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The Maya are probably the best-known of the classical civilizations of Mesoamerica. Originating in the Yucat n around 2600 B.C., they rose to prominence around A.D. 250 in present-day southern Mexico, Guatemala, northern Belize and western Honduras. Building on the inherited inventions and ideas of earlier civilizations such as the Olmec, the Maya developed astronomy, calendrical systems and hieroglyphic writing. The Maya were noted as well for elaborate and highly decorated ceremonial architecture, including temple-pyramids, palaces and observatories, all built without metal tools. They were also skilled farmers, clearing large sections of tropical rain forest and, where groundwater was scarce, building sizeable underground reservoirs for the storage of rainwater. The Maya were equally skilled as weavers and potters, and cleared routes through jungles and swamps to foster extensive trade networks with distant peoples.
Around 300 B.C., the Maya adopted a hierarchical system of government with rule by nobles and kings. This civilization developed into highly structured kingdoms during the Classic period, A.D. 200-900. Their society consisted of many independent states, each with a rural farming community and large urban sites built around ceremonial centres. It started to decline around A.D. 900 when - for reasons which are still largely a mystery - the southern Maya abandoned their cities. When the northern Maya were integrated into the Toltec society by A.D. 1200, the Maya dynasty finally came to a close, although some peripheral centres continued to thrive until the Spanish Conquest in the early sixteenth century.
Maya history can be characterized as cycles of rise and fall: city-states rose in prominence and fell into decline, only to be replaced by others. It could also be described as one of continuity and change, guided by a religion that remains the foundation of their culture. For those who follow the ancient Maya traditions, the belief in the influence of the cosmos on human lives and the necessity of paying homage to the gods through rituals continues to find expression in a modern hybrid Christian-Maya faith.
The Maya refer to both a modern-day people who can be found all over the world as well as their ancestors who built an ancient civilization that stretched throughout much of Central America, one that reached its peak during the first millennium A.D.
The Maya civilization was never unified; rather, it consisted of numerous small states, ruled by kings, each apparently centred on a city. Sometimes, a stronger Maya state would dominate a weaker state and be able to exact tribute and labor from it.
Mayan calendar
A system of writing using glyptic symbols was developed and was inscribed on buildings, stele, artifacts and books (only a few examples of Maya books survive today). They also developed a complicated calendar system that included what scholars call a long-count that kept track of time by using different units that range in length from a single day to millions of years (the unit in millions was rarely used). Contrary to popular belief, this system did not predict the end of the world in 2012, the unit in millions of years providing evidence of this.
Also, contrary to popular belief, the Maya civilization never vanished. While many cities were abandoned around 1,100 years ago, other cities, such as Chich n Itz , grew in their place.
When the Spanish arrived in Central America in force in the 16th century, the diseases they brought devastated the Maya. Additionally, the Spanish forced the Maya to convert to Christianity, going so far as to burn their books (the reason why so few of them survive today). However, it is important to note that the Maya people live on today and can be found all over the world.
Millions of Maya people live in Central America and throughout the world. The Maya are not a single entity, a single community, or a single ethnic group. They speak many languages including Mayan languages (Yucatec, Quiche, Kekchi and Mopan), Spanish and English. However, the Maya are an indigenous group tied both to their distant past as well as to events of the last several hundred years, writes Richard Leventhal, Carlos Chan Espinosa and Cristina Coc in a recent edition of Expedition magazine.
Maya origins
While hunters and gatherers had a presence in Central America stretching back thousands of years, it was in what archaeologists call the Pre-classic period (1800 B.C. to A.D. 250) that permanent village life really took off.
Really effective farming, in the sense that densely inhabited villages were to be found throughout the Maya area, was an innovation of the Pre-classic period, writes Yale University Professor Michael Coe in his book "The Maya" (Thames and Hudson, 2011).
Coe said farming became more effective during this period, likely because of the breeding of more productive form of maize and, perhaps more importantly, the introduction of the nixtamal process. In this process, the maize is soaked in lime, or something similar, and cooked, something that enormously increased the nutritional value of corn, writes Coe.
During this time, the Maya were influenced by a civilization to the west of them known as the Olmecs. These people may have initially devised the long count calendar that the Maya would become famous for, Coe writes. Additionally, the recent discovery of a ceremonial site dated to 1000 B.C. at the site of Ceibal sheds more light on the relationship between the Maya and Olmecs suggesting that it was a complex one.
Maya civilization at its peak
Coe writes that the ancient Maya reached a peak between A.D. 250 and 900, a time that archaeologists call the Classic period when numerous Maya cities flourished throughout much of Central America.
The civilization reached intellectual and artistic heights which no other in the New World, and few in Europe, could match at the time, Coe writes. Large populations, a flourishing economy, and widespread trade were typical of the Classic he said, noting that warfare was also quite common.
The Maya civilization was influenced by the city of Teotihuacan, located farther to the west. At Tikal, it appears that one of their early rulers, named Siyaj K ak, may have come from there. According to an inscription, he ascended the throne on Sept. 13, A.D. 379, and is depicted wearing feathers and shells and holding an atlatl (spear-thrower), features associated with Teotihuacan, writes researcher John Montgomery in his book "Tikal: An Illustrated History of the Mayan Capital" (Hippocrene Books, 2001).
The numerous cities found throughout the Maya world each had their own individual wonders that made them unique. Tikal, for instance, is known for its pyramid building. Starting at least as early as A.D. 672, the city s rulers would construct a twin pyramid complex at the end of every K atun (20-year period). Each of these pyramids would be flat-topped, built adjacent to each other and contain a staircase on each side. Between the pyramids was a plaza that had structures laid out to the north and south.
