The majestic Mayan civilization, formed before our era, left behind many mysteries. It is known for its developed writing and architecture, mathematics, art, and astronomy. The well-known Mayan calendar was incredibly accurate. And this is not all the legacy that the Indians left behind, who became famous as one of the most developed and most brutal peoples in the world.
The ancient Mayans were an Indian people who lived at the turn of the 1st millennium BC. - II millennium AD Researchers claim that they numbered more than three million people. They settled in tropical forests, built cities of stone and limestone, and cultivated unsuitable lands for agriculture, where they grew maize, pumpkin, beans, cocoa, cotton and fruits. The descendants of the Mayans are the Indians of Central America and part of the Spanish-speaking population of the southern states of Mexico.
A large Mayan tribe settled in the vast territory of what is now Mexico, Belize and Guatemala, western Honduras and El Salvador (Central America). The center of civilization development was in the North. Since the soils were quickly depleted, people were forced to move and change settlements. The occupied lands were distinguished by a variety of natural landscapes:
Mayan culture surpassed its time in many ways. Already in 400-250. BC. people began to build monumental structures and architectural complexes, and reached unique heights in the sciences (astronomy, mathematics), and agriculture. During the so-called Classic Period (from 300 to 900 AD), the ancient Mayan civilization reached its peak. People improved the art of jade carving, sculpture and artistic painting, observed the heavenly bodies, and developed writing. The achievements of the Mayans are still amazing.
At the dawn of time, without modern technology at hand, the ancient people built amazing structures. The main material for construction was limestone, from which powder was made and a solution resembling cement was prepared. With its help, stone blocks were fastened, and the limestone walls were reliably protected from moisture and wind. An important part of all buildings was the so-called “Mayan vault”, a false arch - a kind of narrowing of the roof. The architecture differed depending on the period:
Space played a big role in the life of ancient tribes, and the main achievements of the Mayans are closely connected with it. Based on two annual cycles, a chronology system was created. For long-term observations of time, the Long Count calendar was used. For short periods, the Mayan civilization had several Solar calendars:
When it comes to weapons and armor, the ancient Mayan civilization was unable to reach significant heights. Over the long centuries of existence, they did not change much, because the Mayans devoted much more time and effort to improving the art of war. The following types of weapons were used in wars and hunting:
The ancient Mayan number system was based on a base-20 system, which is unusual for modern people. Its origins are a method of counting in which all fingers and toes were used. The Indians had a structure of four blocks with five numbers in each. Zero was schematically represented as an empty oyster shell. This sign also denotes infinity. To record the remaining numbers, cocoa beans, small pebbles, and sticks were used, since the numbers were a mixture of dots and dashes. Using three elements, any number could be written:
It is known that the ancient Mayans created a highly developed civilization and tried to take care of every fellow tribesman. Knowledge of maintaining hygiene and health, applied in practice, elevated the Indians above other peoples of that time. Specially trained people dealt with medical issues. Doctors very accurately identified many diseases (including tuberculosis, ulcers, asthma, etc.) and fought them with the help of drugs, baths, and inhalations. The ingredients of the medicines were:
Dentistry and surgery reached a high level among the Maya people. Thanks to the sacrifices carried out, the Indians knew human anatomy, and doctors could perform operations on the face and body. The affected areas or those where there was a suspicion of a tumor were removed with a knife, the wounds were sutured with a needle with hair instead of thread, and narcotic substances were used as anesthesia. Knowledge in medicine is a kind of ancient Mayan treasure that is worth admiring.
The diverse Mayan culture was formed under the influence of the geographical environment and other peoples: the Olmecs and Toltecs. But she is amazing, unlike any other. What is unique about the Mayan civilization and its art? All subspecies were aimed at the ruling elite, that is, they were created to please the kings in order to make an impression. To a greater extent this concerns architecture. Another feature: an attempt to create an image of the Universe, a smaller copy of it. This is how the Mayans declared their harmony with the world. Features of the subtypes of art were expressed as follows:
One of the main questions that interests historians and researchers is: how and for what reasons did a prosperous empire decline? The destruction of the Mayan civilization began in the 9th century AD. In the southern regions, the population began to rapidly decline, and the water supply system became unusable. People left their homes, and the construction of new cities stopped. This led to the fact that the once great empire turned into scattered settlements fighting among themselves. In 1528, the Spanish began their conquest of Yucatan and by the 17th century had completely subjugated the region.
Researchers are still arguing about what caused the death of the great culture. Two hypotheses are put forward:
Not only the disappearance, but also many other mysteries of the Mayan civilization still haunt historians. The last place where the life of the tribe was recorded: northern Guatemala. Now only archaeological excavations tell about history and culture, and according to them you can collect interesting facts about ancient civilization:
Many works by contemporary authors from Russia and abroad tell about the rise and fall of the empire and unsolved mysteries. To learn more about the disappeared people, you can study the following books about the Mayan civilization:
The Mayan civilization left behind many cultural achievements and even more unsolved mysteries. So far, the question of its emergence and decline remains unanswered. We can only make assumptions. In an attempt to solve many mysteries, researchers stumble upon even more secrets. One of the most majestic ancient civilizations remains the most mysterious and attractive.
The mystery of time and the mystery of the Mayans. For a long time, historians of science argued that only the countries of Africa and Asia were the centers of world culture. Historians of astronomy believed that their science originated in the countries of the Middle East (Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt), as well as in Ancient China and India. However, in recent decades this view had to be revised, as another center of culture was discovered. It turned out to be located on the territory of the “New World” - in Central America, on the lands now occupied by Guatemala, the southeastern part of Mexico and British Honduras.And only when in the 19th century. The ruins of Mayan cities began to be discovered, and the remains of colossal observatory temples were discovered. One of the most famous Mayan cities, founded in the 8th century, Chichen Itza (in the north of Yucatan) was already ruins by the time of the Spaniards. But the remains of its grandiose religious and astronomical buildings (including the Karakol observatory) still amaze researchers. "The Mayan Indians all disappeared somewhere. For a long time - more than a thousand years ago. Since then, no one has seen them and it is not even known why they disappeared. Some historians claim that civil strife destroyed civilization, others - that the Mayans died as a result of some then natural disasters... And they left us their beautiful stone pyramids and fortresses, their writing, impressive knowledge of mathematics and astronomy for an ancient civilization.
