What are the Mayans and where do they live?

A member of a Central American Indian people living on almost contiguous land in southern Mexico, southern Guatemala and northern Belize. At the beginning of the 20th century, more than 5 million people spoke about 70 Mayan languages, most of which were bilingual (Spanish). Before Spain conquered Mexico and Central America, Maya had one of the greatest civilizations in the Western Hemisphere. They are engaged in agriculture, building huge stone buildings and pyramid temples, smelting gold and copper, and using a hieroglyph that is now mostly understandable.

As early as 1500 BC, the Mayans settled in villages and developed primitive agriculture based on planting corn, beans and pumpkins. By 600 BC, cassava was also planted. They began to build religious ceremony centers, and by the year 200, these centers had developed into cities with temples, pyramids, palaces, sports fields and squares. The ancient Maya exploited a large number of building stones (usually limestone) and cut them with harder stone tools such as flint. They mainly practice slash-and-burn agriculture, but they also use advanced irrigation and terrace farming techniques. They also developed hieroglyphics and very complicated calendars and astronomical systems. Maya used the inner bark of wild fig trees to make paper, and wrote their hieroglyphs on books made of this paper. They also developed a complex and beautiful tradition of sculpture and relief. Architectural engineering, stone carvings and reliefs are the main sources of knowledge that can be used to understand ancient Maya at present. The early Mayan culture was influenced by the early Olmec civilization.

The ancient Mayans practiced decentralized governance, the chiefs governed several centers, and rural residents formed communes, retaining many remnants of the clan system (see the original commune system). Worship nature, especially "Sun God" and "Rain God", with the patron saint "sumner" as the highest god. Engaged in slash-and-burn agriculture, planting corn (staple food), kidney beans, pumpkins and root plants, and raising turkeys and dogs.

At the beginning of AD, hieroglyphs and calendars were created, and the decimal method was invented. Great achievements have been made in medicine and astronomy. Pottery, sculpture and painting are all accomplished. Arched buildings (trapezoidal pyramids, palaces, arches, etc.) ) is adopted. The centers of ancient civilizations are Tikal (in Guatemala's Peté n province), palenque (in Chiapas) and Copan (in Honduras).

Maya present situation

Most Mayans now live in Yucatan, Campeche, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Chiapas in Mexico, as well as Belize, Guatemala, western Honduras and El Salvador in Central America.

Mainly engaged in agriculture, planting corn, broad beans, pumpkins, cocoa, sweet potatoes, peppers, tobacco and cotton.

Land is publicly owned and distributed to every family, and land is redistributed every three years. After A.D., there were freemen and slaves, and the rulers were called "adults", with hereditary positions and military and political power. Modern Mayans basically planted corn, beans and pumpkins. They live in various communities around a central village. There are public buildings and houses in the central village. In most cases, these houses are mostly empty. Sometimes people live a long time. In addition to festivals and fairs, community residents live in their own farmhouses. Their clothes (especially women's) are still in the traditional form; Men prefer to wear modern ready-made clothes. The once very common home textile industry is declining, and most of the clothes are sewn with cloth woven by factories. They plough the land with hoes, and when they encounter hard soil, they use shovels instead. Yugur people generally raise pigs and chickens, and occasionally raise cattle. There is little industry, and handicrafts are usually just for family needs. Some cash crops or local specialties are often sold to other places in exchange for cash to buy items that are not available locally.