The Mayans are an Indian people who, before Central America was conquered by the Spaniards, lived in a cultural-geographical region called Mesoamerica.
Mayan civilization - city-states that appeared in the 1st millennium AD. e. in southeastern Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala. Hieroglyphic writing, palace and temple architecture, fine arts, etc. were created. After the conquest by the Toltecs in the 9th - 10th centuries. The center of the state becomes the city, from the end of the 12th 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 been preserved, the largest being Chichen Itza, Copan, Mayapan, Uxmal, and Tikal.
Disputes about the origin of the Mayan civilization, their culture and history continue. Mysterious ghost towns, built only with the use of muscle power in the jungles of Southern Mexico, attract archaeologists and various adventurers.
Mayan settlements occupied vast areas of the south of what is now South America and neighboring countries of Central America. The spaces inhabited by modern descendants of the Mayans include the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, British Honduras, the western regions of Honduras and El Salvador, and certain areas of the Mexican states of Chiapas and Tabasco.
The Mayan 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 genuine interest to historians and researchers.
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 a very suitable place for life, but the Mayans decided to settle there. Why? Mystery.
The Mayan civilization used the concept of zero much earlier than the Arabs and Hindus, created a complex hieroglyphic writing system, surpassed its contemporary civilizations in the accuracy of astrological calculations, had 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 AD e. The Mayans did not know such achievements as metal smelting (except iron), breeding pack and draft animals, plow farming, and the wheel.
Another of the most mysterious secrets is connected with the Mayan civilization. For unknown reasons, these people left their inhabited lands and suddenly moved to the distant, undeveloped north. The cities were deserted, they were swallowed up by the jungle, the magnificent palaces began to collapse due to time and the trees that grew in their cracks. The riddle is all the more unclear because at the time of the resettlement this empire was at the peak of its heyday.
The territory occupied by the Mayan civilization is highlighted in red.
The average height of the Mayan Indians was approximately 150 cm. Immediately after birth, the head of a Yucatan baby was pressed between two planks so that over time the cranial bones became flat due to deformation. A flat skull, long hair arranged in a hairstyle, a hairless front part of the head, amber was inserted into the nostrils pierced through the cartilage, bracelets made from sea oyster shells - this is how the Mayan Indian 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 the unique idea of beauty were added teeth filed in a triangle, sometimes decorated with inlaid stones. Surprisingly, the Mayans considered squinting to be 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 would squint his eyes at him. Another distinctive Mayan feature is tattooing. Her absence was considered indecent.
There is an opinion that the ancestors of the Mayans 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 Mayan culture are related. This can be evidenced by ceramics discovered by archaeologists, stone tips for throwing weapons, rough utensils in the form of baked clay vessels and massive clay figurines.
From the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. Large settlements appeared in Mayan territory, and agriculture began to develop. The Mayans build huts out 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 preclassic period begins, which gave the starting point for the historical existence of the most developed civilization of Ancient America - the Maya. And it lasts from 1500 BC. e. to 250 AD e. During this time, people gained agricultural experience and began to build rural-type settlements.
There are several periods of this ancient civilization:
Early Preclassic period (2000-900 BC)
Middle Preclassic period (899-400 BC)
Late Preclassic period (400 BC - 250 AD)
Early Classical Period (250-600 AD)
Late Classical Period (600-900 AD)
Decline of the Mayan civilization
Postclassical period (900-1521)
Colonial period (1521-1821)
Post-colonial period
Maya today
Mayan astrology, using the zodiac circle as its main reference, was a way to predict the future. Also used as tools were knowledge about the movements of celestial bodies, among which a special place was given to the Moon: the waning or waxing satellite of the Earth showed how successful a particular period of time was for a certain kind of undertaking.
Mayan natal astrology, which predicted a child's character, behavior and inclinations in adulthood, is closely related to the Tzolkin calendar, each day of which could determine character. For example, those born on the day of Imish, according to the Maya, led a dissolute life, neglecting social principles, 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 by connecting the fate of a person with the day of bringing him to the temple.
