The Mayan Kingdom

Introduction

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:38:00 CDT

Introduction

Humankind arrived in the New World somewhere between 70,000-10,000 B.C.E., most likely via a land-bridge that existed between Alaska and Asia. After the glaciers began to melt and the sea levels rose, the land-bridge vanished, and there was little or no contact between the New World and the other continents for thousands of years. Because of this geographical isolation, the cultures that subsequently developed are an entirely unique and largely unknown branch in our Old World centric view of history.

The Maya are one of the Mesoamerican cultures of this New World. They are descendants of the Olmecs, inhabiting Southern Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, and Central America. At their peak around 500-1000 C.E., Mayan society was one of the most advanced the earth had known, developing a complex culture, with a precise knowledge of astronomy, mathematics, and an intricate written language. But it could also be brutal, with human sacrifice, warfare and slavery all commonplace.

While much of the ancient Mayan culture & knowledge was destroyed or lost after the Spanish Conquistadors invaded, today scholars and archaeologists are deciphering the few remaining hieroglyphics and excavating their once great cities. With these clues, we are beginning to piece together how the Maya may have once lived.

Uxmal

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:32:00 CDT

Uxmal

Uxmal was a regional capital during the Mayan Late Classic period. It is located about an hour's drive south from the colonial city of Merida, within Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. At its peak around 800-900 C.E., it's estimated that over 20,000 people lived in and around this metropolis.

Mayan legend claims that a dwarf magician, born from a egg, built the city of Uxmal in a single night. In reality, archaeological excavations reveal that the Pyramid of the Magician (above) itself was erected in a series of five successive builds upon existing, lesser pyramids. This was a common Mayan building practice, thought to capture and amplify the power of the underlying structure.

Mesoamerican pyramids primarily functioned as places of ceremony and worship rather than as tombs as in ancient Egypt, although there are some early exceptions, such as in Palenque, that also hold the remains of rulers. Each Mayan pyramid held a sanctuary chamber at it's apex from where rituals were performed. The imposing stature of these pyramids, with intricate depictions of their deities, helped to establish the rulers' status as intermediaries to the gods. Hieroglyphs commonly engraved upon these monuments told tales of a ruler's reign, depicting significant events such as their birth, marriages, conquests and sacrifices. Ritualistic practices, often in the form of blood-letting and human sacrifice, were performed as offerings to the gods to ensure their future success with harvests and in warfare. Captured enemies and slaves were often dismembered alive atop altars, often through the form of decapitation or extraction of the heart.

Large Mayan urban centers such as Uxmal demonstrate a complex understanding of city planning. Hills were constructed to raise prominent buildings, such as the palaces of dignitaries and ceremonial structures. This is evident with the Palace of the Governor, shown behind the ball-court in the picture below. Stone palaces such as this were reserved for dignitaries and priests, while the general population lived in small grass huts.

One central aspect of Mayan life was the ball game, filling both a recreational and a political role. Mesoamericans have participated in this sport for three thousand years, making the longest lasting sport in human history. Today the rules of this game are largely unknown, but it's believed that the objective was to use one's stomach and hips to score goals by bouncing a rubber ball through a vertical hoop located at the opposite side of the ball-court (above). At the end of the Classic Period, sacrifice also became a brutal aspect of the game, with the losing team members faced with the prospect of decapitation.

Nunnery Quadrangle

Corner detail of the Nunnery Quadrangle building complex features repeated mosaics of the rain god Chaac.

Pyramid of the Magician

The Pyramid is an example of the Chenes architectual style, where the entrance of the sanctuary is encircled by the mouth of their creator god Itzamna.

Vaulted Arch

This vaulted arch at the Governors Palace shows the typical interior shape of Mayan architecture.

Labna

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:59:00 CDT

Labna

Also in the Puuc Hills within close proximity to the city of Uxmal are the smaller cities of Labna, Kabah, and Sayil. These sites and others across the Mayan world were connected by a network of roads, or Sacbeob. These Sacbeob were white raised pathways or roads made of crushed limestone, that at times stretched for hundreds of miles between sites. The word Sacbé (singular) literally means "White Road" in Mayan. They served a key role in Mayan society, linking sites both politically and economically. As with most things in the Mayan system of beliefs, the Sacbeob also held a sacred significance, serving as routes of pilgrimage, and were key in the growth of Mayan knowledge and culture.

As with the surrounding Puuc cities, the city of Labna was constructed between the 8th and 10th centuries. Labna's most defining feature is its famous arch. Its intricate façade with recurring geometric motifs make it a strong example of Puuc architecture. Three tall "Cresteria", or ornamental roof-combs once stood on top of the arch but have long since crumbled. Unlike the large arch at nearby Kabah, the Labna Arch was not a gateway to the city, but rather a passageway between key public areas.