One of the most interesting and mysterious gifts of these ancient Indians to modern civilization is the Mayan calendar." The ancient history of the Mayans became known due to the fact that they had the custom of periodically erecting steles in almost all populated areas - stone pillars on which corresponding records of the most important events were made. events and indicated the date of installation of the stele. It is possible that many of these monuments of the ancient Mayan people are "anniversaries" or associated with various historical events. From these monuments it became known that during the first 8 centuries of our era, various Mayan tribes built more than a hundred cities. According According to most archaeologists, the period of greatest prosperity of the Maya lasted from the 4th to the 10th centuries A.D. The Mayans achieved especially great success in the development of astronomy related to the practical needs of agriculture.In various Mayan inscriptions, special hieroglyphs were found to indicate the planets, the North Star and a number of constellations One of the found manuscripts even preserves a list of upcoming solar eclipses.
Astronomical observations were carried out in structures reminiscent of the towers of modern observatories. Franciscan monk Diego de Landa, who arrived in 1549 from Spain to the Izamal monastery (Yucatan), burned the richest library of the pre-Columbian era, which contained all the achievements of the Mayan civilization, “since the books contained nothing but superstition and devilish lies...” ! Thus, a priceless archaeological treasure was destroyed. Although to date it has been possible to decipher only four incomplete manuscripts (without beginning and end) of the Maya, but still two-thirds of the hieroglyphs with which something important was written down in a temple, tomb, stele, plate, beads, etc. - remain inaccessible to understanding; therefore, some of the secrets of the Maya will not yet be recognized. Until other inscriptions or manuscripts are found.
Which, let us hope, exist... In only four Mayan manuscripts (so-called codices) found so far, dating back to different eras BC were discovered. e. information about the astronomical, cosmogonic and cosmological knowledge and ideas of this people. Some of the confusion in the surviving astronomical and astrological information can be explained by the fact that the surviving manuscripts are incomplete, and most importantly, they are mostly simplified rural priestly “reference books.” A number of texts were also found on stone slabs-steles. The worship of the Sun and Moon by the Mayans, Incas, and Aztecs dates back to ancient times. The priests at their observatories - sites located on the flat tops of grandiose step pyramids, tens of meters high, systematically monitored the sky, believing that all phenomena on Earth and in the state were determined by its laws. Particular attention was paid to eclipses and the movement of moving luminaries - planets, which were credited with a great influence on the life and affairs of people and the state as a whole. The Mayan priests used the celestial bodies to predict happy or unlucky days for certain actions, not for individuals, but for certain social strata or age groups of the population.
As a result of systematic observations, the Mayan astrologer priests determined with fairly high accuracy the periods of all planets visible to the naked eye. Particular attention was paid to observations of the “Big Star” - Venus (mainly for astrological purposes). In addition to Venus, according to the Mayans, the Moon and shooting stars had a particularly strong influence on people. The Mayans paid great attention to issues of chronology and chronology. They were the creators of original calendar systems, significantly different from all other calendars known to us. Scientists from a number of countries have put a lot of work into unraveling the secrets of the Mayan writing, their unique culture and, in particular, the calendar. Much has been done, although it will still take a lot of work to fully clarify all the unresolved issues. However, a lot of interesting things are already known. The literature on the Mayan calendar is very extensive.
What have scientists been able to establish about the Mayan calendar and chronology? It is now known that the Mayans simultaneously used two calendar systems that differed in duration: a long year and a short year. 365-day year (“haab”). One calendar - it is often called civil - was used for household needs. The Mayans used it to determine when to sow corn, when to harvest and do other household chores. The year of the Mayan civil calendar - “Haab” - had 365 days, i.e. it was consistent with the solar cycle, which is very useful for agriculture. "Haab" consisted of 18 months of 20 days. At the end of such a year, 5 more days were added, called “days without a name” and considered special. The priests knew that the “haab” is a fraction of a day shorter than the true solar year and that in 60 years there are approximately 15 extra days.
Many researchers of Mayan culture believe that the Mayan calendar is more accurate than the Gregorian calendar. They explain this by the fact that, although the Mayans did not have astronomical instruments, they learned to achieve high accuracy in their observations of the celestial bodies, using a special method that consisted of observing through long and narrow slits, a kind of “sights”. Twenty days in the month of the Mayan calendar were depicted in special hieroglyphs and had the following names: 1. Imish 2. Ik" 3. Ak"bal 4. K"an 5. Chikchan 6. Kimi 7. Manik" 8. Lamat 9. Muluk 10. Ok 11. Chuen 12. Eb 13. Ben 14. Ish 15. Men 16. Kib 17. Boar 18. Esanab 19. Kawak 20. Ahau The year began on July 16th. This day corresponded to the first day of the month Pop - the first month of the year. The year ended on July 10 - the last day of the month of Kumhu. The remaining 5 days of the year were “days without a name.”
This “five-day week” was like the 19th, but short month of the year and was called “Vayeb”. This month was designated by the hieroglyph shown in the figure above under the number 19. All five days of Vayeb were celebrated as a holiday in honor of one of the gods - the patron of the next year. Table 1. Months of the Mayan calendar No. Name of the month Correspondence to the dates of the Julian calendar 1 Pop July 16 - August 4 2 Vo August 5 - August 24 3 Sip August 25 - September 13 4 Social "September 14 - October 3 5 Sec October 4 - October 23 - December 6 Shul October 24 - November 12 7 Yashk"in November 13 - December 2 8 Mol December 3 - December 22 9 Ch"en December 23 - January 11 10 Yash January 12 - January 31 11 Sak February 1 - February 20 12 Kekh February 21 - March 12, 13 Mak March 13 - April 1, 14 K "an-k"in April 2 - April 21, 15 Muan April 22 - May 11, 16 Pash May 12 - May 31, 17 K'ayab 1 Nun - June 20, 18 Kumhu 21 June - 10 July The names of the months in Haab changed every 20 days, and not every day, as in Tzolkien; so the day after 4 Soc will be 5 Soc, followed by 6 Soc... until 19 Soc, followed by 0 Sec. The numbers of days in a month ranged from 0 to 19. The use of the 0th day of the month in the civil calendar is a unique feature of the Mayan system. The Mayans are believed to have discovered the number 0 and its uses centuries before it was discovered in Europe and Asia.
Years were not counted in the Haab calendar. 260-day year (“Tzolkin”). The Mayan short calendar year, called “Tzolkin” and which had a ritual purpose, was structured quite differently. The Tzolkin date is a combination of two "week" lengths. While our calendar has a single week of seven days, the Mayan calendar used two week lengths: . a week of 13 days, in which the days are numbered from 1 to 13. a week of 20 days, in which each day has a name: 0. Ahau 5. Chikchan 10. Ok 15. Men 1. Imish 6. Kimi 11. Chuen 16. Kib 2. Ik 7. Manik 12. Eb 17. Boar 3. Akbal 8. Lamat 13. Ben 18. Etznab 4. Kan 9. Muluk 14. Kish 19. Kavak Since the named and numbered weeks were both “weeks,” both the numbers and names changed every day.
