Who are the Maya?
The Maya are an Indian people who, before the Spanish conquered Central America, lived in a cultural and geographical area called Mesoamerica.
Maya civilization - city-states that appeared in the 1st millennium AD. e. in southeastern Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala. Hieroglyphic writing, palace and temple architecture, fine arts, etc. were created. After the conquest of the Toltecs in the 9th-10th centuries. the city of Chichen Itza became the center of the state, from the end of the XII century - the city of Mayapan. The Mayan civilization was destroyed in the 16th century by the Spanish conquerors. The ruins of more than 100 cities have survived, the largest ones being Chichen Itza, Copan, Mayapan, Uxmal, Tikal.
Disputes about the origin of the Mayan civilization, their culture and history of origin do not subside. Mysterious ghost towns, erected only with the use of muscle power in the jungle of southern Mexico, beckon archaeologists and adventure seekers alike.
What we know. Mayan mysteries
Mayan settlements occupied vast territories in the south of present-day South America and the neighboring countries of Central America. The spaces that are inhabited by the modern descendants of the Maya include the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, British Honduras, the western regions of Honduras and El Salvador, and parts of the Mexican states of Chiapas and Tabasco.
The Maya civilization was the most developed and longest existing in South America. The Yucatan Peninsula was its center. For a century and a half, this people has been of great interest to historians and researchers.
Promotional video:
The culture of this great civilization gave rise to many questions, many of which remain unanswered to this day, for example, the jungle of southern Mexico is not quite a habitable place, but the Maya decided to settle there. Why? Riddle.
The Mayan civilization used the concept of zero much earlier than the Arabs and Hindus, created a complex hieroglyphic writing system, surpassed contemporary civilizations in the accuracy of astrological calculations, possessed a complex system of calendars, erected amazing temples, pyramids and palaces, reached its unprecedented heyday, living almost in the Stone Age …
Until the 10th century A. D. e. Maya did not know such achievements as metal smelting (except for iron), breeding of beasts of burden and draft animals, plow farming, wheel.
Another of the most mysterious secrets is associated with the Mayan civilization. For unknown reasons, this people left their inhabited lands and suddenly moved to the far undeveloped north. The cities were deserted, they were swallowed by thickets of the jungle, magnificent palaces began to collapse from time and the trees that grew in their rifts. The mystery is all the more unclear because at the time of the resettlement this empire was at its peak.
The territory occupied by the Maya civilization is highlighted in red.
What the Maya looked like
The growth of the Maya Indians averaged about 150 cm. Immediately after birth, the head of the Yucatan infant was clamped between two plates so that over time the cranial bones became flat due to deformation. A flat skull, long hair styled in a hairstyle, a hairless front part of the head, amber was inserted into the nostrils pierced through the cartilage, bracelets made of sea oyster shells - this is how the Maya looked. To this can be added painted bodies and faces, and the color of the paint was of great importance. Red was worn by warriors, black - by unmarried youths, yellow - by prisoners, blue - by priests. To a peculiar idea of beauty, teeth filed with a triangle were added, sometimes decorated with inlaid stones. Surprisingly, the Maya considered squint a sign of beauty. That is why a thread with a resin or wax ball was attached to the baby's hair so that he mowed his eyes at him. Another distinctive feature of the Maya is the tattoo. Her absence was considered indecent.
The rise of the Mayan civilization
It is believed that the ancestors of the Maya appeared in the Mexican highlands (zones of Chiapas and Guatemala) in the first half of the 3rd millennium BC. e., to which the first shoots of the Maya culture are related. This is evidenced by ceramics discovered by archaeologists, stone tips for throwing weapons, rough utensils in the form of burnt clay vessels, and massive clay figurines.
From the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. large settlements appeared on the territory of the Maya, agriculture began to develop. The Maya build huts of wood and clay in the jungle. The high roofs of their homes were made of palm leaves.
So, from 1500 BC. e. the so-called pre-classical period begins, which gave the starting count of the historical existence of the most advanced civilization of Ancient America - the Maya. And it lasts from 1500 BC. e. to 250 AD e. During this time, people gained agricultural experience, began to build rural settlements.
