The Maya civilization is a civilization pre-Columbian group Mesoamerica , spanning all a part of Mexico , Belize , Guatemala , Honduras and El Salvador today. Appeared in the late ^third millennium BC. AD , it flourished from the ^sixth century and the ^ninth century AD before entering into decay and disappear during the Spanish conquest in the ^sixteenth century. With the Aztecs and Incas , it is one of three great civilizations that have marked the New World before the arrival of Europeans. His legacy is primarily architectural, as evidenced by the impressive ruins of palaces and temples, pyramids scattered through the jungle. It is also known for having developed an impressive knowledge in mathematics and astronomy , and the only writing system full of pre-Columbian America. The cultural contributions of the Maya world, although a significant scientific point of view, remains very visible to the public.

The world knew almost nothing about the Mayans two hundred years ago. The forest had resumed his duties on most of their cities, and, after the Spanish conquest in the ^sixteenth and ^seventeenth centuries , the European priests had burned almost all the rare books in fig tree bark left by the Maya.

The first explorers to approach the ruins of Mayan civilization in the nineteenth ^century helped him forge an image romantic but very different from the reality "that has not heard of, for example, a former Mayan Empire, a true golden age during which an eminently peaceful and industrious people would have indulged in the quiet of its cities protected by dense forest, the mere contemplation of the stars? .

The Pacific Rim

The Pacific coast is a long strip of about sixty miles wide extending from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the west to El Salvador to the east. Wedged between the ocean Pacific and the mountains of the Sierra Madre western lowland wet this has ideal conditions for human settlement. Besides ease of communication, pin passage and migration , it offers many natural resources such as fertile land, warm climate and abundant rain, fish, salt and the possibility to harvest cocoa (resource that will a special role throughout Mesoamerica ).

The Highlands

The Highlands are at an altitude above 800 meters. They include the chain of volcanoes running parallel to the coast Pacific and the neighboring plateaus. In this area meet two tectonic plates , subduction showing high activity seismic and volcanic. The climate is however tempered , soil rich in phosphorus (the real natural fertilizer) and the basement contains deposits of obsidian , of basalt stone and green like jade or serpentine.

Lowlands (North and South)

Lowlands drain a large ecological diversity. Going from a tropical forest in southern dense to ensure bush going up north. In the jungle, very humid trees reach 40 to 70 meters in height. The fauna and flora are very diverse. It includes the jaguar and quetzal , highly sought after, the deer , the turkeys , the alligators ... The rivers are numerous, the most important of them being the Usumacinta. They serve both as a source of drinking water and road communication. The further north, more water and vegetation are scarce. The ground rises gradually towards the limestone plateau of the Yucatan and rainfall seep deep into the earth, not persisting to the surface. On the peninsula of Yucatan water is therefore accessible only through the cenote , large holes of several tens of meters across open directly on the water table. These wells will be of specific ritual function as places of passage into the Underworld.

History

Origins

The origins of the oldest Mayan tribes are lost in the mists of time. Manuscripts native XVI ^century have forgotten the location of the cradle of Mayan civilization, whether in the Chilam Balam (written in the peninsula of Yucatan ), or in the Popol Vuh of the Quich , the branch of the Mayan Indians of Guatemala. And even the first Spanish chronicler of the Mayans, the brother Diego de Landa ( 1566 ), has been clearly acknowledged the situation. In any event, the facts relate to the Mayas of Yucatan, in the classical era, not the old Mayan located in the south ( Chiapas , Guatemala and Honduras), whose civilization became extinct a few centuries before the peak of the cities of the peninsula such as Chichen Itza , Uxmal and Sayil. We know , a time of transition during which the cities of the Lowlands were abandoned and northern Yucatan would have developed. The dates of the beginning and end of each of the three periods can also vary from one century by the authors .

Preclassic Period

The Preclassic Period (also called formative, especially in English publications) extends from 2000 BC. BC to 250 AD. AD. It is divided into Preclassic old (from 2000 BC. to 1000 BC. ) Middle Preclassic (from 1200 BC. in 400 BC. ) and Late Preclassic (or late) (from 400 BC. in 250 AD. ). Some archaeologists insert an additional period at the interface between the Preclassic and Classic: The Protoclassique.

From -2000 , we are witnessing the rise of civilization Olmec , which are from many aspects of Maya civilization. The Preclassic period is unknown. Early farming villages of the Lowlands have been dated to -1200 in Belize ( Cuello ) .

Archaeological evidence shows that the Mayan ceremonial architecture starts around 1000 BC. BC It is very difficult to differentiate between pre-Mayan culture and civilization Olmec , each culture having influenced each other.

C. 300 BC. AD, we witness the proliferation of sites and intense architectural activity, a sign of strong population growth, particularly in the cities of El Mirador , Nakbe , Komchn , Cerros and Tikal. Each site is developed independently, however, an undeniable sign of cultural unity, we use everywhere the same red and black ceramic.

Between 150 and 250 AD, a period often referred to as "protoclassique, tensions arise, growing pains or invasion, no one knows . Some sites disappear, such as Cerros, El Mirador or Komchn, while others are emerging as Tikal.

Classical period

The Classical Period extends from 250 AD. BC to 900 AD. AD It is divided into Early Classic (from 250 to 600 AD. ) Classical and recent (from 600 to 900 AD. ). Some writers insert the hinge of the classic and Postclassic period called a terminal or final Classic.