Thus, the day after 3 Kimi is not 4 Kimi, but 4 Manik, and the next day is 5 Lamat. When Kimi comes again in 20 days, it will be 10 Kimi, not 3 Kimi. The next day 3 of Kimi will occur in 260 (13 x 20) days. Each day of this 260-day cycle had ideas of good or bad luck associated with it, and is therefore known as the “divine year.” “Years” were not counted in the Tzolkin calendar. From some Mayan hieroglyphic texts we can conclude that the ancient Mayans, in addition to the 13-day week, also had a 9-day week, in which they counted not by days, but by nights, and each night had as its patron one of the nine gods of the underworld. Mayan Calendar Circle The Mayan calendar had two larger cycles: a 4-year cycle, in which the names of days and numbers of months were repeated, and a 52-year cycle (which was a combination of “Haaba” and “Tzolkin”). The latter consisted of thirteen 4-year cycles and covered a period of 18,980 days. It repeated not only the days and numbers of the week, but also the numbers of the month.
In fact, the period of 18,980 days contained 52 “Haaba” (365 x 52 = 18,980) and at the same time 73 “Tzolkin” (260 x 73 = 18,980). This dependence formed the basis of the harmony of the Mayan calendar. Each New Year could begin only with one of the following four days: K'an, Muluk, Ish and Kavak. Every year they changed sequentially, and then this order was repeated. The dating of any event in the Mayan calendar always consisted of the number of the 13-day week, the name day, the day of the month and the name of the month. For example, if the date is written like this: “6 Lamat 14 Shul,” then this means the 6th day of the 13-day week, the day of Lamat, the 14th day of the month Shul. Such a date could only be repeated after 52 years, i.e. after 18,980 days Since in the Mayan civil calendar a year consisted of 365 days and a month of 20 days, then every four years the first day of the year fell on the same day of the month, but on different days of the week.
Therefore, the entire 52-year cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar can be represented in the form of a “perpetual calendar” (Table 2), called the “calendar circle”. A mysterious prediction While you are studying the culture of the American Indians, especially their calendar and chronological systems, an inner voice constantly whispers: shouldn’t we listen to ancient legends? What if the Mayan Indians knew something that we don’t know, and we still can’t fully reveal their secrets? What if their prediction about the date when the Fifth Sun (Fifth Age of Creation) will end and two more cycles (q'atun and baktun) will end at the same time - December 21, 2012 - turns out to be accurate (plausible)?
In other words, somewhere in the depths of the earth, a terrible geological catastrophe, predicted by the Mayan priests, is already brewing. They believed that they were able to calculate the date of the End of the World, because they believed that everything in the world comes down to numbers and that if you just look at what numbers are associated with events, it will be possible to accurately predict their time. The Fifth Sun will expire and, perhaps, terrible earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and giant tidal waves will put an end to humanity and proclaim the beginning of the Sixth Epoch of Creation (Sixth Sun, Sixth Mayan Era) - December 22, 2012. Thus, the Mayan Indians, and possibly other peoples of America (Aztecs, Incas, Olmecs, Toltecs, etc.) were constantly concerned about how to calculate - and, if possible, push back - the End of the World. Maybe this is exactly the problem that this whole mysterious unique calendar-chronological system of the Mayan Indians was designed to solve. Perhaps it was conceived as a mechanism, a tool for predicting a terrible cosmic or geological catastrophe. The method of using this instrument was the Great Secret of the “redskins”.
Many Mayan experts claim that these ancient Indians knew very well the structure of the Universe. This allowed them to predict that on December 21, 2012, global events would occur on Earth that would dramatically change the course of history. Of course, the details of this message have not reached us, and researchers are still trying to figure out what the smart Indians meant. Many are inclined to believe that this is how the Mayans predicted the “end of the world.” Others believe that a new era will come on Earth, an era of spiritual insight. What do our astronomers say? First of all, this is the time of the winter solstice.
But this happens every year - it doesn’t seem like a good idea for a space revolution. But besides this, on December 21, 2012, our Earth and the Sun will be in line with the center of our Galaxy. But this is already impressive. Imagine, the Mayans predicted such a non-trivial cosmic phenomenon more than a thousand years ago! But they didn’t even have lenses or telescopes. They carried out their observations of stars and planets using narrow slits. What this astronomical event promises us, modern scientists do not know. As they say, we'll wait and see. How, why and why?
A number of questions arise from the description of the Mayan calendar-chronological system: - why such a complex system of chronology and chronology was needed; - why several calendars were used simultaneously; - why such gigantic, by today’s human standards, time intervals were necessary in chronology; - why the base-20 number system was used; - due to which high accuracy of the calendar was achieved. The answers to these and other questions do not lie on the surface. All the secrets that the Mayans once possessed will obviously never be solved due to the physical loss of much evidence of this civilization. The construction of all calendars is based on the patterns of movement of the celestial bodies and, first of all, the planets of the solar system: the Sun, Earth and Moon. Since their movement is not strictly uniform, an error accumulates in the calendar from year to year. To maintain the accuracy of the calendar, it is necessary to have knowledge about the “structure” of the Universe and the laws of planetary motion.
To do this, it is necessary to somehow measure their movement. But the Mayan Indians did not have any special technical, in the modern sense, astronomical instruments, for example, telescopes. Surviving manuscripts and monuments indicate that the astronomical knowledge of the Mayans was at a very high level. For example, judging by Stela A in the city of Copan, Mayan astronomers knew the metonic cycle (repetition of the same positions of the Sun and Moon), determining that 19 solar years = 235 lunar months. A study of mathematical calculations in some inscriptions of the Dresden manuscript suggests that the Mayan astronomer priests were able to predict the onset of solar eclipses. The results of the study of civilizations indicate that since the emergence of the genotype - Homo sapiens about forty thousand years ago, people have paid no less attention to the measurement of time periods indicated by the movement of celestial bodies than to obtaining food, diet and making tools. An unusually wide distribution in civilizations around the world of a special set of verbal conventions designed to encrypt astronomical observations within the framework of mythology has also been established. It is characteristic of the Indians of both North and South America that all the most important events that happened to them, as well as knowledge from various areas, were encrypted in the form of myth.
