Preparations are underway in Guatemala where thousands are converging on ancient sites to celebrate the start of the new Mayan calendar on December 21.<br/> <br />Large scale celebrations for the new era have been planned at the archaeological site of Tikal where dancers can be seen rehearsing while tourists look on.<br/> <br />December 21 marks the end of an age in a 5,125 year-old Maya calendar - an event variously interpreted as the end of days, the start of a new era, or just an excuse for a party.<br/> <br />The Mayan civilization thrived between AD 250 and 900 and extended from modern day Honduras to central Mexico. It left behind a trove of pyramids and dozens of distinct Mayan groups who continue to endure.<br/> <br />When dawn breaks on Friday, according to the Maya Long Count calendar, it marks the end of the 13th bak'tun - an epoch lasting some 400 years - and the beginning of the 14th.<br/> <br />This fact would probably have languished in academic obscurity had not a young Maya expert named Michael Coe written in the 1960s that to the ancient Mesoamerican culture the date could herald an "Armageddon" to cleanse humanity.<br/> <br />Since then, the cult of 2012 has snowballed.
