History of the Ancient Maya

In 1839 John Lloyd Stephens was appointed by President Martin Van Buren to be ambassador to Central America and he used his access to travel and explore the ruins of the ancient Maya. He and artist Frederick Catherwood found dozens of ruins during this time, which led to an increased interest in the Maya civilization (Edwards 10). Since then extensive studies have been done on the history of the Maya. The Maya refers to the people indigenous to Mexico and Central America. The term “Maya” comes from the name of the capital of a Mayan Kingdom known as Mayapan” in ancient Yucatan (Mark). The life of the ancient Maya can be divided into Pre-Classical, Classical, and Post-Classical.

Pre-Classic refers to the steady increase in population and the development of a culture with a writing system. In the Pre-Classic Era the Maya began to grow and eventually created Kingdoms led by high kings that were chosen by and linked to the gods. In addition to the formation of Kingdoms, stable trade was established allowing for the trade and acquisition of “luxury items” like obsidian and exotic goods. This pattern of growth continued until around 250 BCE when the Maya reached the height of their time as a civilization. It is believed that the ancient Maya Classical period lasted from the year 250 to the year 900 CE during which over 13 million people built ancient cities like Copan, Chichen Itza, and Altun Ha (Edwards 12). Massive religious temples made of stone were erected on top of man-made hills with hundreds of steps leading up to the top of the looming pyramids. Right beside the temples at the bottom of the hill was, of course, a ball court; however, the game played on the court, Poc-a-Toc, was a serious one. According to archaeologists, the game reflected important spiritual beliefs for the Maya (Mark). The game was a symbol of their belief in life as a cyclical process and some archaeologists believe winning the game was one of the few ways for the Maya to escape Xibalba, or “the place of fear”.

The diet of the Maya during the Classical period is also well documented. It has been shown that there was great diversity in the diet of the Maya depending on where they lived. For example, Maya who lived near the sea would eat mollusks and saltwater fish whereas inland Maya would take advantage of freshwater fish (Edwards 46). The Classic period began to wind down around 900CE and as a result many of the cities that once flourished became emptier and emptier until they were eventually abandoned altogether. It is thought that the waning of the civilization was due to resource scarcity from population overgrowth or potentially climate changes forcing the people to seek other spaces for growth (Edwards 88). The Maya people are still around today and their ruins and ancient cities are still a source of intrigue and excitement.

Citations:

Edwards, Sue Bradford. Ancient Maya. ABDO Publishing, 2015. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=877998&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Mark, Joshua J. “Maya Civilization.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 2 Nov. 2019, https://www.ancient.eu/Maya_Civilization/.