It can be assumed that the Mayan Indians used myth as a technical language, a way of transmitting information about the past to the present and to the distant future. It is clear that all the accumulated knowledge had to be somehow transferred without distortion into the distant future and descendants taught how to use this knowledge. This is precisely what constituted the main secrets of the Maya. To do this, they used various methods: calendar cycles were marked by the installation of steles, all architectural buildings marked time, events were recorded both on paper and in stone, etc. Now let’s try to answer the most difficult, but most important question - why were such giants used? , by human standards, time intervals?
"By the time of their birth, the Mayans had already calculated the movements of the Sun, Moon and planets with an accuracy accessible only to modern science and the latest computers. They were simply obsessed with the movement of celestial bodies, obsessed with calculating time." It may be that astronomy, a deep understanding of time and long-term calculations were part of a specific system of knowledge that the Mayans inherited more or less intact from an older and wiser civilization. It is known that the Mayans inherited their calendar from the Olmecs, who used it a thousand years before the Mayans. But where did the Olmecs get it from? What level of technical and scientific development of civilization is required to develop such a calendar? The Mayans were obsessed with time and repeating cycles. They kept detailed records. Every hour, every day, every month, every century, every millennium was counted and numbered, connected to a set of specific signs, Every date was cross-checked using a completely different system to make sure that not a single mistake was made.
Since it is possible to predict the seasons by their repetition, and even to foresee repeated weather changes over a number of years, is it not also possible to predict when the conditions will be ripe for the recurrence of social, political, and even simply everyday phenomena? For centuries, sacred books, copied by hand and passed on by one priest of the Sun to another, served as both perpetual calendars and “books of human destiny.” Using systems of chronology, astronomy, astrology and divination, the Mayan priests engaged in prophecy and predicted people's future. The prophecies were passed down from generation to generation, were strictly guarded and constituted the Great Secret of the Mayan priests, as well as other American Indians. It is the rules for using astronomical knowledge to predict the future of both an individual person and humanity as a whole, both in the near future and in the distant future (on the time scale of the precession of the earth’s axis and more) that constitute the essence of this Great Mystery of the Mayans. It is possible that some of this information was passed down from generation to generation orally. “The timing of various rituals was coordinated with the position of Venus... The calendar was corrected according to the position of the Sun in the sky...
The Milky Way symbolized the World Tree among the Mayans..." The Mayans were aware of the global cataclysms that had occurred, for example, the "flood" of 650 AD, volcanic eruptions and others, which they marked on the time scale of the precession of the earth's axis. And they observed the inevitable approach of critical points (cataclysms) on the precession scale for the sake of saving secret knowledge. The Mayan Indians deified time. The spiritual heritage of the Mayans. The Mexican writer, artist and mystic Jose Arguelles, having studied the Mayan heritage, created a whole spiritual teaching. Arguelles claims that we, modern people, We live in mechanistic time. What does he mean? The year of the Gregorian calendar, according to which almost the whole world now lives, consists of months of different sizes: sometimes 30, sometimes 31, sometimes 28 days.
This sequence of numbers was chosen arbitrarily by a person and is in no way consistent with natural rhythms. In addition, a person divides the clock dial into 12 parts, and an hour into 60 minutes. And people also took these numbers as if from nowhere. Jose believes that living in this artificial time, a person loses touch with nature, with the cosmos, and forgets his highest values. And a civilization that has lost contact with its native biosphere enters a phase of self-destruction. J. Arguelles notes that: "for us, the calculation of time consists of counting successive quantitative units - minutes, hours, days and years - but for the Mayans, what we call time is a function of harmonic resonance." These words reflect the deep essence of the sacred calendar of time. They indicate that time is a relative category.
In this case, time will not be the fourth dimension. It may not have a serial number of measurement at all. TIME IS NOT A SPECIAL DIMENSION. IT HAS "EQUAL AMONG EQUAL" RIGHTS.
This hypothesis qualitatively changes the attitude towards the Mayan calendar. The uniqueness and universality of the Mayan calendar suggests that the Great Cycle of the Mayan Calendar can be used to measure all other dimensions. It can be used to measure the "width", "height", "length" of a 3-dimensional self-space. It can also be used to measure your own space - time, where time will act as the fourth dimension. i.e. Time can have a multi-level, multi-dimensional, cyclically repeated structure. The Mayans used the Tzolkin matrix to measure time.
Based on this matrix, they created many other calendars, including the Calendar of the Pleiades constellation, about which esotericism creates legends. Considering that the planetary and stellar cycles do not seem to be directly interconnected, it is difficult to get rid of the premonition of the mysticism of these calendars. And yet... Maybe it’s worth taking a closer look at this ancient people - what else has come down to us, their descendants? poan. ru
The Mayans are an Indian people who, before Central America was conquered by the Spaniards, lived in a cultural-geographical region called Mesoamerica.
Mayan civilization - city-states that appeared in the 1st millennium AD. e. in southeastern Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala. Hieroglyphic writing, palace and temple architecture, fine arts, etc. were created. After the conquest by the Toltecs in the 9th - 10th centuries. The center of the state becomes the city, from the end of the 12th century - the city of Mayapan. The Mayan civilization was destroyed in the 16th century by the Spanish conquerors. The ruins of more than 100 cities have been preserved, the largest being Chichen Itza, Copan, Mayapan, Uxmal, and Tikal.
Disputes about the origin of the Mayan civilization, their culture and history continue. Mysterious ghost towns, built only with the use of muscle power in the jungles of Southern Mexico, attract archaeologists and various adventurers.
Mayan settlements occupied vast areas of the south of what is now South America and neighboring countries of Central America. The spaces inhabited by modern descendants of the Mayans include the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, British Honduras, the western regions of Honduras and El Salvador, and certain areas of the Mexican states of Chiapas and Tabasco.
The Mayan civilization was the most developed and longest existing in South America. The Yucatan Peninsula was its center. For a century and a half, this people has been of genuine interest to historians and researchers.
The culture of this great civilization gave rise to many questions, many of which remain unanswered to this day, for example, the jungle of Southern Mexico is not a very suitable place for life, but the Mayans decided to settle there. Why? Mystery.
The Mayan civilization used the concept of zero much earlier than the Arabs and Hindus, created a complex hieroglyphic writing system, surpassed its contemporary civilizations in the accuracy of astrological calculations, had a complex system of calendars, erected amazing temples, pyramids and palaces, reached its unprecedented heyday, living almost in the Stone Age .
Until the 10th century AD e. The Mayans did not know such achievements as metal smelting (except iron), breeding pack and draft animals, plow farming, and the wheel.