It should be noted that the culture of the ancient peoples of Mesoamerica has some similarities. This suggests an exchange between these peoples of certain achievements of their cultures, which led to a certain homogeneity, which, in turn, indicates that there was a mother culture from which the roots of the Mayan culture could come.
The main evidence of this ancestor culture is hieroglyphic writing, accordion-folded books, the use of cocoa beans instead of money, a ritual ball game, a cult hero - the Feathered Serpent, and cult rituals, one of which was. Thus, the culture of the great Mayan civilization, starting from ancient times, was influenced by other cultures.
In the preclassic period, 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.
The earliest inscriptions date back to the 3rd century BC. e. The letter was used continuously until the arrival in the 16th century AD. e. Spanish conquistadors, and in some of the more isolated areas, such as Tayasal, for some time after that.
Mayan writing was a system of verbal and syllabic signs. The term “hieroglyphs” in relation to Mayan 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 script. There is information that some Spanish priests who arrived in Yucatan managed to study it. But soon, Bishop of Yucatan Diego de Landa, as part of a campaign to eradicate pagan customs, ordered the collection and destruction of all Mayan texts, as a result of which this led to the loss of a significant part of the manuscripts.
Only 4 Mayan codices survived the conquistadors. More complete texts have been found on pottery in Mayan tombs, as well as on monuments and steles in cities abandoned or destroyed after the Spanish arrived. The 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.
Mayan weapons were not a special achievement of technical thought. Over the course of many centuries of the existence of the Mayan civilization, it underwent minor changes. Much of the improvement has been in the art of war than in the weapons themselves.
In battles, the Mayans fought with spears of various lengths (the height of a man or more), darts and flat club-swords, the edges of which were lined with dense rows of embedded obsidian blades. By the end of the New Kingdom period (XV - XVI centuries), the Mayans had metal battle axes (made of an alloy of copper and gold) and bows and arrows, borrowed from the Aztecs. For protection, Mayan warrior rank and file wore plump, quilted cotton shells. The nobility used armor woven from flexible branches and defended itself with willow (less commonly, tortoiseshell) large or small round or square shields. A small shield (about the size of a fist) was used not only for defense, but also as a striking weapon.
El Caracol Observatory, Chichen Itza - Mexico
After the end of the Olmec power, the southern trading cities of the Maya began to flourish. During this period, large centers of Mayan civilization emerged - El Mirador, Tikal, Nakbe, Vashaktun. The Mayans created a system of calendars (solar, lunar and ritual), with the help of which they recorded important historical moments and also made astrological forecasts.
The southeastern city of Copan attracts special attention. He, starting from the 5th century AD. e., 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 - Ruler Dym-Jaguar, who was a royal descendant of Pakal, ascended the throne. He reigned for 67 years and 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 steles praising rulers and their merits; the development of hieroglyphic writing, the creation of magnificent temples with sculptural images of gods.
Today, 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 special elements in their traditional dress that distinguish them from other Maya.
The Lecandon Maya group living in Chiapas (Mexico) is known to be faithful to the preserved traditional way of life. Representatives of the group wear cotton clothes that are decorated with traditional Mayan scenes. Christianity was able to exert a superficial influence on 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 cars. Some of the Mayans, meanwhile, live on income from tourism, as more and more people want to get acquainted with the world and culture of the ancient Mayans.
Temple of the Cross, Temple of the Sun in the ancient city of Palenque
There is no evidence that the Mayans could have had aircraft or cars, but they certainly did have a complex system of paved roads. They possessed advanced astronomical knowledge about the movement of celestial bodies. Perhaps the most amazing evidence of this is the building with a domed roof called El Caracol located on the Yucatan Peninsula.
Archaeological excavations may indicate that the Mayans actually practiced human sacrifice, and this was considered a favor for the victims.
They believed that one still had to get to heaven: first one must go through 13 circles of hell, and only then a person will receive eternal bliss. And this path is so difficult that not all souls can reach it. However, there was also a “direct road to heaven”: women who died during childbirth, victims of wars, suicides, those who died while playing ball and ritual victims could receive it.
