Expert: Mexico glyphs don't predict apocalypse   
   By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON | AP - 8 hrs ago   
       
   MEXICO CITY (AP) - The end is not near.   
       
   At least that's according to a German expert who says his decoding of a Mayan   
   tablet with a reference to a 2012 date denotes a transition to a new era and   
   not a possible end of the world as others have read it.   
       
   The interpretation of the hieroglyphs by Sven Gronemeyer of La Trobe   
   University in Australia was presented for the first time Wednesday at the   
   archaeological site of Palenque in southern Mexico.   
       
   His comments came less than a week after Mexico's archaeology institute   
   acknowledged there was a second reference to the 2012 date in Mayan   
   inscriptions, touching of another round of talk about whether it predicts the   
   end of the world.   
       
   Gronemeyer has been studying the stone tablet found years ago at the   
   archeological site of Tortuguero in Mexico's Gulf coast state of Tabasco.   
       
   He said the inscription describes the return of mysterious Mayan god Bolon   
   Yokte at the end of a 13th period of 400 years, known as Baktuns, on the   
   equivalent of Dec. 21, 2012. Mayans considered 13 a sacred number. There's   
   nothing apocalyptic in the date, he said.   
       
   The text was carved about 1,300 years ago. The stone has cracked, which has   
   made the end of the passage almost illegible.   
       
   Gronemeyer said the inscription refers to the end of a cycle of 5,125 years   
   since the beginning of the Mayan Long Count calendar in 3113 B.C.   
       
   The fragment was a prophecy of then ruler Bahlam Ajaw, who wanted to plan the   
   passage of the god, Gronemeyer said.   
       
   "For the elite of Tortuguero, it was clear they had to prepare the land for   
   the return of the god and for Bahlam Ajaw to be the host of this initiation,"   
   he said.   
       
   Bolon Yokte, god of creation and war, was to prevail that day in a sanctuary   
   of Tortuguero.   
       
   "The date acquired a symbolic value because it is seen as a reflection of the   
   day of creation," Gronemeyer said. "It is the passage of a god and not   
   necessarily a great leap for humanity."   
       
   Last week, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology said a second   
   inscription mentioning the 2012 date is on the carved or molded face of a   
   brick found at the Comalcalco ruin, near the Tortuguero site. It is being kept   
   at the institute and is not on display.   
       
   Many experts doubt the second inscription is a definite reference to the date   
   cited as the possible end of the world, saying there is no future tense   
   marking like there is in the Tortuguero tablet.   
       
   The institute has tried to dispel talk of a 2012 apocalypse, the subject of   
   numerous postings and stories on the Internet. Its latest step was to arrange   
   a special round table of Mayan experts this week at Palenque, which is where   
   Gronemeyer made his comments.   
       
       
   Regards,   
       
   Roger   
      
   --- D'Bridge 3.64   
    * Origin: NCS BBS (1:3828/7)