Maya civilization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediawildehistory.weebly.com/uploads/1/6/7/0/16706304/...and the Mixe–Zoque- and Zapotec-speaking peoples of Chiapas and southern Oaxaca,

Uxmal, Nunnery Quadrangle

Artist's copy of Bonampak Painting,Mexico, 700 C.E.

Throne 1 of Piedras Negras

Maya civilizationFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for Maya script,the only known fully developed writing system of thepre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, andmathematical and astronomical systems. Initially establishedduring the Pre-Classic period (c. 2000 BC to AD 250), accordingto the Mesoamerican chronology, many Maya cities reached theirhighest state of development during the Classic period (c. AD250 to 900), and continued throughout the Post-Classic perioduntil the arrival of the Spanish.

The Maya civilization shares many features with otherMesoamerican civilizations due to the high degree of interactionand cultural diffusion that characterized the region. Advancessuch as writing, epigraphy, and the calendar did not originatewith the Maya; however, their civilization fully developed them.Maya influence can be detected in Honduras, Belize, Guatemala,and western El Salvador to as far away as central Mexico, morethan 1,000 km (620 mi) from the central Maya area. The manyoutside influences found in Maya art and architecture are thoughtto have resulted from trade and cultural exchange rather thandirect external conquest.

The Maya peoples survived the Classic period collapse and thearrival of the Spanish conquistadores and 16th-century Spanishcolonization of the Americas. Today, the Maya and theirdescendants form sizable populations throughout the Maya area;they maintain a distinctive set of traditions and beliefs resultingfrom the merger of pre-Columbian and post-Conquest ideas andcultures. Millions of people speak Mayan languages today. In2005 the Rabinal Achí, a play written in the Achi language, wasdeclared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage ofHumanity by UNESCO.

Contents

1 Geographical extent2 History

2.1 Preclassic period2.2 Classic period

Maya civilization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_civilization

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2.3 The Maya collapse2.4 Postclassic period2.5 Colonial period

3 King and court4 Art5 Architecture

5.1 Urban design5.2 Building materials5.3 Notable constructions

6 Writing and literacy6.1 Writing system6.2 Writing tools6.3 Scribes and literacy

7 Mathematics8 Astronomy9 Calendar10 Religion and mythology

10.1 Main gods11 Agriculture12 Rediscovery of the Pre-Columbian Maya13 Maya sites14 See also15 Footnotes16 References17 Further reading18 External links

Geographical extentThe Maya civilization extended throughout the present-day southern Mexican states of Chiapas,Tabasco, and the Yucatán Peninsula states of Quintana Roo, Campeche and Yucatán. The Maya area alsoextended throughout the northern Central American region, including the present-day nations ofGuatemala, Belize, western Honduras and extreme northern El Salvador.

The Maya area is generally divided into three loosely defined zones: the southern Pacific lowlands, the


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Extent of Classic and Post-ClassicMaya civilization

highlands, and the northern lowlands. The Maya highlandsinclude all of the Guatemalan Highlands, and the Chiapashighlands of Mexico. The southern lowlands lie just south of thehighlands, and incorporate a part of the Mexican state ofChiapas, the south coast of Guatemala, Belize and northern ElSalvador. The northern lowlands cover all of the YucatánPeninsula, including the Mexican states of Yucatán, Campecheand Quintana Roo, the Petén Department of Guatemala, and allof Belize. Parts of the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas arealso included in the northern lowlands.[1]

HistoryPreclassic period

Scholars continue to discuss when this era of Maya civilization began. Discoveries of Maya occupationat Cuello, Belize have been carbon dated to around 2600 BCE.[2][3] The people built monumentalstructures. The Maya calendar, which is based on the so-called Mesoamerican Long Count calendar,begins on a date equivalent to 11 August 3114 BC.

The most widely accepted view, as of 2010, is that the first clearly Maya settlements were establishedaround 1800 BCE in the Soconusco region of the Pacific Coast. This period, known as the EarlyPreclassic,[4] was characterized by sedentary communities and the introduction of pottery and fired clayfigurines.[5]

Important sites in the southern Maya lowlands include Nakbe, El Mirador, Cival, and San Bartolo. In theGuatemalan Highlands, Kaminaljuyu emerged around 800 BC. For many centuries it controlled the jadeand obsidian sources for the Petén and Pacific Lowlands. The important early sites of Izapa, TakalikAbaj, and Chocolá at around 600 BCE were the main producers of Cacao. Mid-sized Maya communitiesalso began to develop in the northern Maya lowlands during the Middle and Late Preclassic, thoughthese lacked the size, scale, and influence of the large centers of the southern lowlands. Two importantPreclassic northern sites include Komchen and Dzibilchaltun. The first written inscription in Mayahieroglyphics also dates to this period (c. 250 BCE).[6]

Scholars disagree about the boundaries that define the physical and cultural extent of the early Maya andneighboring Preclassic Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Olmec culture of the Tabasco lowlandsand the Mixe–Zoque- and Zapotec-speaking peoples of Chiapas and southern Oaxaca, respectively.Many of the earliest significant inscriptions and buildings appeared in this overlapping zone, andevidence suggests that these cultures and the formative Maya influenced one another.[7] Takalik Abaj, inthe Pacific slopes of Guatemala, is the only site where Olmec features have been clearly succeeded byMayan ones.

Around 100 AD, a widespread decline and abandonment of Maya cities occurred – called the PreclassicCollapse. This marked the end of the Preclassic era.[8]


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"Caana" at Caracol. It stands at 42meters (140 feet) high.

Altar 13 at Caracol. AD 830

Classic period

The Classic period (c. AD 250–900) was one of the peak oflarge-scale construction and urbanism, the recording ofmonumental inscriptions, and significant intellectual and artisticdevelopment, particularly in the southern lowland regions.[9]

The people developed an agriculturally intensive, city-centeredcivilization consisting of numerous independent city-states –some subservient to others.[8] This includes the well-knowncities of Caracol, Tikal, Palenque, Copán, Xunantunich andCalakmul, but also the lesser known Lamanai, Dos Pilas, CahalPech, Uaxactun, Altun Ha, and Bonampak, among others. TheEarly Classic settlement distribution in the northern Mayalowlands is not as clearly known as the southern zone, but doesinclude a number of population centers, such as Oxkintok,Chunchucmil, and the early occupation of Uxmal.