This time, we know better and better through the deciphering of the Maya writing is marked by perpetual rivalries between many city-states. The Maya Lowlands were never unified politically, and there has never been a "Mayan Empire", as imagined in the mid-twentieth century. Each political entity was headed by a ruler called k'uhul ajaw ("divine lord" in Mayan), which derived its legitimacy from its ancestors and occupied a position not only political but also religious. It was an "interface" between the community and he directed the supernatural world. Each political entity was equipped with a glyph-emblem.

Lowlands in the south, the Early Classic is dominated by two major cities: Tikal and Calakmul. Each is at the head of a confederation with very loose ties, which are frequent reversals of alliance.

Tikal plays a predominant role in the first part of this period marks the peak of the Mayan culture. The early history of Tikal are poorly documented. Stela 29 is the earliest date in the Long Count of that city. His role seems to be strengthened by the bonds that unite the vast metropolis of central Mexico, Teotihuacan. These exchanges occur in the architecture, ceramics and sculpture.

Towards the middle of the ^sixth century , Tikal was defeated by Calakmul. Then noted a slowdown in activity, resulting in the interruption of the erection of monuments dated in this city. This ruling marks the end of the old classic.

The end of the ^seventh century saw a turnaround: Calakmul, Tikal conquered by, went into a decline. A revival is taking place, organized around city-states vying for prestige. Mayan culture Lowlands South reached its peak: he lasted until the ^ninth century. We are witnessing a "Balkanization" of the political landscape. Secondary centers are engaged in endless conflicts. Such a rivalry between Piedras Negras to Yaxchilan , while a little away from other centers, Quirigua conflicts with Copan

In the Lowlands north, Yucatn , other centers take over: Cities Puuc of Uxmal , Labn , Kabah , Sayil , etc.. Their development is brief: they are also avoided the ^tenth century.

Classic Final: Maya collapse

The years 800-900 marked the collapse of city-states of the Southern Lowlands , stopping constructions and monumental inscriptions associated. The last known inscription on a monument dated back to 822 to Copn (southeast), 869 for Tikal (center) and to 909 for Tonina (west) .

The cause of the almost total depopulation of the powerful Maya cities at the dawn of the ^ninth century is poorly known. Hypotheses have been advanced to explain the sudden fall of Classic Maya civilization in the very heyday , experts are still not agree on the causes of radical upheaval. Wars, ecological disasters, famine or a combination of these factors are the reasons usually cited for this decline. The Mayan centers were abandoned between the late ^eighth century and the beginning of the ^tenth century , and then covered by forest. Only during the second half of the ^nineteenth century and early ^twentieth they were discovered and restored.

Facts

There is the phasing of any construction activities in the Maya Lowlands south to Guatemala and Mexico present from the late ^eighth century (it usually takes into account the last date has long found on each site from 780 to Pomona to 909 to Tonin ). This phenomenon corresponds to the collapse of the political system of divine kingship that characterized the classic Maya world .

The researchers also established that at this period the population had been falling sharply.

The fall was not brutal Mayan ruins are not destroyed cities but the cities abandoned. We find no trace of massacres, mass graves or mass graves.

Assumptions

So many assumptions were made about the Maya collapse in 1973 two books were published by Richard E. Adams (The Collapse of Maya Civilization: A Review of Previous Theories) and Jeremy A. Sabloff (Major theme in the Past assumptions of the Maya collapse), to identify and classify them. At the time, almost all assumptions would only consider a single cause, like internal or external . Recent studies now favor more complex explanations based on the interaction of several negative factors including those discussed in the previous studies .

Internal causes

• An ecological crisis: the overexploitation of the soil rendered sterile and would have forced the Maya to return to forms of social organization in smaller communities, in the fertile .
• A demographic crisis: the rise of demography in the Classical period would have been too fast compared to what technological advances made it possible to manage in terms of organization, particularly in terms of food supply .
• Religion: This thesis is based on Mayan religion itself, casting in cities whose birth is associated with the construction of large ceremonial centers. The creation of arts and science was still closely tied to religion. However, it was based on astronomical observations that gave rise to two complex schedules (see Mayan Calendar ), which organized the life of the city and had deeply marked their cosmogony. The Maya thus distinguished five cycles in the history of the universe all by ending the destruction of the world preceding the one for Humanity was the fourth, and the calculation based on the combination of the two calendars indicate that this period was s to complete the ^tenth century . These assumptions are based on traces of abrupt abandonment, suggesting that daily activities have been abandoned in a few days (buildings still under construction). . For example, a dramatic decrease in rainfall over an extended period (supported by several geological surveys and studies about the consequences of the phenomenon El Nio and La Nia .

  These complex explanatory models are based on an internal or external trigger: population pressure or prolonged drought, for example.

  Postclassic period

  Main article: Mesoamerican Postclassic Period.

  The Postclassic Period ranges from 900 AD. AD to the Spanish conquest. it is subdivided into Postclassic former (from 900 to 1200 AD. ) Postclassic and recent (or late) (from 1200 to the Spanish conquest).

  The Postclassic Maya sees the rise of the influence of the Nahua of central Mexico, as in the highlands of southern and in northern Yucatan. This influence is characterized by the introduction of new styles, new techniques such as metallurgy, and great changes in social and political organization. The causes of this rise is uncertain of the Nahua. It seems that the weakening of the Mayan world has led to population movements and thereby Chichimec a revival of power Nahua, now in the hands of the Toltecs , centered Tula (or Tollan). These extend their influence throughout the Mesoamerica , even in northern Yucatan, bringing features Nahua the Maya.