According to one interpretation of the codes, the Mayans came from a place that is now hidden under water, they were even mistaken for the children of Atlantis. Atlantis is, of course, a strong word. But scientists, relatively recently, managed to discover what may be the remains of ancient Mayan cities on the ocean floor. The age of the cities and the cause of the cataclysm cannot be determined.
The Mayans 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, Tzolkin was used, which included 20 months of 13 days each, and the entire cycle was thus 260 days. Together they made up a single complex and long calendar, which contained information about the movement of planets and constellations.
There was no beginning or end in the calendar - time for the Mayans went in a circle, everything was repeated again and again. There was no such thing as “end of the year” for them - only the rhythm of planetary cycles.
The Mayans invented sports. One thing is for sure - the Mayans loved playing ball. Long before the Europeans began to dress in skins, the Mayans had already made a ball court at home and came up with the rules of the game. Their game appeared to be a tough combination of football, basketball and rugby.
About 1,000 Mayan cities have been discovered (as of the early 1980s), but not all of them have yet been excavated or explored by archaeologists. About 3,000 villages were also found.
The Mayans loved saunas. An important cleansing element for the ancient Mayans was the diaphoretic bath: water was poured onto hot stones to create steam. Everyone used such baths, from a woman who had recently given birth to a king.
The reason why the Mayans could have disappeared has been named. Historians from the Technical University of Vienna 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 - geologists from America suggested that the cause of the extinction of the Mayans could have been an extreme drought that lasted about 100 years.
There are other versions that name possible reasons for the disappearance of civilization: the collapse of the local agricultural system, terrible epidemics of diseases (for example, yellow fever), the arrival of conquerors from Mexico, social cataclysms, the forced capture of people by the Tultek rulers of Yucatan, and even earthquakes and decline in the sun. activity.
Apparently, the Mayans were very interesting people: they built giant pyramids, knew mathematics, astronomy and writing. But modern people do not know much about them. For example:
Archaeological excavations indicate that the Mayans did practice human sacrifice, but for the victim it was considered a mercy.
The Mayans believed that one still had to reach heaven: first one would have to go through 13 circles of the underworld, and only then a person would receive eternal bliss. And the journey is so difficult that not all souls make it. But there was also a direct “ticket to heaven”: it was received by women who died during childbirth, victims of wars, suicides, those who died while playing ball and ritual victims.
So becoming a victim was considered a high honor among the Mayans - this man was a messenger to the gods. Astronomers and mathematicians used calendars to know exactly when sacrifices should be made and who was best suited for the role. For this reason, the victims were almost always the Mayans, and not the inhabitants of neighboring tribes.
The Mayans did not have two things that almost all advanced civilizations had - wheels and metal tools.
But their architecture had arches and hydraulic irrigation systems, for which you needed to know the geometry. The Mayans also knew how to make cement. But since they did not have livestock to pull the cart, they may not have needed the wheel. And instead of metal tools they used stone ones. Carefully sharpened stone tools were used for stone carving, sawing wood, and more.
The Mayans also had surgeons who, at that time, performed the most complex operations in the world using instruments made of volcanic glass. In fact, some Mayan stone tools were even more advanced than modern metal tools.
The Mayan Codex contains indirect evidence that they were seafarers - underwater cities. Perhaps the Mayans even sailed to America from Asia.
When the Mayans first emerged as a civilization, there was a developed Olmec civilization on the continent in approximately the same places, and the Mayans apparently took a lot from them - chocolate drinks, ball games, stone sculpting and the worship of animal gods.
Where the Olmecs came from on the continent is also unclear. But what's more puzzling is where they went: the civilization left behind the Mesoamerican pyramids, colossal stone heads that led to the idea that the Olmecs themselves might have been giants.
They were depicted as people with heavy eyelids, wide noses and full lips. Proponents of the biblical migration theory consider this a sign that the Olmecs came from Africa. They lived in America for about 13 centuries and then disappeared. Some of the earliest Mayan remains date back seven millennia.
There is no evidence that the Mayans had aircraft or cars, but they certainly did have a complex system of paved roads. The Mayans also possessed advanced astronomical knowledge about the movement of celestial bodies. Perhaps the most striking evidence of this is the domed building called El Caracol on the Yucatan Peninsula.
