The disappeared Indian civilization left behind a lot of unsolved mysteries and secrets. Here is a selection of the most inexplicable phenomena and artifacts that the Maya created.
1. Drawings in the Peruvian desert
One of the Mayan puzzles is the giant drawings in the Peruvian Nazca desert. The area of 500 square kilometers is covered with various figures, images of animals and plants. It is possible to fully consider the drawing only from a fairly high height. What they mean and why they were made is still a mystery.
2. Rites of bloodletting
In the rituals of the Maya Indians, human blood was of great ritual significance. Including one of the main rituals - bloodletting. It was produced by piercing the tongue, lips, palms and passed through the hole with a string through which the blood flowed into the vessel. The process of bloodletting altered the way the brain worked and contributed to the appearance of hallucinations, which the ancients mistook for visions.
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3. Mayan calendar based on the cycle of motion of celestial bodies
The Mayan calendar is based on 20 numbers and 12 symbols. The counting system is fundamentally different from the modern one and is based on the cycle of motion of celestial bodies. He also points to some possible vectors of human development. At the same time, the calendar has already managed to predict some events in the history we know: world wars, major terrorist attacks.
4. Cenotes
Cenotes are natural sinkholes of karst or limestone caves in which underground waters flow. The largest cenotes are found on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. The sinkholes were used by the ancient Indians as water sources and places of sacrifice. The Maya called such places "the gates to the kingdom of the dead."
5. Temple of Kukulkan in Mexico
At the top of the pyramid is a small temple with four entrances. Sacrifices were performed in it. There is a version that the Maya used the pyramid as a calendar. Each of the four staircases of the temple has 91 steps, which is a total of 364 + one base platform - 365. On the days of the spring and summer solstice, on the steps of the pyramid, you can observe an interesting phenomenon, which the Indians called the "feathered serpent". Light and shadow form seven triangles on the ledges, and when the sun's rays glide over the pyramid, the shadow moves and resembles the crawling tail of a snake.
6. Temple of the seven dolls
The Temple of the Seven Dolls is named after seven decorative figures found within its walls. Here the Maya also staged a "light show": on the day of the vernal equinox, the sun shines through through two windows in the opposite walls of the temple. Why this is needed is a mystery.
7. Stone head from Guatemala
In the 30s of the 20th century, scientists discovered a huge sandstone head in the jungle of Guatemala. The facial features of the statue were not similar to the features of the appearance of the ancient Maya or other peoples who lived in these territories. Researchers suggest that the facial features of the statue depicted a representative of an ancient alien civilization. Unfortunately, now it is not possible to study the find, since the soldiers of the revolutionary army of Guatemala used the statue as a target and almost completely destroyed it.
8. Mysterious artifacts
In 2012, the Mexican government unveiled several ancient Mayan artifacts that it had been hiding from the public for 80 years. The figurines are unusual in that the drawings depicted on them strongly resemble spaceships.
9. Crystal Skulls
The crystal skull, found in 1924 by British explorer Albert Mitchell-Hedges, is one of the most mysterious remains of the Maya. When studying a mysterious artifact, scientists found out that its age ranges from 5 to 35 thousand years. The skull, weighing 5 kilograms, was made from a whole piece of crystal, and its polishing also raises a lot of questions: there are simply no traces of micro-scratches on the surface, and to process such material by hand would take at least 300 years of continuous work. A system of lenses and prisms is built into the eye sockets of the skull, which cause unusual optical effects.