  The few Mayan cities that had persisted during the Postclassic Epiclassic and former, including the cities Puuc as Uxmal , Sayil Labna , K'abah, Yaxuna , and other cities already old as Edzna , Coba or Dzibilchaltun after age of gold between the ^ninth and ^tenth century BC. AD , are experiencing a serious crisis and are losing population for most.

  Chichen Itza only continues to thrive: the Toltecs, led by Kukulkan according to legend, there would have founded a dynasty and imported religions of central Mexico , such as a href = "Quetzalcoatl" alt = "Quetzalcoatl" class = "mw-redirect"> Quetzalcoatl (Kukulkan) Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli (Tawizcal in the Dresden Codex) Cactunal ... However, in the thirteenth ^century,Chichen Itza in turn accepts the benefit of Mayapan led by Hunac Ceel; Mayapan will become the new center of world Mayan Lowlands, a thriving city, heavily Mexicanized, governed by aristocratic lineages. Then in the fourteenth ^century, rivalry between these lines and the ruling dynasty of Cocom lead to a long period of civil wars, culminating in the fall of Mayapan.

  The Postclassic in the highlands of south also has great changes and a significant Mexicanization. The old power centers classics like Kaminaljuyu or the cities of the valley Chuyub are abandoned. Consequent large population movements, intrusion Mexican, ethnic and political fragmentation, which lead to the creation of a mosaic of regional and independent states. Alongside these changes, we are witnessing the introduction of Nahua cultural traits such as twin temples and Tzompantli , cults of Mexican origin (under the name of Quetzalcoatl Kukumatz the Tohil of K'iche Xipe Totec .. .), metallurgy, new types of ceramic (fine orange, Comal, Molcajete ...).

  The power is in the hands of ethnic groups such as the K'iche , the Kaqchikel , the Mam, the Pokomam the Tz'utuhil, the Q'eqchi 'underlying expansionist kingdoms and well defended, as the kingdom of K' iche that focused on Chi Izmachi then Q'umarkaaj (Utatlan) will be incorporated into the Aztec empire in Ahuizotl, like the Kaqchikel, first a vassal of K'iche then centered Iximche , centered on one of Pokomam Mixco Viejo, Rabinal centered Cayuup ... These states are ruled by lines (Ilocab, Nihaib, Kawek, Tamub ...) who claim the Toltec keep their power. Political conflicts that trouble the region throughout the Postclassic are known from documents of colonial writings in indigenous languages, such as the Popol Vuh of K'iche El Titulo Totonicapan, Annals of Kaqchikel, Memorial ... Solola

  The Maya hieroglyphic writing continues to be used in the codex , made from long strips of vegetable fiber covered with lime and folded like an accordion. Four of them survived: those of Dresden and Paris , the Codex Troano of Madrid and Grolier.

  After defeating the Aztecs in 1521 , the Spaniards launched their conquest of the Mayan territories. With their technological superiority and the antagonisms between kingdoms Mayan highlands of Guatemala, they drove to ride against each other, they quickly crushed in 1524 .

  Disease imported from Europe by the Spaniards and unknown natives were not foreign to the defeat of the Maya. In 1521, an epidemic of smallpox carried off a third of the population of the Highlands of Guatemala . It was the same in Yucatan. Upon arrival, the Spaniards against opponents already weakened.

  Political and social organization

  

  

  Noble offering cocoa beans

  Maya society was divided into classes: nobles, religious, military, artisans, shopkeepers, peasants (the majority) and the equivalent of serfs. It is headed by hereditary chiefs, of patrilineal descent, who delegate their authority over village communities to local leaders. The land owned by each village, is distributed in patches with different families.

  The social structure is complex, it is based on a patrilineal family organization, a sexual division of labor and distribution industries. Farmers, that is to say most of the population, were divided into peasants, servants and slaves. The elite, in turn, was divided into warriors, priests, directors and officers. The elite and the people did not form categories antagonists because of kinship or of covenant united officers and servants, chiefs and peasants. Thus, new findings show the existence of a very important class of traders and warriors, especially from the ^fifth century at Tikal and there was a sharing of power between the old aristocracy in charge of affairs of the city and religious and the new class of traders and warriors , beans and squash . Large trees were left in place and contributed to the regeneration of the plot. After a year or more, the nutrients in the ash being exhausted, he had to leave the plot fallow for a period which varied according to soil quality: up to twenty years in northern Yucatan . Except in the highlands, where the volcanic soil of the valleys is rich, the yield was relatively low in the Lowlands where the layer of humus is generally thin. To feed people more and more numerous, the Mayans valued less fertile land by farming terrace to counteract erosion. Archaeologists have found that this form of agriculture was particularly practiced in the region of Rio Bec - nearly 150 000 hectares - and the region of Caracol . The ancient Mayans knew another form of intensive agriculture: in swampy areas called "bajos", they raised fields of development, they dug drainage canals were cultured and the hillocks formed by the embankments of mud containing elements nutrients. In this way we can get more than one crop per year. Moreover, one can obtain an additional resource by the fish in the canals.

  The Maya practiced the bee. Metal tools did not exist. The Maya used stone wheels called metate.

  The different Mayan peoples maintained numerous trading relationships with distant cities. Cocoa beans and copper bells were used as currency exchange, the copper was also used for decorative purposes, such as gold , the silver , the jade , shells and feathers of the quetzal.

