end.

Reconstructing Maya cosmology is a difficult task. According to the Maya, the Universe - yok kab (literally: "above the earth") - was presented in the form of worlds located one above the other. The earth was flat and had a quadrangular shape. Each of the corners of the earth was directed to one of the sides of the color, each side of the world had its own color. At the four corners of the world grew four "world trees". In the East - red, symbolizing the color of dawn. In the North - white; perhaps in the memory of people, the white color of snow once seen by their ancestors, who came from the north, was preserved. In the West, there was an ebony tree, symbolizing the color of the night. In the South grew a yellow tree - it symbolized the color of the sun. In the center grew the "Original Tree" - " Yash-Che" Green colour. Yash-Che is often associated with ceiba. Maya legends say that a person originated from ceiba, who fed people from 400,000 nipples.

It is interesting that the idea of ​​the central original tree and the pillars supporting the heavens arose among the Maya on the basis of their ancient dwellings. The dwellings were oriented to the cardinal points, the roof rested on one central beam and four posts in each corner of the dwelling. The ancient Maya projected the structure of their dwelling on the structure of their universe.

In the cool shade of the "Primary Tree" there was a paradise with the goddess Ish Tab, the souls of the righteous fell here to rest from overwork on earth. Unlike the Christian religion, there were two paradises in the Mayan worldview. The first included brave warriors, the righteous, women who died in childbirth and suicides. In the second paradise - the paradise of the god Chuck, the drowned and those who were sacrificed to this god fell. There were also four giant jugs of water: when the gods poured water from them, it rained on the ground. The heavens were tiered. Above the earth were thirteen heavens, in which the gods lived, whom the Maya called Oshlahun-Ti-Ku. Heaven was supported by the four Bakaba brothers, who stood on the cardinal points and also each had its own color. These gods are reminiscent of the titans from the mythology of the ancient Greeks.

The idea of ​​thirteen heavens arose among the ancient Maya on a material basis. It was the direct result of long and careful observations of the sky and the study, in great detail, of the movements of celestial bodies. This allowed the ancient Mayan astronomers, and most likely the Olmecs, to perfectly master the nature of the movement of the Sun, Moon and Venus across the visible sky. The Maya, observing the movements of the luminaries, could not help but notice that they do not move along with the rest of the stars, but in their own way. Once this was established, it was most likely to assume that each luminary had its own "sky" or "sky layer".

As mentioned above, the thirteen layers of the sky were occupied by the thirteen gods Oshlahun-Ti-Ku. It is believed that these gods were also the patrons of the numerals from 1 to 13 in the ritual calendar, whose functions testify to their importance. The veneration of these gods was limited to the priestly class, since, judging by the function associated with mathematics and the religious calendar, by the mythological character and their participation in cosmogonic battles, they must have been far from the concerns of the common people.

But if the ideas about the structure of the universe as a whole are clear to us today, then a completely different situation is connected with the “underground worlds”. It is difficult to say why there were exactly nine worlds, but it is known for sure that Hun Ahab was the ruler of the underworld.

As already said, underworld divided into nine levels, each of which was patronized by one of the nine gods, who together were called Bolon-Ti-Ku. These gods were the antagonists of Oshlahun-Ti-Ku and were the enemies of all mankind, sending illness and death to people. The harmful influence of these gods on the life and actions of a person is manifested both in the calendar and in the Itza epos "Chalam-Balam" in the chapter "Nine gods of the night". It describes the rivalry between Bolon-Ti-Ku and Oshlahun-Ti-Ku, which ended in led to a catastrophe, as a result of which one of the genera of people who were successively created by the gods perished.

The majestic Mayan civilization, formed before our era, left behind many mysteries. It is known for its developed writing and architecture, mathematics, art, and astronomy. The notorious Mayan calendar was incredibly accurate. And this is not all the legacy that the Indians left behind, who became famous as one of the most developed and most cruel peoples in the world.

Who are the Maya?

The ancient Maya are an Indian people who lived at the turn of the 1st millennium BC. - II millennium AD Researchers claim that their number numbered more than three million people. They settled in tropical forests, built cities of stone and limestone, and cultivated unsuitable lands for agriculture, where they grew maize, pumpkin, beans, cocoa, cotton and fruits. Mayan Indians are descendants Central America and part of the Hispanic population southern states Mexico.

Where did the ancient Maya live?

