The Mayan Civilization

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The Mayan Civilization

• Conquest of the Jungle

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Classic Highland Maya and Lowland Maya thrived in
southern Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. Guatemal
an highlands was at the center of development.
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The Maya World

• Pre-Classic Development

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Early pre-Maya and Maya sites

• San Jose Magote in Mexicos southern highlands.
  3500 years old. Lasting from before 1500 BC to
  1150 BC.
• El Mirador. Peak from 300 BC to 250 AD. Unique
  architecture.

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El Mirador complex
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El Mirador
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Neighbors of significance

• Monte Alban in Oaxaca. 500 BC to about 700AD with
  decline to 1500 AD.
• Teotihuacán in Valley of Mexico 100 BC to 500 AD
  and decline to 1000 AD.

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Monte Alban Contemporary with Pre-classic Maya.
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Mayan Accomplishments

• Mathematics
• Astronomy
• Engineering
• Irrigation agriculture
• Trade
• Architecture
• Writing and sacred libraries
• Chocolate

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Tikal. Guatemala.
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Artist reconstruction of Copan. Honduras.
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Most recent chief archaeologist William Fash.
Temple complex at Copan. Yucatan.
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• Since 2005 our understanding of pre-classic Maya
  has been changing.
• They were more sophisticated than previously
  thought.

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Temple at San Bartolo.
Artist reconstruction of exposed temple complex.
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Pre-Classic mural. Mayan Creation Myth.
Discovered by archaeologist Francisco
Estrada-Belli (2005). Depicts king giving blood
offering. Oldest depiction of the myth. From
ruins at San Bartolo, Guatemala
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Close up of King shown in mural.
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The murals at san Bartolo contain oldest
inscription yet found.
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Partly deciphered inscription.
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Rain god Chac figurine.
Early inscription cannot be read. Importance of
rain For agriculture apparent in the focus on
rain deity.
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Briefly The Ball Game

• Ritual for the gods, cycle of life, fertility,
  death and sacrifice.
• Different rules in different places and
  throughout course of history.
• Teams played with out using hands or feet.
• Losers could be sacrificed.
• Pre-classic origins

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Ball court (small version) at Monte Alban.
Pre-classic site.
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The small ballcourt at El Tajin, Veracruz.
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Chichen itza. Yucatan. The jaguar temple. Near
entry to ball court. Post Classic.
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Ball court rings. Chichen Itza. Evidence that the
game was played for 1500 years and evolved as a
spectacle.
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A few notable sites having pre-classic components

• Coba
• Tikal
• Palenque
• Chichen Itza
• Copan
• San Bartolo
• Uaxactun

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Coba Yucatan
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Tikal
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Palenque
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Palenque
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El Castillo at Chichen itza. Post classic phase.
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El Caracol. The observatory.
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Sacred cenote at Chichen itza.
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Choc mool. Post classic influence of Toltec.
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Image from a tzompantli carving (skull rack)
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Mosaic style architectural façade. Puuc
Maya. Chichen Itza. Yucatan.
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Kulkalcan
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Maya people today
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• Throughout Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras
• Discriminated minority.
• Mostly poor and rural.
• Maintain some language and a few cultural arts
  and traditions.
• Mostly Catholic, but practice blended faith.

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Analysis

• Reading a page from one of the only surviving
  Mayan books.
• Page from the Dresden Codex
• Pattern recognition
• Clues
• spaces

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What does it mean?

• We need to calculate the values shown.
• Which way do the numbers go and how do they
  group?
• Experimentation is the only way to solve this.

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Patterns

• Look for groupings
• Note the Maya counted in base 20
• Read the numbers
• Place value system as in our familiar base 10,
  but

• Instead of 1s, 10s, 100s (10x10) the Maya
  counted in the 20s, 400s (20x20) and so on.
• They get some really big numbers.