Welcome to MEXICO AND BEYOND: LAURA’S PHOTO JOURNEY. I have chosen the Mayan culture of Mexico and Guatemala to share in this blog posting as part of my "INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF LATIN AMERICA" series.
My husband and I have spent the majority of our expat life living in Mexico and Guatemala where the dominant indigenous people are the Maya. The Maya have an incredible culture, history, and presence and I am very excited about sharing the Maya with you.
I have had an ongoing fascination with indigenous cultures and civilizations since my college days when I also had the romantic idea of becoming an adventurous and daring archaeologist discovering ruins of lost civilizations.
With time my practical self took hold and I abandoned this dream. However, I never lost the allure of learning about indigenous peoples and wanting to know who, what, why, and especially how of “disappeared peoples and their civilizations.”
What I really should have been was a social/cultural anthropoligst. But with the wonders of the Internet and on-line knowledge I get to indulge my passion at long last. So if you are ready, let's meet the Maya.
INTRODUCTION
The Maya peoples are a large group of indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. They inhabit southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras. The term "Maya" is a collective designation to include the peoples of a region that share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage. However, the term "Maya" can also include distinct populations, societies, and ethnic groups that each have their own particular traditions, cultures, and historical identity.
The modern day Maya still live within the boundaries of their old empire in the region that now consists of the countries of Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and five states in Mexico.
Much of Maya history is shrouded in mystery. It is believed today that the Mayan peoples began to settle in the Yucatan area of what is now Mexico between 2600 and 1800 BC. Their descendants still live across Mexico and Central America with dozens of core urban areas such are found in the lowlands of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico.
From the late eighth century through the end of the ninth century something unknown happened to shake the Maya civilization to its foundations. One by one the Classic cities in the southern lowlands were abandoned and by A.D. 900 Maya civilization in that region had collapsed. Maya areas such as Tikal in the rain forest of Guatemala went from bustling cities to abandoned ruins over the course of roughly a hundred years.
MY PERSONAL LIST OF SIGNIFICANT MAYAN
ACCOMPLISHMENTS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
MAYAN PYRAMIDS
The Maya city of Chichen Itza contains the Castillo, or Temple of Kukulcan,
one of the most famous and visited Mayan pyramids which is a step pyramid and the most impressive structure of the ancient city of Chichen Itza in Yucatan, Mexico. Constructed around A.D. 1100 the Castillo was constructed over another temple pyramid built 100 years earlier.
The Maya are renown for many, many accomplishments, but in my opinion their grand pyramids stand out as the greatest for me. The Maya constructed temple-pyramids that were the center of their magnificent centers and stone cities. Maybe my fascination with these amazing structures include their grandiose size, their perfect symmetry, and their alignment with sunrise and sunset at particular times of the year.
I have loved visiting them all and I like to think my husband actually started appreciating them while he indulged this fascination of mine. We have visited the following Mayan pyramids in Mexico and Honduras and you will find the links to my blog postings on each of them at the end of this posting: Tikal, Chichen Itza, Palenque, Uxmal, Tulum, and Copan. No cheating! The links will still be there when you have finished reading this posting.
The Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque, Mexico is the largest pre-Columbian Mesoamerican stepped pyramid structure which was a funerary monument to the seventh century king Hanab Pakal and one of my favorites because of its beautiful and magical setting.
The tallest Maya pyramid is located in Tikal, Guatemala and dates to the eighth century A.D. before the mysterious decline of the civilization. I loved Tikal and we had the entire complex to ourselves sharing it with the resident monkeys. If you squint you can see a dangling rope to help your climb up the pyramid if you are of that bent. I will definitely pass on that opportunity!
The Pyramid of the Magician is a Mesoamerican step pyramid located in the ancient Pre-Columbian city of Uxmal, Mexico. The structure is also referred to as the Pyramid of the Dwarf, Casa el Adivino, and the Pyramid of the Soothsayer.
The Uxmal pyramid and other monuments were built in the ninth and tenth centuries A.D. and according to Maya legend it was built by the god of magic, Itzamna, as a training center for shamans, healers and priests. The pyramid is considered unique because of its rounded sides, considerable height, steep slope, and unusual elliptical base.
Can you see the gargoyles on the top of this palace roof in Uxmal? What stories these structures could share if only we could hear them!