Numerous Maya tribe settled in the vast territory of present-day Mexico, Belize and Guatemala, the west of Honduras and El Salvador (Central America). The center of civilization development was in the North. Since the soil was quickly depleted, the people were forced to move, to change settlements. The occupied lands were distinguished by a variety of natural landscapes:

• in the north - the Peten limestone plateau, where a hot, humid climate reigned, and the mountains of Alta Verapaz;
• in the south - a chain of volcanoes and coniferous forests;
• the rivers flowing through the lands of the Maya carried their waters to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea;
• on the Yucatan Peninsula, where salt was mined, the climate is arid.

Mayan Civilization - Achievements

The Mayan culture in many ways surpassed its time. Already in 400-250 years. BC. people began to build monumental structures and architectural complexes, reached peculiar heights in the sciences (astronomy, mathematics), agriculture. During the so-called classical period (from 300 to 900 AD), the ancient Maya civilization reached its peak. People improved the art of jade carving, sculpture and artistic painting, watched the heavenly bodies, developed writing. The achievements of the Maya are still amazing.

Mayan architecture

At the dawn of time, without modern technology at hand, the ancient people built amazing structures. The main building material was limestone, from which powder was made and a cement-like mortar was prepared. With its help, stone blocks were fastened, and limestone walls were reliably protected from moisture and wind. An important part of all buildings was the so-called "Mayan vault", a false arch - a kind of narrowing of the roof. The architecture differed depending on the period:

1. The first buildings were huts built on low platforms to protect against floods.
2. The first were assembled from several platforms installed one on top of the other.
3. In the Golden Age of cultural development, acropolises were built everywhere - ceremonial complexes consisting of pyramids, palaces, even playgrounds.
4. The ancient Mayan pyramids reached 60 meters in height and resembled a mountain in shape. Temples were erected on their tops - cramped, windowless square houses.
5. Some cities had observatories - round towers with a room for observing the moon, sun and stars.

Mayan civilization calendar

Space played a big role in the life of the ancient tribes, and the main achievements of the Maya are closely connected with it. Based on two annual cycles, a system of reckoning was created. For long-term observations of time, the Long Count calendar was used. For short periods, the Mayan civilization had several solar calendars:

• religious (in which the year lasted 260 days) had a ritual significance;
• practical (365 days) was used in everyday life;
• chronological (360 days).

Ancient Mayan weapons

As for weapons and armor, the ancient Mayan civilization could not reach significant heights. Over the long centuries of existence, they have not changed much, because the Maya devoted much more time and effort to improving the art of war. The following types of weapons were used in wars and hunting:

• spears (long, taller than a person, with a stone tip);
• spear thrower - a stick with an emphasis;
• dart;
• bows and arrows;
• blowgun;
• axes;
• knives;
• clubs;
• slings;
• networks.

Ancient Mayan figures

The number system of the ancient Maya was based on an unusual modern man vigesimal system. Its origins are the method of counting, in which all fingers and toes were used. The Indians had a structure of four blocks with five digits each. Zero was schematically represented as an empty oyster shell. This sign also denoted infinity. Cocoa beans, small pebbles, sticks were used to write the remaining numbers, since the numbers were a mixture of dots and dashes. With the help of three elements, any number was written:

• dot is a unit
• the dash is five;
• shell is nil.

Ancient Mayan Medicine

It is known that the ancient Maya created a highly developed civilization and tried to take care of every tribesman. The knowledge of maintaining hygiene and health, applied in practice, elevated the Indians above other peoples of that time. Medical issues were dealt with by specially trained people. Doctors very accurately determined many diseases (including tuberculosis, ulcers, asthma, etc.) and fought them with the help of potions, baths, inhalations. The ingredients of the medicines were:

• herbs;
• meat, skin, tails, horns of animals;
• bird feathers;
• improvised means - dirt, soot.

Dentistry and surgery reached a high level among the Mayan people. Thanks to the sacrifices carried out, the Indians knew the human anatomy, and doctors could perform operations on the face and body. The affected areas or those where there was a suspicion of a tumor were removed with a knife, the wounds were sewn up with a needle with a hair instead of a thread, and narcotic substances were used as anesthesia. Knowledge in medicine is a kind of ancient Mayan treasure that is worth admiring.

Art of the ancient Maya

The many-sided culture of the Maya was formed under the influence of the geographical environment and other peoples: the Olmecs and the Toltecs. But she is amazing, unlike any other. What is the uniqueness of the Mayan civilization and its art? All subspecies were aimed at the ruling elite, that is, they were created to please the kings in order to impress. It's more about architecture. Another feature: an attempt to create an image of the Universe, a reduced copy of it. So the Maya declared their harmony with the world. The features of the subspecies of art were expressed as follows:

1. Music was closely associated with religion. There were even special gods responsible for music.
2. Dramatic art flourished, the actors were professionals in their field.
3. The painting was mostly on the wall. The paintings were of a religious or historical nature.
4. The main themes of the sculpture are deities, priests, rulers. Whereas the common people were depicted with emphatic humiliation.
5. Weaving was developed in the Maya empire. Clothing, depending on gender and status, varied greatly. The people traded their best fabrics with other tribes.

