Actually, looking at ancient texts and figuring out what civilizations meant by certain things is one of the hardest things to do. (This includes old Hebrew characters, Egyptian hieroglyphics, etc.)
Some scholars have noted that when the Mayans made that calendar, they may have just meant that a new
era will begin in 2012, as opposed to the world ending. And with the way the world is now, it wouldn't shock me in the least to see some major changes take place and find that we are, indeed, moving into a new era.
So, end of the world, or a new era? Who knows, but just keep in mind that the "end of the world" has been predicted before and yet we are still here. The Bible does say that no man knows when the end of the world will be, and whether you believe in God or not, I think that's a pretty fair statement, especially considering all the false predictions over the years.
Anyway, those are my thoughts.
-JD