Copan, a Maya city in modern-day Honduras, is known for its Temple of the Hieroglyphic Stairway. It s a pyramid-like structure that has more than 2,000 glyphs embellished on a flight of 63 steps, the longest ancient Maya inscription known to exist and appears to tell the history of the city s rulers.
The site of Palenque, another famous Maya city, is known for its soft limestone sculpture and the incredible burial of Pakal, one of its kings, deep inside a pyramid. When Pakal died at about age 80, he was buried along with five or six human sacrifices in a jade-filled tomb (including a jade funerary mask he wore). His sarcophagus shows the king s rebirth and depictions of his ancestors in the form of plants. The tomb was re-discovered in 1952 and is the American equivalent, if there is one, to King Tut s tomb, said archaeologist David Stuart in an online National Geographic lecture.
Collapse?
Contrary to popular belief the Maya civilization did not vanish. It s true that many cities, including Tikal, Copan and Palenque, became abandoned around 1,100 years ago. Drought, deforestation, war and climate change have all been suggested as potential causes of this.
However, it is important to note that other Maya cities, such as that of Chich n Itz , grew, at least for a time. In fact Chich n Itz has the largest ball court in the Americas, being longer than a modern-day American football field. The court s rings, through which competing teams somehow tried to score, rose about 20 feet (6 meters) off the ground, about twice the height of a modern-day NBA net. The rules for the Maya ball game are not well understood.
As mentioned earlier, the arrival of the Spanish brought about a profound change in the Maya world. The diseases they brought decimated the Maya and the Spaniards forced the Maya to convert to Christianity, even burning their books. Today, despite the devastation they experienced, the Maya people live on, numbering in the millions.
Mythical origins
The Maya had a lengthy and complicated mythical origin story that is recorded by the K iche Maya (based in Guatemala) in the Popol Vuh, the Book of Counsel, writes Coe in his book. According to the stories, the forefather gods Tepew and Q ukumatz brought forth the earth from a watery void, and endowed it with animals and plants, writes Coe.
Creating sentient beings proved more difficult, but eventually humans were created, including the hero twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, who embark in a series of adventures, which included defeating the lords of the underworld. Their journey climaxed with the resurrection of their father, the maize god. It seems clear that this whole mythic cycle was closely related to maize fertility, Coe writes.
The Maya universe
The late Robert Sharer, who was a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, notes in his book "Daily Life in Maya Civilization" (Greenwood Press, 2009) that the ancient Maya believed that everything was imbued in different degrees with an unseen power or sacred quality, call k uh, which meant divine or sacredness.
The universe of the ancient Maya was composed of kab, or Earth (the visible domain of the Maya people), kan, or the sky above (the invisible realm of celestial deities), and xibalba, or the watery underworld below (the invisible realm of the underworld deities), Sharer wrote.
Caves played a special role in Maya religion as they were seen as entranceways to the underworld. These were especially sacred and dangerous places where the dead were buried and special rituals for the ancestors conducted.
Sharer notes that the Maya followed a number of deities, the most central of which was Itzamnaaj. In his various aspects, Itzamnaaj was the lord over the most fundamental opposing forces in the universe life and death, day and night, sky and earth, Sharer writes, noting that as lord of the celestial realm Itzamnaaj was the Milky Way and could be depicted as a serpent or two-headed reptile.
Other Maya deities included the sun god K inich Ajaw, the rain and storm god Chaak and the lightning deity K awiil, among many others.
Human sacrifices
Sharer wrote that human sacrifices were made on special occasions. Among the Maya, human sacrifice was not an everyday event but was essential to sanctify certain rituals, such as the inauguration of a new ruler, the designation of a new heir to the throne, or the dedication of an important new temple or ball court. The victims were often prisoners of war he notes.
At the site of Chich n Itz victims would be painted blue, a color that appears to have honored the god Chaak, and cast into a well. Additionally near the site s ball court there is a panel that shows a person being sacrificed. This may depict a ball-player from either the winning or losing team being killed after a game.
Writing & astronomy
Sharer notes that record keeping was an important part of the Maya world and was essential for agriculture, astronomy and prophecy. By keeping records of the rainy and dry seasons, the Maya could determine the best times to plant and harvest their crops, Sharer wrote.
Additionally, by recording the movements of the sky deities (sun, moon, planets, and stars), they developed accurate calendars that could be used for prophecy, Sharer wrote.
With long-term records, the Maya were able to predict planetary cycles the phases of the moon and Venus, even eclipses, he said. This knowledge was used to determine when these deities would be in favorable positions for a variety of activities such as holding ceremonies, inaugurating kings, starting trading expeditions, or conducting wars.
Economy & power
Sharer wrote that while agriculture and food gathering were a central part of daily life, the Maya had a sophisticated economy capable of supporting specialists and a system of merchants and trade routes. While the Maya did not develop minted currency, they used various objects, at different times, as money. These included greenstone beads, cacao beans and copper bells.
Ultimately, the power of kings depended on their ability to control resources, Sharer wrote. Maya rulers managed the production and distribution of status goods used to enhance their prestige and power. They also controlled some critical (non-local) commodities that included critical everyday resources each family needed, like salt, he said noting that over time Maya rulers managed ever-larger portions of the economy.
Sharer also notes that Maya laborers were subject to a labor tax to build palaces, temples and public works. A ruler successful in war could control more laborers and exact tribute on defeated enemies, further increasing their economic might.