|
| |
The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only
known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as
its spectacular art, monumental architecture, and sophisticated mathematical and
astronomical systems. Initially established during the Preclassic period, many
of these reached their apogee of development during the Classic period (c. 250
to 900), and continued throughout the Postclassic period until the arrival of
the Spanish. At its peak, it was one of the most densely populated and
culturally dynamic societies in the world.
The Maya civilization shares many features with other Mesoamerican civilizations
due to the high degree of interaction and cultural diffusion that characterized
the region. Advances such as writing, epigraphy, and the calendar did not
originate with the Maya; however, their civilization fully developed them. Maya
influence can be detected as far as central Mexico, more than 1000 km (625
miles) from the Maya area. Many outside influences are found in Maya art and
architecture, which are thought to result from trade and cultural exchange
rather than direct external conquest. The Maya peoples never disappeared,
neither at the time of the Classic period decline nor with the arrival of the
Spanish conquistadores and the subsequent Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Today, the Maya and their descendants form sizable populations throughout the
Maya area and maintain a distinctive set of traditions and beliefs that are the
result of the merger of pre-Columbian and post-Conquest ideologies (and
structured by the almost total adoption of Roman Catholicism). Many different
Mayan languages continue to be spoken as primary languages today; the Rabinal
Achí, a play written in the Q'eqchi' language, was declared a Masterpiece of the
Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2005.
Geographical position
Extent of the Maya civilizationThe geographic extent of the Maya civilization,
known as the Maya area, extended throughout the southern Mexican states of
Chiapas, Tabasco, and the Yucatán Peninsula states of Quintana Roo, Campeche and
Yucatán. The Maya area also extended throughout the northern Central American
region, including the present-day nations of Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and
western Honduras.
As the largest sub-region in Mesoamerica, it encompassed a vast and varied
landscape, from the mountainous regions of the Sierra Madre to the semi-arid
plains of northern Yucatán. Climate in the Maya region can vary tremendously, as
the low-lying areas are particularly susceptible to the hurricanes and tropical
storms that frequent the Caribbean.
The Maya area is generally divided into three loosely defined zones: the
southern Maya highlands, the southern (or central) Maya lowlands, and the
northern Maya lowlands. The southern Maya highlands include all of elevated
terrain in Guatemala and the Chiapas highlands. The southern lowlands lie just
north of the highlands, and incorporate the Petén of northern Guatemala, Belize,
El Salvador, and the southern portions of the Mexican states of Campeche and
Quintana Roo. The northern lowlands cover the remainder of the Yucatán
Peninsula, including the Puuc hills.
History
Preclassic
While the Maya area was initially inhabited around the 10th millennium BC, the
first clearly “Maya” settlements were established in approximately 1800 BC in
Soconusco region of the Pacific Coast. This point in time, known as the Early
Preclassic, was characterized by sedentary communities and the introduction of
pottery and fired clay figurines.
Archaeological evidence suggests the construction of ceremonial architecture in
Maya area by approximately 1000 BC. The earliest configurations of such
architecture consist of simple burial mounds, which would be the precursors to
the stepped pyramids subsequently erected in the Late Preclassic. Prominent
Middle and Late Preclassic settlement zones are located in the southern Maya
lowlands, specifically in the Mirador and Petén Basins. Important sites in the
southern Maya lowlands include Nakbe, El Mirador, Cival, and San Bartolo.
Mid-sized Maya communities also began to develop in the northern Maya lowlands
during the Middle and Late Preclassic, though these lacked the size, scale, and
influence of the large centers of the southern lowlands. Two important
Preclassic northern sites include Komchen and Dzibilchaltun.
There is some disagreement about the boundaries which differentiate the physical
and cultural extent of the early Maya and neighboring Preclassic Mesoamerican
civilizations, such as the Olmec culture of the Tabasco lowlands and the
Mixe-Zoque– and Zapotec–speaking peoples of Chiapas and southern Oaxaca,
respectively. Many of the earliest significant inscriptions and buildings
appeared in this overlapping zone, and evidence suggests that these cultures and
the formative Maya influenced one another.