Kabah

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:23:00 CDT

Kabah

Kabah, meaning "Strong Hand" in Mayan, is the legendary birthplace of Uxmal's Dwarf Magician. The site was inhabited from about 350 B.C.E., but most of the architecture was built around 700-1100 C.E. While not as large as Uxmal, Kabah was once a thriving metropolis. It is thought that in early times it was an adversary of Uxmal, but that they eventually became allied.

Kabah is most known for it's Codz-Poop, or the Palace of the Masks (above). It is a building with an entire façade decorated with the face of the rain god Chaac with his long hooked nose. As is common in Puuc Mayan architecture, the wall was constructed as a jigsaw mosaic of hundreds of molded concrete blocks. The Maya had perfected the use of concrete as a building material and limestone, its primary ingredient, was abundant throughout the Yucatan.

The obsessive repetition of Chaac, "Protector of the Harvest", both here and at various other Mayan sites speaks strongly to the importance placed on this god, and of the scarcity of water throughout the region. With no cenotes found on this dryer northern side of the Yucatan, they were entirely dependent on the rain. Here they often built chultunes, which were reservoirs to collect rain water. They also constructed geometric drainage systems of canals to help irrigate the land. In spite of these innovations, by the 11th century this and the surrounding Puuc sites had all but been abandoned, with drought suspected as a primary cause of their decline.

Kabah Arch

This monument acted as the gateway to the city of Kabah, linking it via a sacbe to the city of Uxmal 11 miles (18 km) to the Northwest.

Mayan Conquest

This relief depicts a dominated enemy about to be killed by his captors, likely as a tribute to some prior battle. Unfortunately, the hieroglyphs above this piece, intended to track the dates and details of the event, have since been damaged.

Codz-Poop Statue

On the opposite side of the Palace of the Masks are two life sized statues of the former ruler of Kabah. Above his head is another depiction of the rain god Chaac, signifying his elevated status between that of man and deity.

Muyil

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:55:00 CDT

Muyil

While Muyil is a less excavated site, it is significant for being one of the earliest and longest inhabited Mayan sites on the Yucatan. Pottery shards and other artifacts have been found dating back from as early as 350 B.C.E. to as late as 1200-1500 C.E. Another factor that makes this Yucatan Mayan site unique is that it is an example of Peten architecture, a style typical of older, more southern Mayan sites with their steep walled pyramids such as Tikal in Guatemala.

Situated on the Sian Ka'an lagoon, a name meaning "Where the Sky is Born", Muyil was situated along a trade route on the Caribbean once accessible via a series of canals. Excavated ceramics indicate that the city probably served as key point along a trade route between Yucatan, Belize, Guatemala, and Cozumel. Jade, obsidian, chocolate, honey, feathers, chewing gum, and salt were commonly traded goods. The Mayan merchants would track their product inventories not with a base ten numeric system like we use today, but instead a base twenty system that took advantage of the "digits" on their shoeless feet as well as their hands. During much of it's history, Muyil had strong ties to the city of Coba to the north-east. Since most tourists tend to skip Muyil and Coba, they are interesting sites to visit for those looking for a more primitive experience.

Throughout the Yucatan, there is an extensive network of underground limestone caves called cenotes. They were vital to the Maya who lived there as one of the only sources of fresh water. Legend claims that as the Spanish were invading the Yucatan, the Maya hid their treasure deep within these waters. While this is probably a myth, the most infamous of the cenotes is Chichen Itza's Sacred Well, where during periods of drought it was given offerings of semi-precious stones. At times it was even used for sacrifice by drowning in an effort to persuade the gods to bring the rains. Grand Cenote (above) is located a short distance from Muyil, and is one of many that today tourists use for snorkling and scuba diving.

Chichen Itza

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 21:24:00 CDT

Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza was first settled around 435 C.E., however, in later centuries it became subject to waves of attacks from semi-nomadic tribes from northern Mexico. This and a period of prolonged drought gradually weakened Mayan society. In the 900s, the Toltec Itza tribe conquered the city, radically changing its culture. The Mayan renaissance that followed brought with it a new militaristic ethic. The Toltec people were ancestors of the Aztecs. Theirs was a warring culture, dominated not by royalty and priests classes, but rather by the warrior caste: the Jaguar and Eagle Clans. With their arrival, the existing Puuc and Chenes architecture merged with Toltec influences from the north, developing a new Maya-Toltec style. Depictions of war and sacrifice became much more prominent in reliefs on their architecture, as did strong references to the Toltec Itza pantheon of gods, particularly the cosmic Feathered Serpent, the Jaguar, and the Eagle.