During this period the Maya population numbered in themillions. They created a multitude of kingdoms and smallempires, built monumental palaces and temples, engaged inhighly developed ceremonies, and developed an elaboratehieroglyphic writing system.[10]

The social basis of this exuberant civilization was a largepolitical and economic intersocietal network (world system)extending throughout the Maya region and beyond to the wider Mesoamerican world. The political,economic, and culturally dominant ‘core’ Maya units of the Classic Maya world system were located inthe central lowlands, while its corresponding dependent or ‘peripheral’ Maya units were found along themargins of the southern highland and northern lowland areas. But as in all world systems, the Maya corecenters shifted through time, starting out during Preclassic times in the southern highlands, moving tothe central lowlands during the Classic period, and finally shifting to the northern peninsula during thePostclassic period. In this Maya world system, the semi-peripheral (mediational) units generally took theform of trade and commercial centers.[11]

The most notable monuments are the stepped pyramids they built in their religious centers and theaccompanying palaces of their rulers. The palace at Cancuén is the largest in the Maya area, but the sitehas no pyramids. Other important archaeological remains include the carved stone slabs usually calledstelae (the Maya called them tetun, or "tree-stones"), which depict rulers along with hieroglyphic textsdescribing their genealogy, military victories, and other accomplishments.[12]

The Maya civilization participated in long distance trade with many of the other Mesoamerican cultures,including Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, and other groups in central and gulf-coast Mexico. In addition, theyhad trade and exchanges with more distant, non-Mesoamerican groups, for example the Taínos of theCaribbean islands. Archeologists have found gold from Panama in the Sacred Cenote of ChichenItza.[13] Important trade goods included cacao, salt, seashells, jade, and obsidian.


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Presentation of captives to a Mayaruler, c. AD 785

The Maya collapse

The Maya centers of the southern lowlands went into declineduring the 8th and 9th centuries and were abandoned shortlythereafter. This decline was coupled with a cessation ofmonumental inscriptions and large-scale architecturalconstruction.[14] No universally accepted theory explains thiscollapse.

Non-ecological theories of Maya decline are divided into severalsubcategories, such as overpopulation, foreign invasion, peasantrevolt, and the collapse of key trade routes. Ecologicalhypotheses include environmental disaster, epidemic disease, andclimate change. There is evidence that the Maya populationexceeded the carrying capacity of the environment includingexhaustion of agricultural potential and overhunting of megafauna.[15] Some scholars have recentlytheorized that an intense 200-year drought led to the collapse of Maya civilization.[16] The droughttheory originated from research performed by physical scientists studying lake beds,[17] ancient pollen,and other data, not from the archaeological community. Newer research from 2011, with use ofhigh-resolution climate models and new reconstructions of past landscapes, suggests that convertingmuch of their forest land into cropland may have led to reduced evapotranspiration and thus rainfall,magnifying natural drought.[18] A study published in Science in 2012 found that modest rainfallreductions, amounting to only 25 to 40% in annual rainfall, may have been the tipping point to the Mayacollapse. Based on samples of lake and cave sediments in the areas surrounding major Maya cities, theresearchers were able to determine the amount of annual rainfall in the region. The mild droughts thattook place between AD 800 and 950 were enough to rapidly reduce open water availability.[19][20] Afurther paper in the same journal supports and extends this conclusion based on isotope analysis ofminerals in a stalagmite. It argues that high rainfall between 440 and 660 CE allowed the Maya toflourish in the first instance, and that while mild droughts in the following years led to extensive warfareand the decline of Mayan civilization, it was a prolonged period of drought between 1020 and 1100 CEthat was ultimately fatal.[21]

Postclassic period

During the succeeding Postclassic period (from the 10th to the early 16th century), development in thenorthern centers persisted, characterized by an increasing diversity of external influences. The Mayacities of the northern lowlands in Yucatán continued to flourish for centuries more; some of theimportant sites in this era were Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Edzná, and Coba. After the decline of the rulingdynasties of Chichen and Uxmal, Mayapan ruled all of Yucatán until a revolt in 1450. (This city's namemay be the source of the word "Maya", which had a more geographically restricted meaning in Yucatecand colonial Spanish and only grew to its current meaning in the 19th and 20th centuries). The area thendegenerated into competing city-states until Yucatán was conquered by the Spanish.

The Itza Maya, Ko'woj, and Yalain groups of Central Peten survived the "Classic Period Collapse" insmall numbers and by 1250 reconstituted themselves to form competing city-states. The Itza maintained


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their capital at Tayasal (also known as Noh Petén), an archaeological site thought to underlay themodern city of Flores, Guatemala on Lake Petén Itzá. It ruled over an area extending across the PetenLakes region, encompassing the community of Eckixil on Lake Quexil.[22] The Ko'woj had their capitalat Zacpeten. Postclassic Maya states also continued to survive in the southern highlands. One of theMaya nations in this area, the K'iche' Kingdom of Q'umarkaj, is responsible for the best-known Mayawork of historiography and mythology, the Popol Vuh. Other highland kingdoms included the Mambased at Huehuetenango, the Kaqchikels based at Iximche, the Chajoma based at Mixco Viejo,[23] andthe Chuj based at San Mateo Ixtatán.

Colonial period

Shortly after their first expeditions to the region, the Spanish initiated a number of attempts to subjugatethe Maya who were hostile towards the Spanish crown and establish a colonial presence in the Mayaterritories of the Yucatán Peninsula and the Guatemalan highlands. This campaign, sometimes termed"The Spanish Conquest of Yucatán", would prove to be a lengthy and dangerous exercise for theconquistadores from the outset, and it would take some 170 years and tens of thousands of Indianauxiliaries before the Spanish established substantive control over all Maya lands.

Unlike the Aztec and Inca Empires, there was no single Maya political center that, once overthrown,would hasten the end of collective resistance from the indigenous peoples. Instead, the conquistadorforces needed to subdue the numerous independent Maya polities almost one by one, many of whichkept up a fierce resistance. Most of the conquistadors were motivated by the prospects of the greatwealth to be had from the seizure of precious metal resources such as gold or silver; however, the Mayalands themselves were poor in these resources. This would become another factor in forestalling Spanishdesigns of conquest, as they instead were initially attracted to the reports of great riches in centralMexico or Peru.

