The Maya: History, Culture & Religion The Maya refer to both a modern-day people who can be found all over the world as well as their ancestors who built an ancient civilization that stretched throughout much of Central America one that reached its peak during the first millennium A.D. The Maya civilization was never unified; rather it consisted of numerous small states ruled by kings each apparently centred on a city. Sometimes a stronger Maya state would dominate a weaker state and be able to exact tribute and labor from it. A system of writing using glyptic symbols was developed and was inscribed on buildings stele artifacts and books (only a few examples of Maya books survive today). They also developed a complicated calendar system that included what scholars call a œlong-count that kept track of time by using different units that range in length from a single day to millions of years (the unit in millions was rarely used). Contrary to popular belief this system did not predict the end of the world in 2012 the unit in millions of years providing evidence of this. Also contrary to popular belief the Maya civilization never vanished. While many cities were abandoned around 1100 years ago other cities such as ChichÃ©n ItzÃ¡ grew in their place. When the Spanish arrived in Central America in force in the 16th century the diseases they brought devastated the Maya. Additionally the Spanish forced the Maya to convert to Christianity going so far as to burn their books (the reason why so few of them survive today). However it is important to note that the Maya people live on today and can be found all over the world. œMillions of Maya people live in Central America and throughout the world. The Maya are not a single entity a single community or a single ethnic group. They speak many languages including Mayan languages (Yucatec Quiche Kekchi and Mopan) Spanish and English. However the Maya are an indigenous group tied both to their distant past as well as to events of the last several hundred years writes Richard Leventhal Carlos Chan Espinosa and Cristina Coc in a recent edition of Expedition magazine. While hunters and gatherers had a presence in Central America stretching back thousands of years it was in what archaeologists call the Pre-classic period (1800 B.C. to A.D. 250) that permanent village life really took off. œReally effective farming in the sense that densely inhabited villages were to be found throughout the Maya area was an innovation of the Pre-classic period writes Yale University Professor Michael Coe in his book The Maya (Thames and Hudson 2011). Coe said farming became more effective during this period likely because of the breeding of more productive form of maize and perhaps more importantly the introduction of the œnixtamal process. In this process the maize is soaked in lime or something similar and cooked something that œenormously increased the nutritional value of corn writes Coe. During this time the Maya were influenced by a civilization to the west of them known as the Olmecs. These people may have initially devised the long count calendar that the Maya would become famous for Coe writes. Additionally the recent discovery of a ceremonial site dated to 1000 B.C. at the site of Ceibal sheds more light on the relationship between the Maya and Olmecs suggesting that it was a complex one. Coe writes that the ancient Maya reached a peak between A.D. 250 and 900 a time that archaeologists call the œClassic period when numerous Maya cities flourished throughout much of Central America. The civilization œreached intellectual and artistic heights which no other in the New World and few in Europe could match at the time Coe writes. œLarge populations a flourishing economy and widespread trade were typical of the Classic ¦ he said noting that warfare was also quite common. The Maya civilization was influenced by the city of Teotihuacan located farther to the west. At Tikal it appears that one of their early rulers named Siyaj K ak may have come from there. According to an inscription he ascended the throne on Sept. 13 A.D. 379 and is depicted wearing feathers and shells and holding an atlatl (spear-thrower) features associated with Teotihuacan writes researcher John Montgomery in his book Tikal: An Illustrated History of the Mayan Capital (Hippocrene Books 2001). The numerous cities found throughout the Maya world each had their own individual wonders that made them unique. Tikal for instance is known for its pyramid building. Starting at least as early as A.D. 672 the city s rulers would construct a twin pyramid complex at the end of every K atun (20-year period). Each of these pyramids would be flat-topped built adjacent to each other and contain a staircase on each side. Between the pyramids was a plaza that had structures laid out to the north and south. Copan a Maya city in modern-day Honduras is known for its œTemple of the Hieroglyphic Stairway. It s a pyramid-like structure that has more than 2000 glyphs embellished on a flight of 63 steps the longest ancient Maya inscription known to exist and appears to tell the history of the city s rulers. The site of Palenque another famous Maya city is known for its soft limestone sculpture and the incredible burial of œPakal one of its kings deep inside a pyramid. When Pakal died at about age 80 he was buried along with five or six human sacrifices in a jade-filled tomb (including a jade funerary mask he wore). His sarcophagus shows the king s rebirth and depictions of his ancestors in the form of plants. The tomb was re-discovered in 1952 and is œthe American equivalent if there is one to King Tut s tomb said archaeologist David