In no city is the importance that the Maya placed on astronomy and astrology more apparent than in the city of Chichen Itza. Kukulkán's Pyramid (above), referred to as "El Castillo" in Spanish, has exactly 365 steps, the number of full days in a solar year. It was build in such a way that during the spring and fall equinoxes a shadow is cast along the steps to resemble the feathered serpent god slithering down towards it's sculpted head at the foot of the pyramid. Interestingly, the Maya were so precise in their astronomical observations that they calculated the number of days in a solar year to 365.2420 - a number only off by .0002 from modern scientific standards. They calculated lunar cycles and the movements of Venus and Mars with similar accuracy.

Today, Chichen Itza is perhaps the most famous of the Mayan sites, largely due to its close proximity to the popular vacation destination of Cancun.

The Observatory, or Caracol

This unique building is a monument to the Maya's understanding of astronomy. It was built with doors in the four cardinal directions, and with windows on its upper levels used to track astrological events such as seasonal solstices.

Kukulkán

This "Feathered Serpent" was fundamental in Mayan Mythology. The god was inherited from the Toltec pantheon of the north, where it was known as Quetzalcoatl.

Platform of the Eagles and Jaguars

Used for ritual and sacrifice, this monument's defining feature is its godlike depictions of the animals that represented Chichen Itza's warrior caste.

Jaguar Throne

This ceremonial throne was probably reserved for a priest or dignitary. Archaeologists also discovered a more extravagant Jaguar throne, painted red with jade inlays, within the sanctuary of the internal pyramid buried deep inside the larger feathered serpent pyramid.

The Thousand Columns of the Temple of the Warriors

These columns supported a large hall, which was used to house assembles of the Maya-Toltec warrior castes.

Tulum

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 21:53:00 CDT

Tulum

By around 900 C.E., the Classical Mayan cities were in decline. Tulum peaked around 1200-1400 C.E. in the post-classic period, as an example of the smaller city-states that still remained at this point in Mayan history. It was a major trading hub, situated as a cliff top seaport, overlooking the turquoise waters of the Caribbean. A small cove and sandy beach sits at the base of the ruins, which would have been an apt landing spot for canoes bringing goods to trade. Artifacts discovered here originate from throughout the Mexican Highlands, Cozumel, Guatemala, and Honduras.

Tulum's simpler architecture lacks the imposing pyramids and complex mosaic façades found at many other earlier Mayan sites. The stonework of Tulum and other smaller sites built during this period was much less elaborate and rougher in quality, possible evidence of a decline in political and social resources. It borrows some Maya-Toltec architecture, such as it's round, supporting vertical columns, which may indicate some cultural exchange with Chichen Itza to the northwest. But what makes its architecture unique is the high wall that surrounds the city. It was constructed later in Tulum's history as a protective measure against the skirmishes of roaming tribes from the north which were prevalent during that period. It is from this that Tulum gets its modern name, literally meaning "Walled" in Mayan.

Tulum was one of the few Mayan sites to remain populated up until the time the Spanish arrived in Mexico, and it was one of the first glimpses of the Maya that these European explorers encountered. Juan de Grijalva spotted it from his ship during his reconnaissance trip around the Yucatan in 1518, but could not land here due to reefs guarding its shores. His observations laid the groundwork for the subsequent conquistador invasion.

Decline

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 22:14:00 CDT

Decline

The causes for the Maya's decline are numerous, but one of the central causes is that the demands they placed upon their environment grew beyond the capacity of the land. At it's peak, there were about 15 million people occupying the Mayan world. Over-population of Mayan metropolises are suspected to have gone beyond levels that the Mayan political and social networks were able to support, resulting in social unrest and revolution. Frequent skirmishes by warring clans, such as the Toltec invasion of Chichen Itza, are suspected to have forced the Mayan populace to flee their cities. Recent studies have discovered evidence of severe droughts, deforestation, and a decline in large game animals that began around 800 A.D., coinciding with a sharp drop in new construction. Human bones found from this time show signs of severe malnutrition, which would have been a driving factor behind raids. While Maya civilization did go through a brief renaissance after this period, ongoing environmental constraints played a large role in their eventual decline.

By the time the Spanish Conquistadors arrived, most of the large Mayan sites had been all but abandoned for hundreds of years. Most of their cities had fallen into ruin and were being overtaken by jungle. The Maya people had splintered into small villages and towns, losing the complex social strata and rituals that supported this great civilization at its apex.

The Spanish colonization of the Maya officially began in 1521 when Francisco de Montejo petitioned the King of Spain for the right to conquer the Yucatan. It took the Spanish 170 years and a number of expeditions to finally subjugate the Maya peoples, much longer than their campaigns against the Aztecs and Incas. The last Mayan stronghold of Tayasal in Guatemala fell in 1697. Aiding in the Spanish conquest was the introduction of European diseases, which decimated Mayan populations since they had developed no immunity. The primary goal of the Conquistadors within the Americas was to locate vast quantities of gold and silver. Trace amounts of these precious metals were found that had been transported to the Mayan kingdom via their various trade routes from Columbia and Ecuador, but the Spanish did not find the riches that they had hoped for.