  Culture

  Architecture

  

  

  Temple of Kukulcan Chichen Itza
  

  

  Temple of Tikal

  The most iconic architecture is the Mayan pyramid. The Mayan people have adopted the vertical structure to be closer to his gods.

  The heyday of the Mayan culture coincided with the emergence of large cities, centers of religious power, commercial and political, as Chichen Itza , Tikal and Uxmal. The observation of the style of Mayan architecture is key to understanding this civilization.

  Cities

  The location of the Mayan cities do not seem to be planned, and they unfold in a haphazard effect on all types of terrain in the northern plains of Yucatan to the hills of the Usumacinta. The Yucatan peninsula, where shone the Mayan civilization, is a low limestone plateau that rises much above sea level, covered with thick jungle. In this tropical climate, vegetation invades the stone mask and the works of this ancient people.

  At the heart of the Mayan city are wide spaces with a concentration of government buildings, temples, acropolis royal stage, etc.. Particular attention is paid to the orientation of temples and observatories to observe the Mayan cosmogony. In a second circle around the center focus ritual the homes of nobles and minor temples. Finally, outside the urban center unfold the modest homes of the people.

  The classic Maya architecture can be summarized in a division of space into two: a monumental public space, urban and private space overshadowed. Only at the end of the post classic that cities are fortified, destroying large spaces of the classical era.

  Materials

  One of the surprising aspects of Mayan culture is its ability to build huge structures using rudimentary technology. In fact, the Mayans used no metal tools or pulleys, or even the wheel. In return, Maya architecture required a large workforce.

  All the stones of Mayan buildings seem to be quarried nearby. The most widely used material was limestone, which can be easily carved with stone tools. The mortar is also based on crushed limestone, burnt and mixed that mimics the properties of cement. Progress in the size of the stones will reduce the use of mortar, the stones fitting perfectly.

  It also notes the appearance of fine paste ceramics on sites like Seibal and Altar de Sacrificios in the late eighth ^century, which reflects the introduction of an influence on Mayan culture and was used to support the thesis foreign invasions that could cause the state of war that destroyed classical civilization.

  Construction techniques

  

  

  Corbelled arch of the Palace of Uxmal
  

  

  Detail of the Nunnery of Uxmal

  Most of the stone buildings are based on a fork whose height varies from less than one meter for small, more than 45 meters for the great temples and pyramids. On at least one side is a flight of stairs, often very steep.

  This cap consisted of a series of cells defined by walls. The space created by these cells was then filled with gravel.

  The surfaces were covered with plaster for consistency. The plaster was produced by burning limestone powder was then mixed with calcareous sand (sascab) and tree resin (holol) for plasticity.

  Finally the surfaces were painted with mineral pigments and organic with the hematite and indigo , which were used to produce the two main colors: red and blue. The famous Blue Maya was thus composed of indigo, of azurite (mineral) and clay paligorskite.

  Maya architecture is characterized by the widespread use of mortar in buildings. Indeed, not knowing the technique of arch (connecting blocks dividing the balance gravitational pull on adjacent walls or pillars), their ability to create areas covered were very limited. The use of columns and architraves n'ad'ailleurs been found only on rare occasions apparently unintentional. Lack these basic facilities, the Maya and systematically used the mortar, with all that that implies: very thick walls to support a ceiling too heavy, and a cramped interior. The long galleries of the palace of Palenque or Uxmal demonstrate the use of a sort of overhanging roof, called "false arch" precisely because it is not one. Each layer of blocks added gradually spreading over the void, like the medieval European houses where every additional stage came a little more on the street below. In the case of Mayan buildings, it was sufficient that the amount to corbelled from two opposite walls separated by a small distance so that they eventually merge, forming a "false ceiling". In order to keep all the mortar was needed, the cantilever is doomed to collapse if it exceeds a limit imposed by the deadly seriousness. From the outside, the thickness of the ceiling was greater than or equal to the height of the inner gallery, giving the building a huge burden. The Maya took the opportunity to give free rein to their talents: the high walls and almost blind in their left ample means. Various schemes have been used to limit the appearance of heavy buildings. Geometric friezes, vertical columns or more or less elaborate sculptures have evolved to reach its peak in the post-classical. Style Puuc the Yucatan is the best example ( Uxmal , Labn , Kabah, Sayil , etc.).

  Remarkable buildings

  Ceremonial platforms

  These limestone platforms of less than four meters high were used for official ceremonies and religious rites.

  Palace

  

  

  Palace of Palenque

  Immense and highly decorated, the palaces are located in the center of the city, they are home to the elite of the population.

  Those who are particularly tall, or have different levels, were perhaps used as acropolis. However, most have only a level, small parts and are richly decorated, which strengthens the hypothesis of their use as dwellings.

  It also appears that these palaces were used as tombs.

  Group E

  The usefulness of the current structure in the Maya cities remains a mystery. On the west side of the central square is a pyramid, which faces three small temples where the group name E.

  Some believe that these structures are observatories for since the pyramid, the sun appears in the exact alignment of small temples in the solstices and equinoxes. Others argue that they represent the history of the creation of the world illustrated by the sculptures and drawings that adorn these structures.

  Some famous examples: the structure of E-VII Uaxactun and group of the Lost World complex at Tikal.