Having Uxmal to ourselves made my husband very happy since he is not always a great fan of exploring "the rock structures of the old folks" as he refers to my Mayan ruins.
MAYAN WRITING SYSTEM WITH HIEROGLPHS
The Maya writing system is considered by archaeologists to be the most sophisticated system ever developed in Mesoamerica. Hieroglyphic inscriptions were either carved in stone or wood on Maya monuments or painted on paper, plaster walls, and pottery.
A colorful illustration of a few of the many Maya hieroglphs
The earliest Maya inscriptions found date to the third century BCE in San Bartolo, Guatemala. Maya writing was in continuous use throughout Mesoamerica until the Spanish conquest of the Maya in the 16th and 17th centuries.
MAYAN NUMERAL SYSTEM
The Maya numeral system was their system to represent numbers and calendar dates in the Maya civilization. It was a vigesimal (base-20) positional numeral system. The numerals are made up of three symbols; zero (shell shape with the plastron uppermost), one (a dot) and five (a bar). The following link will take you to a detailed explanation of this system since I cannot even start to do it justice: THE MAYA NUMERAL SYSTEM
MAYAN CODICES BOOKS
Page from the Maya's "Dresden Codex"
The Maya codices (singular codex) are folding books written by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization in Maya hieroglyphic script on Mesoamerican bark paper. The codices have been named for the cities where they currently reside. The Dresden codex is generally considered the most important of the few that survive.
MAYAN CALENDAR
The Maya calendar is a system of calendars used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and in many modern communities in the Guatemalan highlands and in the regions of Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Chiapas in Mexico. The essentials of the Maya calendar are based upon a system which had been in common use throughout the region dating back to at least the 5th century BCE.
The deity Itzamna is frequently credited with bringing the knowledge of the calendar system to the ancestral Maya along with writing in general and other foundational aspects of Maya culture.
MAYANS AND CHOCOLATE
A Maya image on bark "paper" of Mayas drinking chocolate which I consider a "gift from the gods" and for which I am certainly thankful.
The Maya of Central America are believed to be the first to discover cocoa as early as 900 AD. They learned that the beans inside the cocoa pods could be harvested and made into a liquid which would become a treasured Mayan treat. Mayan chocolate was very different than the chocolate we know today.
Chocolate was a liquid made from crushed cocoa beans, chili peppers, and water. They poured the liquid from one cup to another until a frothy foam appeared on top. In fact, the word "chocolate" is said to come from the Mayan word "xocolatl" which means “bitter water.” The above chocolate "gods" would be too lovely for me to eat, however.
THE FALL OF THE MAYA CIVILIZATION
The reason for this mysterious decline is unknown although scholars have developed several competing theories. What happened? Some NASA-funded researchers think they have a pretty good idea.
Go to the following link for some fascinating reading THE FALL OF THE MAYA CIVILIZATION from which the following excerpts were lifted:
"They did it to themselves, says veteran archeologist Tom Sever.
The Maya are often depicted as people who lived in complete harmony with their environment, says PhD student Robert Griffin. But like many other cultures before and after them they ended up deforesting and destroying their landscape in efforts to eke out a living in hard times.
A major drought occurred about the time the Maya began to disappear. And at the time of their collapse, the Maya had cut down most of the trees across large swaths of the land to clear fields for growing corn to feed their burgeoning population.
They also cut trees for firewood and for making building materials. They had to burn 20 trees to heat the limestone for making just 1 square meter of the lime plaster they used to build their tremendous temples, reservoirs, and monuments, explains Sever."
So maybe the Maya caused their own decline and not the Spanish conquistadors. May this be a lesson to all of us!
CONCLUSION
The following link will open my large album on the Maya of Mexico and Guatemala. For best viewing I would recommended clicking on the first photograph and then click on the "burger" in the upper right hand corner and select "view as slide show." Enjoy!
THE MAYA OF MEXICO AND GUATEMALA PHOTO ALBUM
And last, but not least, are the links to my previously published blog postings on the Maya ruins of Mexico and Guatemala. Many thanks for joining me on my introduction to the Maya. Until next time, wishing you wonderful travels and excursions wherever they may take you. Laura
THE MAYAN RUINS OF TIKAL
MAYAN RUINS OF PALENQUE, UXMAL, AND TULUM
THE MAYA RUINS OF COPAN, HONDURAS
THE PYRAMIDS INCLUDING CHICHEN ITZA
With my sincere thanks to the wonderful Maya people of Mexico and Guatemala including the above students in Merida who wanted to learn English from a few of us ex-pat women and to the many lovely Maya ladies we met along the way.