Classic
The ruins of Palenque.The Classic period (c. 250–900) witnessed the peak of
large-scale construction and urbanism, the recording of monumental inscriptions,
and a period of significant intellectual and artistic development, particularly
in the southern lowland regions. They developed an agriculturally intensive,
city-centered empire consisting of numerous independent city-states. This
includes the well-known cities of Tikal, Palenque, Copán and Calakmul, but also
the lesser known Dos Pilas, Uaxactun, Altun Ha, and Bonampak, among others. The
Early Classic settlement distribution in the northern Maya lowlands is not as
clearly known as the southern zone, but does include a number of population
centers, such as Oxkintok, Chunchucmil, and the early occupation of Uxmal.
The most notable monuments are the pyramids they built in their religious
centers and the accompanying palaces of their rulers. The palace at Cancuen is
the largest in the Maya area, though the site, interestingly, lacks pyramids.
Other important archaeological remains include the carved stone slabs usually
called stelae (the Maya called them tetun, or "tree-stones"), which depict
rulers along with hieroglyphic texts describing their genealogy, military
victories, and other accomplishments.
The Maya participated in long distance trade with many of the other Mesoamerican
cultures, including Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, and other groups in central and
gulf-coast Mexico, as well as with more distant, non-Mesoamerican groups. For
example, archaeologists found gold from Panama in the Sacred Cenote of Chichen
Itza. Important trade goods included cacao, salt, sea shells, jade and obsidian.
The Maya "collapse"
Maya collapse
For reasons that are still debated, the Maya centers of the southern lowlands
went into decline during the 8th and 9th centuries and were abandoned shortly
thereafter. This decline was coupled with a cessation of monumental inscriptions
and large-scale architectural construction. Although there is no universally
accepted theory to explain this “collapse,” current theories fall into two
categories: non-ecological and ecological.
Non-ecological theories of Maya decline are divided into several subcategories,
such as foreign invasion, peasant revolt, and the collapse of key trade routes.
Ecological hypotheses include environmental disaster, epidemic disease, and
climate change.
Postclassic period
Early Postclassic temple at Topoxte. Note the straight walls and flat ceiling,
typical of Postclassic Maya architectureDuring the succeeding Postclassic period
(from the 10th to the early 16th century), development in the northern centers
persisted, characterized by an increasing diversity of external influences. The
Maya cities of the northern lowlands in Yucatán continued to flourish for
centuries more; some of the important sites in this era were Chichen Itza,
Uxmal, Edzná, and Coba. After the decline of the ruling dynasties of Chichen and
Uxmal, Mayapan ruled all of Yucatán until a revolt in 1450. (This city's name
may be the source of the word "Maya", which had a more geographically restricted
meaning in Yucatec and colonial Spanish and only grew to its current meaning in
the 19th and 20th centuries). The area then degenerated into competing
city-states until the Yucatán was conquered by the Spanish.
The Itza Maya, Ko'woj, and Yalain groups of Central Peten survived the "Classic
Period Collapse" in small numbers and by 1250 reconstituted themselves to form
competing city-states. The Itza maintained their capital at Tayasal (also known
as Noh Petén), an archaeological site thought to underlay the modern city of
Flores, Guatemala on Lake Petén Itzá. It ruled over an area extending across the
Peten Lakes region, encompassing the community of Eckixil on Lake Quexil. The
Ko'woj had their capital at Zacpeten. Postclassic Maya states also continued to
survive in the southern highlands. One of the Maya kingdoms in this area, the
Quiché, is responsible for the best-known Maya work of historiography and
mythology, the Popol Vuh.
Colonial Period
Spanish conquest of Yucatán
See also: Spanish conquest of Mexico and Spanish colonization of the Americas
Shortly after their first expeditions to the region, the Spanish initiated a
number of attempts to subjugate the Maya and establish a colonial presence in
the Maya territories of the Yucatán Peninsula and the Guatemalan highlands. This
campaign, sometimes termed "The Spanish Conquest of Yucatán," would prove to be
a lengthy and dangerous exercise for the conquistadores from the outset, and it
would take some 170 years before the Spanish established substantive control
over all Maya lands.