  Pyramids and temples

  

  Temple of the Cross Palenque

  The pyramids are probably the most famous visual element of the Mayan civilization. Facilities ceremonial Mayan city, that is to say, squares, pyramids and palaces were designed to reproduce at a symbolic level, the sacred landscape as it existed at the time of its creation by the gods. The pyramids represented the mountains. It is from these places that the kings were using trances and rituals to enter the supernatural world that allowed them to converse with the gods. The pyramids also housed tombs, often royalty. The most famous is that of K'inich Janaab 'Pakal I in the Temple of the inscriptions of Palenque

  The temple-pyramids were part of a long cultural tradition in Mesoamerica. The Olmecs have erected artificial mountains. The Maya innovated by adding to the pyramid and temple facades carved and painted expressing political and religious messages. In fact, they covered the entire pyramid of plaster (stucco), and then they painted all in red or another bright color.

  The birth of the pyramids of Mesoamerica has nothing to do with the pyramids of Egypt. At the geographical argument (over 13 000 km) plus the temporal argument (over 3500 years). In fact, the Mayan pyramids appeared during the ^first millennium BC, at the end of the Preclassic average ( Nakbe ), while the Egyptian tombs were built early in the ^third millennium BCE. Their function is completely different. The Mayan pyramids are primarily the assembly of two superimposed structures: a monumental base, the "body" of the building, and the temple, whose importance is predominant. The base has to function to enhance the temple, to show that God is greater than the population, it rises above the ordinary. It has, in itself, almost no symbolic. The name pyramid is so wrong.

  Some argue, however, that the tombs were built in these temples, giving them a vocation funeral. However, even if it is indeed a common practice among the Maya, we can not here draw a parallel with Egypt. As mentioned previously, the Mesoamerican pyramid has a highly cultic function. By being buried beneath the building, the rulers just heard that the worship in the temple than benefit them: after death, the temple would be a sort of memorial, maintaining their memory.

  In the jungles of Peten , arises between the trees of the forest on the religious center of Tikal. Fabulous clearing this ancient Mayan city-state raised its pyramid 60 meters high. Lived around 50,000 farmers, craftsmen and slaves, labor required for builders ignoring animal traction. We can talk about ghost towns emerging from the forest. Man has never mastered both the natural elements of the Maya Classic period. Fifteen centuries ago, Tikal ruled the jungles of Guatemala 's pyramids proud. The ceremonial center was covered with stucco. Even the temple floors were painted red, the color of the sun and blood. On one of the platforms, the head of the city, surrounded by two priests, a ritual chairs, overlooking the procession of lords and priests and their victims with the help of musicians. This description comes from historical documents.

  

  

  The Temple of the Magician of Uxmal

  Observatories

  The Mayans were great astronomers, they had very specific knowledge of the evolution of celestial objects, especially the Moon and Venus. Many temples are oriented according to celestial events.

  Round the temples dedicated to the god Kukulkan are often described as the observatories of the Maya, although there is no evidence they were used solely to that purpose.

  Playground ball

  

  

  Playground ball Copn

  The ball game that is found on various archaeological sites was an important part of Mayan culture. It was called Pok-ta-Pok.

  The land is bounded by two terraces except the ends, it is shaped like a capital I, whose long sides are composed of sloping walls. Top of each wall, each platform was the audience. The field represents the universe, and the ball, the Sun.

  The parties were held according to the Mayan astronomical calendar, in order to pray and meet the gods by human sacrifices.

  At its center, each of the two sides are enthroned two huge stone rings to five meters in height where the rubber ball called Kik had to pass.

  Each team of two to twelve players had to return the ball by using stone ring by region: hips, elbows, knees sometimes when the outer parts of the hand and not drop the ball on the ground. The movements of the ball that rises and falls during the game, mimicking the course of the Sun

  The ball made of latex had a size of about fifteen to twenty centimeters in diameter, its weight and hardness should therefore be very painful during impacts with different body parts of players.

  Art

  

  

  Low relief stucco museum Palenque

  The art of the Classic Period Maya (200-900) is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful and finest of the pre-Columbian America. It has often called the Maya of Greeks of the New World, so great was their master in aesthetics. In the art of the fresco, the Maya were masters from the ^third century. The bas-reliefs of Palenque and the statuary of Copn are especially graceful and denote a sense of observation of the human body very accurate. Unfortunately, the weather has deteriorated such representations. In contrast, the paintings that adorn the grave goods are relatively well preserved. Most dangerous enemies of archaeologists and grave robbers. Some traffickers have considerable resources to organize systematic raids.

  

  

  Fresco Wall Bonampak

  The first archaeologists to work in the Mesoamerican civilizations were particularly marked, as they qualifirent-era classic. There are only few traces of paintings of classic Mayan era, most of which consists of funerary pottery and other Maya ceramics. A building of Bonampak murals of old door who luckily survived. The deciphering of Maya writing has taught us that the Maya were one of the few Mesoamerican civilizations where artists signed their works in their name.

  Far from having given up all its secrets, the Mayan civilization has bequeathed a number of objects. Whether sacred ornaments reserved for worship (ceremonial masks, knives and badges of sacrifice and priestly functions). Whether as jewelry, ornaments of jade or stone carved stelae covered as of now largely deciphered glyphs.

  Writing and Literature

  Writing system

  Main article: Maya script.

  Maya writing is from 300 BC. BC Judging from the documents we have, the Mayan writing goes pretty quickly form a logographic , where each word is represented by a drawing, to form mixed logographic and phonetic syllabic type: the word can also be divided into smaller units, if Maya syllables, each represented by a sign.

