Maya Cosmology & the Real 2012: Mary Lou Ridinger at TEDxSanMigueldeAllende

MaryLou Ridinger, an archaeologist who has lived in Guatemala for nearly twenty-five years tackles the absurd misinterpretations of the Mayan 'Long Count" calendar, explains its true meaning of December 21, 2012 in the Mayan context, and suggests that our society could learn important lessons about cyclicality and interconnectedness from the actual beliefs of Mayans. Mary Lou Ridinger, born in Texas in 1945, first lived in San Miguel Allende in 1958-59. Upon her return in 1970 she attended the University of the Americas for her M.A in archaeology. Her studies included literal "digs" as Mexico City excavated its subway system. Three years later her career started in Guatemala as she was the first archaeologist to discover the source of the lost Maya jade mines. This led to starting a small jade business which ,thirty-eight years later, has been fundamental in restoring a source of Maya cultural heritage to both a nation, and to a people; as well as to its place in Mesoamerican history. During the past 4 years Ridinger has founded the Maya Conservancy and spent much time in developing educational tools to bring back the Maya Calendar knowledge from the 2,000 year old site of Izapa, Chiapas. Still virtually unknown, Izapa is the origin site of the complex Mesoamerican calendar system, including the Dec 21, 2012 date. She has been featured in National Geographic, the Discovery channel, and various magazines. She and her husband's story has been featured in a recent book, The Stone of Kings by Gerard Helferich. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)