FREE ESSAY ON THE MAYA

THE MAYA

The Maya 
The Maya were once considered one of the greatest civilizations in North America, and
possibly the world. They built many pyramids and temples to honor their gods and to
preserve their religion. Their lives revolved around their king and sacrifice of his
blood. The cultural achievements of the Maya along with the educational achievements came
centuries before other cultures. These achievements still exist today along with the
Mayan culture, which has spanned over two thousand years. The Mayan people of today still
hold these traditions sacred and want to preserve them. Only about two million Mayan
Indians exist today, but their culture reflects that of their ancestors, along with the
Spanish, who invaded the Maya around the sixteenth century. 
Archeologists who have dug up and studied many Mayan sites trace the Mayas back ten
thousand years when their ancestors migrated from Asia to the Yucatan peninsula and
northern Central America. The history of the Maya is divided into three major time
periods: preclassic (two thousand BC - AD three hundred), classic (AD three hundred - AD
nine hundred), and postclassic (AD nine hundred - AD fifteen hundred). Early Mayan
settlements date back to twenty four hundred BC, but few traces of Mayan culture before
AD four hundred have been found. In the preclassic era of Mayan history, corn was farmed
and the early Mayans laid a base for their culture, which was believed to have been
influenced by the Olmec Indians near-by. The very first hieroglyphics were written, and
cities started to appear. The early Mayan economy was based on agriculture and the
exchange of farm goods. The Maya grew Indian corn, or maize. It was a staple food of many
Indians in Central America for centuries. The Mayans developed the slash-and-burn farming
method. A Mayan farmer would clear the cornfield by cutting bushes and girdling trees,
and then he would allow the piled brush to catch fire under the hot sun. The ashes were
then scattered among the stumps of the trees, and a sharp stick called a mattock was used
to poke holes in the ground for the seeds to be laid. This method was used for centuries
and it made farming the basis of the Mayan economy. It is estimated that as many as one
hundred and fifty days out of the year were free from farm labor. 
Using the time off from farming, the Mayans built magnificent cities and temples to honor
their many gods. In early Mayan history, homes were built with wattle-and-daub walls in
an oval shape with a thatched roof of palmetto fronds. These homes stayed dry when it was
raining, and cool when it was hot. They contained very little furniture, and were used
only for eating and sleeping. Decedents of the Maya still continue to build and live in
these huts today. The Mayans used stone to construct temples and pyramids. Some of their
best creations include: the Caracol, an astronomical observatory in Chichen-Itza, the
tomb of Lord Pacal (inside the Temple of the Inscriptions), the royal palace, which was
used to look out for invaders over the Usumacinta River, El Castillo, or the Pyramid of
Quetzalcoatl (the feathered serpent), and finally the Temple of the Magician, which was
rebuilt five times to follow the rounds of the Mayan calendar every fifty two years. 
The great architecture was only one of the many aspects that made the Maya such an
advanced civilization. The Maya reached their height in the classic period (AD three
hundred to AD nine hundred). Over one hundred cities existed during this time, and some
of the most advanced included: Tikal, Uaxactun, Quirigua, Copan, Palenque, Uxmal, Kabah,
Sayil, Labna, Etzna, Old Chichen, and Coba. All of these cities served as cultural,
religious, and spiritual centers for the Mayan people and rulers. Culture was a very
important aspect of Mayan life. The Mayans favorite way to express their pride and
religious devotion was to build many temples, pyramids, and building that would all form
large cities. The Mayan workers who constructed these dwellings often decorated the walls
with many pictures and symbols that would tell anything from a person's life to an
important religious belief or tale. Cities that flourished during the Classic period were
located in current day Guatemala and were led by the large city of Tikal, which had many
pyramid-temples that rose over two hundred feet high. These pyramid-temples contained
numerous carved slates that acted as time markers and reign recorders. When the Mayan
empire collapsed, these cities, which can be compared to the city-states of ancient
Greece, collapsed also and were lost from memory forever. 