El Caracol is better known as the Observatory. This is a tower about 15 meters high with numerous windows allowing you to observe the equinoxes and the summer solstice. The building is oriented towards the orbit of Venus - the bright planet was of great importance to the Mayans, and it is believed that their sacred Tzolkin calendar was also built based on the movement of Venus across the sky. The Mayan calendar determined the time of celebrations, sowings, sacrifices and wars.
Nowadays, a conspiracy theory that says that in ancient times aliens visited Earth and shared their knowledge with people is quite popular. Erich von Däniken made millions of dollars in the 1960s from a book about how people from outer space control humanity and how in ancient times they exalted man from base animal instincts to a sublime sphere of consciousness.
Scientists really cannot explain how the Nazca paintings in Peru could appear, so huge that they can only be seen from a bird's eye view. Däniken wrote that the ancient Mayans had flying machines, and kind aliens even revealed to them the technology of space flight. He justifies his conclusions with drawings on Mayan pyramids, which depict men in “round helmets” soaring above the ground, with “oxygen tubes” hanging down.
True, all this “evidence” cannot be called such - it is very far-fetched.
In Apocalypse we see savages dressed in colorful feathers as they hunt fierce game and each other. Gibson assured us that this was exactly what the Mayans were like. Well, he made a beautiful, interesting film, but he clearly skipped history at school.
Gibson's Mayan barbarians sell women into slavery and sacrifice male captives. But there is no evidence that the Mayans practiced slavery at all or even took prisoners (wartime does not count, of course). The poor innocent Indians from the very heart of Gibson's jungle did not know about the great Mayan city where they eventually ended up. But during the heyday of the Mayan civilization, all the inhabitants of the surrounding forests were under the control of the city-state, although they retained their independence.
However, Gibson was right about one thing: when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mexico, the Mayans lived there, but no longer wanted to wage war or build cities - civilization was in decline.
Understanding the history and origins of the Mayans is difficult. Thanks to the superstitious Spanish conquistadors - they burned almost all written history, mistaking the library for strange witchcraft symbols.
Only three documents survived: Madrid, Dresden and Paris, which are named after the cities where they eventually ended up. The pages of these codes describe ancient cities that fell from earthquakes, floods and fires. These cities are not located on the North American mainland - there are vague hints that they were somewhere in the ocean. One interpretation of the codes says that the Mayans came from a place that is now (and during their heyday) hidden under water, they were even mistaken for the children of Atlantis.
Atlantis is, of course, a strong word. But scientists have recently discovered what may be the remains of ancient Mayan cities on the ocean floor. The age of the cities and the cause of the cataclysm cannot be determined.
We have our own calendar which we use to measure time. This gives us a sense of linearity of time.
The Mayans used as many as three calendars. The civil calendar, or Haab, included 18 months of 20 days each - a total of 360 days. For ceremonial purposes, the Tzolkin was used, which had 20 months of 13 days each, and the entire cycle was thus 260 days. Together they made up a single complex and long calendar, which contained information about the movement of planets and constellations.
There was no beginning or end in the calendars - time for the Mayans went in a circle, everything was repeated over and over again. There was no such thing as “end of the year” for them - only the rhythm of planetary cycles.
One thing is certain - the Mayans loved playing ball. Long before the Europeans thought of dressing in skins, the Mayans had already made a ball court at home and came up with the rules of the game. Their game appears to have been a hard-hitting combination of football, basketball and rugby.
The “sports uniform” consisted of a helmet, knee pads and elbow pads. You had to throw a rubber ball into a hoop, sometimes suspended more than six meters above the ground. To do this, you could use your shoulders, legs or hips. Penalty for losing - losers were sacrificed. Although, as we have already said, sacrifice was a ticket to heaven, so there were no losers as such.
Usually people are firmly convinced that all the Mayans as a people disappeared - as if all the representatives of a multimillion-dollar civilization simply just died overnight. In fact, the modern Maya number about six million people, making them the largest indigenous tribe in North America.
For the most part, the Mayans did not die, but for some reason they had to abandon their huge cities. Since much of the early Mayan history is lost, it is unknown why they suddenly stopped building large buildings, holding ceremonies, and practicing science. There are several versions: due to a long severe drought, the crops could have burned, or there were too many Mayans, or there was war and famine.