The Spanish Church and government officials destroyed Maya texts and with them the knowledge ofMaya writing, but by chance three of the pre-Columbian books dated to the post classic period havebeen preserved.[24] These are known as the Madrid Codex, The Dresden Codex and the Paris Codex.[25]

The last Maya states, the Itza polity centred on Nojpetén, and the Ko'woj city of Zacpeten, werecontinuously occupied and remained independent of the Spanish until late in the 17th century. Theywere finally subdued by the Spanish in 1697.

King and courtA typical Classic Maya polity was a small hierarchical state (ajawil, ajawlel, or ajawlil) headed by ahereditary ruler known as an ajaw (later k’uhul ajaw).[26] Such kingdoms were usually no more than acapital city with its neighborhood and several lesser towns, although there were greater kingdoms, whichcontrolled larger territories and extended patronage over smaller polities. Each kingdom had a name thatdid not necessarily correspond to any locality within its territory. Its identity was that of a political unitassociated with a particular ruling dynasty. For instance, the archaeological site of Naranjo was thecapital of the kingdom of Saal. The land (chan ch’e’n) of the kingdom and its capital were calledWakab’nal or Maxam and were part of a larger geographical entity known as Huk Tsuk. Interestingly,despite constant warfare and eventual shifts in regional power, most kingdoms never disappeared from


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Lady Xoc, aunt-wife of kingShield Jaguar II, drawing abarbed rope through her tongue.AD 709

the political landscape until the collapse of the whole system in the9th century AD. In this respect, Classic Maya kingdoms are highlysimilar to late Post Classic polities encountered by the Spaniards inYucatán and Central Mexico: some polities could be subordinated tohegemonic rulers through conquests or dynastic unions and yet eventhen they persisted as distinct entities.

Mayanists have been increasingly accepting a "court paradigm" ofClassic Maya societies which puts the emphasis on the centrality ofthe royal household and especially the person of the king. Thisapproach focuses on Maya monumental spaces as the embodiment ofthe diverse activities of the royal household. It considers the role ofplaces and spaces (including dwellings of royalty and nobles, thronerooms, temples, halls and plazas for public ceremonies) inestablishing power and social hierarchy, and also in projectingaesthetic and moral values to define the wider social realm.

Spanish sources invariably describe even the largest Mayasettlements as dispersed collections of dwellings grouped around thetemples and palaces of the ruling dynasty and lesser nobles. None ofthe Classic Maya cities shows evidence of economic specialization and commerce of the scale ofMexican Tenochtitlan. Instead, Maya cities could be seen as enormous royal households, the locales ofthe administrative and ritual activities of the royal court. They were the places where privileged noblescould approach the holy ruler, where aesthetic values of the high culture were formulated anddisseminated and where aesthetic items were consumed. They were the self-proclaimed centers and thesources of social, moral, and cosmic order. The fall of a royal court as in the well-documented cases ofPiedras Negras or Copan would cause the inevitable "death" of the associated settlement.

ArtMaya art of the Classic era (c. 250 to 900 CE) is of a high level of aesthetic and artisanal sophistication,from the lay-out and architecture of court towns down to the decorative arts. The stucco and stone reliefsof Palenque and the statuary of Copán, particularly its impressive stelas, show a grace and accurateobservation of the human form that reminded early archaeologists of Classical civilizations of the OldWorld, hence the name bestowed on this era. We have a considerable number of examples of theadvanced mural painting of the Classic Maya, most completely preserved in a building at Bonampak;Late Preclassic murals of great artistic and iconographic perfection have been recently discovered at SanBartolo. A rich blue color ('Maya Blue') survived through the centuries due to its unique chemicalcharacteristics. Painted, carved, and molded Maya ceramics were ubiquitous; often found in graves, andshowing a vast array of subjects, they constitute an important source of information. Of the manyfolding-books, only three survive, all from the Post-Classic period, of which the Dresden Codex isartistically superior. With the progressive decipherment of the Maya script, it was also discovered thatthe Maya were one of the few civilizations where artists attached their name to their work.


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El Castillo, the most iconic Mayanpyramid

King Ahkal Mo' Naab IIIof Palenque, stone, 8thCentury

Jaina Island figurine, AD650–800

Illustration of a stuccorelief at Palenque, dating toc. AD 670

ArchitectureMaya architecture spans many thousands of years; yet, often themost dramatic and easily recognizable as Maya are the steppedpyramids from the Terminal Pre-classic period and beyond.There are also cave sites that are important to the Maya. Thesecave sites include Jolja Cave, the cave site at Naj Tunich, theCandelaria Caves, and the Cave of the Witch. There are alsocave-origin myths among the Maya. Some cave sites are stillused by the modern Maya in the Chiapas highlands.

It has been suggested that temples and pyramids were remodeledand rebuilt every fifty-two years in synchrony with the MayaLong Count Calendar. It appears now that the rebuilding process was often instigated by a new ruler orfor political matters, as opposed to matching the calendar cycle. However, the process of rebuilding ontop of old structures is indeed a common one. Most notably, the North Acropolis at Tikal seems to be thesum total of 1,500 years of architectural modifications. In Tikal, Yaxha and Ixlu there were twin pyramidcomplexes. There were nine in Tikal and one each in Yaxha and Ixlu; at Tikal they were used tocommemorate the end of a 20-year k'atun cycle. Through observation of the numerous consistentelements and stylistic distinctions, remnants of Maya architecture have become an important key tounderstanding the evolution of their ancient civilization.

Urban design

As Maya cities spread throughout the varied geography of Mesoamerica, site planning appears to havebeen minimal. Maya architecture tended to integrate a great degree of natural features, and their citieswere built somewhat haphazardly as dictated by the topography of each independent location. Forinstance, some cities on the flat limestone plains of the northern Yucatán grew into great sprawlingmunicipalities, while others built in the hills of Usumacinta utilized the natural loft of the topography toraise their towers and temples to impressive heights. However, some degree of order, as required in any


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North Acropolis, Tikal, Guatemala

Ballcourt at Tikal, Guatemala

large city, still prevailed.

Classic Era Maya urban design could easily be described as thedivision of space by great monuments and causeways. Openpublic plazas were the gathering places for people and the focusof urban design, while interior space was entirely secondary.Only in the Late Post-Classic era did the great Maya citiesdevelop into more fortress-like defensive structures that lacked,for the most part, the large and numerous plazas of the Classic.

