Mayan Prophesy a Popular Culture Myth

Anthropologist Cynthia Robin says 2012 will mark the end of a cycle in the Mayan calendar.

November 20, 2009 | by Brendan Cosgrove

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Number one at the box office its opening weekend, the film 2012 depicts a global doomsday scenario loosely attributed to popular cultural interpretations of the Mayan calendar prophesying December 21, 2012 as the end of the world. Cynthia Robin, associate professor of anthropology at Northwestern University, discusses the myths about the Mayans and their calendar.