The Mayan Calendar Rug

My grandmother used to say “Money was invented round because it is supposed to roll.”

Later in life I realized that clock faces are mostly round and thought perhaps that theory applies to time as well. Our Gregorian calendar is a chart, a grid, a line of time on which we count forward and look back. But the Mayan calendar is inherently different--it is round.

Actually, the Mayans keep more than one calendar and each is a different length of time; there are three main calendars which can be seen as wheels of three different sizes rolling around each other.

Everything has a season. Fashions come and go. But time (and money) continues to roll. This is why I have decided to celebrate the infamous “end of the Mayan calendar” date of December 21, 2012 at the Mayan site of Tikal, which was the heart of their ancient world.

Jan Kath-NY has paid homage to the ancient Mesoamericans by producing this sculpted rug.

It actually depicts the ancient Aztec calendar but both are seen as circular calendars and are related.

I personally was delighted to see this icon depicted in such a tasteful way. It sure beats those plaster models they sell in Cancun!