At the onset of large-scale construction during the Classic Era, apredetermined axis was typically established in a cardinaldirection. Depending on the location of natural resources such as fresh-water wells, or cenotes, the citygrew by using sacbeob (limed causeways or "white roads") to connect great plazas with the numerousplatforms that created the sub-structure for nearly all Maya buildings. As more structures were addedand existing structures re-built or remodeled, the great Maya cities seemed to take on an almost randomidentity that contrasted sharply with other great Mesoamerican cities such as Teotihuacan and its rigidgrid-like construction.

At the heart of the Maya city were large plazas surrounded by themost important governmental and religious buildings, such as theroyal acropolis, great pyramid temples and occasionallyball-courts. Though city layouts evolved as nature dictated,careful attention was placed on the directional orientation oftemples and observatories so that they were constructed inaccordance with Maya interpretation of the orbits of the heavenlybodies. Immediately outside of this ritual center were thestructures of lesser nobles, smaller temples, and individualshrines; the less sacred and less important structures had agreater degree of privacy. Outside of the constantly evolvingurban core were the less permanent and more modest homes ofthe common people.

Building materials

A surprising aspect of the great Maya structures is their lack of many advanced technologies seeminglynecessary for such constructions. Lacking draft animals necessary for wheel-based modes oftransportation, metal tools and even pulleys, Maya architecture required abundant manpower. Yet,beyond this enormous requirement, the remaining materials seem to have been readily available. Allstone for Maya structures appears to have been taken from local quarries. They most often usedlimestone which remained pliable enough to be worked with stone tools while being quarried and onlyhardened once removed from its bed. In addition to the structural use of limestone, much of their mortarconsisted of crushed, burnt and mixed limestone that mimicked the properties of cement and was used aswidely for stucco finishing as it was for mortar.

Later improvements in quarrying techniques reduced the necessity for this limestone-stucco as the stones


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began to fit quite perfectly, yet it remained a crucial element in some post and lintel roofs. In the case ofthe common Maya houses, wooden poles, adobe and thatch were the primary materials; however,instances of what appear to be common houses of limestone have been discovered as well. Also notablethroughout Maya architecture is the corbel arch (also known as a "false arch"), which allowed for moreopen-aired entrances. The corbelled arch improved upon pier/post and lintel doorways by directing theweight off of the lintel and onto the supporting posts.

Notable constructions

Ceremonial platforms were commonly limestone platforms of typically less than four meters inheight where public ceremonies and religious rites were performed. Constructed in the fashion ofa typical foundation platform, these were often accented by carved figures, altars and perhapstzompantli, a stake used to display the heads of victims or defeated Mesoamerican ballgameopponents.Palaces were large and often highly decorated, and usually sat close to the center of a city andhoused the population's elite. Any exceedingly large royal palace, or one consisting of manychambers on different levels might be referred to as an acropolis. However, often these wereone-story and consisted of many small chambers and typically at least one interior courtyard;these structures appear to take into account the needed functionality required of a residence, aswell as the decoration required for their inhabitants stature.

Detail of carving onright-hand (facingtemple) wall of MaskTemple at Lamanai

"El Castillo" atXunantunich. It standsat 132 ft (40 m). high

Frieze of "El Castillo"at Xunantunich

Main palace ofPalenque, 7th CenturyAD


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Temple of the Cross atPalenque; there is anintricate roof comb andcorbeled arch

Governor's Palace rearview and details,10thCentury AD Uxmal

Codz Poop, 7th–10thCenturies AD Kabah

E-Groups are specific structural configurations present at a number of centers in the Maya area.These complexes are oriented and aligned according to specific astronomical events (primarily thesun's solstices and equinoxes) and are thought to have been observatories. These structures areusually accompanied by iconographic reliefs that tie astronomical observation into general Mayamythology. The structural complex is named for Group E at Uaxactun, the first documented inMesoamerica.

Pyramids and temples. Often the most important religioustemples sat atop the towering Maya pyramids, presumably as theclosest place to the heavens. While recent discoveries point towardthe extensive use of pyramids as tombs, the temples themselvesseem to rarely, if ever, contain burials. Residing atop the pyramids,some of over two-hundred feet, such as that at El Mirador, thetemples were impressive and decorated structures themselves.Commonly topped with a roof comb, or superficial grandiose wall,these temples might have served as a type of propaganda. As theywere often the only structure in a Maya city to exceed the heightof the surrounding jungle, the roof combs atop the temples wereoften carved with representations of rulers that could be seen fromvast distances.Observatories. The Maya were keen astronomers and hadmapped out the phases of celestial objects, especially the Moonand Venus. Many temples have doorways and other features aligning to celestial events. Roundtemples, often dedicated to Kukulcan, are perhaps those most often described as "observatories"


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A page from the Paris Codex, one ofthe few known surviving Mayanbooks in existence, shows the Mayanwriting system in use.

This small lidded vessel features adedicatory inscription, demonstratingan intersection between text and art.Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.

by modern ruin tour-guides, but there is no evidence that they were so used exclusively, andtemple pyramids of other shapes may well have been used for observation as well.Ballcourts. As an integral aspect of the Mesoamerican lifestyle, the courts for their ritualball-game were constructed throughout the Maya realm and often on a grand scale. Enclosed ontwo sides by stepped ramps that led to ceremonial platforms or small temples, the ballcourt itselfwas of a capital "I" shape and could be found in all but the smallest of Maya cities.

Writing and literacyWriting system

The Maya writing system(often called hieroglyphsfrom a superficialresemblance to theAncient Egyptianwriting) was acombination of phoneticsymbols and logograms.It is most often classifiedas a logographic or(more properly) alogosyllabic writingsystem, in which syllabicsigns play a significantrole. It is the only writingsystem of thePre-Columbian NewWorld which is known torepresent the spokenlanguage of itscommunity. In total, thescript has more than athousand different

glyphs, although a few are variations of the same sign ormeaning, and many appear only rarely or are confined toparticular localities. At any one time, no more than around 500glyphs were in use, some 200 of which (including variations) hada phonetic or syllabic interpretation.

