The Maya Essays - Maya Classic Period, Maya Civilization, Tikal

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.