Another of the most mysterious secrets is connected with the Mayan civilization. For unknown reasons, these people left their inhabited lands and suddenly moved to the distant, undeveloped north. The cities were deserted, they were swallowed up by the jungle, the magnificent palaces began to collapse due to time and the trees that grew in their cracks. The riddle is all the more unclear because at the time of the resettlement this empire was at the peak of its heyday.
The territory occupied by the Mayan civilization is highlighted in red.
The average height of the Mayan Indians was approximately 150 cm. Immediately after birth, the head of a Yucatan baby was pressed between two planks so that over time the cranial bones became flat due to deformation. A flat skull, long hair arranged in a hairstyle, a hairless front part of the head, amber was inserted into the nostrils pierced through the cartilage, bracelets made from sea oyster shells - this is how the Mayan Indian looked. To this can be added painted bodies and faces, and the color of the paint was of great importance. Red was worn by warriors, black by unmarried youths, yellow by prisoners, blue by priests. To the unique idea of beauty were added teeth filed in a triangle, sometimes decorated with inlaid stones. Surprisingly, the Mayans considered squinting to be a sign of beauty. That is why a thread with a resin or wax ball was attached to the baby’s hair so that he would squint his eyes at him. Another distinctive Mayan feature is tattooing. Her absence was considered indecent.
There is an opinion that the ancestors of the Mayans appeared in the Mexican highlands (zones of Chiapas and Guatemala) in the first half of the 3rd millennium BC. e., to which the first shoots of the Mayan culture are related. This can be evidenced by ceramics discovered by archaeologists, stone tips for throwing weapons, rough utensils in the form of baked clay vessels and massive clay figurines.
From the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. Large settlements appeared in Mayan territory, and agriculture began to develop. The Mayans build huts out of wood and clay in the jungle. The high roofs of their homes were made of palm leaves.
So, from 1500 BC. e. The so-called preclassic period begins, which gave the starting point for the historical existence of the most developed civilization of Ancient America - the Maya. And it lasts from 1500 BC. e. to 250 AD e. During this time, people gained agricultural experience and began to build rural-type settlements.
There are several periods of this ancient civilization:
Early Preclassic period (2000-900 BC)
Middle Preclassic period (899-400 BC)
Late Preclassic period (400 BC - 250 AD)
Early Classical Period (250-600 AD)
Late Classical Period (600-900 AD)
Decline of the Mayan civilization
Postclassical period (900-1521)
Colonial period (1521-1821)
Post-colonial period
Maya today
Mayan astrology, using the zodiac circle as its main reference, was a way to predict the future. Also used as tools were knowledge about the movements of celestial bodies, among which a special place was given to the Moon: the waning or waxing satellite of the Earth showed how successful a particular period of time was for a certain kind of undertaking.
Mayan natal astrology, which predicted a child's character, behavior and inclinations in adulthood, is closely related to the Tzolkin calendar, each day of which could determine character. For example, those born on the day of Imish, according to the Maya, led a dissolute life, neglecting social principles, while the babies of the day of Chuen became good craftsmen and artisans. The fate determined by astrology was predetermined, but the priests had the opportunity to change it by connecting the fate of a person with the day of bringing him to the temple.
It should be noted that the culture of the ancient peoples of Mesoamerica has some similarities. This suggests an exchange between these peoples of certain achievements of their cultures, which led to a certain homogeneity, which, in turn, indicates that there was a mother culture from which the roots of the Mayan culture could come.
The main evidence of this ancestor culture is hieroglyphic writing, accordion-folded books, the use of cocoa beans instead of money, a ritual ball game, a cult hero - the Feathered Serpent, and cult rituals, one of which was. Thus, the culture of the great Mayan civilization, starting from ancient times, was influenced by other cultures.
In the preclassic period, Mayan culture bears the imprint of the Olmec civilization (hence the monumental sculptures, knowledge of mathematics, calendars). It is known that the Olmecs were able to create a calendar that was superior in accuracy to the European one.
The earliest inscriptions date back to the 3rd century BC. e. The letter was used continuously until the arrival in the 16th century AD. e. Spanish conquistadors, and in some of the more isolated areas, such as Tayasal, for some time after that.
Mayan writing was a system of verbal and syllabic signs. The term “hieroglyphs” in relation to Mayan writing was used by European researchers of the 18th and 19th centuries, who could not understand the signs and found them similar to Egyptian hieroglyphics.
In the early colonial era there were still people who knew the Mayan script. There is information that some Spanish priests who arrived in Yucatan managed to study it. But soon, Bishop of Yucatan Diego de Landa, as part of a campaign to eradicate pagan customs, ordered the collection and destruction of all Mayan texts, as a result of which this led to the loss of a significant part of the manuscripts.
Only 4 Mayan codices survived the conquistadors. More complete texts have been found on pottery in Mayan tombs, as well as on monuments and steles in cities abandoned or destroyed after the Spanish arrived. The knowledge of writing was completely lost by the end of the 16th century. Interest in it arose only in the 19th century, after reports of destroyed Mayan cities were published.
Mayan weapons were not a special achievement of technical thought. Over the course of many centuries of the existence of the Mayan civilization, it underwent minor changes. Much of the improvement has been in the art of war than in the weapons themselves.
In battles, the Mayans fought with spears of various lengths (the height of a man or more), darts and flat club-swords, the edges of which were lined with dense rows of embedded obsidian blades. By the end of the New Kingdom period (XV - XVI centuries), the Mayans had metal battle axes (made of an alloy of copper and gold) and bows and arrows, borrowed from the Aztecs. For protection, Mayan warrior rank and file wore plump, quilted cotton shells. The nobility used armor woven from flexible branches and defended itself with willow (less commonly, tortoiseshell) large or small round or square shields. A small shield (about the size of a fist) was used not only for defense, but also as a striking weapon.
El Caracol Observatory, Chichen Itza - Mexico
After the end of the Olmec power, the southern trading cities of the Maya began to flourish. During this period, large centers of Mayan civilization emerged - El Mirador, Tikal, Nakbe, Vashaktun. The Mayans created a system of calendars (solar, lunar and ritual), with the help of which they recorded important historical moments and also made astrological forecasts.
The southeastern city of Copan attracts special attention. He, starting from the 5th century AD. e., for 400 years it was ruled by one dynasty, the founder of which was the ruler Yash-Kuk-Mo, who came to power in 426 AD. e.
626 - Ruler Dym-Jaguar, who was a royal descendant of Pakal, ascended the throne. He reigned for 67 years and was a long-liver. He was called the Great Instigator. Perhaps, with the help of territorial wars, this ruler greatly expanded the possessions of Copan, which contributed to its prosperity. This era includes the appearance of many steles praising rulers and their merits; the development of hieroglyphic writing, the creation of magnificent temples with sculptural images of gods.