The earliest inscriptions in an identifiably Maya script date back to 200–300 BC.[27] However, this ispreceded by several other writing systems which had developed in Mesoamerica, most notably that ofthe Zapotecs, and (following the 2006 publication of research on the recently discovered Cascajal


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Maya script on a Kankuen paneldepicting King T'ah 'Ak' Cha'an (Dah'Ag Txhaun)

Block), the Olmecs.[28] There is a pre-Maya writing known as "Epi-Olmec script" (post Olmec) whichsome researchers believe may represent a transitional script between Olmec and Maya writing, but therelationships between these remain unclear and the matter is unsettled. On January 5, 2006, NationalGeographic published the findings of Maya writings that could be as old as 400 BC, suggesting that theMaya writing system is nearly as old as the oldest Mesoamerican writing known at that time,Zapotec.[29] In the succeeding centuries the Maya developed their script into a form which was far morecomplete and complex than any other that has yet been found in the Americas.

Since its inception, the Maya script was in use up to the arrival of the Europeans, peaking during theMaya Classical Period (c. 200 to 900). Although many Maya centers went into decline (or werecompletely abandoned) during or after this period, the skill and knowledge of Maya writing persistedamong segments of the population, and the early Spanish conquistadors knew of individuals who couldstill read and write the script. Unfortunately, the Spanish displayed little interest in it, and as a result ofthe dire impacts the conquest had on Maya societies, the knowledge was subsequently lost, probablywithin only a few generations.

At a rough estimate, in excess of 10,000 individual texts have so far been recovered, mostly inscribed onstone monuments, lintels, stelae and ceramic pottery. The Maya also produced texts painted on a form ofpaper manufactured from processed tree-bark, in particular from several species of strangler fig treessuch as Ficus cotinifolia and Ficus padifolia.[30] This paper, common throughout Mesoamerica andgenerally now known by its Nahuatl-language name amatl, was typically bound as a single continuoussheet that was folded into pages of equal width, concertina-style, to produce a codex that could bewritten on both sides. Shortly after the conquest, all of the codices which could be found were ordered tobe burnt and destroyed by zealous Spanish priests, notably Bishop Diego de Landa. Only a fewreasonably intact examples of Maya codices are known to have survived through to the present day,including the Madrid, Dresden, and Paris codices.[31] A few pages survive from a fourth, the GrolierCodex, whose authenticity is disputed. Further archaeology conducted at Maya sites often reveals otherfragments, rectangular lumps of plaster and paint chips which formerly were codices; these tantalizingremains are, however, too severely damaged for any inscriptions to have survived, most of the organicmaterial having decayed.

The decipherment and recovery of the now-lost knowledge ofMaya writing has been a long and laborious process. Someelements were first deciphered in the late 19th and early 20thcentury, mostly the parts having to do with numbers, the Mayacalendar, and astronomy. Major breakthroughs came starting inthe 1950s to 1970s, and accelerated rapidly thereafter. By the endof the 20th century, scholars were able to read the majority ofMaya texts to a large extent, and recent field work continues tofurther illuminate the content.

In reference to the few extant Maya writings, Michael D. Coe, aprominent archaeologist at Yale University, stated:

"[O]ur knowledge of ancient Maya thought must represent


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Maya numerals

only a tiny fraction of the whole picture, for of the thousands of books in which the full extent oftheir learning and ritual was recorded, only four have survived to modern times (as though allthat posterity knew of ourselves were to be based upon three prayer books and 'Pilgrim'sProgress')." (Michael D. Coe, The Maya, London: Thames and Hudson, 4th ed., 1987, p. 161.)

Most surviving pre-Columbian Maya writing is from stelae and other stone inscriptions from Maya sites,many of which were already abandoned before the Spanish arrived. The inscriptions on the stelae mainlyrecord the dynasties and wars of the sites' rulers. Also of note are the inscriptions that reveal informationabout the lives of ancient Maya women. Much of the remainder of Maya hieroglyphics has been foundon funeral pottery, most of which describes the afterlife.

Writing tools

Although the archaeological record does not provide examples, Maya art shows that writing was donewith brushes made with animal hair and quills. Codex-style writing was usually done in black ink withred highlights, giving rise to the Aztec name for the Maya territory as the "land of red and black".

Scribes and literacy

Scribes held a prominent position in Maya courts. Maya art often depicts rulers with trappings indicatingthey were scribes or at least able to write, such as having pen bundles in their headdresses. Additionally,many rulers have been found in conjunction with writing tools such as shell or clay inkpots. Althoughthe number of logograms and syllabic symbols required to fully write the language numbered in thehundreds, literacy was not necessarily widespread beyond the elite classes. Graffiti uncovered in variouscontexts, including on fired bricks, shows nonsensical attempts to imitate the writing system.

MathematicsIn common with the other Mesoamerican civilizations, the Mayaused a base 20 (vigesimal) and base 5 numbering system (seeMaya numerals). Also, the preclassic Maya and their neighborshad independently developed the concept of zero by 36 BC.Inscriptions show them on occasion working with sums up to thehundreds of millions and dates so large it would take severallines just to represent it. There were three symbols that formedthe numerals: a shell glyph (zero), a dot (one) and a bar (five).

AstronomyThe Maya produced accurate astronomical observations; theircharts of the movements of the moon and planets were used topredict eclipses and other celestial events such the heliacal andcosmical risings and settings of Venus.[32] The accuracy of their


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astronomy and the "theoretical" calendar derived from it was superior to any other known seventeenhundred years ago.[33][34]

Uniquely, there is some evidence to suggest the Maya appear to be the only pre-telescopic civilization todemonstrate knowledge of the Orion Nebula as being fuzzy, i.e. not a stellar pin-point. The informationwhich supports this theory comes from a folk tale that deals with the Orion constellation's area of thesky. Their traditional hearths include in their middle a smudge of glowing fire that corresponds with theOrion Nebula. This is a significant clue to support the idea that the Maya detected a diffuse area of thesky contrary to the pin points of stars before the telescope was invented.[35] Many preclassic sites areoriented with the Pleiades and Eta Draconis, as seen in La Blanca, Ujuxte, Monte Alto, and TakalikAbaj.

The Maya were very interested in zenial passages, the time when the sun passes directly overhead. Thelatitude of most of their cities being below the Tropic of Cancer, these zenial passages would occur twicea year equidistant from the solstice. To represent this position of the sun overhead, the Maya had a godnamed Diving God.