History
There are several periods of this ancient civilization:
• Early pre-classical period (2000-900 BC)
• Middle pre-classical period (899-400 BC)
• Late pre-classical period (400 BC - 250 AD)
• Early Classic Period (250-600 AD)
• Late Classic Period (600-900 AD)
• Decline of the Mayan civilization
• Postclassic period (900-1521)
• Colonial period (1521-1821)
• Postcolonial period
• Maya today
Astrology
Mayan astrology, using the zodiacal circle as its main reference, was a way to predict the future. Also, the tools were knowledge about the movements of celestial bodies, among which a special place was given to the Moon: a decreasing or growing satellite of the Earth showed how successful a particular period of time was for a certain kind of undertakings.
Mayan natal astrology, which predicted the character of a child, his behavior and inclinations in adulthood, is closely related to the Tzolkin calendar, each day of which could determine the character. For example, those born on the day of Imish, according to the Maya, led a dissolute life, disregarding social norms, while the babies of the day of Chuen became good craftsmen and artisans. The fate determined by astrology was predetermined, but the priests had the opportunity to change it, linking the fate of a person with the day of bringing to the temple.
Mayan culture
It should be noted that the culture of the ancient peoples of Mesoamerica has some similarities. This gives grounds to assume the exchange between these peoples of certain achievements of their cultures, which led to their certain homogeneity, which, in turn, indicates that there was a culture-foremother, from which the roots of Mayan culture could have come.
The main evidences of this ancestor culture are hieroglyphic writing, books folded like an accordion, the use of cocoa beans instead of money, a ritual ball game, a cult hero - the Feathered Serpent and cult rites, one of which was suicide. Thus, the culture of the great Mayan civilization, since ancient times, has been influenced by other cultures.
In the pre-classical period, the Mayan culture bears the imprint of the Olmec civilization (hence the monumental sculptures, knowledge of mathematics, calendars). It is known that the Olmecs were able to create a calendar that was superior in accuracy to the European one.
Writing
The earliest inscriptions date from the 3rd century BC. e. The letter was used continuously until its arrival in the 16th century AD. e. the Spanish conquistadors, and in some of the more isolated areas, for example, in Tayasal, for some time after that.
Maya writing was a system of verbal and syllabic signs. The term "hieroglyphs" in relation to Maya writing was used by European researchers of the 18th and 19th centuries, who could not understand the signs and found them similar to Egyptian hieroglyphics.
In the early colonial era, there were still people who knew the Mayan writing. There is information that some Spanish priests who arrived in Yucatan managed to study it. But soon the Bishop of Yucatan Diego de Landa, as part of a campaign to eradicate pagan customs, ordered the collection and destruction of all Maya texts, as a result of which, this led to the loss of a significant part of the manuscripts.
Only 4 Mayan codes survived the conquistadors. More complete texts have been found in pottery in Mayan graves, as well as on monuments and steles in cities abandoned or destroyed after the Spanish arrived. Knowledge of writing was completely lost by the end of the 16th century. Interest in it arose only in the 19th century, after reports of destroyed Mayan cities were published.
Weapon
Maya weapons were not particularly technical. During the many centuries of the existence of the Mayan civilization, it has undergone minor changes. For the most part, the art of war has improved than the weapon itself.
In battles, the Maya fought with spears of different lengths (with the height of a person and more), javelins and flat club-swords, the edges of which were seated with dense rows of embedded obsidian blades. By the end of the New Kingdom period (XV-XVI centuries), the Maya had metal battle axes (made of an alloy of copper and gold) and a bow and arrow, borrowed from the Aztecs. For protection, the Maya rank and file wore puffy quilted cotton shells. The nobility used armor woven from flexible branches and protected themselves with willow (less often - from a turtle's shell) large or small shields of a round or square shape. A small shield (the size of a fist) was used not only for defense, but also as a strike weapon.
El Caracol Observatory, Chichen Itza - Mexico.
The rise of the Mayan civilization
At the end of the Olmec rule, the southern Mayan trading cities began to flourish. During this period, large centers of the Mayan civilization appeared - El-Mirador, Tikal, Nakbe, Vashaktun. The Maya create a system of calendars (solar, lunar and ritual), with the help of which they recorded important historical moments, and also made astrological forecasts.
Particular attention is drawn to the southeastern city of Copan. He, starting from the V century A. D. BC, for 400 years it was ruled by one dynasty, the founder of which was the ruler Yash-Kuk-Mo, who came to power in 426 AD. e.
