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Home / De facto Encyclopedia / Social and Historical Sciences / History / History of World Civilizations
The Mayan Civilization
Maya peoples
During the ice Age, which began 70,000 years ago, the sea level dropped by 100-250 meters, which formed a wide bridge connecting the Siuki Peninsula in Asia and Alaska.
The bridge was first crossed by animals, with the help of which, as well as other biological processes, plants crossed.
40,000 to 20,000 years ago, according to the latest research, this difficult path was made by man.
Just like many other "American Indians", such as the Eskimos or Aleuts, the Aztecs or Mixtecs, the primitive Tain from the island of Cuba or the surprisingly developed Incas; like all peoples, from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego, the Maya people also descended from the Suiatic race - but not from the modern inhabitants of Mongolia, China or Japan, but from the ancestors of the forgotten tribes of the southeast and west central Asia.
The Mayan culture extends over about 325 thousand square kilometers, which includes the modern states of Mexico: Chiapas (with a still high concentration of the Mayan population), Campeche, Tabasco, Quintana Roo and Yucatan, as well as Guatemala, Belize, the western part of Honduras and northern El Salvador.
Moving towards the northern part of the Maya territory, the climate becomes increasingly hot and dry.
Nevertheless, the soil of these places can be compared to Swedish cheese: when it rains, water seeps through the limestone rocks, forming underground rivers and lakes that come to the surface among the crevices formed in the stones.
The wells are called "cenote" and they are the only source of fresh water in these areas.
The presence of a large number of limestone stones ensures the supply of material for construction.
Thanks to this, large ceremonial centers such as Chichen Itsa, Uxmal, Tulum and Koba, and many others, have appeared in this area, which is poor in natural resources.
The exact opposite happens when moving south, the tropical vegetation becomes more fertile and abundant.
Trees with valuable wood, such as kaoba, cedar, ramon and chicosapote, thrive on moist soil; the vegetation here reaches much higher heights compared to the maximum height of the jungles of the state of Yucatan, where they do not exceed 15 meters.
Here, too, the big cities have reached their heyday: Palenque (Chiapas) and Tikal (Guatemala), located on the land crossed by the Grijalva Rivers.
In the jungles of the Maya territory, toucans, parrots, cormorants, pink flamingos (inhabitants of the lakes of the Yucatan Peninsula) and the magnificent quetzal live in the sky, which was very revered in this ancient culture.
There are 365 species of birds in the Peten region alone.
Bats that have invaded archaeological sites populate the night sky.
Hundreds of species of snakes live on the ground among plants and stones.
Some of them are among the most venomous in the world: naujaka (20 species, in Mexico), cantil (4 species), coralio (25 different species) and, of course, rattlesnake (55 species).
Spider monkeys and saraguato monkeys live in the trees.
White tailed deer, tapir (Mayan horse), anteater, armadillos and iguanas the owners of ancient ruins live among plants.
Among the dense jungle, various species of animals in danger of extinction, such as the cougar, ocelot and the sacred jaguar, have found refuge.
The majestic manatii (sea cow), which reaches up to one ton in weight, reigns in the lakes and bays of the Caribbean coast.
Mainly engaged in the cultivation of corn, beans, cocoa, pepper, tobacco and amaranth, the Maya peoples could devote a lot of time to studying the stars.
Among the factors that gave the greatness of this civilization are great knowledge in mathematics and astronomy, which, moreover, are supplemented by the only idea of time in Central America: cyclic time.
Their calendars are surprisingly accurate: the solar calendar, which has 365 days (divided into 18 months of 20 days and one month of 5 days), the Sacred calendar, called Tsolkin, which has 260 days (divided into 13 months of 20 days) and the Venus Calendar of 584 days.
Using these calendars, the Mayans could predict eclipses with very high accuracy.
The Maya used a twenty digit system of calculation in mathematics possibly based on the number of fingers and toes.
At the same time, the numbering was based on three symbols: a dot denoted one, a line - five, and a stylized snail was used to denote zero or number 20.
The Mayan civilization pioneered the use of zero in mathematics.
The Maya language is one of a kind; it bears no resemblance to any other language in Central America.
Their religion also has some concepts unfamiliar to their contemporaries, for example, they were the only ones who believed in the cyclic transmigration of human souls.
For the Maya, there was no past, present or future, since they represented time in the form of a cycle; every 52 years they returned to the same day and the world began anew (it is believed that the average life expectancy also corresponded to this period of time or even was less).