The Dresden Codex contains the highest concentration of astronomical phenomena observations andcalculations of any of the surviving texts (it appears that the data in this codex is primarily or exclusivelyof an astronomical nature). Examination and analysis of this codex reveals that Venus was the mostimportant astronomical object to the Maya, even more important to them than the sun.

CalendarIn common with the other Mesoamerican civilizations, the Maya had measured the length of the solaryear to a high degree of accuracy, far more accurately than that used in Europe as the basis of theGregorian calendar. They did not use this figure for the length of year in their calendars, however; thecalendars they used were crude, being based on a year length of exactly 365 days, which means that thecalendar falls out of step with the seasons by one day every four years. By comparison, the Juliancalendar, used in Europe from Roman times until about the 16th Century, accumulated an error of onlyone day every 128 years. The modern Gregorian calendar is even more accurate, accumulating only aday's error in approximately 3257 years.

Religion and mythologyLike the Aztec and Inca who came to power later, the Maya believed in a cyclical nature of time. Therituals and ceremonies were very closely associated with celestial and terrestrial cycles which theyobserved and inscribed as separate calendars. The Maya priest had the job of interpreting these cyclesand giving a prophetic outlook on the future or past based on the number relations of all their calendars.They also had to determine if the heavens were propitious for performing certain religious ceremonies.

Although it was not quite as prominent in Mayan culture as the Aztecs, the Maya practiced humansacrifice to an extent. In some Maya rituals people were killed by having their arms and legs held whilea priest cut the person's chest open and tore out his heart as an offering. This is depicted on ancientobjects such as pictorial texts, known as codices.


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Figure of a Maya priest.

Much of the Maya religious tradition is still not understood byscholars, but it is known that the Maya believed that the cosmos hadthree major planes, the Earth, the underworld beneath and theheavens above.

The Maya underworld, called Xibalba (it means "place of fear"), isreached through caves and deep tunnels. It was thought to bedominated by the aged Maya gods of death and putrefaction. The Sun(Kinich Ahau) and Itzamna, an aged god, dominated the Maya idea ofthe sky. Another aged man, God L, was one of the major deities of theunderworld.

The night sky was considered a window showing all supernaturaldoings. The Maya configured constellations of gods and places, sawthe unfolding of narratives in their seasonal movements, and believedthat the intersection of all possible worlds was in the night sky.

Maya gods had affinities and aspects that caused them to merge with one another in ways that seemunbounded. There is a massive array of supernatural characters in the Maya religious tradition, onlysome of which recur with regularity. Good and evil traits are not permanent characteristics of Mayagods, nor is only "good" admirable. What is inappropriate during one season might come to pass inanother since much of the Maya religious tradition is based on cycles and not permanence.

The life-cycle of maize lies at the heart of Maya belief. This philosophy is demonstrated on the belief inthe Maya maize god as a central religious figure. The Maya bodily ideal is also based on the form of thisyoung deity, which is demonstrated in their artwork. The Maize God was also a model of courtly life forthe Classical Maya.

In the 19th century, Maya culture influenced the local forms of Christianity followed in Chan SantaCruz.

Among the K'iche' in the western highlands of Guatemala the same traditions are used to this day, in thetraining of the ajk'ij, the keeper of the 260-day-calendar called ch'olk'ij.

Main gods

Hunab KuIxchelKinich AhauKukulkanChaacYum KaaxAkhushtalAh Puch


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Kukulkan

False-color IKONOS imageof a bajo (lowland area) inGuatemala. The forestcovering sites of Maya ruinsappears yellowish, asopposed to the red color ofsurrounding forest. The moresparsely vegetated bajosappear blue-green.

Itzamna

AgricultureThe ancient Maya had diverse and sophisticated methods of foodproduction. It was formerly believed that shifting cultivation(swidden) agriculture provided most of their food but it is nowthought that permanent raised fields, terracing, forest gardens,managed fallows, and wild harvesting were also crucial to supportingthe large populations of the Classic period in some areas. Indeed,evidence of these different agricultural systems persist today: raisedfields connected by canals can be seen on aerial photographs,contemporary rainforest species composition has significantly higherabundance of species of economic value to ancient Maya, and pollenrecords in lake sediments suggest that corn, manioc, sunflower seeds,cotton, and other crops have been cultivated in association with thedeforestation in Mesoamerica since at least 2500 BC.

Contemporary Maya peoples still practice many of these traditionalforms of agriculture, although they are dynamic systems and changewith changing population pressures, cultures, economic systems, climatechange, and the availability of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

Rediscovery of the Pre-Columbian MayaSpanish clergy and administrators dating to the 16th century were largelyfamiliar with ancient Maya sites, writing and calendar systems.Published writings of 16th-century Bishop Diego de Landa and writingsof 18th-century Spanish officials spurred serious investigations of Mayasites by the late 18th century.[36] In 1839 United States traveler andwriter John Lloyd Stephens, familiar with earlier Spanish investigations,visited Copán, Palenque, and other sites with English architect anddraftsman Frederick Catherwood. Their illustrated accounts of the ruinssparked strong popular interest in the region and the people, and theyhave once again regained their position as a vital link in Mesoamericanheritage.

However, in many locations, Maya ruins have been overgrown by thejungle, becoming dense enough to hide structures just a few metersaway. To help find ruins, researchers have turned to satellite imagery.The best way to find them is to look at the visible and near-infraredspectra. Due to their limestone construction, the monuments affected the chemical makeup of the soil asthey deteriorated. Some moisture-loving plants stayed away, while others were killed off or discolored.The effects of the limestone ruins are still apparent today to some satellite sensors.


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A Middle Preclassic palace structureat Nakbe, the Mirador Basin.

Maya sitesThere are hundreds of significant Maya sites, and thousands ofsmaller ones. The largest and most historically importantinclude:

Altun HaCahal PechCalakmulCancuénChichen ItzaCobaComalcalcoCopánCaracolDos PilasKaminaljuyuEl MiradorLamanai

NakbeNaranjoPalenquePiedras NegrasQuiriguáQ'umarkajSeibalTikalTulumUaxactunUxmalXunantunichYaxha

See also

Childhood in Maya societyHunac CeelList of Mesoamerican pyramidsMaya death rituals

Maya medicineMaya musicMaya textiles

Footnotes

^ Coe, Michael D. (1999). The Maya (6th ed.).New York: Dante Reed. p. 31.ISBN 0-500-28066-5.