Where did the Maya civilization go?

One of the main questions that interests historians and researchers is: how and for what reasons did a prosperous empire decline? The destruction of the Maya civilization began in the 9th century AD. IN southern regions the population began to decline rapidly, the water supply system became unusable. People left their homes, and the construction of new cities stopped. This led to the fact that the once great empire turned into scattered settlements, fighting among themselves. In 1528, the Spaniards began their conquest of the Yucatán, and by the 17th century they had completely subjugated the region.

Why did the Mayan civilization disappear?

Until now, researchers argue what caused the death of a great culture. Two hypotheses are put forward:

1. Ecological, based on the balance of man with nature. Long-term exploitation of soils has led to their depletion, which has led to a shortage of food and drinking water.
2. Non-ecological. According to this theory, the empire could have declined due to climate change, an epidemic, conquest, or some kind of catastrophe. For example, some researchers believe that the Maya Indians could die even due to minor climate change (droughts, floods).

Mayan civilization - interesting facts

Not only the disappearance, but also many other mysteries of the Mayan civilization still haunt historians. The last place where the life of the tribe was recorded: the north of Guatemala. Now only archaeological excavations tell about history and culture, and according to them, you can collect Interesting Facts O ancient civilization:

1. Mayan people loved to take a steam bath and drive a ball. The games were a mixture of basketball and rugby, but with more serious consequences - the losers were sacrificed.
2. The Maya had strange ideas about beauty, for example, slanting eyes, pointed fangs and elongated heads were “in vogue”. To do this, mothers from childhood placed the child's skull in a wooden vise and hung objects in front of their eyes in order to achieve strabismus.
3. Research has shown that ancestors highly developed civilization Maya are still alive, and there are at least 7 million of them around the world.

Maya Civilization Books

Many works of contemporary authors from Russia and from abroad tell about the rise and fall of the empire, unsolved mysteries. To learn more about the disappeared people, you can study the following books about the Mayan civilization:

1. Maya people. Alberto Rus.
2. "Mysteries of Lost Civilizations". IN AND. Gulyaev.
3. "Mayan. Life, religion, culture. Ralph Whitlock.
4. "Mayan. Lost civilization. Legends and Facts. Michael Co.
5. Encyclopedia " lost World Mayan".

The Maya civilization left behind many cultural achievements and even more unsolved mysteries. So far, the question of its rise and fall has remained unanswered. One can only make assumptions. In an attempt to solve many mysteries, researchers stumble upon even more mysteries. One of the most majestic ancient civilizations remains the most mysterious and attractive.

People began to think about what the Universe is like in ancient times, before the advent of writing and more or less scientific methods of understanding the world around us. ancient man in his ideas, he proceeded from that poor set of knowledge that he could obtain by observing the nature among which he lived.


Modern science borrowed an approximate understanding of the most ancient cosmogonic theories from the worldviews of the peoples of Africa and Northern Siberia, whose culture for a long time did not come into contact with the universal one.

Representations of prehistoric peoples

prehistoric people thought the world a single living being, huge and incomprehensible. So, until recently, one of the Siberian tribes had an idea of ​​the world as a huge doe grazing among the stars. Her wool is endless forests, and animals, birds and people are just fleas living in wool. When they bother too much, the deer tries to get rid of them by swimming in the river (rainy autumn) or wallowing in the snow (winter). The sun and the moon are also gigantic animals grazing next to the doe-Earth.

Ancient Egyptians and Greeks

The peoples, whose level of development was higher, got the opportunity to travel to distant countries and saw that there were not only mountains, or steppes, or forests in the world. They imagined the Earth as a flat disk or high mountain surrounded on all sides by the endless sea. The vault of heaven in the form of a huge overturned bowl sank its edges into this sea, closing the small Universe ancient world.


Such ideas existed among the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. According to their cosmogonic version, the deity-Sun every day rolled across the vault of heaven in a fiery chariot, illuminating the plane of the Earth.

Wisdom of Ancient India

The ancient Indians had a legend that the plane of the Earth does not just soar in the sky or swims in the oceans, but rests on the backs of three giant elephants, which, in turn, stand on a tortoise shell. Considering that the tortoise, in turn, rested on a coiled snake, which personified the vault of heaven, we can assume that the described animals are nothing more than symbols of powerful natural phenomena.