Today, about 6.1 million Mayans live on the Yucatan Peninsula, including Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. In Guatemala, about 40% of the population is Mayan, in Belize - about 10%. Today, the Mayan religion is a mixture of Christianity and traditional Mayan beliefs. Each Mayan community today has its own religious patron. Donations can include poultry, spices or candles. Some Maya groups identify themselves through special elements in their traditional dress that distinguish them from other Maya.
The Lecandon Maya group living in Chiapas (Mexico) is known to be faithful to the preserved traditional way of life. Representatives of the group wear cotton clothes that are decorated with traditional Mayan scenes. Christianity was able to exert a superficial influence on representatives of this group. But tourism and, above all, technical and economic progress are gradually beginning to erase the group’s identity. More and more Mayans wear modern clothes, have electricity, radios and televisions in their homes, and often cars. Some of the Mayans, meanwhile, live on income from tourism, as more and more people want to get acquainted with the world and culture of the ancient Mayans.
Temple of the Cross, Temple of the Sun in the ancient city of Palenque
There is no evidence that the Mayans could have had aircraft or cars, but they certainly did have a complex system of paved roads. They possessed advanced astronomical knowledge about the movement of celestial bodies. Perhaps the most amazing evidence of this is the building with a domed roof called El Caracol located on the Yucatan Peninsula.
Archaeological excavations may indicate that the Mayans actually practiced human sacrifice, and this was considered a favor for the victims.
They believed that one still had to get to heaven: first one must go through 13 circles of hell, and only then a person will receive eternal bliss. And this path is so difficult that not all souls can reach it. However, there was also a “direct road to heaven”: women who died during childbirth, victims of wars, suicides, those who died while playing ball and ritual victims could receive it.
According to one interpretation of the codes, the Mayans came from a place that is now hidden under water, they were even mistaken for the children of Atlantis. Atlantis is, of course, a strong word. But scientists, relatively recently, managed to discover what may be the remains of ancient Mayan cities on the ocean floor. The age of the cities and the cause of the cataclysm cannot be determined.
The Mayans used three calendars. The civil calendar, or Haab, consisted of 18 months of 20 days each - for a total of 360 days. For ceremonial purposes, Tzolkin was used, which included 20 months of 13 days each, and the entire cycle was thus 260 days. Together they made up a single complex and long calendar, which contained information about the movement of planets and constellations.
There was no beginning or end in the calendar - time for the Mayans went in a circle, everything was repeated again and again. There was no such thing as “end of the year” for them - only the rhythm of planetary cycles.
The Mayans invented sports. One thing is for sure - the Mayans loved playing ball. Long before the Europeans began to dress in skins, the Mayans had already made a ball court at home and came up with the rules of the game. Their game appeared to be a tough combination of football, basketball and rugby.
About 1,000 Mayan cities have been discovered (as of the early 1980s), but not all of them have yet been excavated or explored by archaeologists. About 3,000 villages were also found.
The Mayans loved saunas. An important cleansing element for the ancient Mayans was the diaphoretic bath: water was poured onto hot stones to create steam. Everyone used such baths, from a woman who had recently given birth to a king.
The reason why the Mayans could have disappeared has been named. Historians from the Technical University of Vienna have found out the reason for the decline of the Mayan Empire. As it turned out, irrigation technologies that saved crops from drought could make society more vulnerable to natural disasters. 2014 - geologists from America suggested that the cause of the extinction of the Mayans could have been an extreme drought that lasted about 100 years.
There are other versions that name possible reasons for the disappearance of civilization: the collapse of the local agricultural system, terrible epidemics of diseases (for example, yellow fever), the arrival of conquerors from Mexico, social cataclysms, the forced capture of people by the Tultek rulers of Yucatan, and even earthquakes and decline in the sun. activity.
One of the most famous among ancient civilizations is the Mayan Empire. Until now, for scientists, the Mayan civilization is fraught with much unknown. Researchers are inclined to believe that the Mayan civilization originated in the 1st millennium BC. Their legacy is unusual writing and beautiful architectural structures, advanced mathematics, astronomy, objects of art and, of course, the famous incredibly accurate calendar.
Ruins of Chichen Itza
According to preliminary calculations, the Mayan population was more than 3 million people, who were settled in the tropical zone of modern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, the western regions of Honduras and El Salvador.
The cities of this ancient civilization were built of stones and limestone, and the population was also engaged in agriculture. Today, the descendants of the Mayans are called Indians living in Central America and Mexico.
Main cities
Based on archaeological evidence, it can be argued that the Mayans sacrificed people. From the point of view of their worldview, sacrifice was an opportunity for the victim to get to heaven as a shortcut. Although now even the child knows that he cannot get to Heaven in this way, he must do good deeds and not kill.
The Mayan tribe and interesting facts that make you think about the level of development of this people.
Baths. Archaeologists have found many stone structures designed for steaming. It is interesting that baths were not only for the nobility, but also for the people. Ancient baths worked on the same principle as modern ones: water was poured onto hot stones, and the Indians cleansed their bodies with steam.
Sailors. Found by scientists in the Mayan codex, it can be concluded that they swam on the sea; there is also an assumption that they came to America from Asia.
Medicine. The Mayan tribes had well-developed medicine, the most skilled doctors performed quite complex operations, their surgical instruments were made of glass of volcanic origin, and sutures were made from human hair. Dentistry has also achieved success; even ancient dentures and dental fillings have been preserved. Doctors used hallucinogens as anesthesia.
Roads. The tribe had an entire road system with a hard, even surface.
Palace in Palenque
Architecture. The Mayans built impressive structures and completely smooth roads without using metal tools.
Fashion. An elongated, oval head was in fashion, considered a sign of nobility. This head shape was achieved due to the fact that from early childhood wooden planks were tied to the child’s head. This brutal operation was performed only on noble members of society. Another sign of beauty was squint, which was achieved by hanging a rubber ball above the baby's eye level. In addition, fashionistas preferred to grind their teeth so that they were sharp, and then coat them with resin until they turned black. However, only representatives of the nobility could afford to “decorate” themselves in this way.
Sport. Members of the Mayan tribe built special courts on which they played ball games. According to scientists, they had several such games, and they were quite tough and resembled modern football, rugby and basketball. How developed the sport was can be judged by the presence of a prototype sports uniform consisting of protective elements resembling a helmet, elbow pads and knee pads.
Writing sample
Writing. The Mayans are the only tribe in America that had their own written language. Writing was based on glyphs, presented in the form of drawing signs. Today, scientists are still struggling to read the texts; about 90% of the characters have already been deciphered.