1. ^ "Radiocarbon chronology for early Mayaoccupation at Cuello, Belize"(http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v260/n5552/abs/260579a0.html). Nature.com.1976-04-15. Retrieved 2010-08-01.

2.


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^ "Maya Archaeological Sites of Belize, BelizeHistory" (http://ambergriscaye.com/pages/mayan/mayasites.html). Ambergriscaye.com. Retrieved2010-08-01.

3.

^ See, for example, Drew (2004), p.6.4. ^ Coe, Michael D. (2002). The Maya (6th ed.).Thames & Hudson. p. 47. ISBN 0-500-05061-9.

5.

^ Robert Port. "History Of Writing AndReligion" (http://www.cs.indiana.edu/~port/teach/relg/writing.history.html). Cs.indiana.edu.Retrieved 2010-08-01.

6.

^ Coe, Michael D. (2002). The Maya (6th ed.).Thames & Hudson. pp. 63–64.ISBN 0-500-05061-9.

7.

^ a b Acemoglu,Robinson, Daron, James A.(2012). Why Nations Fail. pp. 143–149.ISBN 978-0-307-71921-8.

8.

^ Coe, Michael D. (2002). The Maya (6th ed.).Thames & Hudson. p. 81. ISBN 0-500-05061-9.

9.

^ Sharer, R. 1994. The Ancient Maya. 5th ed.Stanford, California: Stanford University Press

10.

^ Carmack, Robert M. А. HistoricalAntropological [sic] Perspective on the MayaCivilization. Social Evolution & History. Volume2, Number 1 / March 2003. pp.71–115 [1](http://www.socionauki.ru/journal/articles/130151/)

11.

^ "Maya Art Return"(http://www.archaeology.org/9901/newsbriefs/maya.html). Retrieved 2006-12-25.

12.

^ See Coggins (1992).13. ^ Coe, Michael D. (2002). The Maya (6th ed.).New York: Thames & Hudson. pp. 151–155.ISBN 0-500-28066-5.

14.

^ "University of Florida study: Maya politicslikely played role in ancient large-game decline,Nov. 2007" (http://news.ufl.edu/2007/11/08/mayan-game/). News.ufl.edu. 2007-11-08.Retrieved 2010-08-01.

15.

^ Gill, R. (2000). The Great Maya Droughts.Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.ISBN 0-8263-2194-1.

16.

^ Hodell, David A.; Curtis, Jason H.; Brenner,Mark (1995). "Possible role of climate in thecollapse of Classic Maya civilization". Nature375 (6530): 391–394. doi:10.1038/375391a0(https://dx.doi.org/10.1038%2F375391a0).

17.

^ [2] (http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/12/01/key-talks-at-the-american-geophysical-union-dec-5-9/)

18.

^ "Classic Maya Civilization Collapse Related toModest Rainfall Reductions, Research Suggests"(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120223142455.htm). Science Daily. 2012-02-23.Retrieved 2012-02-25. See full Science articlecitation at the end of the article.

19.

^ "Mild drought caused Maya collapse inMexico, Guatemala" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17149812). BBCNews. 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2012-02-25.

20.

^ http://www.sciencemag.org/content/338/6108/788.full

21.

^ Kevin R. Schwarz, Understanding the Classicto Postclassic Architectural Transformation ofRural Households and Communities in theQuexil-Petenxil Basins, El Petén, Guatemala(http://www.famsi.org/reports/02007/index.html),FAMSI (2004) [Abstract].

22.

^ Love 2007, p.305. Sharer 2006, pp.621, 625.23.


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^ "The Ancient Maya", Robert J. Sharer, Loa P.Traxler Contributor Loa P. Traxler, p126,Stanford University Press, 2006, ISBN0-8047-4817-9

24.

^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 126.25. ^ Both terms appear in early Colonial texts(including Papeles de Paxbolón) where they areused as synonymous to Aztec and Spanish termsfor supreme rulers and their domains – tlahtoani(Tlatoani) and tlahtocayotl, rey or magestad andreino, señor and señorío or dominio.

26.

^ Saturno, WA; Stuart D, Beltran B (Mar 3,2006). "Early Maya writing at San Bartolo,Guatemala". Science 311 (5765): 1281–3.doi:10.1126/science.1121745 (https://dx.doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.1121745). PMID 16400112(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16400112).

27.

^ Skidmore (2006).28. ^ "Earliest Maya Writing Found in Guatemala,Researchers Say"(http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/01/0105_060105_maya_writing.html).NationalGeographic.com. Retrieved 2007-06-06.The following year saw the publication ofresearch on a tablet containing some 62 glyphsthat had been found near the Olmec center of SanLorenzo Tenochtitlán, which was dated byassociation to approximately 900 BCE. Thiswould make this putative Olmec script (seeCascajal Block) the oldest known forMesoamerica; see Skidmore (2006, passim)

29.

^ Miller and Taube (1993, p.131)30. ^ http://digital.library.northwestern.edu/codex/background.html#copyright. Accessed 17 May2013

31.

^ Thompson, J. Eric S., 1974 "Maya Astronomy"recoverable at: http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/74276?uid=3738584&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21101585154047, accessed 2012.12.22

32.

^ Smiley, C. H., 1960, "The Antiquity andPrecision of Mayan Astronomy" viewable at222–223 and 226http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1960JRASC..54..222S/0000226.000.html,accessed 2012.12.22

33.

^ Rice, Tony (2012-12-21). "Mayan calculationshold up, to a point" (http://www.wral.com/mayan-calculations-hold-up-to-a-point/11908656/).WRAL.com. Retrieved 2013-03-26.

34.

^ As interpreted by Krupp 1999.35. ^ Demarest, Arthur (2004). Ancient Maya: TheRise and Fall of a Rainforest Civilization.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.pp. 32–33. ISBN 0-521-59224-0.

36.

References

Coe, Michael D. (1999). The Maya (Sixth ed.). New York: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-28066-5.


