Sunday, August 11, 2024
For over 1000 years the Maya were a lost civilization to the rest of the world. All their cities and kingdoms had been swallowed up by rainforests throughout Central America; it was as if though they had never existed. Their origins are still vague, but are loosely connected to the Olmecs of Veracruz, through samples of art discovered by archaeologists studying the origins and demise of this mysterious, indigenous people. Their empire lasted longer than the Roman Empire did, about 2000 years, but in this case geography matters. While Rome left all those trophies of her greatness on display throughout Europe and all her conquered lands, Mother Nature would not allow the Maya to do the same; their monuments had to be, and are still being rediscovered today!
The origins of the Maya can be traced to the state of Tabasco in Mexico, to a place called Aguado Fenix, pronounced “phoenix”, around 1100 BC, a much earlier date than previously thought. They also found traces of the Olmec culture in those ruins, so there might be a connection there also.
The greatness of the Maya Empire is one of the most underestimated and misunderstood stories in history. They began building cities around 500 BC; they were scientists and astronomers and recorded their history through writings—we call them hieroglyphics. Their pyramids, which were really temples, along with their writings and their art were in bright colors. They built dykes using hydraulic systems. In later cities like Tikal in Guatemala, a city of about 80,000 in its prime, not including the suburbs, they had a water purification system!
Imagine building all that without pack animals or carts. Everything was built on the backs of those who believed in the divinity of their leaders and their gods! Meanwhile, in Europe people were still cave dwellers as this Empire was in its renaissance! What a ting!
They were a violent and warlike people; bloodletting was a religious, or rather spiritual, ceremony. But might does not always make right. Calakmul, in Campeche, with a population of approximately 20,000 inhabitants, defeated and conquered Tikal in 629 AD. Calakmul was known as the Snake Kingdom, ruled by the Canul Dynasty! Of course, they had other Maya allies to help them!
Then by 900 AD, the Maya Empire began to disappear, 2,000 years after it first emerged. The forest swallowed up all those magnificent structures that went silent until the conquest by Spain opened a window into this mysterious world! Well, not opened; they offered a glimpse, but never fully grasped the importance of these people.
The reason given for the demise of this civilization was water! Poisoned water, famine, and war. But without water the inhabitants lost faith in their leaders and just up and left those metropoli, and foraged on their own. The waters in the lakes and rivers and reservoirs around Tikal and Xunantunich and all the great Mayan cities became polluted, with mercury from the processes they used to give their art, their writings, and their temples, color, and also by amoeba infestation!
They didn’t die out; they are all over Central America today, mostly living in their own communities, but also adjusting to the new landlords of those ancient forests. In the mid-19th century, they revolted against the government of Mexico, and that Caste War continued well into the 20th century!
We, in Belize, live among these people, not realizing that Babylon, Rome, Greece, had nothing over them, except for better geography! The rainforests are very unforgiving and unrelenting; it can be like a desert sometimes, where you really had to fight for survival. The science, the architecture, the art, mathematics, writings, are among the first and the best, since man started walking upright! But according to the Ladinos, the Spaniards, and others, they were savages!
I am so glad the Publisher forced me to read about the Caste War. It opened me up to a romance with a race and a culture that has been grossly misunderstood, and underestimated! Their achievements in the Pre-Classical to Classical periods were extraordinary. There were cultures like the Olmecs, the Toltecs, the Aztecs, the Incas, but for me, the Maya will always be the OGs!
So, the next time you Kruffies run into any Maya person, show them some respect! Word!
This is not a history lesson, just a brief synopsis of a much more complex history! Hopefully, you will be encouraged to delve deeper into this fascinating chronicle in the annals of history. Oh! I forgot about their calendar!
“Nothing besides remain. Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far away.” — Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Glen