Unlike the Spanish campaigns against the Aztec and Inca Empires, there was no
single Maya political center which once overthrown would hasten the end of
collective resistance from the indigenous peoples. Instead, the conquistador
forces needed to subdue the numerous independent Maya polities almost one by
one, many of which kept up a fierce resistance. Most of the conquistadores were
motivated by the prospects of the great wealth to be had from the seizure of
precious metal resources such as gold or silver; however, the Maya lands
themselves were poor in these resources. This would become another factor in
forestalling Spanish designs of conquest, as they instead were initially
attracted to the reports of great riches in central Mexico or Peru.
The last Maya states, the Itza polity of Tayasal and the Ko'woj city of
Zacpeten, were continuously occupied and remained independent of the Spanish
until late in the 17th century. They were finally subdued by the Spanish in
1697.
Political structures
A typical Classic Maya polity was a small hierarchical state (ajawil, ajawlel,
or ajawlil) headed by a hereditary ruler known as an ajaw (later k’uhul ajaw).
Such kingdoms were usually no more than a capital city with its neighborhood and
several lesser towns, although there were greater kingdoms, which controlled
larger territories and extended patronage over smaller polities.
Each kingdom had a name that did not necessarily correspond to any locality
within its territory. Its identity was that of a political unit associated with
a particular ruling dynasty. For instance, the archaeological site of Naranjo
was the capital of the kingdom of Saal. The land (chan ch’e’n) of the kingdom
and its capital were called Wakab’nal or Maxam and were part of a larger
geographical entity known as Huk Tsuk. Interestingly, despite constant warfare
and eventual shifts in regional power, most kingdoms never disappeared from the
political landscape until the collapse of the whole system in the 9th century
AD. In this respect, Classic Maya kingdoms are highly similar to late Post
Classic polities encountered by the Spaniards in Yucatán and Central Mexico:
some polities could be subordinated to hegemonic rulers through conquests or
dynastic unions and yet even then they persisted as distinct entities.
Mayanists have been increasingly accepting a "court paradigm" of Classic Maya
societies which puts the emphasis on the centrality of the royal household and
especially the person of the king. This approach focuses on Maya monumental
spaces as the embodiment of the diverse activities of the royal household. It
considers the role of places and spaces (including dwellings of royalty and
nobles, throne rooms, temples, halls and plazas for public ceremonies) in
establishing power and social hierarchy, and also in projecting aesthetic and
moral values to define the wider social realm.
Spanish sources invariably describe even the largest Maya settlements as
dispersed collections of dwellings grouped around the temples and palaces of the
ruling dynasty and lesser nobles. None of the Classic Maya cities shows evidence
of economic specialization and commerce of the scale of Mexican Tenochtitlan.
Instead, Maya cities could be seen as enormous royal households, the locales of
the administrative and ritual activities of the royal court. They were the
places where privileged nobles could approach the holy ruler, where aesthetic
values of the high culture were formulated and disseminated, where aesthetic
items were consumed. They were the self-proclaimed centers and the sources of
social, moral, and cosmic order. The fall of a royal court as in the
well-documented cases of Piedras Negras or Copan would cause the inevitable
"death" of the associated settlement.
Art
Maya art
A stucco relief from Palenque depicting Upakal K'inichMany consider Maya art of
their Classic Era (c. 200 to 900 AD) to be the most sophisticated and beautiful
of the ancient New World. The carvings and the reliefs made of stucco at
Palenque and the statuary of Copán are especially fine, showing a grace and
accurate observation of the human form that reminded early archaeologists of
Classical civilization of the Old World, hence the name bestowed on this era. We
have only hints of the advanced painting of the classic Maya; mostly what have
survived are funerary pottery and other Maya ceramics, and a building at
Bonampak holds ancient murals that survived by serendipity. A beautiful
turquoise blue color that has survived through the centuries due to its unique
chemical characteristics, is known as Maya Blue or Azul maya, and it is present
in Bonampak, Tajín Cacaxtla, Jaina, and even in some Colonial Convents. The use
of Maya Blue survived until the XVI century when the technique was lost. Some
murals have been discovered at Bonampak. With the decipherment of the Maya
script it was discovered that the Maya were one of the few civilizations where
artists attached their name to their work.