  The Maya used 800 individual signs or glyphs , arranged two by two columns, reading from left to right and top to bottom. Maya glyphs represented words or syllables combine to describe any concept. The hieroglyphic inscriptions were either carved in stone or wood on monuments and architectural works, is painted on paper, plaster walls and ceramic objects. The system was not alphabetical

  Maya writing is being decoded about 80%

  Hardware

  The Maya wrote with brushes made of animal hair and feathers. They used black ink and red, hence the name given to the territory by the Maya Aztecs : "The country's red and black."

  Scribes

  The scribes had a very important social position, the frescoes show the powerful often with writing materials.

  Religion

  Main article: Maya religion.

  

  

  Ah Puch, the god of death

  The Mayan religion has similarities with religion Aztec and it also included human sacrifices. The Mayan calendar placed the end of the world in the ^sixteenth century , and the appearance of the Spanish conquerors at that time threw them into the greatest confusion. The latter were welcomed as gods announced. The Maya n'opposrent therefore very little resistance to what they regarded as superhuman beings and accepted an immutable destiny. The main religious center of the Maya world was Chichen Itza. The Mayans were polytheist.

  The Maya believed in recurring cycles of creation and destruction. The rituals and ceremonies were closely related to these multiple cycles of earth and heaven. The role of the Mayan priest was to interpret these cycles and to prophesy the time past and future. If the dark days were planned, he had to make sacrifices to appease the gods. To monitor these cycles they use multiple calendars: a sacred calendar, the largest of 260 days, called Tzolk'in calendar , a calendar of 365 days based on the solar year (the Mayans measured the duration of the solar year, considering it to 365.2420 days, while for modern astronomers it is 365.2422 days. a difference of only 17 seconds. Yet the Maya were incapable of knowing the hour, minute or second ), the Haab calendar , a lunar calendar, a calendar based on Venus and a single system in Mesoamerica , called the Long Count of the classical period.

  If the Mayan religion remains largely obscure, we know they still believed that the cosmos was divided into three different entities: the underworld, earth and sky.

  The sky was composed of thirteen layers, each with its own divinity. At the highest level was the bird muan.

  The underworld had nine layers which reigned nine "Lords of the Night". The underworld was a place which was cold and inhospitable for most Maya after death. When kings died, they followed the path linked to the cosmic movement of the sun and fell into the Underworld, but because they possessed supernatural powers, they were reborn into the heavenly world and became gods. This underground world also hosted nightly celestial bodies like the Sun, Moon and Venus, once past the threshold of the year.

  The Maya pantheon contains countless deities. This proliferation is partly explained by the fact that each of the gods is in many aspects. Some have more than one gender, others may be both young and old. Each deity represents a celestial body in the underworld had a different face every night revealed that his "death".

  

  

  Mayan Calendar on Dresden Codex, one of the few that survived the Spanish conquest

  The Maya believed the Earth to be flat and square. Each corner was located at a cardinal point and was represented by one color: red for east, white for north, black for west, and yellow for south. The center was green.

  Some Mayans also believed that the sky was stratified and each of its four corners was supported by a deity called Bacab impressive musculature. For others, the sky was supported by four trees of different colors and species, and the green ceiba, or farthing, stood in the center.

  For the Maya, the flattened shape of the Earth in the back of a giant crocodile resting in a pool of water lilies. In the sky, while the crocodile was a two-headed snake, a concept probably due to the fact that the Maya word for heaven is like the word snake.

  The blood and sacrifice

  The elite was obsessed with blood - his own and that of prisoners - and the ritual bloodletting was an important aspect of any major calendar event. Bloodletting was also to propitiate the gods and the beginning of the decline of Mayan civilization.

  For the Maya, the blood sacrifice was necessary for the survival of both gods and humans, raising the human energy skyward and receiving in return the divine power. The king used an obsidian knife or a spur to cutting his penis, which he let flow the blood on the paper in a bowl. The wives of kings were also taking part in this ritual by pulling a rope with thorns through their language. We used to burn the paper stained with blood and smoke that oozed established direct communication with the Sky World.

  The custom was that the prisoners, slaves, especially children and especially orphans and illegitimate children that were bought specially for the occasion, are offered in sacrifice. Before the era of the Toltecs, was sacrificed animals rather than humans.

  "Each deity represents a particular rite in which victims are promised the rank of" substitute god. " For the god of rain, especially venerated, they are children that are drowning their tears is a good omen for heavy rains . All sacrificed, however, are not constrained. Indeed, "the victims are promised an enviable destiny, that accompany the sun in its daily course, before returning four years later on earth in the guise of a butterfly or a hummingbird. This belief explains that future priests are often willing, or even volunteers. Death is not, in fact, an end but rather, the beginning of a renaissance .

  Sacred Geography

  The cave was a sacred place, especially when in a gushing spring, symbol of life and rebirth. It can be likened to a sanctuary, a place of worship, a point of rendezvous with the deities of the earth. It can be a funeral instead, as a materialization of symbolic world of death. Funeral vases containing ashes of the dead were discovered in caves.

  These Mayan cave shrines began shipping some of their secrets. Prints, in natural crevices, evoke the life and personality of the deceased. The offerings that were lodged are to believe that a future life expectancy animated these populations.

  The mountain was also a high sacred place. The volcanoes were deified and regarded as the abode of some gods who are focused offerings. At the onset of certain constellations, a new fire was lit in an ancient extinct volcano, to celebrate the junction between two cycles of 52 years.

