2012 - Science Or Superstition?/JMJ/15

The early Maya site called Izapa - the site that invented this long count calendar that gives us the 2012 end date is really a key to understanding how the early Maya thought of 2012 and the Galactic alignment. The monuments of Izapa were found in the 1950's and 60's as they were left some 1800 years ago. So they're in situ. They're still oriented to certain horizons in certain ways. One of the key horizon alignments at Izapa is the December solstice sunrise. So we start to see how Izapa is a site that helps us understand the galactic alignment in 2012.

For example, stela 11 from Izapa portrays Hun Hunahpu, the father of the hero twins. He represents the December solstice Sun. And he's emerging from the upturned mouth of a frog - that's the rebirth place. The mouth of the frog or the mouth of the snake represents the dark rift. His arms are outstretched - basically a period-measuring gesture. He's basically measuring a cycle of time. So what this is saying is that at the end of the cycle the December solstice Sun is lined up with the dark rift, and this carving, stela 11, points right to the rising December solstice Sun. That's just one example of how Izapa encodes information about 2012. You might refer to that as the astronomical reference at the site. But there's also a prophecy and a spiritual teaching that's encoded on the monuments that has to do with the Mayan belief about what is going to happen, you might say.