Architecture
Maya architecture
As unique and spectacular as Greek or Roman architecture, Maya architecture
spans many thousands of years; yet, often the most dramatic and easily
recognizable as Maya are the fantastic stepped pyramids from the Terminal
Pre-classic period and beyond.
There are also cave sites that are important to the Maya. These cave sites
include Jolja Cave, the cave site at Naj Tunich, the Candelaria Caves, and the
Cave of the Witch. There are also cave-origin myths among the Maya. Some cave
sites are still used by the modern Maya in the Chiapas highlands.
It has been suggested that, in conjunction to the Maya Long Count Calendar,
every fifty-two years, or cycle, temples and pyramids were remodeled and
rebuilt. It appears now that the rebuilding process was often instigated by a
new ruler or for political matters, as opposed to matching the calendar cycle.
However, the process of rebuilding on top of old structures is indeed a common
one. Most notably, the North Acropolis at Tikal seems to be the sum total of
1,500 years of architectural modifications. In Tikal and Yaxhá, there are the
Twin Pyramid complexes (7 in Tikal and 1 in Yaxhá, that commemorate the end of a
Baktún
Through observation of the numerous consistent elements and stylistic
distinctions, remnants of Maya architecture have become an important key to
understanding the evolution of their ancient civilization.
Urban design
As Maya cities spread throughout the varied geography of Mesoamerica, site
planning appears to have been minimal. Maya architecture tended to integrate a
great degree of natural features, and their cities were built somewhat
haphazardly as dictated by the topography of each independent location. For
instance, some cities on the flat limestone plains of the northern Yucatán grew
into great sprawling municipalities, while others built in the hills of
Usumacinta utilized the natural loft of the topography to raise their towers and
temples to impressive heights. However, some semblance of order, as required by
any large city, still prevailed.
Classic Era Maya urban design could easily be described as the division of space
by great monuments and causeways. Open public plazas were the gathering places
for people and the focus of urban design, while interior space was entirely
secondary. Only in the Late Post-Classic era did the great Maya cities develop
into more fortress-like defensive structures that lacked, for the most part, the
large and numerous plazas of the Classic.
At the onset of large-scale construction during the Classic Era, a predetermined
axis was typically established in a cardinal direction. Depending on the
location of natural resources such as fresh-water wells, or cenotes, the city
grew by using sacbeob (causeways), (singular: Sacbé) to connect great plazas
with the numerous platforms that created the sub-structure for nearly all Maya
buildings. As more structures were added and existing structures re-built or
remodeled, the great Maya cities seemed to take on an almost random identity
that contrasted sharply with other great Mesoamerican cities such as Teotihuacan
and its rigid grid-like construction.
At the heart of the Maya city were large plazas surrounded by the most important
governmental and religious buildings, such as the royal acropolis, great pyramid
temples and occasionally ball-courts. Though city layouts evolved as nature
dictated, careful attention was placed on the directional orientation of temples
and observatories so that they were constructed in accordance with Maya
interpretation of the orbits of the heavenly bodies. Immediately outside of this
ritual center were the structures of lesser nobles, smaller temples, and
individual shrines; the less sacred and less important structures had a greater
degree of privacy. Outside of the constantly evolving urban core were the less
permanent and more modest homes of the common people.
Building materials
A surprising aspect of the great Maya structures is their lack of many advanced
technologies seemingly necessary for such constructions. Lacking draft animals
necessary for wheel-based modes of transportation, metal tools and even pulleys,
Maya architecture required abundant manpower. Yet, beyond this enormous
requirement, the remaining materials seem to have been readily available. All
stone for Maya structures appears to have been taken from local quarries. They
most often used limestone which remained pliable enough to be worked with stone
tools while being quarried and only hardened once removed from its bed. In
addition to the structural use of limestone, much of their mortar consisted of
crushed, burnt and mixed limestone that mimicked the properties of cement and
was used as widely for stucco finishing as it was for mortar. Later improvements
in quarrying techniques reduced the necessity for this limestone-stucco as the
stones began to fit quite perfectly, yet it remained a crucial element in some
post and lintel roofs. In the case of the common Maya houses, wooden poles,
adobe and thatch were the primary materials; however, instances of what appear
to be common houses of limestone have been discovered as well. Also notable
throughout Maya architecture is the corbel arch (also known as a "false arch"),
whose limitations kept their structures generally weighty rather than airy.
