Tortuguero
A small Maya site in Tabasco whose Monument 6 is the only known ancient text mentioning the 2012 end of the 13th bak'tun.
- Location
- Southern Tabasco
- Modern country
- Mexico
- Type
- Classic Maya site (largely destroyed)
- Ruler
- Bahlam Ajaw (r. 644–679 CE)
- Key monument
- Monument 6, mentioning 13 bak'tun (2012)
What is Tortuguero known for?
Tortuguero is a Classic Maya site in southern Tabasco, Mexico. Its best-known ruler, Bahlam Ajaw, reigned from 644 to 679 CE and waged wars against neighbours, including Comalcalco. The site was badly damaged in the 20th century by looting and by construction, including a cement works built over it, and its monuments are now scattered.
Tortuguero Monument 6 is the only known ancient Maya inscription that mentions the completion of 13 bak'tuns, the date that fell on 21 or 23 December 2012 depending on the calendar correlation. The passage is damaged. It says something will happen, or the god Bolon Yokte' will descend, at that date.
Epigraphers such as David Stuart stress that the monument is mainly about Bahlam Ajaw's own reign and does not predict the end of the world. The 2012 apocalypse theories were a modern invention built on this single, broken text.
Tortuguero Monument 6 is the one ancient source for the 2012 date discussed under the Maya Long Count.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holeMaya Long Count
Sources
- Wikipedia, 'Tortuguero (Maya site)'Reference
- David Stuart, 'More on Tortuguero’s Monument 6 and the 2012 date' (Spanish translation, Mesoweb, 2011)Reference
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