Just because the Mayan calendar only went up to 2012, doesn't mean they necessarily thought the world would end then!
More than likely, they simply figured that 2013 would be essentially the same as a year they'd already charted and so didn't bother to repeat themselves.
It's not uncommon, but neither is it safe, to assume that a culture which has apparently failed to grasp one concept which you regard as self-evident has necessarily failed to grasp another one which you regard as taking a bit more work to understand.
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@Andy Pyne
Just because the Mayan calendar only went up to 2012, doesn't mean they necessarily thought the world would end then!
More than likely, they simply figured that 2013 would be essentially the same as a year they'd already charted and so didn't bother to repeat themselves.
It's not uncommon, but neither is it safe, to assume that a culture which has apparently failed to grasp one concept which you regard as self-evident has necessarily failed to grasp another one which you regard as taking a bit more work to understand.