Notable constructions
Ceremonial platforms were commonly limestone platforms of typically less than
four meters in height where public ceremonies and religious rites were
performed. Constructed in the fashion of a typical foundation platform, these
were often accented by carved figures, altars and perhaps tzompantli, a stake
used to display the heads of victims or defeated Mesoamerican ballgame
opponents.
Palaces were large and often highly decorated, and usually sat close to the
center of a city and housed the population's elite. Any exceedingly large royal
palace, or one consisting of many chambers on different levels might be referred
to as an acropolis. However, often these were one-story and consisted of many
small chambers and typically at least one interior courtyard; these structures
appear to take into account the needed functionality required of a residence, as
well as the decoration required for their inhabitants stature.
E-Groups are specific structural configurations present at a number of centers
in the Maya area. These complexes are oriented and aligned according to specific
astronomical events (primarily the sun’s solstices and equinoxes) and are
thought to have been observatories. These structures are usually accompanied by
iconographic reliefs that tie astronomical observation into general Maya
mythology. The structural complex is named for Group E at Uaxactun, the first
documented in Mesoamerica.
Temple of the Cross at Palenque. Note the intricate roof comb and corbeled
arch.Pyramids and temples. Often the most important religious temples sat atop
the towering Maya pyramids, presumably as the closest place to the heavens.
While recent discoveries point toward the extensive use of pyramids as tombs,
the temples themselves seem to rarely, if ever, contain burials. Residing atop
the pyramids, some of over two-hundred feet, such as that at El Mirador, the
temples were impressive and decorated structures themselves. Commonly topped
with a roof comb, or superficial grandiose wall, these temples might have served
as a type of propaganda. As they were often the only structure in a Maya city to
exceed the height of the surrounding jungle, the roof combs atop the temples
were often carved with representations of rulers that could be seen from vast
distances.
Observatories. The Maya were keen astronomers and had mapped out the phases of
celestial objects, especially the Moon and Venus. Many temples have doorways and
other features aligning to celestial events. Round temples, often dedicated to
Kukulcan, are perhaps those most often described as "observatories" by modern
ruin tour-guides, but there is no evidence that they were so used exclusively,
and temple pyramids of other shapes may well have been used for observation as
well.
Ball courts. As an integral aspect of the Mesoamerican lifestyle, the courts for
their ritual ball-game were constructed throughout the Maya realm and often on a
grand scale. Enclosed on two sides by stepped ramps that led to ceremonial
platforms or small temples, the ball court itself was of a capital "I" shape and
could be found in all but the smallest of Maya cities.
Writing and literacy
Writing system
Maya script
The Maya writing system (often called hieroglyphs from a superficial resemblance
to the Ancient Egyptian writing) was a combination of phonetic symbols and
logograms. It is most often classified as a logographic or (more properly) a
logosyllabic writing system, in which syllabic signs play a significant role. It
is the only writing system of the Pre-Columbian New World which is known to
completely represent the spoken language of its community. In total, the script
has more than a thousand different glyphs, although a few are variations of the
same sign or meaning, and many appear only rarely or are confined to particular
localities. At any one time, no more than around 500 glyphs were in use, some
200 of which (including variations) had a phonetic or syllabic interpretation.
The earliest inscriptions in an identifiably-Maya script date back to 200–300
BC. However, this is preceded by several other writing systems which had
developed in Mesoamerica, most notably that of the Zapotecs, and (following the
2006 publication of research on the recently-discovered Cascajal Block), the
Olmecs. There is a pre-Maya writing known as "Epi-Olmec script" (post Olmec)
which some researchers believe may represent a transitional script between Olmec
and Maya writing, but the relationships between these remain unclear and the
matter is unsettled. On January 5, 2006, National Geographic published the
findings of Maya writings that could be as old as 400 BCE, suggesting that the
Maya writing system is nearly as old as the oldest Mesoamerican writing known at
that time, Zapotec. In the succeeding centuries the Maya developed their script
into a form which was far more complete and complex than any other that has yet
been found in the Americas.
