Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Mexico Villahermosa Mayan 2012 Prophecy Carvings

Mayan 2012 Prophecy Carvings

This singular broken monument, now housed in a museum, was the cause of a worldwide "Mayan Doomsday" phenomenon.

Villahermosa, Mexico

Added By
Mark Casey
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
The pillar.   Alfonsobouchot/CC BY-SA 3.0
Signs explaining the details.   Alfonsobouchot/cropped from original/CC BY-SA 3.0
The pillar.   Alfonsobouchot/CC BY-SA 3.0
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

In the years leading up to 2012, a particular strain of doomsday predicting (and preparing) generally referred to as the 2012 Phenomenon (or more dramatically the "Mayan Doomsday") swept the world. Experts and amateurs the world over were debating whether the Maya predicted the end of the world on December 21st.

One might guess at the causes of such a craze. Perhaps a longstanding religious myth or legend, well-documented by archeologists? Perhaps a famed speech or book delivered by a Mayan version of Nostradamus?

But no, the only concrete evidence was a single monument. A monument into which a scribe and stone carver from the Classic Maya city of Tortuguero carved an inscription with several dates on it. Most of them refer to the dedication of a local tomb or shrine in the latter part of the seventh century CE.  But the last one corresponds to a date centuries into the carver's future- December 21st, 2012.

At first glance, this may not seem significant, but it just so happens that this date has the same Maya "Long Count" number (13.0.0.0.0) as the date in 3114 BCE when the Maya believed that their world came to be.  And what's more, at first glance the inscription appeared to prophesy that a mysterious event would happen on the latter date.  The first reading by Mayanists was: "It will happen, the descent of [the god(s)] Bolon Yokte' K'uh, to..."

This cryptic phrase, together with the understanding that contemporary Mayanists had about the Mayan calendar and concepts of time, gave many people the impression that whoever carved this inscription was predicting calamity on this date.

Of course, that is but one teeny, tiny part of the story. There are hundreds of  other Mayan inscriptions that say nothing of the sort.  There's one at La Corona, Guatemala that has the same 2012 date, stated matter-of-factly and with no prophecy, while other sites have inscriptions referring to dates thousands of years (and more) after 2012. Later Mayanists have refined the translation of the Tortuguero inscription and believe it refers to a ceremony or dance in honor of the god(s) that will recur on that date; some even think that there is no connection between the event described and the date itself. But of course the earlier apocalyptic hypothesis is what people latched onto.

The monument is so intriguing to people that it now resides in the Carlos Pellicer Museum, which is probably a good thing. The original ruins of Tortuguero, where the pillar was found, have largely been destroyed, and in fact a large cement-processing plant now sits on the original site.

Related Tags

Collections Lost Tribes Ruins
Atlas Obscura Adventures

Flavors of Oaxaca: Markets, Mezcal & Home-Cooked Meals

A Culinary and Cultural Journey Through Oaxaca.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

Mark Casey

Edited By

Martin, aeddubh, Kerry Wolfe

  • Martin
  • aeddubh
  • Kerry Wolfe

Published

December 21, 2012

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortuguero_(Maya_site)
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon
  • https://decipherment.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/more-on-tortugueros-monument-6-and-the-prophecy-that-wasnt/
Mayan 2012 Prophecy Carvings
Carlos Pellicer Museum
Periférico Carlos Pellicer Cámara 511, Centro
Villahermosa, 86190
Mexico
17.975541, -92.935076
Get Directions

Nearby Places

'La Ceiba' Water Tank

Villahermosa, Mexico

miles away

Villa Luz Waterfalls

Tapijulapa, Mexico

miles away

Rabbit Skull Relief

Palenque, Mexico

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Villahermosa

Villahermosa

Mexico

Places 2

Nearby Places

'La Ceiba' Water Tank

Villahermosa, Mexico

miles away

Villa Luz Waterfalls

Tapijulapa, Mexico

miles away

Rabbit Skull Relief

Palenque, Mexico

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Villahermosa

Villahermosa

Mexico

Places 2

Related Stories and Lists

No, Eclipses and Other Strange Sights Are Not Signs of the Apocalypse

apocalypse

By Kerry Wolfe

Nine Places To See the Ruins of Ancient Religious Cults

ancient cults

By Edmund Richardson

The Ends of the Earth: Ground Zero for the Mayan Apocalypse

By Mark Casey

Related Places

  • One of the corridors.

    Zacatecas, Mexico

    Rafael Coronel Museum

    Mexico's largest collection of masks is found in the ruins of an abandoned convent.

  • For more than 30 years, the former town of Potosi resided underwater after it was flooded by the building of a dam

    Uribante, Venezuela

    The Drowned Church of Potosi

    A town church once nearly submerged by the damming of a river is now hauntingly visible as the water recedes.

  • View from the Temple of the Cross

    Palenque, Mexico

    Palenque

    An elaborate Mayan city shrouded in alien conspiracy revealed the tomb of Pacal the Great.

  • Glasgow, Scotland

    Govan Stones

    Early Medieval stones sit on display at the beautiful Govan Old Church in Glasgow.

  • The ancient Round Tower.

    Kilkenny, Ireland

    Tullaherin Folk Museum and Round Tower

    A collection of housewares from recent Irish history adjoined by a tower from ancient Irish history.

  • Neupfarrplatz

    Regensburg, Germany

    Document Neupfarrplatz

    From Ancient Rome to WWII, Neupfarrplatz has over 2,000 years of history underneath its main square.

  • Brazil

    Parque Nacional Serra da Capivara

    Site full of incredible prehistoric paintings and archeological findings.

  • San Francisco, California

    Stern of the Niantic

    The only visible piece of San Francisco's most famous shipwreck.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.