All that is really known is that in 1524 the Mayans began to form small agricultural communities and abandoned cities. Their descendants still live next to us, but they hardly remember anything about the past of their people. And even if they remember, they are unlikely to tell you.
The main clans of the Mayan tribes formed independent city-states with adjacent towns and lands. These states were ruled by the so-called “great people”, who were elected for life and enjoyed unlimited power. The most ancient Mayan cities - Quirigua, Itza and Tikal, after the seizure of tribal lands by the Toltec Kukulcan and his warriors, were supplemented by such new states as Chichen Itza, Mayapan and Ulimal.
The size and beauty of Mayan cities amazed travelers who first saw such splendor among a people they considered barbarians.
The Mayan creations also included luxurious temples, the wealth of architecture of which was a hundred times greater than that of the Inca and Aztec buildings. Mayan scientists managed to be hundreds of years ahead of their time, making amazing achievements in the field of astronomy, astrology and mathematics that surpassed all the achievements of Europeans living at that time. Many of these discoveries were only deciphered in our century. In addition, the Mayan authorship belongs to the numbering system and the number zero.
In ancient times, the Mayan tribe inhabited Central America, parts of modern Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. Today the Mayans are tribes of Indians living in South America. During the heyday of their civilization, they managed to conquer all the ancient peoples, dominating them for about twelve centuries. However, after 900 AD, the Maya got off to a slow start for some unknown reason.
Scientists are still amazed how a primitive tribe engaged in agriculture was able to create unique pyramids, temples, cities and tombs.
The colonizers of the Old World, who arrived in South America, found a civilization in complete decline. Considering works of art and architectural monuments to be pagan idols, they destroyed the entire cultural heritage of the mysterious Mayans. However, the colonialists were unable to destroy their knowledge of astronomy, the accuracy of which modern scientists never cease to admire. They also left to their descendants the ruins of the once great and royal cities of the Mayan people, where today many tourists and fans of the disappeared civilization flock.
There is an opinion that knowledge was given to the Mayan tribes by gods who descended from the sky - aliens, but, unfortunately, this theory remains unproven, despite the obvious facts testifying in its favor.
There are rumors and legends about the culture, life and unusually broad knowledge of the Mayan tribe. So what is so attractive about this mysterious and mystical
Today, the Mayan tribe is one of the Indian tribes that lives in South America (in Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and Belize). And starting from about 2000 BC, this was the name of the ancient civilization that settled in Central America. The Mayans conquered all the tribes and peoples who lived there at that time.
The dominance of this civilization lasted for almost 12 centuries. The peak of prosperity, according to historians, dates back to 900 AD, after which a long period of decline begins, the causes of which are still reliably unknown.
The Mayan tribe, whose history is of the greatest interest to scientists to this day, inextricably linked their life with heaven. The Indians built on the legacy of the Olmecs, an earlier civilization, and achieved astonishing advances in astronomy, hieroglyphic writing, and calendar systems. Moreover, the life of these people was very primitive.
The main occupation of these Indians was agriculture, for which they used the simplest tools and devices. But, despite this, they were excellent farmers - the Mayan tribe diligently cleared large areas of tropical forests, they built underground storage facilities to collect rainwater. In addition, the civilization also practiced pottery and weaving. And thanks to the routes they cleared, passing through swamps and jungles, the Indians established trade relations with other, distant peoples.
The ancient Mayan tribes, according to historians, did not even know what a wheel was. Meanwhile, it remains amazing and inexplicable that during its heyday this civilization created temples, palaces, observatories, miracle cities, tombs and other richly decorated architectural monuments. And all this, by the way, was built without the help of any metal tools.
At the time when the colonizers of the Old World set foot on the east coast of South America, the Mayan tribe was already in deep decline. The conquerors treated barbarically all those architectural monuments and works of art that were created by this ancient civilization. The colonialists saw in them only the legacy of paganism, which must be ruthlessly destroyed. But even what remains of Mayan knowledge and culture still excites the imagination of scientists.
