Doomsday prophecy misinterprets Mayan culture

MEXICO CITY - The doomsday prophecy that says the world will end on December 21, is based on a misinterpretation of Mayan culture, which never predicted such a cataclysm, according to a Mexican expert.

Different groups, interpreting the Mayan writings that helped create the doomsday rumor, did not really understand the hieroglyphics, anthropologist Isaac Mendez told Xinhua.

There was no archaeological basis to support the prophecy, the expert said, noting "the Mayan calendar does not really predict the end of the world in 2012."

Only eight hieroglyphs were related to 2012, according to which, a deity who the Mayans identified as a patron of "the end of periods", would descend on December 21, 2012, Mendez said.

For Mayans, "the end of periods" meant the then end of great cycles of time, the expert noted, saying the deity would review all the appropriate ceremonies on this particular day.

Mendez said none of the Mayan monuments mentioned the world would end on that date, and they even talked about dates as far ahead as 4472 AD.

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