Mayan Culture

We explain everything about the Mayan culture and the periods of its history. In addition, its characteristics, political organization and more.

Mayan culture was One of the most important Mesoamerican civilizations. Inhabited the Yucatan Peninsula from 2000 a. C. until the conquest of the Spaniards, in 1527 d. C.

Mayan peoples They developed multiple independent statesorganized around urban centers with imposing constructions, pyramid temples, astronomical observatories and large palaces. Warriors who influenced the cultures throughout the Mesoamerican region were fearsome.

They deepened the knowledge about the stars and created a complex writing systemits own numerical system and new cultivation techniques to improve food production.

See also: Mycenaean civilization

Characteristics of the Maya

• They inhabited the Yucatan Peninsula From 2000 a. C. until the conquest of the Spaniards, in 1527 d. C.
• They organized in Independent cities-stateswith own authorities in each.
• The government was theocratic: The political and religious power were united.
• They took war prisoners As slaves, who were forced to work in the construction of public buildings and temples.
• They were good warriors and faced neighboring towns for the control of territories or by political supremacy.
• The most important Mayan temples were stone stepped pyramid shapewith walls painted with bright colors.
• Mayan culture is recognized for its Development in Agricultural Technology and Engineeringwhich applied for the production of food in territories of different climate.

Geographic location of the Maya

Throughout their history, the Maya occupied an extensive territory, which comprised three regions differentiated by their geographical characteristics:

• The highlands. In the current countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, it was a mountainous area with great volcanic activity.
• The lowlands of Petén. In Guatemala, Belize and the south of the Yucatan Peninsula, it was an area of ​​forests and jungles.
• The lowlands of the north. To the north of the Yucatan Peninsula, it was a territory of forests, mountains and a plain with few rivers.

History of Mayan culture

The history of the Mayan civilization covers more than 3500 years and is divided into the following periods:

• Preclassic (2000 BC.-250 AD). In this period, the Maya developed their agricultural culture and adopted sedentary ways of life. Towards 320 d. C. and during the last period of this period (called late preclassic) the first urban centers appeared.
• Classic (250-900 d. C.). This period covers the development of the so -called “ancient empire”, with the rise of important cities such as Tikal, Palenque, Bonampak and Copán. Towards the end of the ninth century d. C., the Mayan settlers left the cities and emigrated north of the Yucatan Peninsula. Specialists believe that the causes of these migrations were linked to the exhaustion of soil fertility, political problems between cities and invasions of other Mesoamerican peoples.
• Postclassic (950-1527 AD). In these centuries there was the development of the “new empire”, marked by the alliance of the cities of Chichen Itzá, Mayapán and Uxmal. During the fifteenth century d. C., the disputes between these urban centers led to the dissolution of their political unit. Finally, during the first half of the 16th century, the Spaniards conquered the territory.

The Spanish conquest

Between 1511 and 1521, the Maya resisted attempts to conquer the Spaniards. After the fall of Tenochtitlan, various armies were sent to the Yucatan Peninsula. The Spaniards took advantage of disputes and enmity between Mayan cities, and could complete the conquest of the northern peninsula around 1546.

However, some Mayan cities in the lowlands of Petén remained independent. It was only in 1697 that the last of the Mayan cities fell, Nojpetén, of the Itzá kingdom, in the hands of Martín de Urzúa.

MAYAN POLITICAL ORGANIZATION

The Maya They organized a political-stated political system. Each city was independent, controlled a portion of surrounding territory and had its own political and religious authorities. Among the Mayan cities were strong commercial and cultural ties.

In the Mayan culture, The governments were theocratic: political and religious power were united. Each city was directed by a supreme boss called Halach Huinicthat in addition to having civil and military powers, it fulfilled important religious functions. It was believed that the Halach Huinic He was a mediator between the gods and men. This ruler was advised by a high priest (highest religious authority) and a council made up of noble and clergy.

Social Organization of the Maya

The Mayan society was divided into groups differentiated by its origin, its activities and its importance within the community:

• The nobility. It included priests, government officials, large merchants and military leaders. They were the ones who controlled the government, religion and the army.
• Peasants and artisans. They dealt with the production of all the goods that were needed for community survival. In addition to producing food and crafts, they built the temples, public buildings and provided military service when necessary.
• The slaves. They were prisoners of war who were forced to work in the construction of public buildings and temples, in addition to carrying charges for merchants.