Another part of the Mayans culture that made them far more advanced than most other
ancient civilizations was the Mayans learning and their educational advances. The Mayans
recorded their history in hieroglyphics, a writing system that used pictures and certain
symbols. Archaeologists today are still trying to decode the many hieroglyphics found on
religious temples, stairs, and the walls of homes and palaces. Another educational
advance was the development of an advanced mathematics system. This system was not
perfected in Europe until centuries later. This system contained the number zero. The
Mayans also developed a three hundred and sixty five day calendar that was modeled after
the movement of the sun, moon, and stars. This calendar (in the Mayans time) was the most
accurate since the Gregorian calendar centuries before. The Mayans were heavily involved
with astronomy. Mayan astronomers calculated the movement of the moon and the sun,
calculated the age of certain stars, and made many astronomical predictions that would
later be proved to be only years (even months!) off. 
Other mentionable aspects of Mayan culture included: the making of textiles out of
cotton, and the production of paper out off tree bark. 
Despite all these advancements that took the work of many Mayans, the Mayans were never
really united into one single empire. The Mayans were divided into many city-states, each
ruled by an elite family organized into a hierarchy. These royal families claimed decent
from the gods and were looked upon by the people as undisputed, untouchable beings. Part
of the Maya's decline was in part to warring city-states and families. Each city-state
had a center of pyramids and other structures for the performance of religious ceremonies
and government activities. The center also contained a court for ball games, shopping
plazas, and places were jewelry, pottery, weapons, and other craft objects were made.
Outside the city-state were fields were people grew corn, beans, squash, and sweet
potatoes. All of this contributed to the pride of the city-state and it's people. 
The important discoveries, predictions, and advancements of the Maya were very important,
but the most fascinating aspect of the Maya doesn't lie in their temples or pyramids or
their hieroglyphics, it lies in their religion. Religion was the driving force of the
Maya; they based their lives, their buildings, and their whole existence on pleasing the
gods. Many men were sacrificed just to please the gods. Many kings gave their own blood
because they believed it would help the crop harvest. When it came to religion, the Maya
didn't argue. The Mayans who studied astronomy believed that several gods, who would make
the day favorable or unfavorable, controlled each day. Priests made important
astronomical calculations to show which god ruled at which time. The priests were also
the ones who ordered the construction of many temples and buildings. Religion even
controlled a ball game the Maya played at night. The game was similar to today's version
of soccer, but players would use their stomachs, knees, and anything else to control the
ball. The losing team would be sacrificed to the gods while the winning team would be
spared. Many buildings and temples in the Yucatan peninsula were decorated with the face
of Chac, the Mayan rain god. Chac was a very important god in a dry,
agriculture-influenced society. Chac can be recognized by his elephant tusk nose. Many
other gods were used, but there are too many of them to all be identified by today's
archeologists. 
After the classic period (AD three hundred - AD nine hundred) most of the Maya started to
decline. Many of their cities were war-torn, their crops destroyed, and their
civilization in chaos. This era marked the beginning of the post classic period (AD nine
hundred - AD fifteen hundred). During the post classic period, many civil wars plagued
the Maya. On top of that, the Toltec, a warring people took over Mayan cities and made
Chichen-Itza their capital. The Mayan culture survived though, and soon the Toltec were
absorbed in Mayan civilization. In AD fifteen nineteen, Hernando Cortez came to present
day Mexico and took over the Maya. He defeated their armies, conquered their cities, and
changed their culture. He banned the old religion and tried to introduce the Mayans to
Christianity. One of the Spanish bishops, Diego de Landa, ordered all Mayan texts burned.
Only four books survived and today are in museums. In AD fifteen-forty two, the Mayans
were completely in the hands of the Spanish. The magnificent cities were deserted and
became overgrown with jungle and thicket, and the most advanced civilization in North
American history disappeared after over two thousand years of dominance. 
Bibliography and sources used in this report 
1. http://www.classroom.com/mayaquest / 
2. http://www.civilizations.ca/members/civiliz/maya.html 
3. New Standard Encyclopedia, volume 11, M, pages M221-M224 
4. Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Copyright ? 1994 
5. Witlock, Ralph. Everyday life of the Maya. (Dorset Press, 1987)