My cousin used to work with the natives in South America who were said to be the decendants of the Mayans. He is also Mayan Reiki. He has even said that the 2012 year is a new beginning. Honestly, the Mayans were around so long ago that the idea of 2012 probably seemed like beyond forever. Not to mention, the calendar had to run out of room somewhere. Even if it is a circle (which would be considered neverending)
Y2012 problem? What WILL Bill Gates do to help their calendar function?
2012 is either the end of the 4th Age or the end of the 5th age, depending on who you ask. Anyway, it's supposed to end in fire, just like the previous cycle ended in a great flood (3000bc?)
But I don't see how it can be considered and "end" since the Mayan calendar is a bunch of wheels....they keep rotating through a set of combinations in a long sequence. So it starts over in 2012. Big deal. We could have nuke calamity in 2011 or 1961. The world may have ended on 6/6/06! Maybe we just don't know it.
In any case, the Mayan calendar didn't do them much good. Their civilization ended hundreds of years ago. Long before their calendar did.
Actually, 2012 would have been the date the Mayans' adjustable rate mortgage was going to reset.