Ancient China and world harmony

IN Ancient China believed that the universe is like an egg, split in half. The upper part of the egg forms the vault of heaven and is the focus of everything pure, light and bright. The lower part of the egg is the Earth, floating in the oceans and having a square shape.


Earthly manifestations are accompanied by darkness, heaviness and dirt. The combination of two opposite principles forms our whole world in its richness and diversity.

Aztecs, Incas, Maya

In the views of the ancient inhabitants of the American continent, time and space were a single whole and were denoted by the same word "pacha". For them, time was a ring, on one side of which was the present and the visible past, i.e. what was stored in memory. The future was in the invisible part of the ring and at some point connected with the deep past.

Scientific thought of ancient Greece

More than two thousand years ago, the ancient Greek mathematicians Pythagoras, followed by Aristotle, developed the theory of a spherical Earth, which, in their opinion, was the center of the universe. The Sun, the Moon and numerous stars revolved around, fixed on several crystal celestial spheres nested one in another.

The universe of Aristotle, developed and supplemented by another scientist of antiquity - Ptolemy - existed for a millennium and a half, satisfying the intellectual needs of the majority of ancient scientists.


These ideas formed the basis for the research of the great mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus, who, on the basis of his observations and calculations, compiled his own, heliocentric picture of the world. Its center was occupied by the Sun, around which there were seven planets, surrounded by a motionless celestial sphere with stars placed on it. The teachings of Copernicus gave impetus to modern astronomy, the emergence of such scientists as Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler and others.

The Maya civilization originates in Central America, it is known for its writing, art, architecture, mathematical and astronomical systems. The word "Maya" exists in ancient Indian philosophy - it has two meanings: "the source of this world" and "illusory world." How it got from Asia to Central America is unknown. But the Mayan civilization appeared there in the 10th century BC, and in just 500 years, on the site of an impenetrable rainforest, a civilization was created where astronomy, mathematics, architecture, sculpture, and painting were developed.

The pyramid complex built by the Mayan civilization was erected by builders who did not know metal tools, beasts of burden, or even wheels. How did the Maya manage to create such an advanced civilization? What did they think about their own future? Every year, during the spring and autumn equinoxes, thousands of people from all over the world come to Mexico, to the Yucatan Peninsula, to the ruins of ancient city Chichen Itza to see the winged serpent god Pokultam appearing on the north side of the pyramid of the same name. When the sun enters its zenith and day and night become equal in length throughout the world, the winged god appears.

These are seven triangles of light and shadow, forming the image of a snake. If the pyramid had been turned at least one degree to the side, the amazing play of light and shadow would never have manifested itself. Maya civilization mysteriously disappears by 830 AD, after 500 years of tireless activity, all their main centers were abandoned. Until now, researchers argue how the Mayan civilization disappeared.

The Maya credit their calendar system, which was used by other peoples of Central America. They calculated the cycles of eclipses, compiled tables of synchronization of the periods of circulation of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon. And for some reason, special attention was paid to the constellation Gemini and the Pleiades.

What does the Mayan calendar tell us?

The Mayan priestly calendar is counted from the mysterious starting date "The Fifth Sun" August 13, 3113 BC. From it, by simply counting the number of days that have passed, the chronology was carried out. By the way, we also use the mythical date of the “birth of Christ” for our reckoning. The Mayan calendar, despite its antiquity, is surprisingly accurate. According to modern calculations, the duration of the solar year is 365.2422 days. The Maya calculated a value of 365.2420 days. The difference is only two ten-thousandths.

Their calculations of the motion of Venus differed from modern astronomical data by only a few seconds per year. They imagined the universe divided into three levels - the underworld, earth and sky. Religious rituals and ceremonies were closely linked to natural and astronomical cycles. Repeating phenomena were subjected to systematic observations, after which they were displayed in various kinds of calendars. The task of the Maya religious leader was to interpret these cycles. To compile such an accurate calendar, according to scientists, it would be necessary to observe and record the movements of the planets for about ten thousand years.

Many people consider the date of August 13, 3113 to be mythical, but if the world reckoning of such a highly developed people for their time as the Maya was started from that day, then there is an explanation for this.
The Maya believed that during the Great Cycle - from 3113 BC. e. to 2012 AD e. - human history is controlled by a certain galactic beam emanating from the "core of the Galaxy" - the Earth and the Sun pass through it. Pass in accordance with the "galactic seasons", which were described by the Maya in mathematical and symbolic form.