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Coggins, Clemency (Ed.) (1992). Artifacts from the Cenote of Sacrifice Chichen Itza, Yucatán: Textiles,Basketry, Stone, Shell, Ceramics, Wood, Copal, Rubber (Memoirs of the Peabody Museum). HarvardUniversity Press. ISBN 0-87365-694-6.Culbert, T.Patrick (Ed.) (1977). Classic Maya Collapse. University of New Mexico Press.ISBN 0-8263-0463-X.Drew, David (2004). The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings (New ed.). London: Phoenix Press.ISBN 0-7538-0989-3.Krupp, Edward C. (1999). "Igniting the Hearth" (http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/skyandtelescope/access/886319051.html?dids=886319051:886319051&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:PAGE&date=Feb+1999&author=E+C+Krupp&desc=Igniting+the+Hearth). Sky & Telescope (February). p. 94. Retrieved 2006-10-19.Love, Michael (December 2007). "Recent Research in the Southern Highlands and Pacific Coast ofMesoamerica". Journal of Archaeological Research (Springer Netherlands) 15 (4): 275–328.doi:10.1007/s10814-007-9014-y (https://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10814-007-9014-y). ISSN 1573-7756(https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1573-7756)."Maya Ruins" (http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17188).NASA Earth Observatory. Retrieved 2006-04-28.Miller, Mary; Simon Martin (2004). Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya. London: Thames & Hudson.ISBN 0-500-05129-1.Miller, Mary; Karl Taube (1993). The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. London: Thamesand Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05068-6.Reyes-Valerio, Constantino (1993). De Bonampak al Templo Mayor: Historical del Azul Maya enMesoamerica. Siglo XXI editores. ISBN 968-23-1893-9.Sharer, Robert J.; Loa P. Traxler (2006). The Ancient Maya (6th, fully revised ed.). Stanford, California:Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-4817-9. OCLC 57577446 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57577446).Skidmore, Joel (2006). "The Cascajal Block: The Earliest Precolumbian Writing" (http://www.mesoweb.com/reports/cascajal.html) (PDF). Mesoweb Reports & News. Mesoweb.Webster, David L. (2002). The Fall of the Ancient Maya. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05113-5.

Further reading

Braswell, Geoffrey E. (2003). The Maya and Teotihuacan: Reinterpreting Early Classic Interaction. Austin,Texas: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-70914-5. OCLC 49936017 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/49936017).Christie, Jessica Joyce (2003). Maya Palaces and Elite Residences: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Austin,Texas: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-71244-8. OCLC 50630511 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50630511).


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Demarest, Arthur Andrew (2004). Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest Civilization. Cambridge,England; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-59224-0. OCLC 51438896(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/51438896).Demarest, Arthur Andrew, Prudence M. Rice, and Don Stephen Rice (2004). The Terminal Classic in theMaya Lowlands: Collapse, Transition, and Transformation. Boulder, Colorado: University Press ofColorado. ISBN 0-87081-739-6. OCLC 52311867 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52311867).Garber, James (2004). The Ancient Maya of the Belize Valley: Half a Century of Archaeological Research.Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-2685-7. OCLC 52334723(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52334723).William F. Hanks, Converting Words: Maya in the Age of the Cross (Berkeley, University of California Press,2010) (The Anthropology of Christianity).Herring, Adam (2005). Art and Writing in the Maya cities, AD 600–800: A Poetics of Line. Cambridge,England; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-84246-8. OCLC 56834579(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56834579).Lohse, Jon C. and Fred Valdez (2004). Ancient Maya Commoners. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press.ISBN 0-292-70571-9. OCLC 54529926 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/54529926).Lucero, Lisa Joyce (2006). Water and Ritual: The Rise and Fall of Classic Maya Rulers. Austin, Texas:University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-70999-4. OCLC 61731425 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61731425).Foster, Lynn V. (2002). Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World. New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN 9780816041480.Malstroem, Vincent (1997). Cycles of the Sun, Mysteries of the Moon: The Calendar in MesoamericanCivilization. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292751966.McKillop, Heather Irene (2005). In Search of Maya Sea Traders. College Station, Texas: Texas A & MUniversity Press. ISBN 1-58544-389-1. OCLC 55145823 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/55145823).McKillop, Heather Irene (2002). Salt: White Gold of the Ancient Maya. Gainesville, Florida: University Pressof Florida. ISBN 0-8130-2511-7. OCLC 48893025 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48893025).McNeil, Cameron L. (2006). Chocolate in Mesoamerica: A Cultural History of Cacao. Gainesville, Florida:University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-2953-8. OCLC 63245604 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/63245604).Rice, Prudence M. (2004). Maya Political Science: Time, Astronomy, and the Cosmos (1st ed.). Austin,Texas: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-70261-2. OCLC 54753496 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/54753496).Sharer, Robert J. and Loa P. Traxler (2006). The ancient Maya (6th ed.). Stanford, California: StanfordUniversity Press. ISBN 0-8047-4816-0. OCLC 57577446 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57577446).Tiesler, Vera and Andrea Cucina (2006). Janaab' Pakal of Palenque: Reconstructing the Life and Death of aMaya Ruler. Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona Press. ISBN 0-8165-2510-2. OCLC 62593473(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/62593473).


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Wikimedia Commons hasmedia related to Maya.

"Painted Metaphors: Pottery and Politics of the Ancient Maya" (http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/volumes/v55/n28/maya.html). University of Pennsylvania Almanac. University of Pennsylvania. 4/7/2009. Retrieved2009-06-17. Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

Foundation for the Advancement of MesoamericanStudies, Inc (FAMSI) (http://www.famsi.org/)Mayaweb (Dutch and English) (http://www.mayaweb.nl/)Guatemala, Cradle of The Maya Civilization (http://www.authenticmaya.com/)The Maya at the World Museum of Man (http://worldmuseumofman.org/mayan1.htm)Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya at the National Gallery of Art (http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2004/maya/lifeatcourt.shtm)Primary sources of Maya history – part one by Ronald A. Barnett (http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/539-primary-sources-of-maya-history-part-one)Mesoweb (http://www.mesoweb.com/) by Joel Skidmore.The Daily Glyph (http://www.gomaya.com/glyph) by Dave Pentecost.Maya Map (http://www.mayamap.org/) – A map of the Maya civilization.

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Maya civilization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediawildehistory.weebly.com/uploads/1/6/7/0/16706304/...and the Mixe–Zoque- and Zapotec-speaking peoples of Chiapas and southern Oaxaca,