If we imagine the two main calendars Sunny (365 days) and Tsolkin (260 days) as two gears, one of which is slightly smaller than the other, and set them in motion in the opposite direction, the same teeth will touch in 52 years.
The main cycle of Maya time is determined by the eternal rotation of these two gears calendars.
The Maya also believed that there was another world before them, which was destroyed by the gods.
The fear that their world could be destroyed at any moment permeated their way of thinking and was an incentive for human sacrifices, the main purpose of which was the constant renewal of peace: the offering of human life as a gift in order to calm the divine tragic fate on which the continuation of the human world depended.
The rituals of self sacrifice were partly intended to ensure the continuation of life through the symbolic multiplication of the divine "creation/destruction", as well as to provoke visions of other worlds, which actually occurred due to the loss of a large amount of blood.
This perception of the world put a person in a position of humility and deep respect for the existence of the universe and before his powerlessness in controlling his own fate.
Their magical world was permeated with sacred energy, which was controlled by various deities who influence in all directions of the universe and rule medicine, science and life itself.
Everything depended on positive and negative influences, male and female, and on the whims of the almighty gods.
Balam, or shaman medicine man, was responsible for communicating with the parallel worlds of gods, spirits and ancestors (invisible to worldly eyes), from him they received instructions on how to manage society.
Balam used all sorts of substances that cause hallucinations, for example, such as "teonanacatl"; evidence of this can be found on miniature engravings on stones dating back about 2,200 years, found at the burial of the Mayan governor and other archaeological sites located near the city of Guatemala.
Of all the ancient Indian arts, none can compare with the Mayan art, not only because of its monumental structures, but also because of its mastery in all areas of art in general.
In sculpture, they were especially famous for the luxurious details and refined style of their engravings; wall works reached their maximum expression in Bonampac (Chiapas state).
Memorial " steles "(plates with records of important dates) are real works of art and Maya pottery has no equal.
The cities of Sayil, Labna and Kaba are evidence of the greatness of their architecture, which has reached especially majestic proportions in the cities of Uxmal, Tikal, Copan and Palenque.
There is no doubt that the Maya architects were real masters in their field.
They overcame many obstacles to invent and build their famous arches; fortunately, their clear understanding of the principles of balance and geometry led to results that we can still observe today.
To build these arches, the opposite walls were gradually tilted, bringing them closer until it was possible to close the top with one stone.
The stone blocks were connected to each other with a special mixture made of lime and sand, which helped to create very strong structures.
The Maya also built long roads (sakbe): of the ones discovered so far, some reach 100 km in length, like the one that connects the city of Koba with Yashuna.
close to Chichen Itsa.
Nevertheless, for many years, archaeologists have been asking themselves why the Maya built them, because they had neither wheels nor animals to transport cargo, and the construction of these roads through the impenetrable jungle was a titanic work.
All the Mayan cities were built basically on the same principle: the temples, platforms and pyramids that were used for religious ceremonies were concentrated around the central square, and this represented the most important part of the city.
Then came the residences for priests and nobles, and after that, on the outskirts of the city - the houses of ordinary residents, built of less durable materials.
Some of the cities had a complex sewage system, like the one found in Palenque, and systems for collecting and storing rainwater, like in the city of Tikal.
Often the walls of buildings were covered with a thick layer of plaster, several well preserved examples of it are located in the city of Tikal.
The building materials vary depending on the geographical location: limestone stone was used in Yucatan and Petena; there was a lot of volcanic stone in the Maya Kiche area; in Chiapas, the main blocks used in construction were prepared and fired.
However, in all the large centers found so far, the walls were covered with plaster and painted with rich natural tones.
Maya cities mainly served as ceremonial and commercial centers, the main buildings were naturally not used as residences, since the rooms located in the temples were small, with very poor ventilation and poor natural light; hence, it was concluded that they were only used for ceremonial purposes.
All this and much more creates an interesting contrast with the primitive technology used by the Maya, or rather developed in a different direction in relation to the technology of the old world, which is now used everywhere.
They were not familiar with hard metal; they did not use an arch with a central stone in architecture, and it seems that the Maya did not know or perhaps did not use a wheel like other Indians in North America.
It is a culture of contrasts and mysteries; brilliant mathematicians and astronomers and primitive farmers, peaceful merchants and warlike sacrificers.
In short, it is a fascinating civilization that has puzzled people for centuries.