The galactic beam, according to Maya concepts, is similar to the beam of a lighthouse, which expands as it moves away from the source. Suppose a beam is gliding over a boat sailing far out in the ocean. In a certain period of time it will be illuminated. The same happens with the Earth crossing the galactic beam. The point of entry of the Earth into the beam corresponds to the "starting date" of the Maya - August 13, 3113 BC. e. The same date falls on December 21, 2012. Will he enter again?

So the figure of 2012 was deduced by long calculations. It became known that, according to the Mayan priests, time is divided into solar cycles. Moreover, the end of each of them is marked by the death of the civilization living in it. Four such cycles, or "Suns", have already passed, replacing four human races and sweeping away in their path. As expected, cataclysms have become an assistant in this cleansing business - global events that destroy entire continents. And only a few people survived, telling about what happened. The "First Sun" lasted 4008 years and was destroyed by earthquakes.

The "Second Sun" lasted 4010 years and was destroyed by hurricanes.

The "Third Sun" lasted 4081 years and fell under a fiery rain that poured from the craters of huge volcanoes.

The “Fourth Sun” (5026 years) was destroyed by a flood.

For astronomers, the day of December 21, 2012 is also an important event - the Parade of the Planets, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and the Earth will be on the agenda in one straight line. And, surprisingly, not only they - the current event is unprecedented. The line will go beyond the limits of our solar system - all the planets of the Galaxy will become in a row. That's what surprises and awes. After all, it is known what such a combination means. This is the transition of the universe from one system to another, a change in the entire habitual way, the starting point of a new cycle. Prophecies of various faiths, as well as scientific assumptions, serve as confirmation of this. According to Buddhism, the end of the world is marked by the completion of the Big Kalpa (Maha-kalpa) cycle, when all the lower worlds, including the world of people, begin to collapse.

Only the worlds of the highest gods, the Brahmas, remain unaffected. One cycle of unfolding-folding of the universe is called Big (Maha) Kalpa. Then, after a huge period of time, the universe begins to unfold again. In the Christian religion, events that are interpreted by some Bible commentators as signs of the end of the world are described in a book written according to tradition by Christ's disciple John the Theologian - the Apocalypse.

There is every reason to believe that the end of 2012, namely December 21, will be a significant period in the history of our race. The Fifth Age of Creation, or, as it is more commonly called, the Fifth Sun, is ending. This cycle, according to Mayan calculations, lasted 5126 years and upon completion of it, some movement of the Earth will occur. The Maya believed that the universe exists in great cycles. They came up with names for certain time intervals: uinal - 20 days, tun - 360 days, katun - about 20 years, baktun - about 394 years - thirteen baktuns just end in 2012, piktun - 7885 years, kalabtun - 158,000 years , Kinchiltun - 3 million years, Alautun - 63 million years.

It turns out that the calendar is adapted for measuring gigantic periods of time. As if the Maya were going to exist forever...

Joseph Lawrence, 2012 Apocalypse: The solar system will die in an 'eclipse' in the central Milky Way. Or it will deviate from its axis and begin a chaotic movement across the cosmic expanses.

Book "2012: Return of Quetzalcoatl": earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and huge tidal waves will destroy half the planet.

Andrew Smith, The 2012 Revolution: The Preparation: Restoring the True Balance Between the Divine Feminine and Masculine.

Alexander Filatov, designer of the Federal Nuclear Center, Sarov: a certain planet will pass close to the Earth, which will cause a global flood, pole shift, climate change.

Peter James and Nick Thorp, University of California: Earth will collide with an asteroid.

Boris Pyasik: - December 12, 2012 is the day when the configuration in the firmament is not easy. This is the last day of the lunar month, considered "satanic": there is a conjunction of Jupiter with the Black Moon, the planet of negative karma, and there is a tense planetary aspect of Pluto with Uranus. In addition, all this will occur at a time when Uranus changes the direction of its movement, which is fraught with strong destructive processes. I don’t know if this day will become “the last day of Pompeii”, but, apparently, it will cause a lot of trouble.

Astronomer's opinion

"The earth is not in danger yet"

Valentin Esipov, Head of the Department of Radio Astronomy, State Astronomical Institute named after V.I. Sternberg: Any calendar is simple: it takes into account the movement of the planets around the Sun. And the more accurate the observations of cosmic bodies, the more accurate the reckoning. We now have the most accurate calendar. And the ancient Indian tribes did not know much. In addition, we keep an eye on all comets and asteroids that may pass us in the next ten years. And with all responsibility I declare that nothing threatens the Earth.