The Maya city of Chichen Itza contains the Castillo, or Temple of Kukulcan,
one of the most famous and visited Mayan pyramids which is a step pyramid and the most impressive structure of the ancient city of Chichen Itza in Yucatan, Mexico. Constructed around A.D. 1100 the Castillo was constructed over another temple pyramid built 100 years earlier.
The Maya are renown for many, many accomplishments, but in my opinion their grand pyramids stand out as the greatest for me. The Maya constructed temple-pyramids that were the center of their magnificent centers and stone cities. Maybe my fascination with these amazing structures include their grandiose size, their perfect symmetry, and their alignment with sunrise and sunset at particular times of the year.
I have loved visiting them all and I like to think my husband actually started appreciating them while he indulged this fascination of mine. We have visited the following Mayan pyramids in Mexico and Honduras and you will find the links to my blog postings on each of them at the end of this posting: Tikal, Chichen Itza, Palenque, Uxmal, Tulum, and Copan. No cheating! The links will still be there when you have finished reading this posting.
The Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque, Mexico is the largest pre-Columbian Mesoamerican stepped pyramid structure which was a funerary monument to the seventh century king Hanab Pakal and one of my favorites because of its beautiful and magical setting.
The tallest Maya pyramid is located in Tikal, Guatemala and dates to the eighth century A.D. before the mysterious decline of the civilization. I loved Tikal and we had the entire complex to ourselves sharing it with the resident monkeys. If you squint you can see a dangling rope to help your climb up the pyramid if you are of that bent. I will definitely pass on that opportunity!
The Pyramid of the Magician is a Mesoamerican step pyramid located in the ancient Pre-Columbian city of Uxmal, Mexico. The structure is also referred to as the Pyramid of the Dwarf, Casa el Adivino, and the Pyramid of the Soothsayer.
The Uxmal pyramid and other monuments were built in the ninth and tenth centuries A.D. and according to Maya legend it was built by the god of magic, Itzamna, as a training center for shamans, healers and priests. The pyramid is considered unique because of its rounded sides, considerable height, steep slope, and unusual elliptical base.
Can you see the gargoyles on the top of this palace roof in Uxmal? What stories these structures could share if only we could hear them!
Having Uxmal to ourselves made my husband very happy since he is not always a great fan of exploring "the rock structures of the old folks" as he refers to my Mayan ruins.
MAYAN WRITING SYSTEM WITH HIEROGLPHS
The Maya writing system is considered by archaeologists to be the most sophisticated system ever developed in Mesoamerica. Hieroglyphic inscriptions were either carved in stone or wood on Maya monuments or painted on paper, plaster walls, and pottery.
The earliest Maya inscriptions found date to the third century BCE in San Bartolo, Guatemala. Maya writing was in continuous use throughout Mesoamerica until the Spanish conquest of the Maya in the 16th and 17th centuries.
MAYAN NUMERAL SYSTEM
The Maya numeral system was their system to represent numbers and calendar dates in the Maya civilization. It was a vigesimal (base-20) positional numeral system. The numerals are made up of three symbols; zero (shell shape with the plastron uppermost), one (a dot) and five (a bar). The following link will take you to a detailed explanation of this system since I cannot even start to do it justice: THE MAYA NUMERAL SYSTEM
MAYAN CODICES BOOKS
The Maya codices (singular codex) are folding books written by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization in Maya hieroglyphic script on Mesoamerican bark paper. The codices have been named for the cities where they currently reside. The Dresden codex is generally considered the most important of the few that survive.
MAYAN CALENDAR
The Maya calendar is a system of calendars used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and in many modern communities in the Guatemalan highlands and in the regions of Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Chiapas in Mexico. The essentials of the Maya calendar are based upon a system which had been in common use throughout the region dating back to at least the 5th century BCE.
The deity Itzamna is frequently credited with bringing the knowledge of the calendar system to the ancestral Maya along with writing in general and other foundational aspects of Maya culture.