The magnificent structures of the Maya, which pay a silent debt to the extensive knowledge of this civilization in astronomy and the abilities of their engineers, make us think about the destruction of American Indian civilizations, begun with great Style by the conquerors and the clergy of the great empires of European "civilizers".
To this day, this destruction continues with the exploitation and denial of the cultural differences of the descendants of the Maya and other American Indian civilizations.
Modern Maya
The population of the Maya has more than three million inhabitants divided into nine large groups that use 28 language dialects.
Their main occupation is agriculture, and they live in communities or in villages.
The Kiche group (1 million) and the Maya from the state of Yucatan (800 thousand) include the largest number of people from this race.
The Maya from the state of Yucatan live in an area that has many surprises: dense jungles, magnificent sanotes and caves, impressive underground rivers and a hot climate.
This is also the land where eneken grows, black coral is cultivated and where the first mestis appeared; people who sing about their glory and give their lives for this land.
During their existence, they have accumulated beliefs, skills in needlework, oral and written traditions, practical knowledge, which, combined with the need for communication, have produced various samples of culture.
So, the hardworking hands of needleworkers created objects of special beauty and bright colors, of various applications: decorative, household items and items used only for religious holidays.
As for the traditions regarding national clothing, many of the Mayan women in our time still use a traditional white dress embroidered with bright colors around the neckline and on the lower part of the skirt.
On the shoulders, they are used with the style of "reboso" (a kind of shawl).
The hair is usually braided or laid on the back of the head, decorated with scallops made of metal, bone or turtle, beads, bracelets, rings and earrings of filigree work or very simple composition complement the costume.
Traditionally, Yucatan men use loose trousers and a "guaiabera" (a straight shirt with pockets that is worn loose) of white color, which is often decorated with white embroidery on the front on top of the folds.
Their shoes are traditional alpargats with high heels and a hat made of palm "hipihapa" elastic and of the same quality as the famous Panama hats.
In the province, men have a habit of carrying a machete in a case made of wood and leather and a shoulder bag made of eneken.
The Maya live in houses of round, square or oval shape with walls made of "bahareke" (branches intertwined with reeds and clay); which are covered with a roof of palm or grass.
Maya sleep in hammocks , woven from eneken, nylon or cotton.
Yucatans show their ingenuity and ingenuity, passion for their faith, love and respect in the family and society.
All this, in many cases combined with the religious traditions brought by the Spaniards and the faith and customs of a people with deep pre Spanish roots, is combined in holidays and fairs.
Dances and songs are one of the main attractions at the traditional holidays of this people.
The music of Yucatan was not only influenced by the Spaniards - the importation of African slaves, as well as the creation of Caribbean music, especially Cuban, left their mark on the style of music of these places.
"Harabes", "haranas" and "sones" were the first rhythms that appeared under the influence of this mixture.
Among the most widespread and well spread traditions of Yucatan families is their cooking.
From the pro Spanish times to the present day, spices, dishes and desserts have appeared for the taste of big and small.
Varieties of pepper, beans, corn, zucchini, cocoa, armadillo, fish, poultry and deer are the main ones in the litany of the Maya people.
This culinary tradition demonstrates only one part of their wealth and cultural heritage.
Two dishes - "cochinita pibil" and "los papadsues" (which means "the dish of lords or rulers") - crossed the borders of Yucatan and even the country.
The religion of Yucatan is a fusion of the Catholic religion and pro Spanish paganism or "syncretism".
The interior of the churches in the state of Chiapas and in Guatemala amaze visitors: fir needles on the floor, without chairs do not resemble Catholic churches in any way.
Churches have their own crosses and Christos, however, they have never been entered by priests.
Everything happens on the floor, between the believers and the gods with the participation of a shaman.
Unfortunately, everything passes and changes in the universe.
These constant changes may be gradual, imperceptible at a simple glance; but over time, sometimes after millions of years, they lead to radical changes.
Which stimulate the emergence of something new.
The culture of the Indians is gradually disappearing, their isolation is becoming more relative each time under the influence of schools, radio and television; doctors are replacing shamans and healers, antibiotics are replacing natural medicine.
Nowadays, due to the excessive exploitation of natural resources, poverty is growing and the only way out is alcohol or the fanatical religion of sectarians, which has flooded the entire society and every day brings more and more people into its ranks.