  The great pyramids of Teotihuacan appear as artificial hills, dedicated to the gods and rituals that honor them.

  The moon is a symbol of Mayan women. There were many myths associated. It symbolizes the pregnant woman whose belly, round, waxes and wanes. An eclipse is an unfortunate event for women in labor. According to legend, the Moon weaves a plot that forced the sun to marry her, but she had a wanton attitude, and has deceived the king vultures.

  The stars were also deified. Mixcoatl , the white cloud serpent, ruler of the galaxy. Tezcatlipoca , lord of the night, was identified with the Big Dipper , perceived as representing a jaguar.

  Science and technology

  Like other Mesoamerican civilizations, the Maya were so in some respects lags behind Europe, they were however very advanced in other sectors. Their knowledge of astronomy in particular continues to surprise scientists today .

  One practice was the oldest of erecting stelae to commemorate historical events or marking; ago steles were erected improperly, then they are erected at certain regular intervals, usually at the end of each katun , cyclic period of 20 years. These dates have been read by the key given to us by Diego de Landa. The Maya built their calendar from the legendary 3113 BC date. AD, and they used time units such as the most important baktun , cyclic period comprising 20 katuns (that is to say 400 years Maya, corresponding to 394 of our years).

  Mathematics

  

  

  Mayan numbers.

  The Maya (or their Olmec predecessors) used a base 20 comprising a symbol zero (but use the concept and thus were different from ours, cf. Mayan Numeration ). The inscriptions show that they were able to handle very large numbers. The basic mathematical system 20 (vicsimal), that is to say to twenty basic figures (we use a base 10, decimal), as well as their positioning method graphic calculations allowed them to infinity. This allowed them to conduct astronomical research thrusts whose degree of accuracy is very impressive. Mayan priests and astronomers have found a very sharp time of the solar year, although in real life they use a year of 365 days (see Mayan Calendar ). For example, the Gregorian calendar determined the solar year to 365.2425 days, the Mayan calendar, to 365.2420 days, and modern astronomy 365.2422 days. Clearly, seven centuries before the Europeans, armed with archaic instruments, and after years of observations in the heart of the jungle, the Maya were able to determine the duration of a solar year with extreme precision. Not until the ^nineteenth century that technological advances can refine this assessment.

  Analyzes astronomical were very specific, studies the movement of the Moon and planets were remarkable for people who worked only the naked eye.

  Chronology

  

  Rediscovery of Maya civilization

  After their move away, many classic Maya cities were forgotten, buried in the tropical vegetation. To reach the ruins of ancient cities of the Peten , you should walk in a jungle thick. Occasional encounters with ruins that made the Spaniards after the Conquest had no echo. During an inspection tour in 1576, a Spanish official, Diego Garcia de Palacio, described the ruins of Copn in his report:

  "... On the road after the town of San Pedro in the first town in the province of Honduras, called Copan, there are ruins and remains of a large population and impressive monuments of their beauty, constructed with such talent, they can not possibly be the work of rough men, as are the present inhabitants. "

  Once classified, the report was completely forgotten until the nineteenth ^century. It was the same for the accounts of Father Avendao, through Tikal or Jacobo de Alcayaga to Yaxchilan. Not until the late eighteenth ^century with the birth of Archaeology, also at the request of the King of Spain, a lover of antiques, we organized an expedition to the official site of Palenque. Led by a soldier, Captain Antonio del Ro, she reached the ruins in 1787. In 1807 , another mission took place, led by Guillermo Dupaix. These shipments were accompanied by draftsmen, whose illustrations reflect their misgivings about Maya iconography, they think in terms of ancient civilizations (Egypt, Greece, India): they are simplified, arranged to European taste, if not sometimes just fanciful. They nevertheless have the merit to exist, certain monuments reproduced having disappeared in the meantime. Gradually brought to public attention during the early decades of the ^nineteenth century, the relationship of Antonio and Guillermo del Ro Dupaix give rise to many speculations about the identity of the builders of these monuments.

  

  

  Stela D of Copan: lithograph after a drawing by Frederick Catherwood

  In 1839 an American traveler and writer John Lloyd Stephens , after reading these first accounts of expeditions to the cities in ruins in the jungle, visited Copn , Palenque and other sites along with British architect Frederick Catherwood. The best-selling books by Stephens, accompanied by drawings of Catherwood, aroused great interest worldwide and sparked the rediscovery of the major pre-Columbian civilization. With archaic ways, comparable to those used by the Maya to the building, the archaeologists opened sites to identify the monuments of their plant and gangue rebuild those that were too degraded.

  Nowadays, much of the rural population of Guatemala , the Yucatan and Belize Maya descends and speaks one of 28 Mayan languages.

