What is the ancient Mayan civilization?

Mayan Civilization

The Mayan civilization is an outstanding representative of the ancient Indian civilization in Central America and the ancient American Indian civilization. It is named after the Indian Maya. Mainly found in southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and western Honduras and El Salvador. It was formed around 2500 BC, and an early slave state was established around 400 BC. It flourished from the 3rd to 9th centuries AD, declined in the 15th century, and was finally destroyed by Spanish colonists. Since then, it has been lost in the tropical jungle for a long time.

It began to attract the attention of academic circles at the end of the 18th century. At the end of the 19th century, a number of important sites were excavated, and modern archaeological research on the Mayan civilization began. After the 1950s, research progressed rapidly, forming specialized Maya studies, which is an important field of world archeology and history research. Scholars have different opinions on the development stages of the Mayan civilization. According to the classification of the American archaeologist N. Hammond, it can be divided into three stages: the Preclassic period, the Classical period and the Postclassic period.

The Preclassic period was the formation period of Mayan culture, which spanned approximately 2500 BC to 250 AD. Settled agricultural life has appeared in the Peten Basin in the central Yucatan Peninsula and its surrounding valleys. Corn and beans are the main crops; early sacrificial centers consisting of earth platforms, altars, etc. have also been established. After that, the country sprouted and emerged. Hieroglyphics.

In the Classic Period (about 250-900 AD), the Mayan culture entered its peak period. There were hundreds of large-scale cities and settlements in various places. They were all small city-states that relied on their own territory and had not yet formed a unified country. All states use different hieroglyphs and calendars, and their urban planning, architectural styles, and production levels are generally the same. Most of the main sites are located in the central tropical rainforest area, and sacrificial centers such as Tikal, Oaxacaton, Piedras Negras, Palenque, Copan, and Quirigua have formed large-scale building complexes. The Tikal ruins are composed of hundreds of large and small pyramid-style temples, with a majestic appearance. The city covers an area of ??50 square kilometers and is estimated to have about 40,000 residents. At this time, a large number of stone pillars with chronological inscriptions appeared. One was usually built every 5, 10 or 20 years, becoming a unique time pillar. Around 800-900 AD, these sacrificial centers were suddenly abandoned, and the Maya civilization declined sharply. After the 11th century, the center of Mayan civilization began to gradually move to the limestone lowland plains in the north.

The culture of the Postclassic period (about 1000-1520) had a strong Mexican style. The Toltecs who came south from Mexico conquered Yucatan and made Chichen Itza their capital. There are stone pillars in the building, a "holy well" for human sacrifices, a golf course, an observatory for observing astronomical phenomena, and the most complete and tall pyramid-style temple that worships Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god. you. After that, Mayapan in the north replaced Chichen Itza as the center of Postclassic culture. The pottery and carving arts of this period were rough, and secular culture arose, bringing with it warlike tendencies. The rulers of Mayapan formed alliances with other city-states and established their rule by force. In 1450, probably due to internal rebellion, Mayapan was burned, and the culture declined over the next hundred years. From 1523 to 1524, Spanish colonists took advantage of the situation, marched south from Mexico, and occupied the Yucatan Peninsula. The Mayan civilization was completely destroyed.

The Mayan civilization basically belonged to the Neolithic Age and the Chalcolithic Age. Tools and weapons were all made of stone and wood. Gold and copper began to be used at the end of the Classic Period, and iron was never used. The agricultural technology is simple, with extensive farming, no fertilization, and no livestock. Later, there will be water conservancy irrigation. Handmade products include various pottery, cotton textiles, etc. There are trade and exchange relationships between different villages and regions. The construction engineering of the Mayans reached the highest level in the ancient world, and they could carve and process hard stones. The building is famous for its rigorous layout and grand structure. Its pyramid-shaped platform temple is made of waste and soil, with stone slabs or adobe paved outside, and a stone staircase leading to the top of the tower. Its sculptures, painted pottery, murals, etc. all have high artistic value. The famous Bonampak murals show noble honors, wars and triumphs, etc. The characters are various and lifelike. They are one of the treasures of mural art in the world.

The Mayan civilization achieved very high achievements in astronomy and mathematics. Through long-term observation of astronomical phenomena, we have mastered the solar eclipse cycle and the movement patterns of the sun, moon, and Venus. Around the end of the Preclassic period, two calendars, the solar calendar and the holy almanac, were created. The former has 13 months in a year and 20 days in each month. , the whole year has 260 days; the latter has 18 months in a year, 20 days in each month, plus 5 death days, the whole year has 365 days, and a leap day is added every 4 years. The names of the sun and the moon in two calendars are memorized every day, and they repeat for one week every 52 years. Its accuracy exceeds the calendars used by Greece and Rome at the same time. In terms of mathematics, the Mayans used the concept of "0" more than 800 years earlier than the Europeans, and they used the decimal system for counting. Another unique creation of the Mayan civilization is the hieroglyphic writing system. Its characters are composed of complex graphics and are generally engraved on stone buildings such as altars, stairways, stone pillars, etc. Carving and writing require long-term training. There are about 800 known characters, but except for chronological symbols and a few names of people and objects, most of them have not been successfully interpreted. At that time, bark paper and deerskin were also used to write books. The contents were mainly about history, science and rituals, and they are still uninterpretable.

In the early stages of the Mayan civilization, settlements were formed around the sacrificial center. In the Classic period, city-states were formed, and each city-state had its own dynasty. The ruling class of society is the priests and nobles, and the king is hereditary, in charge of religious rituals, and stipulates the dates for farming.

The lower class members of the commune were ordinary agricultural laborers and craftsmen from various industries. At the bottom of society were slaves, generally from prisoners of war, criminals and debtors, who could be bought and sold freely. The social development of the Mayan states is similar to the primary slave-slavery states of the ancient world, but there is no detailed information on the specific situation.

The Mayans believe in religion and their cultural life is full of religious colors. They worship the sun god, rain god, grain god, death god, war god, wind god, corn god and other gods. The sun god resides above the gods and is revered as the incarnation of God. In addition, they practice ancestor worship and believe in the immortality of the soul. The Mayan state also manages religious affairs. The capital is the religious center.