Since its inception, the Maya script was in use up to the arrival of the
Europeans, peaking during the Maya Classical Period (c. 200 to 900). Although
many Maya centers went into decline (or were completely abandoned) during or
after this period, the skill and knowledge of Maya writing persisted amongst
segments of the population, and the early Spanish conquistadors knew of
individuals who could still read and write the script. Unfortunately, the
Spanish displayed little interest in it, and as a result of the dire impacts the
conquest had on Maya societies, the knowledge was subsequently lost, probably
within only a few generations.
At a rough estimate, in excess of 10,000 individual texts have so far been
recovered, mostly inscribed on stone monuments, lintels, stelae and ceramic
pottery. The Maya also produced texts painted on a form of paper manufactured
from processed tree-bark, in particular from several species of strangler fig
trees such as Ficus cotinifolia and Ficus padifolia. This paper, common
throughout Mesoamerica and generally now known by its Nahuatl-language name
amatl, was typically bound as a single continuous sheet that was folded into
pages of equal width, concertina-style, to produce a codex (book) that could be
written on both sides. Shortly after the conquest, all of the codices which
could be found were ordered to be burnt and destroyed by zealous Spanish
priests, notably Bishop Diego de Landa. Only three reasonably intact examples of
Maya codices are known to have survived through to the present day. These are
now known as the Madrid, Dresden, and Paris codices. A few pages survive from a
fourth, the Grolier codex, whose authenticity is sometimes disputed, but mostly
is held to be genuine. Further archaeology conducted at Mayan sites often
reveals other fragments, rectangular lumps of plaster and paint chips which
formerly were codices; these tantalizing remains are, however, too severely
damaged for any inscriptions to have survived, most of the organic material
having decayed.
The decipherment and recovery of the now-lost knowledge of Maya writing has been
a long and laborious process. Some elements were first deciphered in the late
19th and early 20th century, mostly the parts having to do with numbers, the
Maya calendar, and astronomy. Major breakthroughs came starting in the 1950s to
1970s, and accelerated rapidly thereafter. By the end of the 20th century,
scholars were able to read the majority of Maya texts to a large extent, and
recent field work continues to further illuminate the content.
In reference to the few extant Maya writings, Michael D. Coe, a prominent
linguist and epigrapher at Yale University stated:
" ur knowledge of ancient Maya thought must represent only a tiny fraction of
the whole picture, for of the thousands of books in which the full extent of
their learning and ritual was recorded, only four have survived to modern times
(as though all that posterity knew of ourselves were to be based upon three
prayer books and 'Pilgrim's Progress')." (Michael D. Coe, The Maya, London:
Thames and Hudson, 4th ed., 1987, p. 161.)
Most surviving pre-Columbian Maya writing is from stelae and other stone
inscriptions from Maya sites, many of which were already abandoned before the
Spanish arrived. The inscriptions on the stelae mainly record the dynasties and
wars of the sites' rulers. Also of note are the inscriptions that reveal
information about the lives of ancient Maya women. Much of the remainder of Maya
hieroglyphics has been found on funeral pottery, most of which describes the
afterlife.
Writing tools
Although the archaeological record does not provide examples, Maya art shows
that writing was done with brushes made with animal hair and quills. Codex-style
writing was usually done in black ink with red highlights, giving rise to the
Aztec name for the Maya territory as the "land of red and black".
Scribes and Literacy
Scribes held a prominent position in Maya courts. Maya art often depicts rulers
with trappings indicating they were scribes or at least able to write, such as
having pen bundles in their headdresses. Additionally, many rulers have been
found in conjunction with writing tools such as shell or clay inkpots.
Although the number of logograms and syllabic symbols required to fully write
the language numbered in the hundreds, literacy was not necessarily widespread
beyond the elite classes. Graffiti uncovered in various contexts, including on
fired bricks, shows nonsensical attempts to imitate the writing system.