Economic organization

Mayan culture is recognized for its development in agricultural technology and engineeringwhich applied for the production of food in territories of different climate. To cultivate in jungle territories they used the Milpa method: the trees and weeds of the area to be cultivated, and then burned the remains to clean the terrain and to fertilize it with the ashes.

Instead, In the highlands they used a terraces cultivation system: They built steps on the slopes of the mountains, several meters deep and hundreds of meters wide, held with stones that allowed them to keep the fertile land.

The Maya They cultivated corn, pumpkins, beans, cassava, sweet potatoes, chili peppers, tomato and cocoa. In addition, they collected wild fruits such as guava, avocado and papaya, and hunted deer, monkeys and birds. For their fiber, they used the Maguey plant to make ropes and bags.

Military culture

The Maya were regular warriors and They had numerous political-military conflicts throughout their history. Mayan kingdoms competed with each other for various reasons: control of territories and commercial routes, or for political supremacy. It is not known with certainty what was the internal military organization in its armies. However, the specialists affirm that the high military positions were at the hands of the nobility and that, in many cases, the peasants were called to take arms as soldiers when necessary.

Their favorite weapons were Cerbatanas, Obsidian swords and, above all, the Atlatla long spear. In Mayan art, especially in the classic period, war scenes abound, as well as in some inscriptions. Stories are told and, in some cases, the sacrifice of the overthrown ruler.

Cultural features of the Mayan culture

Mayan architecture

Each Mayan city was distinguished in the style of its architecture since depended on the available materialsthe specific topography and the tastes of the elite.

All cities built government palaces and different types of religious buildings. The most important temples were staggered pyramid -shaped stone, with exterior and interior walls painted with bright colors.

In addition, some cities built astronomical observatories. They studied the passage of the stars and registered the times. The Observatory of the city of Chichen Itzá is known for its beauty and the detail of its architecture. The openings of the building align with the sun in the spring and autumn equinoxes.

Many Mayan cities had ball game courts. It was a sacred game, in which it was about passing a rubber ball through a stone ring placed at high height on the wall. While the dynamics of the game are not known in detail, specialists believe that players could only touch the ball with their backs, knees, elbows or hip.

Mayan writing

The Maya developed a system of writing Logosyllabic. Through glyphs they symbolized ideas, words and syllables. The writing was mainly used by the priests, who wrote in codices made with strips of paper obtained from the trees cortex. In addition, it was written on the walls of the temples and some public buildings, in stone steles and in vessels to denote the content or accompany its decoration.

The Maya too They created a vigesimal numbering system (based on 20 digits) that combined three signs and included the notion of zero (which, in Europe it was introduced by the Arabs only 900 years later).

Mayan languages

Archaeologists and linguists have discovered that a single language was not spoken in the Mayan culture. It is believed that During the history of this civilization, there were more than thirty different languagesderived from Protomaya (The original ancestral language, which linguists assume that there was talk at the beginning of the preclassic period).

Most of the texts and inscriptions of the classic period are written in classic choltí. However, specialists consider that it was a liturgical language used by the nobility and priests, and that the rest of the population spoke other languages.

Mayan religion

The worldview of the Maya is registered in the Popol Vuh, his sacred book. It describes how the gods created and destroyed the universe several times until, in the last creation, they made the “corn man” and gave him wisdom.

Mayan religious practices were based on forever thank the gods for their existence, through offerings and ceremonies to avoid their anger. The offerings could be of all kinds; From flowers, food and other elements of nature, to sacrifices of animals and people.

The Maya were polytheistic, that is, they believed in many gods. Some of these were:

• Itzam Na. God of heaven, night and day.
• Kin. God of the Sun, Protector of Health and, at the same time, Lord of droughts and hunger.
• Ixchel. Moon goddess, fertility protector.
• Kulkulkán. God of knowledge, war and sacrifices.
• Ah puch. God of death
• Chac. God of the rains.

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References

• Restall, M. and Solari, A. (2020). The Maya: A Vary Short Introduction. Oxford University Press
• Adams, R., & Macleod, M. (eds.). (2000). The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Duverger, Christian (1999): Mesoamerica, Art and Anthropology. Country: Conaculta-Landucci editors.
• Witschey, WRT, and Brown, C. (2012). Historical Dictionary of Mesoamerica. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.