MAYANS AND CHOCOLATE
The Maya of Central America are believed to be the first to discover cocoa as early as 900 AD. They learned that the beans inside the cocoa pods could be harvested and made into a liquid which would become a treasured Mayan treat. Mayan chocolate was very different than the chocolate we know today.
Chocolate was a liquid made from crushed cocoa beans, chili peppers, and water. They poured the liquid from one cup to another until a frothy foam appeared on top. In fact, the word "chocolate" is said to come from the Mayan word "xocolatl" which means “bitter water.” The above chocolate "gods" would be too lovely for me to eat, however.
THE FALL OF THE MAYA CIVILIZATION
The last Maya state existed until 1697. No one really knows what caused the collapse of the Maya civilization. For reasons that are still debated the Maya centers of the southern lowlands went into decline during the 8th and 9th centuries and were abandoned shortly thereafter.
The reason for this mysterious decline is unknown although scholars have developed several competing theories. What happened? Some NASA-funded researchers think they have a pretty good idea.
Go to the following link for some fascinating reading THE FALL OF THE MAYA CIVILIZATION from which the following excerpts were lifted:
"They did it to themselves, says veteran archeologist Tom Sever.
The Maya are often depicted as people who lived in complete harmony with their environment, says PhD student Robert Griffin. But like many other cultures before and after them they ended up deforesting and destroying their landscape in efforts to eke out a living in hard times.
A major drought occurred about the time the Maya began to disappear. And at the time of their collapse, the Maya had cut down most of the trees across large swaths of the land to clear fields for growing corn to feed their burgeoning population.
They also cut trees for firewood and for making building materials. They had to burn 20 trees to heat the limestone for making just 1 square meter of the lime plaster they used to build their tremendous temples, reservoirs, and monuments, explains Sever."
CONCLUSION
The following link will open my large album on the Maya of Mexico and Guatemala. For best viewing I would recommended clicking on the first photograph and then click on the "burger" in the upper right hand corner and select "view as slide show." Enjoy!
THE MAYA OF MEXICO AND GUATEMALA PHOTO ALBUM
And last, but not least, are the links to my previously published blog postings on the Maya ruins of Mexico and Guatemala. Many thanks for joining me on my introduction to the Maya. Until next time, wishing you wonderful travels and excursions wherever they may take you. Laura
THE MAYAN RUINS OF TIKAL
MAYAN RUINS OF PALENQUE, UXMAL, AND TULUM
THE MAYA RUINS OF COPAN, HONDURAS
THE PYRAMIDS INCLUDING CHICHEN ITZA
With my sincere thanks to the wonderful Maya people of Mexico and Guatemala including the above students in Merida who wanted to learn English from a few of us ex-pat women and to the many lovely Maya ladies we met along the way.
Enjoyed the pictures of Mayas and their amazing cities very much. Such a colorful and intelligent culture, with a rich history of advanced culture and accomplishments. Thanks for sharing this great blog.
ReplyDeleteComing from you, Lennie, these are words I sincerely appreciated. Are you still seriously involved with the Maya of the Yucatan? Any plans for more books? Saludos, Laura
DeleteVery colorful blogpost! I especially love the pictures of the young photogenic kids. Yes, I remember your dreams of becoming an archeologist as a young student, am glad you have been able to pursue your interests in cultural anthropology. We particularly enjoyed your photos of Uxmal, which we visited many years ago on our tenth wedding anniversary. Guillermo y Katrina
ReplyDeleteYou have such an incredible memory! And yes, I'm living my dreams of anthropology albeit more than a few decades late. As always, I appreciate your comments.
Deleteamazing amount of research you have compiled a real feel for this special culture.I love
ReplyDeleteyour photos..
thanks for sharing ! judi
Muchas gracias, Judi! It's so wonderful to have you joining me on this blogging gig. And I am hoping we will have more time to share interests in the near future. Laura
DeleteExcellent as always. Reminds me of how long it has been since I’ve visited Guatemala. Now my question is: how long before we see the book?
ReplyDeleteWe loved Guatemala and lived in Antigua and Panajachel on Lago Atitlan. What a beautiful country and lovely indigenous people. Now about that book of yours or mine ........
DeleteOnce again, where is the book? Your photos and writing are far too fabulous to go unappreciated.
ReplyDelete