Several thousand years ago, the Mayan ancestors observed this constant change and expressed it in the following words, full of wisdom and poetry, taken from the" Chipam Balam de Chumael": "Every moon, every year, every day, every wind moves and passes.
Also, each blood comes to its resting place, just as it comes to power and to its throne."
The first evidence of the presence of the Maya dates back to about 2500 BC in Guatemala and Belize, but it turned into a complex civilization much later than that time.
According to tradition, their history is divided into three periods.
The period of Formation (or preclassic) (500 BC 320 AD)
This period is characterized by the birth of large ceremonial centers; a great example of the pre classical period is Huaxactun in the Peten region of Guatemala.
There is the first astronomical observatory of the Maya, with the help of which the solar calendar of 365 days divided into 18 months was probably improved.
Classical Period (320-900 years AD)
During this period, the Maya reached their maximum prosperity, as well as economic and social stability.
Just during the classical period, hieroglyphic syllabic writing appeared and all the architectural elements typical of this culture were improved.
Political stability has affected the well being and the improvement of commercial relations between the city states.
Big cities like Tikal, Dig.
Palenque and Uxmal flourished thanks to the trade in cocoa, jaguar skins, obsidian, pepper, amaranth and quetzal bird feathers.
Post Classical Period (900-1519 AD)
It lasts from the beginning of the decline of the Maya Empire to the conquest by the Spaniards.
After a period of economic prosperity between the years 900 and 1000 AD, the great Maya empire began to decline.
There is no exact information about the reasons for this decline, however, based on the research that has been done about this mysterious civilization, several theories have been proposed.
1) The population grew to such an extent that the Maya theocratic system could no longer control it.
Having lost faith in the priests in power, the people rebelled against them and killed them, but then they were not able to control themselves, which led to an inevitable decline.
2) To clear areas of land from tropical vegetation and be able to plant corn on land fertilized with ash, the Maya used the method of logging and burning (this method continues to be used today).
With this method, the surface part of the soil (very thin on the Yucatan Peninsula), although fertilized with ash, loses the nutrients necessary for plants, after burning was carried out on the same plot of land for several seasons, the yield begins to decline, creating great problems for survival and as a result, economic and social disagreements.
3) Other researchers talk about the military and cultural conquest of the Toltecs (a militant civilization from the central part of Mexico).
This conquest actually happened, although it is not known exactly when and how exactly.
While some southern ceremonial centers of the Maya empire, such as Yashchtslan (in the state of Chiapas), Tikal, Dos Pilas and Seibal (in Guatemala) fell into decline and were finally abandoned, other cities of the Yucatan Peninsula merged their culture with the Toltec culture.
The center of power was the city of Mayapan, but there were constant periods of conflict between rival cities, very similar to those that took place at the same time in medieval Europe.
Perhaps for this reason, as well as due to some internal political conflicts, the greatness of Mayapan fell into decline several years before the arrival of the Spaniards on this continent.
However, the conquest of the Yucatan Peninsula turned out to be difficult and long because of the resistance that the local people had, as well as because of the natural conditions of these places.
Chichen Itsa (City of the Water Sorcerers)
Chichen Itsa was one of the largest and most magnificent ceremonial centers of the Maya culture, which were used to conduct some of the most important religious ceremonies, such as the sacrifice of people, in the sacred cenote, and famous for its oracles, this sacred city attracted travelers from all corners of the Maya territory.
In the Mayan language, Chichen Itsa probably means "the mouth of the well of the sorcerers of water".
The water sorcerers were the Itsa Maya, the inhabitants of Chichen Itsa and the keepers of the sacred cenotes underground reservoirs of fresh water created by nature itself, which are located throughout the Yucatan Peninsula.
In this dry zone, where there are no rivers or lakes, these cenotes were a guarantee of life and the abundance of limestone stones provided an inexhaustible source of building materials for the monumental temples of their large cities.
Chichen Itsa was created in 432 AD and restored around 987.
It was during this period that the Toltec invasion occurred, although researchers do not have exact information about whether this invasion was "cultural" pacifical or had a military character.
The city is located on an area of about 300 hectares and represents two different architectural periods: the first belongs to the V IX centuries AD, and is observed in monumental sculptures of the Puuk style (a special style characteristic of the Mayan culture of the Yucatan Peninsula); the second is more voluminous and tall buildings and structures of rounded shape (for example, in columns).
In addition, this style is characterized by a large number of images of Catsalcoatl( feathered serpent), the main god in the Toltec religion.
