The Ancient Maya 

The Maya Civilization is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as its spectacular art, monumental architecture, and sophisticated mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the pre-Classic period, the Maya civilization reached its peak of development during the Classic period(BCE 250 to CE 900), and continued throughout the Postclassic period until the arrival of the Spanish. At its peak, it was one of the most densely populated and culturally dynamic societies in the world.  The Maya cultivated cotton and learned to dye and weave cloth in bright patterns and also made magnificent jewelry and ornaments from jade. They were master stone builders and constructed grand temples, palaces, ball courts and sculptures from stone. Maya priests were also astronomers. Many of their most important buildings were devoted to the calculation and passage of time.  Maya calendars were far more complicated than those we have today, but just as accurate. Writing was set down in stone adorning buildings and in books made from bark (codeces). Only four Maya codeces are known to have survived. The rest were burned by the Spanish priests and conquistadores because the Maya symbols and their meanings seemed evil to them.  Bishop Diego de Landa, wrote, ‘These people used certain letters with which they wrote in their books about ancient subjects.  We found many books written with these letters and since they held nothing that was not falsehood and the work of the evil one, we burned them all'.

The Maya believed that the cosmos has three major planes, the sky, the underworld, and the earth. Heaven was thought to have thirteen different layers or levels where various gods dwelt. The night sky was considered a window showing all supernatural doings. The Maya configured constellations of gods and places, saw the unfolding of narratives in their seasonal movements, and believed that the intersection of all possible worlds was in the night sky.

The Maya believed that the universe was flat and square, but infinite in area. They also worshipped the circle, which symbolized perfection or the balancing of forces. The Maya assigned colors to each of the cardinal directions. The east is red, the south is green or yellow, the west is black and north is white. The Maya also recognized a fifth direction of center, which existed everywhere. The center was conceptualized by the Maya as a giant ceiba tree, the trunk of which connected the heavens the earth and underworld.  Sacred rituals and healing ceremonies also give great importance to the four elements found in nature: water, air, fire, and earth.

The Maya were fascinated by time. They believed that the date on which a person was born determined their fate throughout life.  Philosophically, the Maya believed that knowing the past meant knowing the cyclical influences that create the present, and by knowing the influences of the present one can foretell the cyclical influences to the future.

Click on the links below to view the history of the ancient Maya