626 - the ruler Smoke-Jaguar ascended the throne, who was a royal descendant of Pakal. He ruled for 67 years, was a long-liver. He was called the Great Instigator. Perhaps, with the help of territorial wars, this ruler greatly expanded the possessions of Copan, which contributed to its prosperity. This era includes the appearance of many stelae praising the rulers and their merits; the development of hieroglyphic writing, the creation of magnificent temples with sculptural images of the gods.
Maya today
Nowadays, about 6.1 million Mayans live on the Yucatan Peninsula, including Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. In Guatemala, about 40% of the population is Mayan, in Belize, about 10%. Today the Mayan religion is a mixture of Christianity and traditional Mayan beliefs. Each Mayan community today has its own religious patron. Donations can include poultry, spices, or candles. Some Maya groups identify themselves through specific elements in their traditional dress that distinguish them from other Mayans.
The Lecandonian Maya group living in Chiapas (Mexico) is known as being faithful to the preserved traditional way of life. The members of the group wear cotton clothes that are decorated with traditional Mayan themes. Christianity could have a superficial influence on the representatives of this group. But tourism and, above all, technical and economic progress are gradually beginning to erase the group's identity. More and more Mayans wear modern clothes, have electricity, radios and televisions in their homes, and often have cars. Some of the Maya, meanwhile, live on income from tourism, as more and more people want to get acquainted with the world and culture of the ancient Maya.
Temple of the Cross, Temple of the Sun in the ancient city of Palenque.
Mayan civilization - interesting facts
• There is no evidence that the Maya could have had flying machines or cars, but they did have a complex system of paved roads. They possessed advanced astronomical knowledge about the movement of celestial bodies. Perhaps the most striking proof of this is the domed building called El Caracol located on the Yucatan Peninsula.
• Archaeological excavations may indicate that the Maya actually practiced human sacrifice, and for the victims it was considered a favor.
They believed that they still had to get to heaven: first, they had to go through the 13 circles of the underworld, and only then would a person receive eternal bliss. And this path is so difficult that not all souls can get there. However, there was also a “direct road to paradise”: women who died during childbirth, victims of war, suicides who died while playing ball and ritual victims could get it.
• According to one of their interpretations of the codes, the Maya came from the place that is now hidden under water, they were even mistaken for the children of Atlantis. Atlantis is, of course, a strong saying. But scientists, relatively not so long ago, managed to discover what may be the remains of ancient Mayan cities on the ocean floor. It is impossible to determine the age of the cities and the cause of the cataclysm.
• Maya used three calendars. The civil calendar, or Haab, consisted of 18 months of 20 days each - for a total of 360 days. For ceremonial purposes, the Tzolkin was used, which included 20 months of 13 days each, and the entire cycle, thus, was 260 days. Together they made up a single, complex and long calendar that contained information about the movement of the planets and constellations.
There was no beginning or end in the calendar - time for the Mayans went in a circle, everything was repeated over and over again. There was no such thing as “the end of the year” for them - only the rhythm of planetary cycles.
• The Mayans invented sports. One thing is for sure - the Maya loved the ball game. Long before Europeans started dressing in skins, the Mayans had already made a ball court in their home and invented the rules of the game. Their game, apparently, was a tough mix of soccer, basketball and rugby.
• About 1,000 Mayan cities have been discovered (early 1980s), but not all of them have been excavated or explored by archaeologists. About 3,000 settlements were also found.
• The Mayans loved saunas. An important purifying element for the ancient Maya was a sweatshop: water was poured onto hot stones to create steam. These baths were used by everyone, from a woman who recently gave birth to a king.
The disappearance of the Mayan civilization
The reason why the Maya could disappear is named. Historians from the Vienna Technical University have found out the reason for the decline of the Mayan empire. As it turned out, irrigation technologies that saved crops from drought could make society more vulnerable to natural disasters. 2014 - American geologists suggested that an extreme drought that lasted about 100 years could have caused the extinction of the Maya.
There are other versions that name the possible reasons for the disappearance of civilization: the collapse of the local farming system, terrible epidemics of diseases (for example, yellow fever), the arrival of conquerors from Mexico, social cataclysms, the forcible capture of people by the Tultec rulers of Yucatan, and even earthquakes and solar recession. activity.