Stuart in an online National Geographic lecture. Contrary to popular belief the Maya civilization did not vanish. It s true that many cities including Tikal Copan and Palenque became abandoned around 1100 years ago. Drought deforestation war and climate change have all been suggested as potential causes of this. However it is important to note that other Maya cities such as that of ChichÃ©n ItzÃ¡ grew at least for a time. In fact ChichÃ©n ItzÃ¡ has the largest ball court in the Americas being longer than a modern-day American football field. The court s rings through which competing teams somehow tried to score rose about 20 feet (6 meters) off the ground about twice the height of a modern-day NBA net. The rules for the Maya ball game are not well understood. As mentioned earlier the arrival of the Spanish brought about a profound change in the Maya world. The diseases they brought decimated the Maya and the Spaniards forced the Maya to convert to Christianity even burning their books. Today despite the devastation they experienced the Maya people live on numbering in the millions. The Maya had a lengthy and complicated mythical origin story that is recorded by the K iche Maya (based in Guatemala) in the Popol Vuh the œBook of Counsel writes Coe in his book. According to the stories the forefather gods Tepew and Q ukumatz œbrought forth the earth from a watery void and endowed it with animals and plants writes Coe. Creating sentient beings proved more difficult but eventually humans were created including the hero twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque who embark in a series of adventures which included defeating the lords of the underworld. Their journey climaxed with the resurrection of their father the maize god. œIt seems clear that this whole mythic cycle was closely related to maize fertility Coe writes. The late Robert Sharer who was a professor at the University of Pennsylvania notes in his book Daily Life in Maya Civilization (Greenwood Press 2009) that the ancient Maya believed that everything œwas imbued in different degrees with an unseen power or sacred quality call k uh which meant œdivine or sacredness. œThe universe of the ancient Maya was composed of kab or Earth (the visible domain of the Maya people) kan or the sky above (the invisible realm of celestial deities) and xibalba or the watery underworld below (the invisible realm of the underworld deities) Sharer wrote. Caves played a special role in Maya religion as they were seen as entranceways to the underworld. œThese were especially sacred and dangerous places where the dead were buried and special rituals for the ancestors conducted. Sharer notes that the Maya followed a number of deities the most central of which was Itzamnaaj. œIn his various aspects Itzamnaaj was the lord over the most fundamental opposing forces in the universe � life and death day and night sky and earth Sharer writes noting that œas lord of the celestial realm Itzamnaaj was the Milky Way and could be depicted as a serpent or two-headed reptile. Other Maya deities included the sun god K inich Ajaw the rain and storm god Chaak and the lightning deity K awiil among many others. Sharer wrote that human sacrifices were made on special occasions. œAmong the Maya human sacrifice was not an everyday event but was essential to sanctify certain rituals such as the inauguration of a new ruler the designation of a new heir to the throne or the dedication of an important new temple or ball court. The victims were often prisoners of war he notes. At the site of ChichÃ©n ItzÃ¡ victims would be painted blue a color that appears to have honored the god Chaak and cast into a well. Additionally near the site s ball court there is a panel that shows a person being sacrificed. This may depict a ball-player from either the winning or losing team being killed after a game. Sharer notes that record keeping was an important part of the Maya world and was essential for agriculture astronomy and prophecy. œBy keeping records of the rainy and dry seasons the Maya could determine the best times to plant and harvest their crops Sharer wrote. Additionally by œrecording the movements of the sky deities (sun moon planets and stars) they developed accurate calendars that could be used for prophecy Sharer wrote. œWith long-term records the Maya were able to predict planetary cycles � the phases of the moon and Venus even eclipses he said. œThis knowledge was used to determine when these deities would be in favorable positions for a variety of activities such as holding ceremonies inaugurating kings starting trading expeditions or conducting wars. Sharer wrote that while agriculture and food gathering were a central part of daily life the Maya had a sophisticated economy capable of supporting specialists and a system of merchants and trade routes. While the Maya did not develop minted currency they used various objects at different times as œmoney. These included greenstone beads cacao beans and copper bells. œUltimately the power of kings depended on their ability to control resources Sharer wrote. œMaya rulers managed the production and distribution of status goods used to enhance their prestige and power. They also controlled some critical (non-local) commodities that included critical everyday resources each family needed like salt he said noting that over time Maya rulers managed ever-larger portions of the economy. Sharer also notes that Maya laborers were subject to a labor tax to build palaces temples and public works. A ruler successful in war could control more laborers and exact tribute on defeated enemies further increasing their economic might. � Owen Jarus