Over time, the Mayans began to simply abandon the cities they had built in droves. Today there are several theories about this, but no one knows the real reason. And today it remains a mystery for the entire scientific world - what kind of civilization it was, where its representatives came from and where they went...
One of their main and amazing achievements is the calendar, which was based on astronomical calculations, the accuracy of which continues to amaze modern specialists.
In general, the Mayan tribe used their observations in the field of astronomy both to solve various pressing problems (for example, in the field of agriculture) and to explain more global mysteries. Thus, the priests extremely accurately calculated the life cycles of the Earth, which are confirmed by modern knowledge. Horoscopes that astrologers compile based on the calendar of the ancient Indian tribe have still not lost their relevance. Well, perhaps the most popular prediction is the end of the world, which, according to the forecasts and calculations of this Indian tribe, should come in 2012. Whether to believe this or not is a personal matter for everyone, however, despite the considerable number of skeptics, there are very real reasons to believe the prophecy.
With all the power of modern man and his striving forward, the need to become acquainted with the previous moments of the development of civilization cannot but arise. If the already relatively well-known ancient times arouse considerable interest, what can we say about the poorly studied Mayan tribe.
We hasten to disappoint fans of sensations. The mystery of the Maya is due either to the lack of knowledge of specific people about it, or to the poor knowledge of some point. In fact, enough is known to archaeologists and other researchers today about the Maya to say that it was one of a large number of ancient civilizations. Finding mystical components in her and her fate is inappropriate.
The Mayans built luxurious palaces and large cities with large areas. Their civilizational achievements allowed them to dominate for about one thousand five hundred years.
Let's start from the end. Ninth century AD, territory of modern Guatemala. The Indians are experiencing a shortage of water and food, epidemics are literally mowing down people. Cities quickly emptied and civilization collapsed. Archaeologists were able to find out: the image of the “wise, peaceful Mayans” is a little less than in no way consistent with reality. Their city-states (analogous to the Greek city-states) fought among themselves.
The emergence of the Mayan civilization dates back to the second millennium BC. After one and a half thousand years, they became so numerous that they began to control almost all of Central America. Around 250 AD, city-states emerged. Between these formations and their rulers there was a continuous struggle, sometimes armed. Of course, the rulers and priesthood represented these wars solely as the will of the gods. Human sacrifice was an everyday occurrence. None of the cities had clear leadership.
Contrary to popular myths, the Mayans were a Stone Age civilization. The tools with which their buildings were erected were appropriate. There were no metal tools or draft animals. The wheel and metal were known in principle, but the majestic “pyramids” were built without them - apparently, this was a cultural feature: the more complex the work, the more valuable the result.
The mathematical achievements of this civilization were almost higher than those of any of its contemporaries. This is where the zero symbol first appears. It is believed that the Mayans also knew the square root. Mayan engineers created an excellent drainage system and aqueducts that were in no way inferior to the Roman ones.
How did all this prosperity collapse? There are several versions. One – depletion of reserves and environmental disaster – seems to be the most adequate. People fled cities where it became impossible to live. According to another, the main factor was the raids of nomadic tribes.
In the Villaeromas Museum there is a stone on which the “ominous” date is inscribed - December 21, 2012. Today we know for sure, 100%: there is nothing serious behind this prophecy. But it is all the more interesting to truly comprehend the cultural meanings that are hidden in these inscriptions.
Mayan clothing Over the past centuries, it has practically not changed, at least among old people it is the same as in ancient times. Their concept of beauty is emphatically non-European - for example, it was widely believed that what was beautiful was a squint and a flattened forehead, as well as an aquiline nose. Clothes were made from white and brown cotton, as well as from wood fibers. Later they began to use silk and wool. Organic and mineral dyes were used.
Mayan version of the creation of the world, like other layers of their culture, reveals the systemic unity of the peoples of pre-Columbian America. The basis of Mayan mythology is the cyclical nature of the universe with periods of 5000 years. Each period is divided into thirteen parts and, according to ideas, invariably ends in disaster. The goal of people is to perform tasks pleasing to the gods, such as crafts and agriculture. Each policy had its own legends.