Calendar. The tribe had its own very accurate calendar, not just one, but three:
Observatories. The Mayans had extensive astronomical knowledge, as evidenced by the presence of observatories, one of which is the El Caracol building in the city of Chichen Itza with a domed roof, 15 m high, and a huge number of windows.
Astronomical observatory in the city of El Caracol in the city of Chichen Itza
Despite the large number of unknown facts, the most mysterious question for historians remains: what led to the decline of a developed civilization in a prosperous empire? Moreover, the first signs of the collapse of civilization, according to researchers, began around the 9th century AD.
This decline was expressed in the fact that in the southern parts of the tribal settlement a rapid decline in population began to be observed, and water supply and irrigation systems began to deteriorate. The population began to leave the inhabited region en masse, urban development stopped, which led to the fact that the majestic, developed territory began to turn into disparate tribes fighting among themselves. Actually, this led to the fact that the conquerors who arrived in Yucatan, the Spaniards, were able to completely and very quickly take control of the entire region.
Location of the city of Tayasal, modern city of Flores
Some tribes resisted for quite a long time - the last independent city of Tayasal (northern Guatemala) was captured by the Spaniards in 1697, although Cortez wanted to conquer it in 1541. Cortez, like other Spanish conquerors, could not capture this city, since it was located on an island and was an impregnable fortress. Having captured the city, the Spaniards built the city of Flores on the site of Tayasal, which hid the old Indian architecture under its buildings.
Mayan civilization shrouded in many secrets and mysteries. Today, the descendants of the Indians do not particularly stand out among other races and peoples. But the ancient history of the Mayans haunts many researchers. Where did ordinary farmers, who were the Mayan tribes, get their amazing knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, writing and physics? How were they able to make incredibly complex objects or erect huge megaliths? Mysteries have always captivated the minds of people. Let's take an exciting journey into the mysterious Mayan history.
Stone head - symbol of the Almecs
Archaeologists are finding artifacts indicating that the territory of Mexico was inhabited several thousand years BC. Historians have differing opinions regarding the exact dating of these finds. In any case, it is obvious that ancient peoples moved to the North American continent in ancient times.
Officially recognized history considers the first Indian civilization to be the Olmecs, who lived on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico from the 2nd millennium BC. to 5th century AD They are credited with the invention of complex writing, the solar calendar, twenty-year countdown, sports and religious ball games, etc. It is also believed that the Olmecs were able to build pyramids and carve the famous five-meter heads of warriors out of stone.
The Zapotec Indian civilization is little studied. Historians suggest that it originated in the 5th century BC. The capital was located in Monte Alban, famous for its amazing Temple of the Dancing with inscriptions that have not yet been deciphered. The mysterious Izapa culture, traces of which were found in the state of Chiapas, has left historians with many artifacts for research. These include unusual steles with images of deities and people, monuments, and altars.
Aztec culture dates back to a later period in the history of Mexico until its conquest by the Spaniards. The capital of the Aztec state was Tenochtitlan, which later became the city of Mexico City. The Aztecs worshiped various deities, the main of which was considered the god of war, Huitzilopochtli. This tribe was very warlike: sacrifices of thousands of people were in the order of things. They were constantly at odds with the tribes around them and raided foreign territories. The last Aztec ruler, Cuauhtemoc, was overthrown by the conquistadors in 1521.
Among the many other Indian tribes that inhabited Mexico, one can distinguish the Tarascans, Mixtecs, Toltecs, Totonacs, and Chichimecs. The tribes of the Mayan civilization have earned a special position among their fellows thanks to the incredibly complex historical monuments and highly developed culture that official history ascribes to them.
Considering the history of the Mayan peoples, it should be noted that there are several theories of the development of this civilization. According to the official one - the one that is taught in universities and published in textbooks - the Mayan culture appeared about 3 thousand years ago. It had such a high level of technology, scientific knowledge and development that it was several times superior to the current civilization.
There is another theory, alternative, but gaining an increasing number of supporters. According to this theory, in ancient times there was a certain highly developed civilization that disappeared several thousand years BC. She left behind amazing historical monuments, writings and artifacts, testifying to an incredible level of development. This, by the way, is consistent with the biblical chronology of the times before the Flood. It appears that this civilization was destroyed in the Flood.
The Mayan Indians appeared in the territories of the ancient civilization much later. They began to master, as best they could, the found buildings and use calendars, statues and other objects of prehistoric culture in their everyday life. The Mayans themselves admit that they received their knowledge from the “gods”, and did not acquire it on their own. And what could one expect from a civilization whose main occupation was growing corn? Why did the Indians need deep knowledge of astronomy if they did not make space flights? How were the Mayans able to build huge pyramids if they didn't even have a wheel?
Which theory to follow is up to you. Let's look at some official dates from Mayan history.
1000-400 BC – the emergence of minor Mayan settlements in the northern part of Belize.
400-250 BC – rapid urban growth across large areas of the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, Belize and El Salvador. Archaeologists have found a large number of works made of jade, obsidian and precious metals.
250 BC – 600 AD - The Mayan peoples formed into city-states, constantly fighting with each other for territory.
600-950 AD – the rise and subsequent decline of many Mayan cities. The reasons for such desolation are still unclear to historians. Some cite some kind of natural disaster, such as severe drought, as an explanation. Others argue that these could be wars of conquest or epidemics.
950-1500 AD - new cities emerge in the north of Yucatan, special importance is attached to maritime trade with the Aztecs.
1517 - the first documented contact of the Mayans with Europeans on the Yucatan Peninsula. Then the Indians were defeated in a battle with the well-armed Spaniards. But for several decades they desperately fought for independence from the invaders.
During the Spanish Conquest, colonialists mercilessly destroyed the cultural characteristics of the Mayans, trying to convert them to the Catholic faith. It is known that the Catholic priest Diego de Landa burned a collection of Mayan books in order to fight shamanism.
In the territories where the Mayan people lived, a huge number of objects were found that amaze modern researchers. Some can be viewed in museums in Mexico, such as the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, while others are scattered in museums around the world. And how many have not yet received general publicity!
According to archaeologists, multi-colored quartz skulls were not uncommon among Mayan treasures. It is not yet possible to establish their exact dating. It is even more difficult to determine how they were performed and, most importantly, why. One such skull is the legendary Mitchells-Hedges skull. It was found according to reports from the researcher himself, after whom it received its name, during excavations in the jungle of the Yucatan Peninsula. The skull amazes with the perfection of its lines. It has an amazing property: when light rays hit it at a certain angle, the eye sockets of the skull begin to glow. Was this skull used in the worship of deities during some religious rituals, or did it simply serve as interior decoration? There are no exact answers yet, but there are many assumptions.
