Despite the mysticism that often clouds the Mayan calendar in popular culture, fact remains that the calendar system in use by the Mayans was based on a system used throughout the pre-Columbian Mes… ...

Characteristic of this system is the cyclical nature, with the Mayan calendar featuring three common cycles: the Long Count, Tzolk’in (260-day) and the 365-day, solar-based Haab’.

In the long count calendar, time is divided into ever longer phases. A baktun represents 144,000 days, or around 394 years. The Mayan calendar began around 5,125 years ago.

The Mayan calendar’s 819-day cycle has confounded scholars for decades, but recent research shows how it matches up to planetary cycles over a 45-year span.

The Mayan Calendar is one of these calendars that has withstood the test of time. Although it has not been used since the civilization fell, some details are surprisingly relevant to this day ...

The Mayan calendar’s 819-day cycle has confounded scholars for decades, but new research shows how it matches up to planetary cycles over a 45-year span.

The Mayan calendar is based on a 20-day cycle in 394-year increments known as a Baktun. On one tablet at a set of ruins in Mexico, the calendar stops at Baktun 13.

The "calculations," Graham said, do not add up because the Maya counted in days rather than years. The Maya calendar refers to the end of a major calendrical round or cycle, called the baktun.

Ceremonial fires burned and conches sounded as dawn broke over the steps of the main pyramid at the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza today, marking what many believe is the conclusion of a vast, 5,125 ...

A newly discovered Mayan text reveals the "end date" for the Mayan calendar. But unlike some modern people, ancient Maya did not expect the world to end on that date, researchers said.

It said the Mayan Long Count calendar cycle might not really end until Sunday. One thing, however, became clear to many by Friday afternoon: The world had not yet ended.

The oldest-known version of the ancient Maya calendar has been discovered adorning a lavishly painted wall in the ruins of a city deep in the Guatemalan rainforest.