Ancient Civilizations
Ancient Mayan Civilization
Posted by cosmic • Filed under ancient civilizations, cultures
The Mayans
The Ancient Mayan Civilization once occupied a vast geographic area in Central and South America. Some of the present day countries in which the Mayans occupied consist of Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Belize, and Guatemala. The Mayans achieved successfully in structuring magnificent temples and pyramids. In addition to the pyramids and temples, the Mayans created a highly accurate calendar, a complex hieroglyphic writing system, and in depth mathematical studies.
The Mayans were a highly religious group of people and based their spiritual beliefs on the creation theory. The creation theory is the belief that Earth was created and destroyed four times before the first human ever inhabited here. They believe that the creators strung a rope across the sea and sky, thus establishing the four corners of Earth.
Central America was left with the unique remnants of the Mayan civilization. Gigantic structures such as: pyramids, temples, and whole villages were some of the remarkable structures that the Mayans parted with. Architecture was significant to the Mayans so they did not copy or imitate any other civilization's architectural style. It is kind of hard to fathom how people could possibly build such structures with only the use of manpower.
During the Classic Maya Period (A.D. 250-900) state level political organization developed in the central and southern lowlands. When new state policies emerged, population was at its highest peak during the Late Classic (A.D. 600-800). While the central and southern lowlands were economically thriving, the northern lowlands were developing government systems of their own. Near the end of the Classic period the northern lowlands were now economically thriving (A.D. 800-900). Mayan rulers made the decision to not have any standing armies, thus emphasizing the better qualities of the ruler themselves. The name or title given to the highest Mayan government official was called "Ahau". This can be translated into "noble" or "lord". Like any other leader, Mayan leaders tended to have well shown charisma. The showing of charisma was a significant characteristic in order for them to keep their job as an elected official.