Today, throughout Mesoamerica - an area stretching roughly from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua - you can see the ruins of ancient cities with towering pyramids, ball courts, monumental sculptures and cryptic hieroglyphs. This is all the legacy of the ancient Mayan civilization, which will be discussed in this review.
1. Mayan pyramids and cities are still found
Mayan pyramids and cities
Photo: infoglaz.ru
It may seem strange how large pyramids could have escaped the attention of modern archaeologists for a long time. But just a few years ago, a Mayan pyramid, more than 1,000 years old, was discovered in Tonina, in the Mexican state of Chiapas. It was hidden under a hill that was previously considered natural.
In 2015, researchers stated that this historical monument is in fact the tallest pyramid in Mexico (75 meters). Also recently, in the Mexican state of Campeche, the ruins of two Mayan cities were discovered, previously hidden behind dense vegetation.
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2. Maya loved chocolate
Cocoa, water, honey, chili pepper, corn flour
Photo: futura-sciences.com
More than 3,500 years ago, the Olmecs in Mesoamerica were probably the first to realize that cocoa and its products are edible, but it was the Maya who brought chocolate consumption to the mainstream. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Maya processed cocoa at least 2,600 years ago.
However, this drink was not like modern hot chocolate: The Mayans mixed cocoa with water, honey, chili, cornmeal and other ingredients to make a frothy, spicy drink. Extant Mayan art suggests that the drinking of cocoa was an important part of celebrations and rituals.
3. The system of hieroglyphs
Combinations of over 800 hieroglyphs
Photo: the-clu.com
Maya writing that dates back to the end of the pre-classical period (300 BC - 100 AD) has survived on buildings, stone monuments, rare manuscripts and pottery. While words in Russian are formed by combinations of 33 letters, words in the Maya language were formed from various combinations of more than 800 hieroglyphs, each of which was a syllable. This writing system is considered to be the most complex in Mesoamerica.
4. Mayan hieroglyphs deciphered by chance
Tatiana Proskuryakova
Photo: indiansworld.org
Tatiana Proskuryakova, an American from Siberia, studied to be an architect. When she could not get a job in her specialty, she began working as an archaeological illustrator for a museum in Philadelphia. In 1930, she was invited on an expedition to the Mayan excavations of Piedras Negras in Guatemala.
Despite the lack of formal academic training, Proskuryakova ultimately became the first person to partially decipher the Maya writing. It was she who first suggested that the inscriptions tell about events from the life of their rulers, which made it possible to decipher many verbs.
5. Maya wrote books
Long strips of durable paper
Photo: pictures11.ru
The Maya wrote their books on long strips of sturdy paper made from the inner bark of a fig tree. But to date, only three Mayan codes have survived: the Dresden Code, the Madrid Code, and the Paris Code. Many other Mayan books fell victim to the humid climate of Mesoamerica, as well as Europeans who purposefully destroyed Mayan texts.
6. Maya did not predict the end of the world
End of 5125-year full cycle
Photo: tangerinetravel.com
The Internet was full of talk that according to the Mayan calendar the world would end on December 21, 2012. The date has long passed, and the apocalypse never happened. However, any Mayanist could tell right away that there is nothing to worry about. December 21, 2012 just coincided with the end of the 5125-year full cycle of the "long" Mayan calendar. But this was just one of the calendars that the Maya used. They also had a 260-day sacred calendar that was used to plan religious ceremonies, as well as a 365-day solar calendar.
7. Maya have their own concepts of beauty
Turquoise inlaid teeth
Photo: medvoice.ru
The Maya were not content with clothing and makeup to make themselves beautiful. During childhood, many men and women had their skulls artificially deformed to give them an elongated shape, which probably signified their social status. The Maya also drilled holes in their front teeth and inlaid them with jade, pyrite, hematite, or turquoise.
8. Mayan ritual enemas
Rectal hallucinogen use
Photo: my-hit.org
For the Maya using hallucinogens and intoxicants, it was the best way to talk to spirits. They drank substances such as balché, which was made from fermented (possibly psychedelic) honey. But in order to get a quicker effect, and also, perhaps, to avoid vomiting, the Mayans often injected alcohol and psychoactive substances rectally.
9. Maya painted victims blue
Mayan blue
Photo: filmoteka1.ru
The bright pigment known as "Mayan blue" has long fascinated archaeologists as it has survived for centuries on stone sites, even in the harsh environments of the Mesoamerican jungle. But this cheerful color has also been used in human sacrifice. When the Maya wanted to please the rain god, they painted the sacrificed people blue, then cut their hearts out and threw them on stone altars.
10. Maya loved to sweat
Tikal in Guatemala
Photo: livingcost.net
The Maya built structures of stone or adobe, similar to saunas, which were used for medicinal purposes and for ritual cleansing. These "sweating houses" have been found in places like Tikal in Guatemala and Hoya de Seren (a Mayan village that was buried in volcanic ash in El Salvador around 600 AD). The earliest known perspiration house was discovered in Cuello, in northern Belize. It is 3000 years older than the famous baths of the Roman civilization.
11. Extreme Mayan Games
A kind of basketball
Photo: compicturemob.com
Playgrounds were ubiquitous in Mayan cities in Mexico. On them, the Mayans played pits (a kind of basketball). Players tried to place a heavy rubber ball (the size of a soccer ball) into a hoop like a basketball hoop without using their hands. It was allowed to use the head, knees and elbows. This game was not quite a common pastime, but rather an important ritual, and the captain of the losing team was often sacrificed.
12. Maya had domesticated turkeys
Mayan turkeys
Photo: allwantsimg.com
A modern symbol of American Thanksgiving, turkeys may have been first domesticated by the Maya. They not only ate these birds, but also used the bones and feathers of turkeys to create fans and musical instruments.
13. The mystery of the decline of the Mayan civilization
Mayan pyramids in the southern lowlands
Photo: top-desktop.ru
The Mayan civilization reached its peak in the years 300 - 660 of our century. But all of a sudden, everything began to decline in the 8-9 centuries. The Mayan cities in the southern lowlands, once home to 70,000 people, were abandoned and abandoned. There are dozens of theories, but no one knows what really happened.
14. Maya did not disappear
Mayan descendants
Photo: davclub.ua
Of course, many of the great Mayan cities were mysteriously abandoned, but people have not disappeared anywhere. Maya descendants still live today, and in Guatemala they make up the majority of the population. Maya is actually an umbrella term for many different indigenous ethnic groups.
15. Mayan artifacts and monuments are under threat
Black archaeologists are destroying monuments
Photo: dailyoddsandends.wordpress.com
In Guatemala and Belize, archaeological sites are plundered by black archaeologists everywhere. Objects of ancient civilization can be found on the black market of countries, but an even bigger problem is that priceless archaeological objects are irrevocably destroyed in the process of excavation.