Mathematician's opinion

"We're only guessing"

Vladimir Pakhomov, mathematician, physicist, former researcher at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, author of the book "Message to the Unborn":
- The calendar that the Mayan civilization compiled became known due to the fact that they had a custom to put steles in all settlements - stone pillars on which important events were recorded with the date. Descriptions of their Mayan calendar were not left to us. That is, maybe there was such a description, but tens of thousands of Mayan handwritten books were burned by Catholic monks. Only stone steles have been preserved. Therefore, we can only make various assumptions about their calendar system. For example, the myth about the high accuracy of the Mayan calendar is unfounded. When they indicate the accuracy of the calendar, writing down the number of days in a year with an accuracy of ten decimal places, do not believe it. The calendar is not a chronometer. The smallest value in any calendar is one day. And to measure smaller amounts of time, watches and stopwatches are used.

Astronaut's opinion

"The aliens will come to us again"

Pilot-cosmonaut Georgy Grechko: - I think that the Mayan calendar ends later: December 23, 2013. After all, the year of reference is still unknown: maybe they started from 0, or maybe from one. And then, to create a calendar, you need at least a primitive telescope and an accurate clock. And the Maya were a bloody civilization. They even tore out the hearts of living people during the sacrifice. And in the ball game, the captain, whose team lost the match, was beheaded in front of the audience. I am still amazed at this incompatibility of high intelligence and savagery of morals.

And therefore I do not believe that they could create an accurate calendar. I think aliens gave it to them. Consider it my fantasy, but I think that when the calendar ends in 2012 or 2013, they will come back to either give us a new calendar or send us another Flood. We, they say, are the 5th civilization, and they destroyed the previous 4 for bad behavior - some with a flood, others with sulfuric fire from the sky.

And now we are behaving badly: we are accumulating weapons, spoiling nature. Even from space you can see what wounds we have inflicted on the Earth. And the aliens fly to us, as to a resort. And they "invented" us - homo sapiens - in order to save the planet, like a housekeeper must maintain a house until the owners arrive from vacation. They came up with a stone one for us, bronze age and, finally, we thought that the golden one was about to come, when they would fly in again and give us new knowledge. But we ruined their "resort". And I think that if we continue to behave badly, then the aliens will arrange another disaster for us.

I came up with such a horror story so that people would think about it, begin to love the Earth and each other, and not accumulate weapons.

Skeptic's opinion

"There will be no end of the world"

Mikhail Leitus, Chairman of the International Club of Skeptics: - In the 15th century, a formidable thought weighed on the minds of Russians about the imminent end of the world, which was expected after the seventh thousand years from the creation of the world. According to the Greek-Russian chronology, seven thousand years ended just in 1492. Therefore, the liturgical Paschalia, indicating the months and dates of the celebration of Easter, was brought only up to 1492. When the fateful year passed safely, the Jews began to mock the Orthodox: “Seven thousand years have ended, and your Paschal has passed, why doesn’t Christ appear, contrary to your expectations? ..”

At the beginning of the eighth thousand years, in September 1492, the Council met in Moscow and decided to write Paschalia for the eighth thousand years.

The jungles of Central America hold the secrets of the Maya, one of the most mysterious peoples in history. Who were they? Where did they come from? Have they left any messages for us who are alive today? For more than 200 years, since the ruins of their famous city of Palenque were discovered in 1773, scientists and writers have been trying to answer these questions. This magnificent city, the excavations of which have not yet been completed, constantly under the threat of extinction due to the jungle surrounding it, is one of the wonders of the New World. His pyramids, temples, palaces, built of fine white limestone, with an art that can honor even the architects of the Renaissance, continue to delight all who see them. But we were able to fully appreciate this treasure only from the second half of our century, when the gradual deciphering of the inscriptions adorning the walls of many of the main buildings built by the Maya began.

Before us appears the life of the people, very different from our own. In contrast to us, the personal property of the Maya was only a little more than necessary for life. They were engaged in agriculture, using the simplest tools, grew maize and some other crops. At the same time, their lavishly dressed rulers performed strange and painful rituals on themselves to ensure the fertility of the soil. Maya society was divided into estates so that both rulers and peasants knew their place, but there was one significant difference between this society and the communities of Dark Age Europe: the Maya were skilled astronomers. They themselves believed that they lived in the fifth era of the Sun, that in the four previous eras four human races were replaced before modern people. All these cultures died during the great cataclysms, and only a few people survived and told about what happened. According to Maya chronology, the modern era began on August 12, 3114 BC. and supposedly should end on December 22, 2012 AD. By this time, the Earth as we know it today should, according to the Mayan predictions, change its appearance again due to terrible earthquakes. Many books have been written about the Mayan people, but so far no one has explained either the origin of their wonderful calendar or where they got these dates from. True, much has been written about the structure of their calendar (which will be discussed in more detail in later chapters), but the reasons that prompted the Maya to create such complex time systems as the Long Count remain unclear. Only now, when the "alarm clock" created by the Maya is ready to ring, we seem to be approaching an understanding of what is at stake here. We begin to understand that they possessed some knowledge, the importance of which is difficult to overestimate not only for the Maya themselves, but also for the survival of the human race in our time.

