About the book: 2008 / How and why were the ancient Mayans, the people of stone and bronze, able to invent the most accurate calendar? On what knowledge is their belief based that the current “age of the jaguar” began on August 13, 3114 BC? e. and should end on December 21, 2012? What preceded the founding of the civilizations we know? The author of a series of scientific bestsellers, Adrian Gilbert, discovers new layers of ancient knowledge of the Central American Indians. The life of these people, who revered the stars and calendars, was subject to a fundamental principle: the cyclical nature of existence. And they were convinced that catastrophic events of the deep past were destined to repeat themselves…