Mathematics
Mayan numeralsIn common with the other Mesoamerican civilizations, the Maya used
a base 20 (vigesimal) and base 5 numbering system (see Maya numerals). Also, the
preclassic Maya and their neighbors independently developed the concept of zero
by 36 BC. Inscriptions show them on occasion working with sums up to the
hundreds of millions and dates so large it would take several lines just to
represent it. They produced extremely accurate astronomical observations; their
charts of the movements of the moon and planets are equal or superior to those
of any other civilization working from naked eye observation.
Also in common with the other Mesoamerican civilizations, the Maya utilized a
highly accurate measure of the length of the solar year, far more accurate than
that used in Europe as the basis of the Gregorian Calendar. They did not use
this figure for the length of year in their calendar, however. Instead, the Maya
calendar(s) were based on a year length of exactly 365 days, which means that
the calendar falls out of step with the seasons by one day every four years. By
comparison, the Julian calendar, used in Europe from Roman times until about the
16th Century, accumulated an error of one day every 128 years. The modern
Gregorian calendar accumulates a day's error in approximately 3257 years.
Astronomy
Uniquely, there is some evidence to suggest the Maya appear to be the only
pre-telescopic civilization to demonstrate knowledge of the Orion Nebula as
being fuzzy, i.e. not a stellar pin-point. The information which supports this
theory comes from a folk tale that deals with the Orion constellation's area of
the sky. Their traditional hearths include in their middle a smudge of glowing
fire that corresponds with the Orion Nebula. This is a significant clue to
support the idea that the Maya detected a diffuse area of the sky contrary to
the pin points of stars before the telescope was invented. Many preclassic sites
are oriented with the Pleiades and Eta draconnis, as seen in La Blanca, Ujuxte,
Monte Alto, and Takalik Abaj.
The Maya were very interested in zenial passages, the time when the sun passes
directly overhead. The latitude of most of their cities being below the Tropic
of Cancer, these zenial passages would occur twice a year equidistant from the
solstice. To represent this position of the sun overhead, the Maya had a god
named Diving God.
The Dresden Codex contains the highest concentration of astronomical phenomena
observations and calculations of any of the surviving texts (it appears that the
data in this codex is primarily or exclusively of an astronomical nature).
Examination and analysis of this codex reveals that Venus was the most important
astronomical object to the Maya, even more important to them than the sun.
Religion
Maya religion
Chaac, the god of Rain and thunder
A jade mask. Its design metaphorically represents the Rain God Tlaloc, and the
Creator God Quetzalcoatl.Like the Aztec and Inca who came to power later, the
Maya believed in a cyclical nature of time. The rituals and ceremonies were very
closely associated with celestial/terrestrial cycles which they observed and
inscribed as separate calendars. The Maya priest had the job of interpreting
these cycles and giving a prophetic outlook on the future or past based on the
number relations of all their calendars. They also had to determine if the
"heavens" or celestial matters were appropriate for performing certain religious
ceremonies.
The Maya practiced human sacrifice. In some Maya rituals people were killed by
having their arms and legs held while a priest cut the person's chest open and
tore out his heart as an offering. This is depicted on ancient objects such as
pictorial texts, known as codices (singular: codex). It is believed that
children were often offered as sacrificial victims because they were believed to
be pure.
Much of the Maya religious tradition is still not understood by scholars, but it
is known that the Maya, like most pre-modern societies, believed that the cosmos
has three major planes, the underworld, the sky, and the earth.
The Maya Underworld is reached through caves and ball courts. It was thought to
be dominated by the aged Maya gods of death and putrefaction. The Sun and
Itzamna, both aged gods, dominated the Maya idea of the sky. The night sky was
considered a window showing all supernatural doings. The Maya configured
constellations of gods and places, saw the unfolding of narratives in their
seasonal movements, and believed that the intersection of all possible worlds
was in the night sky.
Maya gods were not discrete, separate entities like Greek gods. The gods had
affinities and aspects that caused them to merge with one another in ways that
seem unbounded. There is a massive array of supernatural characters in the Maya
religious tradition, only some of which recur with regularity. Good and evil
traits are not permanent characteristics of Maya gods, nor is only "good"
admirable. What is inappropriate during one season might come to pass in another
since much of the Mayan religious tradition is based on cycles and not
permanence.