Modern researchers are like the African aborigines who found a glass bottle in the desert and are trying to determine its purpose by shining the sun's rays on it. Most likely, the ancients used crystal skulls in ways we cannot even imagine.
In the modern world there are no technologies that could replicate such a masterpiece. But there is not a single trace of tools on the ancient crystal skull. So for now, this amazing object remains one of the biggest mysteries of the past.
The famous archaeological site of Palenque is located in the Mexican state of Chiapas. A mysterious sarcophagus was found in the Temple of the Inscriptions located there. Scientists attribute its existence to the Mayan ruler Pakal, who was buried in it. The amazing images on the lid of the sarcophagus still cause controversy in scientific circles. Some see in the drawing Pakal himself, resurrected from the kingdom of the dead. Others suggest that this is not Pacal at all, but some kind of prehistoric astronaut in the cockpit of a spaceship. It is impossible to say anything for sure. Therefore, the sarcophagus is shrouded in mystery.
Not only the stone lid is interesting, but also the sarcophagus itself. It's just huge. Its dimensions are 3.8 m by 2.2 m. The sarcophagus is carved from solid stone weighing 15 tons and has a precise rectangular shape. The lid weighs 5 and a half tons. How could it be accomplished? It is difficult to imagine ancient Indians breaking a block of stone with primitive tools. It is even more difficult to guess how and who installed this giant in the pyramid.
The calendar attributed to the Mayan culture amazes scientists with its complexity and accuracy. According to researchers, it consists of two calendars: solar and sacred (galactic). The first included 365 days, the second - 260. The sacred calendar (Tzolkin) is a number system of 13 numbers and 20 symbols. Many claim to have deciphered the Mayan calendar. As soon as they do not explain the meaning of its symbols and numbers. Some people associate the calendar with predictions of future events. Some see in his calculations the movement of the sun around the center of the galaxy. The exact origin and purpose of the Mayan calendar remains a mystery. One thing is obvious: its creation required very deep knowledge of mathematics and astronomy.
The most important Mayan monuments
The Mayan culture left behind numerous archaeological monuments: pyramids, temples, frescoes, steles, sculptures, etc. Studying them is a very exciting activity. It's worth making a trip through them yourself when the opportunity arises. The beauty and mystery of these buildings is simply breathtaking.
It is essentially a pyramid with a small building on top. The pyramid got its name thanks to three slabs with hieroglyphs on the walls of the temple. Several groups of scientists were engaged in deciphering the inscriptions, but they were never completely read. A tunnel was discovered in the pyramid leading to a secret room. There, archaeologists found a sarcophagus with the Mayan ruler Pakal buried in it, discussed above.
This is a unique pyramid 30 meters high. At its top there is a temple in which the ancient Mayan priests made sacrifices to their supreme deity Kukulkan. The pyramid is famous for its unusual construction: twice a year on the days of the equinox, the shadow from the ledges of the pyramid falls on the steps, creating the impression of a crawling snake. Surely, for the Indians this picture looked terrifying. Inside the temple is a “jaguar throne” decorated with shells and jade. It is believed that rulers sat on it. The dimensions of this “throne” are small and its exact purpose is unknown.
The height of the pyramid is 36 meters. This pyramid is famous for the fact that its base is not square, but oval. According to an ancient Mayan legend, it was built in one night by a sorcerer who knew how to rearrange stones with spells. The pyramid has several platforms, at the top there is a temple dedicated to the rain god Chaak. The Wizard's pyramid itself is decorated with images of this deity, as well as snakes and people.
- the only Mayan port city that has survived to this day. Its name translates as “wall”. Indeed, part of the city's defensive wall testifies to its former greatness. There are also several impressive palaces and temples to be seen here.
is an ancient Mayan city, the territory of which cannot be explored in one day. The city has an area of 70 square meters. km. To walk along it, you can rent a bicycle or ride a bicycle taxi. Koba is famous for its huge pyramids, a 100-kilometer road and many other mysterious buildings.
On the territory of the archaeological complex of Chichen Itza there is a mysterious sacred cenote or natural karst well. A three-hundred-meter road leads to it from the Kukulkan pyramid. The Mayan Indians used the cenote during religious rituals. To achieve the favor of their fictitious deities, they sacrificed not only precious stones, gold items and weapons, but also people. They were simply thrown to the bottom of the well in the hope that the deity would send the long-awaited rain in return.
Very scant information has reached us from the Spanish colonialists about the ancient Mayan cities they found. In addition, they are more like fairy tales about cities of gold.
For many years, Mayan treasures were lost in the impenetrable jungle. The purposeful study of the monuments of ancient Mayan culture was started by the American John Stephens in 1839. He was able to discover cities such as Palenque, Uxmal, Chichen Itza, Copan, etc. He described his observations in a book that created a real sensation in the scientific world of America and Europe. Following Stephenson, many researchers from different countries went deep into the jungle, eager for new discoveries and solutions to mysteries. Several US research institutes have taken the lead in archaeological excavations.
At first, the main attention was paid to the study of buildings, inscriptions, bas-reliefs, steles and frescoes, i.e. external attributes. Over time, scientists delved deeper into the study of small objects and parts, as well as what was hidden underground.
For example, at the end of the 19th century, the American E. Thompson arrived on the Yucatan Peninsula. Previously, he had received evidence from Diego de Landa that countless riches were stored at the bottom of the sacred well in Chichen Itza. The American decided to test this statement and, armed with the necessary tools, pulled out real treasures from the bottom of the well. These were jewelry made of jade, gold, copper, and the remains of more than 40 people were also discovered.
Another sensational discovery occurred in 1949 at the archaeological complex of Palenque. Archaeologist A. Rus noticed that one of the slabs on the floor in the Temple of the Inscriptions has holes closed with plugs. He decided to lift this slab and discovered the entrance to the tunnel. The tunnel needed to be cleared of stones and earth, which took several years. In June 1952, an archaeologist was able to enter the underground room under the pyramid. There he discovered the famous sarcophagus with the Mayan ruler Pakal buried in it. In addition to the sarcophagus, human remains, jewelry and jewelry were found. Scientists are still trying to explain the meaning of the image on the five-ton sarcophagus lid.
To date, only a small part of the cultural heritage of ancient civilization has been discovered and studied. In addition, much is simply inaccessible to ordinary lovers of antiquities. Who knows how many more ancient treasures are waiting to be discovered...