  Notes and references

  1. Paul Gendrop, The Maya, Presses Universitaires de France, 8th ed. 2005, p. 4
  2. Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube, Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens (2nd ed.) Thames & Hudson, 2008, p. 21
  3. Arthur Demarest, The Maya, Tallandier, 2007, p. 82
  4. Susan Toby Evans, Ancient Mexico and Central America. Archaelogy History and Culture (2nd ed.) Thames & Hudson, 2008, p. 316
  5. Arthur Demarest, The Maya, Tallandier, 2007, p. 31
  6. Nikolai Grube, The Maya: Art and Civilization, Knemann, P. 36
  7. Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube, Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens (2nd ed.) Thames & Hudson, 2008, p. 8
  8. Susan Toby Evans, Ancient Mexico and Central America. Archaeology and Cultural History (2nd ed.) Thames & Hudson, 2008, p. 329
  9. Nikolai Grube, The Maya: Art and Civilization, Knemann, P. 169
  10. Eric Taladoire, The Maya, Oak Publishing, p. 34
  11. (es) Linda Schele & David Freidel, A Selva reyes. La historia de los antiguos asombrosa Maya, Fondo de Cultura Econmica , 1999 (ed. orig. English 1990) ( ISBN 9681653858 ), p. 503 .
  12. Arthur Demarest, The Maya, Tallandier, P. 244
  13. ^{a and b} and Lpez Lujn Lpez Austin 2001 , p. 176.
  14. ^{a , b , c , d and e} Lujn Lpez Austin and Lpez 2001 , p. 177.
  15. Robert J. Sharer, The Ancient Maya (6th ed.), Stanford University Press, 2006, p. 763
  16. David Drew, The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings, Phoenix, 2000 393
  17. V. Foster, Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World, Oxford University Press, 2002 80
  18. The term Maya itself means "those who grow corn."
  19. Robert J. Sharer, The Ancient Maya (6th ed.), Stanford University Press, 2006, p. 642
  20. David Drew, The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings, Phoenix, P. 329
  21. Baudez Claude-Francois, The Maya, Les Belles Lettres, 2005, p. 96
  22. Baudez Claude-Francois, A History of the Maya religion, Albin Michel, 2002 139
  23. Robert J. Sharer, The Ancient Maya (6th ed.), Stanford University Press, 2006, p. 137
  24. GEO No. 85 p.123
  25. ^{a and b} " The Maya - Three million souls offered to the gods! ", Claude Dufresne, on www.historia.fr.
  26. (es) See, for example Los Mayas: Historia de un pueblo indmito Ral Prez-Lpez Portillo on books.google.fr.
  27. (es) Julie Gazzola, Una propuesta sobre el proceso, y condiciones del factores colapso Teotihuacan , Dimensin Antropolgica No. 31, INAH , 2004.
  28. quoted in Nikolai Grube (ed.), Mayan art and civilization, Knemann, P. 400

  Schedules

  Bibliography

  Main article: Readings in American Columbian Maya # by theme.

  Further Reading

  • The lost cities of the Maya, Claude Picasso Baudez & Sydney, Discovery Gallimard, 1987, ( ISBN 2-07-053035-3 )
  • The Maya: History, Art and Archaeology, Susana Vogel Monclem Ediciones, Mexico, 1995 ( ISBN 968-6434-40-2 )
  • The Maya: The State of Yucatan, Editora Kukulcan, 2002, (ISBN 7-509765-123403)
  • (Es) Alfredo Lpez Austin and Leonardo Lpez Lujn , El pasado indgena, Fondo de Cultura Econmica , El Colegio de Mxico, al. "Fideicomiso Historia de las Amricas / Historia, 1996 (reprint 2001), 332 p. ( ISBN 9789681664343 ) .
  • The Maya of Glory to Ruin, Guy Gugliotta, National Geographic France No.95, August 2007.
  • A World Lost and Found: The Mayan cities, Frederick Catherwood Library Image, 1993 ( ISBN 2909808025 )
  • Yucatan and its archeological cities, by Gerardo Bustos Monclem Ediciones, Mexico, ( ISBN 968-6434-57-7 )
  • Mayan Prophecies 2012, John Lee Fox, Ed Exclusive, 2009, ( ISBN 9782848910802 )

  Filmography

  • The Mystery of the Maya: A vestige of the splendor of the Mayan civilization, IMAX, 1995.
  • The Lost Kingdoms of the Maya, National Geographic (2003)
  • Dawn of the Maya (version fr. Dawn of Maya), National Geographic, 2004
  • Apocalypto by Mel Gibson ( 2006 )

  Related Articles

  • Maya
  • Mayan Calendar
  • Calendar Tzolk'in
  • Mayan sites
  • Popol Vuh , the sacred book of the Quiche Maya
  • Mayan languages
  • Mayan Numeration

  External Links

  • (En) A wealth of information, including the reading of Mayan figures ;
  • The Mayan civilization on civilisations.ca;
  • Old and new Mayan empire ;
  • The Mayan civilization on this site concerning "The explorers and the discoveries";
  • Maya history and many photos of Maya sites.

  Pre-Columbian civilizations
  North America	Adena Anasazi Fort Ancient Fremont Hohokam Hopewell Civilization Mississippi Mogollon Mound Builders Patayan Poverty Point
  Mesoamerica	Aztec Capacha Maya Chichimecs Cholula Chupcuaro Cuicuilco Culture graves wells Culture Teuchitlan El Openo Epi-Olmec Huaxtecs Izapa Mixtec Olmec Pipil Tarascans Teotihuacn Tlatilco Toltec Totonac Zapotec
  South America	Calima Caaris Caral Chachapoyas Chavin Chibcha Chimu Huari Inca Ugly Nazca Paracas Sicn Tairona Tiahuanaco Valdivia Vicus Viru
  Pre-Columbian civilizations	Peoples and Cultures Arts Timelines Writing Religion Sciences Society Sites Archaeologists Bibliography
  Native Americans American Columbian Portal

  • Archaeology portal
  • Portal Pre-Columbian America

Leave a Reply

Frequently Asked Questions