By our standards, their civilization looks "primitive" - ​​they didn't have machines, they didn't have cars, not to mention computers, but there were quite a few advances in another sense. As recent studies have shown, the Maya were able to develop their psychic abilities to such an extent that it is even difficult for us to imagine.2 Australian aborigines, they believed that dreams allow you to predict the future and interpret the present. They were also able to calculate the motions of the planets and stars with amazing accuracy, despite the absence of telescopes and other modern instruments. And with all that, the Maya were deeply religious people and, like the Christians of the Middle Ages, believed in the need for mortification of the flesh and self-sacrifice in order to get to heaven.

During the existence of their culture from ancient times and later, during their "golden age" of the 7th-9th centuries AD, and in the post-classical period, which lasted several more centuries, the Maya created many great works of art. And then they disappeared from history as mysteriously as they once appeared. For some reason that we don't exactly know, their culture collapsed and they left their cities. A significant part of the region where the Mayan people once lived, studied the stars and built their famous pyramids turned into a jungle. When the Toltecs, and later the Aztecs, became masters in the more northerly regions around present-day Mexico City, the surviving Maya withdrew to the southern highlands, or to the plains of the Yucatán peninsula, in the north. The central region, where their culture at one time reached its highest peak, was abandoned by them forever.

In 1511, the first Spanish expeditions in search of gold landed on the Yucatan Peninsula. But then even this last stronghold of Mayan culture was in decline. At that time, the Spaniards had to abandon the conquest of the peninsula, but they learned that in the northwest there is a larger and more attractive victim for them - the prosperous Aztec Empire. Not soon after that, people again remembered the lost knowledge of the Mayan people.

E. Gilbert, M. Cotterell
MAYAN MYSTERIES

Ancient astronomical observatories

Mayan astronomers observed celestial bodies from stone observatories, which were in many cities - Tikal, Copan, Palenque, Chichen Itza ... Among them, Caracol, an observatory in the city of Chichen Itza, stands out for its size.

Caracol means "snail shell" in Spanish. This grandiose building is a high rounded tower standing on a two-stage rectangular platform. According to Mayan scholar Eric Thompson, it looks a bit like "a two-tiered wedding cake, placed on top of the box in which it was brought."

A spiral staircase inside the tower leads to the upper room, from which you can watch the sky. Square windows look at the points of sunrise and sunset on the days of the spring and autumn equinoxes, summer and winter solstices.

Amazing accuracy of astronomical calculations

The astronomical calculations of the Mayan priests were incredibly accurate. Exploring the ruins of the ancient city of Copan, archaeologists discovered two stone steles. They were located opposite each other on the tops of the hills that closed the Copan valley from the west and east.

If you look from one of the stelae, then you can find that the sun sets directly behind the second only twice a year: on April 12 and September 7. The first date falls at the very end of the dry season. Therefore, when the sun set right behind the stele on the evening of April 12, messengers were sent throughout the valley, informing the farmers that the gods had ordered the burning of the fields to begin the next morning.

When the Maya cities were freed from the jungle, archaeologists noticed that the location of the buildings was of great importance to the Maya.

Often, important parts of temples (for example, the "horses" of the roofs) were oriented in such a way that their position indicated the rise, culmination and sunset of certain celestial bodies.

Another example is the Kukulkan pyramid in the city of Chichen Itza, which is a giant stone calendar with a stunning effect on the days of the spring and autumn equinoxes. Such astronomically verified structures are not counted on the land of the Maya!

Mayan astronomers - in the service of agriculture

For the Maya, astronomy was not an abstract science. In the tropics (where there are no seasons sharply marked by nature, and the length of day and night always remains almost unchanged), astronomy served practical purposes. From the priests-astronomers there were instructions about the beginning of certain agricultural works.

On a strictly defined day, trees were cut down in the dense tropical forest of the Maya, and after they dried, they were burned. Then the resulting fields were sown with corn (this is the so-called slash-and-burn farming method).

Everything had to be done at the very end of the dry period and without delay. Otherwise, tropical downpours, which continue here for five to six months in a row, will interfere. An error of several days could be fatal for the entire cycle of work.

Mayan calendar computer accuracy

The Mayan year began on December 23, that is, on the day of the winter solstice, and was divided into 18 months (20 days each). The first month of the year was called "YASH-KIN" - "new sun" (after the winter solstice, the sun is, as it were, reborn).

