Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar

The Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar is an ancient timekeeping system used by Maya civilizations, designed to track long periods of time. It consists of several cycles, including baktuns, which are roughly 394 years long. The calendar starts from a mythological date, often cited as August 11, 3114 BCE. Unlike the cyclical nature of other calendars, the Long Count is linear, marking unique dates across millennia. It reflects the Maya's complex understanding of time, cosmology, and history, enabling them to record significant events and predict future occurrences. The most famous date, December 21, 2012, marked the end of one baktun.