The Spanish colonization entailed forced labor and mandatory conversion to Christianity. Those Maya who refused to give up their pantheistic religious practices were arrested and tortured for heresy. Mayan artifacts were actively destroyed and all but a few of their sacred texts burnt. However, in 1820, the colonies broke from Spain, and the pressure for the Maya to abandon their culture was gone. Today, many of their descendants living throughout Central America still speak an evolved version of the Mayan language and have managed to retain some of the ancient Mayan cultural practices.

2012 Prophecy

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 21:44:00 CDT

Interpreting the 2012 Prophecy

Today there is a lot of renewed interest in Maya, largely due to the 2012 prophecy. Personally I believe that this date has been misinterpreted by those in the new-age spiritual movement, informed by Christian mythology, projecting their own beliefs of the end times onto Mayan culture. The Mayan's recorded time in cycles, and on 2012 one 5,000 cycle is said to finish and another will begin. There is only one damaged Mayan inscription referencing this date, with some of the glyphs no longer readable. It is located at the Tortuguero monument, and speaks of the descent of an unknown god or gods:

Tzuhtz-(a)j-oom u(y)-uxlajuun pik
(ta) Chan Ajaw ux(-te') Uniiw.
Uht-oom ?
Y-em(al)?? Bolon Yookte' K'uh ta ?.

"The Thirteenth 'Bak'tun" will be finished
(on) Four Ajaw, the Third of Uniiw (K'ank'in).
? will occur.
(It will be) the descent(??) of the Nine Support? God(s) to the ?."

Deciphered by David Stuart

While the meaning of is nebulous enough to be open to a lot of different interpretations, I think it's wrong for people to conflate it with christian notions of the Apocalypse. One could just as easily conjecture that it represented a time of awakening rather than a time of retribution. However, as remarkably accurate as Mayan astronomy was, it may also be a mistake to assume this date has no significance. Time will tell.

All that being said, we don't necessarily need to look to ancient prophecies to gain wisdom from the ancient Maya. Modern civilization has more to learn from examining the decline of the Maya, particularly the notion that we maybe be extending beyond the carrying capacity of what the earth can sustain. As the saying goes, those who don't learn from history are bound to repeat it.

Comments:

References

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 22:46:00 CDT

References & Further Reading

Books:

The Maya - Palaces and Pyramids of the Rainforest
Henri Stierlin Köln: Taschen 2004
A photographic, coffee-table book with an emphasis on Mayan architecture & art.

Cancun & The Yucatan
Nick Rider New York: Dorling Kindersley 2004
A handy pocket-sized travel guide for people travelling to the Yucatan peninsula.

The Maya
Michael D. Coe New York: Thames & Hudson 2005
This is a more scholastic style book. It's a slow read, but has tons of information.

Popol Vuh
Dennix Tedlock New York: Touchstone 1996
The Mayan book of creation, one of the civilization's few remaining texts.

Websites:

Do you have an interesting website about the Maya? Link to this site (http://inneroptics.net/mayan_kingdom_book), and I'll return the favor.

This site by Barbara McKenzie has some really detailed maps & photos of tons of Mayan sites.
http://mayaruins.com/

Muyil:
http://muyil.smv.org/
http://www.travelwithmea.com/itin_soMex_yuca8.htm
http://www.visitcancun.com/mayan_ruins_Muyil2.htm

PBS special on the Maya:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/mayacode/program.html

Evidence of Mayan environmental degradation & deforestation:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/03/0313_030313_mayadrought_2.html
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/292/5520/1367
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/15nov_maya.htm
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/11/071115-maya-sacrifice.html

Jared Diamond, author of "Guns, Germs, and Steel" on "Why Societies Collapse":http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jared_diamond_on_why_societies_collapse.html

Sacbes Paper:
http://www.fiu.edu/~mizrachs/white-roads.html

On the use of "Maya" vs. "Mayan":
http://www.pauahtun.org/Calendar/maya_vs_mayan.html

Underground ruins discovered believed to be the Mayan portal to the underworld:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/08/080822-maya-maze.html

On the End of the Mayan Calendar in 2012:
http://www.13moon.com/prophecy%20page.htm http://www.calleman.com/content/articles/the_tortuguero _monument.htm
http://alignment2012.com/bolon-yokte.html http://pakalahau.wordpress.com/2007/12/08/mayan-leader-announces-2012-disasters/
http://pakalahau.wordpress.com/2007/11/23/2012-prophecy-notes-on-tortuguero-monument-6/

Mayan City Discovered With Lazers - National Geographic:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/05/photogalleries/100520-ancient-maya-city-belize-science-pictures/

Have another good Mayan link? Add it to the comments!

Comments:

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Wed, 09 Jun 2010 22:59:00 CDT

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