The names of the other months allude rather clearly to the agricultural work to be carried out. For example,

"MOLE" - "gathering" (apparently, harvesting corn),

"MUAN" - "cloudy" (the rainy season is coming),

"KEH" - "deer" (the beginning of the hunting season), etc.

"POP" - "mat"

(tree felling month)

"SOTS" - "bat"

The Mayan calendar, despite its antiquity, is surprisingly accurate. According to modern calculations, the length of the solar year is 365.2422 days, while the Maya on the tops of their pyramids calculated its length as 365.2420 days. The difference is only two ten-thousandths!

And this is calculated thousands of years before other astronomers, with more advanced means of calculation, could achieve a similar result!

To compile such an accurate calendar, according to scientists, it would be necessary to observe and record the movements of the planets for about ten thousand years!

Is such a long existence of civilization possible? Or did the Maya priests inherit the knowledge of another highly developed civilization that did not leave any traces of itself?

There are no answers to these questions.

CHILDREN OF THE FIFTH SUN

The Maya were not only astronomers, but also astrologers. All celestial bodies, wandering against the background of the stars, should, in their opinion, influence their fate. And first of all - the Sun ...

Like other peoples of Mesoamerica, the Maya believed that the universe existed within the framework of great cycles. The priests said that since the creation of the human race, four such cycles, or "Suns", had already passed. Humanity is now living in the era of the Fifth Sun.

The Anthropological Museum in Mexico houses the famous Aztec calendar "Stone of the Sun" - a huge basalt monolith with a diameter of 3.5 meters and a weight of 24.5 tons. It used to be colored. It reflects the ideas of the ancients about the distant past. In the center of the stone is depicted Tonatiu Maya - the Sun god of the present era. On the sides are the symbols of the four previous eras.

The sunstone in the language of symbols tells us that each era had its own god, that four human races were replaced in the four previous eras before modern people appeared. All previous cultures died during the great cataclysms, and only a few people survived and told about what happened.

Symbols of the gods of previous eras

The first Sun lasted 4008 years and was destroyed by earthquakes and eaten by jaguars.

The Second Sun lasted 4010 years and was destroyed by the wind and its violent cyclones.

The Third Sun lasted 4081 years and was destroyed by a fiery rain that poured from the craters of huge volcanoes.

The fourth Sun lasted 5026 years and fell from the water that flooded everything around in a giant flood.

Then the Fifth Sun was born, which shines on us today. It is known as the "Sun of Movement" because, according to the Indians, in this era there will be a movement of the Earth, from which everyone will perish.

Analyzing the myths about the death of four Suns, scientists find direct analogies with some natural disasters. When, then, should we expect the great shift of the earth, which will serve as the end of the Fifth Sun?

The priests believed that soon, since the Fifth Sun is already very old and is approaching the end of its cycle...

YEAR 2012.
MAYAN PROPHECY

Scientists have recalculated Mayan calendars in accordance with the modern system of chronology and extracted curious information from mysterious inscriptions...

It turns out that on December 23, 2012, some events will take place on planet Earth. After all, on this day the Fifth Sun must end!

According to Maya chronology, the modern era began on August 12, 3114 BC. and is due to end on December 23, 2012 AD. No one has yet explained where the Maya took these dates from, and what reasons prompted them to create such complex time reference systems.

However, now that the Mayan "alarm clock" is about to ring, we begin to understand that they possessed such knowledge, on which the survival of the human race today depends!

In 2012, during the December solstice, the Sun will be in the Milky Way zone. This simple calculation can be done by any astronomer. The phenomenon lies in the fact that when the Sun is in this zone, the renewal of the world, its new birth, must take place.

In a word, the Mayan prophecy concerns some event that should change the course of history. Some suggest that a new era will come on Earth - the era of spiritual insight. Others tend to believe that the Maya predicted the end of the world.

In the rational-intellectual climate of the 21st century, it is not at all fashionable to take doomsday prophecies seriously. It is customary to consider them the product of superstitious minds and ignore them. But learning more and more about the achievements of the greatest ancient civilization, some inner voice whispers: why not listen to ancient legends?

What if there is some infinitesimal chance that the authors of this prophecy are not superstitious savages at all? What if they knew something that we don't? What if their prediction of the date the Fifth Sun will end turns out to be accurate? Perhaps, somewhere in the depths of the earth, a terrible geological catastrophe, predicted by the Mayan sages, is already ripening ...

Even by modern standards, the Maya determined certain astronomical events with amazing accuracy. What do their predictions about the events of 2012 mean? We'll find out soon...

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