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Introduction to the Maya World via Hyperlinks |
Wherever possible, I chose a non-commercial link to a particular site that shows something of its beauty and, if possible, something of its history. To get a good view of the entire Maya area, see this huge map. To see Who was Who in the Classic Maya World, check here. To see a list of Classic Maya ruins and codes, see here.
Throughout much of Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador and southern México stand the remains of a dynamic culture which flourished for hundreds of years from 1500 BCE, but which largely collapsed during the period 800-900 C.E. Among the better known ruins are Tikal, Uxmal and Chichén Itzá, but many other ruined cities also exist which were formerly lost in one jungle or another. No doubt, there are others yet to be located.
Maya occupation in Mesoamerica
in the pre-classic period from 2000-100 BCE shows agriculture leading to growth
in population as well as development of civilization. Later in this period
there was interaction with the Olmecs
of Tabasco during
their era from 1200-400 BCE, which influenced the Maya development of
writing and calendar. The beginning of
major construction of
public monuments dates from around 200
BCE
and, with the exception of Kaminaljuyú
near modern day Guatemala City, these were most mostly in the lowlands.
These cities included those we know as Cuello, El Mirador,
Nakbé and
Cival.
There were also the beginnings of Tikal,
Uaxactún
and Lamanai, which are in
Guatemala's Petén and Belize. However,
there was a period now called the Pre-classic Abandonment around 150 C.E., in
which El Mirador and other sites were deserted.
In the Early Classic period from 300-600 C. E, there was interaction with Teotihuacán, to the north. During this period, early monuments were constructed at Calakmul, Quiriguá and Copán, and there were early records of kings at Palenque and Yaxchilán. During this period, Calakmul and Caracol also began to come into their own and Piedras Negras was founded.
The Late Classic period ran from 600-900 C. E and at the beginning showed growth and development at many Maya cities, the founding of Dos Pilas and the painting of the famous murals at Bonampák near the end of the period. As this era came toward its end, fewer and fewer cities continued to mark the passage of time with monuments. The last date in the Maya lowlands was recorded on a monument around 900 CE at Toniná. There is an interesting discussion of this "Maya Collapse" here.
The period from 800-1000 saw a final and partial
flourishing of Maya culture at northern sites such as
Uxmal, Sayil, Kabah
and Chichén
Itzá and some toward the south, such as El Ceibal in Guatemala. Here, the era was marked by increasing contact with cultures
from the Gulf Coast and Central Mexico. However, in the end, these cities
also fell into ruins also.
Most cities of the Classic Maya civilization collapsed during the latter half of the classic period. Other lesser sites, such as Mayapan and Tulum later developed in the Yucatán Peninsula and resumed a faded remnant of Maya civilization. However, in what looks like a Post Classic Abandonment, Mayapán, Uxmal, Chichén Itzá and Cobá all were deserted in the mid 1400's.
Later, during the Conquest, missionaries, tax collectors and soldiers did what they could to destroy the rest of the culture, but remnants of it still live among the descendents of the Maya in much of Mesoamerica. Of all the many written books or codices, most were destroyed by a fanatical friar and only four remain in existence .
Maya people still live in around 125,000 square miles in many diverse environments in Guatemala, El Salvador, México and Belize. Most of the 30 branches of Mayan languages are still spoken in Guatemala and in the Yucatán Peninsula and many of the old ways still survive despite everything that has been thrown at them.
To links for other Maya ruin site info:
Some organizations which are useful in learning about the Maya:
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