Dutch science magazine Natuurwetenschap en Techniek reports that calculations by the Mayan people that the world will end in 2012 are wrong. According to the magazine, scientists have worked out that the sinister prophecy should have been for the year 2208.

The theory is based on the Mayan calendar, which ends on 21 December 2012. Supporters of the theory believe this means the world will end on this date. There is plenty of room for confusion as the Mayans had four different calendars, and the Spanish rulers destroyed all their written texts. All that was left was what was written in stone.

The error was made when the calendar was translated into Greenwich mean time. New research by archaeologists, astronomers and mathematicians has revealed that the calendar was out by two centuries. Which means humanity has another 200 years to ponder the prediction.

Photo: Aztec Calendar related to the Mayan calendar - Kennislink