The life-cycle of maize lies at the heart of Maya belief. This philosophy is
demonstrated on the Maya belief in the Maize God as a central religious figure.
The Maya bodily ideal is also based on the form of the young Maize God, which is
demonstrated in their artwork. The Maize God was also a model of courtly life
for the Classical Maya.
The Maya believed that the universe was flat and square, but infinite in area.
They also worshiped the circle, which symbolized perfection or the balancing of
forces.
It is sometimes believed that the multiple "gods" represented nothing more than
a mathematical explanation of what they observed. Each god was literally just a
number or an explanation of the effects observed by a combination of numbers
from multiple calendars. Among the many types of Maya calendars which were
maintained, the most important included a 260-day cycle, a 365-day cycle which
approximated the solar year, a cycle which recorded lunation periods of the
Moon, and a cycle which tracked the synodic period of Venus.
Philosophically, the Maya believed that knowing the past meant knowing the
cyclical influences that create the present, and by knowing the influences of
the present one can see the cyclical influences of the future.
Even in the 19th century, there was Maya influence in the local branch of
Christianity followed in Chan Santa Cruz. Among the K'iche's in the western
highlands of Guatemala these same nine months are replicated, until this very
day, in the training of the ajk'ij, the keeper of the 260-day-calendar called
ch'olk'ij.
Agriculture
Maya diet and subsistence
See also: Agriculture in Mesoamerica
The ancient Maya had diverse and sophisticated methods of food production. It
was formerly believed that shifting cultivation (swidden) agriculture provided
most of their food but it is now thought that permanent raised fields,
terracing, forest gardens, managed fallows, and wild harvesting were also
crucial to supporting the large populations of the Classic period in some areas.
Indeed, evidence of these different agricultural systems persist today: raised
fields connected by canals can be seen on aerial photographs, contemporary
rainforest species composition has significantly higher abundance of species of
economic value to ancient Maya, and pollen records in lake sediments suggest
that corn, manioc, sunflower seeds, cotton, and other crops have been cultivated
in association with the deforestation in Mesoamerica since at least 2500 BC.
Contemporary Maya peoples still practice many of these traditional forms of
agriculture, although they are dynamic systems and change with changing
population pressures, cultures, economic systems, climate change, and the
availability of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
Rediscovery of the Pre-Columbian Maya
False-color IKONOS image of a bajo (lowland area) in Guatemala. The forest
covering sites of Mayan ruins appears yellowish, as opposed to the red color of
surrounding forest. The more sparsely vegetated bajos appear blue-green.
A Middle Preclassic palace structure at Nakbé, the Mirador Basin.Spanish
American Colonies were largely cut off from the outside world, and the ruins of
the great ancient cities were little known except to locals. In 1839 United
States traveler and writer John Lloyd Stephens, after hearing reports of lost
ruins in the jungle, visited Copán, Palenque, and other sites with English
architect and draftsman Frederick Catherwood. Their illustrated accounts of the
ruins sparked strong interest in the region and the people, and they have once
again regained their position as a vital link in Mesoamerican heritage.
However, in many locations, Maya ruins have been overgrown by the jungle,
becoming dense enough to hide structures just a few meters away. To help find
ruins, researchers have turned to satellite imagery. The best way to find them
is to look at the visible and near-infrared spectra. Due to their limestone
construction, the monuments affected the chemical makeup of the soil as they
deteriorated. Some moisture-loving plants stayed away, while others were killed
off or discolored. The effects of the limestone ruins are still apparent today
to some satellite sensors.
Much of the contemporary rural population of the Yucatán Peninsula, Chiapas
(both in Mexico), Guatemala and Belize is Maya by descent and primary language.
Maya sites
See also: List of Maya sites
There are hundreds of significant Maya sites, and thousands of smaller ones. The
largest and most historically important include:
Ceibal
Chichen Itza
Coba
Comalcalco
Copán
El Mirador
Naranjo
Nakbé
Kalakmul
Palenque
Quiriguá
Tikal
Uxmal
Yaxha
| |
|