The statues of Chak Mol are also typical in the fusion of Maya Toltec architectural styles.
With a population of 20,000 to 30,000, Chichen Itsa was one of the largest cities of the pre Hispanic period and probably occupied the second largest in the Yucatan Peninsula after the city of Mayapan, the so called "capital" of the empire.
Unfortunately, Chichen Itsa was robbed several times after the Maya left it.
Tikal (The Place of the Voices of the Mayan Souls)
In 1848, Ambrosio Tut, a simple chiclero (a worker who extracts resin from the chicle tree used for the production of chewing gums), accidentally discovered the remains of a magnificent city in the center of Peten (in the north of Guatemala).
He immediately turned to the governor of this area, who then took the credit for this magnificent discovery.
Tikal, without any doubt, is one of the largest ceremonial centers of the Classical Maya Period (300 - 1000 AD).
It covers an area of approximately 16 square kilometers and is located in the center of a national park stretching for 573 km.square in the tropical jungle.
This city was inhabited until about the year 1000, reaching the peak of its glory in 700 - 900 AD.
A typical element in Tikal architecture is the jagged ornaments on the temples, consisting of a wall decorated in a special style, installed in a place subsequent to the ceiling to increase the strong vertical lines of the temples.
Most of the decorations of buildings are concentrated on the facades in the form of plaster, ras painted in different colors.
These magnificent temples rise dizzily to the sky from the dense jungle of Peten, as if in silent prayer to their ancient gods.
Priests, warriors and merchants lived in the center of the city, while the majority of the population lived outside the city in huts with " palapas "(roofs built of palm leaves) The market and craft workshops were also located in the center and have always been a very active part of the city, because at one time Tikal was the most important ceremonial center in this part of the Empire.
There are no rivers or lakes in Tikal; the city was provided with water through a network of stone channels covered with plaster, which collected rainwater running down between buildings into artificial cisterns called "aguadas".
This water was used during the dry period of the year.
There are still three such aguads in Tikal.
Palenque
From an archaeological point of view, it is one of the most important cities of the Maya states.
It is located in the heart of the Mexican jungle, surrounded by lush vegetation and crossed by the Otulum River.
Palenque reached the peak of its greatness and flourishing around the years 600-700 AD, more or less at the same time as Tikal.
However, its architectural style is completely different - more elegant.
Its jagged ornaments on the roof are processed in a more open style like lattice shutters or fences that taper upwards.
In addition, they are built in the middle of the roof, and not on top of the back wall as in Tikal.
The smaller weight of these ornaments allowed their builders to reduce the thickness of the walls, supporting the weight of the structure.
Thus, the architects of Palenque were able to create such elegant buildings as the Palace, which is one of the best examples of residential architecture of the Classical Maya Period.
The creation of forms from gypsum mortar also reached its maximum development in Palenque, which is evidenced by the beautiful bas reliefs of the funeral chamber in the Temple of Inscriptions.
Uxmal (Built three times)
Uxmal is one of the most important ceremonial centers of Mayan culture located on the territory of the Yucatan Peninsula.
It was built by an unknown Maya tribe at the end of the Classical Period, between 600 and 1000 AD, in the elegant Puuk style.
Subsequently, this city was abandoned and repopulated twice, which is why it was named Maya Oshmal.
which means "built three times".
Located in the north of the Yucatan Peninsula, where it is very hot even in winter, the zone belonging to Uxmal has always had to deal with the problem of drought.
In addition, although most of the Mayan cities were built near the cenote (a crevice or well created by nature on the limestone surface of the earth), Uxmal was built on a hill.
For this reason, its architects met with a seemingly insurmountable problem: how to provide the city with water?
They overcame this obstacle by building funnel shaped cisterns that served to collect and store rainwater, which they used when periods of drought came, in the Mayan language they were called "chultun".
The ceremonial center of Uxmal, covering an area of 1 km.
sq., is the Puuk style's purest example in Mexico.
Therefore, since 1996, it has been considered a World Heritage Site.
The Uxmal estate belonged to the landowner Simon Peon, who lived in the United States.
It is difficult to describe the constant looting carried out by grave diggers, who were hired by rich collectors and merchants living abroad.
Tulum (Stone Wall)
Tulum is one of the most famous archaeological sites on the coast of the state of Quintana Roo.
This city, surrounded by a fortress wall, is located on the Caribbean coast opposite the southern
