Maya civilization
by admin on Jun.21, 2010, under Maya
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period (c. 2000 BC to 250 AD), according to the Mesoamerican chronology, many Maya cities reached their highest state development during the Classic period (c. 250 AD to 900 AD), and continued throughout the Post-Classic period until the arrival of the Spanish. At its peak, it was one of the most densely populated and culturally dynamic societies in the world. [1]
The Maya civilization shares many features with other Mesoamerican civilizations due to the high degree of interaction and cultural diffusion that characterized the region. Advances such as writing, epigraphy, and the calendar did not originate with the Maya; however, their civilization fully developed them. Maya influence can be detected from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and to as far as central Mexico, more than 1000 km (625 miles) from the Maya area. Many outside influences are found in Maya art and architecture, which are thought to result from trade and cultural exchange rather than direct external conquest.
The Maya peoples never disappeared, neither at the time of the Classic period decline nor with the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores and the subsequent Spanish colonization of the Americas. Today, the Maya and their descendants form sizable populations throughout the Maya area and maintain a distinctive set of traditions and beliefs that are the result of the merger of pre-Columbian and post-Conquest ideas and cultures. Many Mayan languages continue to be spoken as primary languages today; the Rabinal Achí, a play written in the Achi’ language, was declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2005.
Footnotes
- ^ “Painted Metaphors: Pottery and Politics of the Ancient Maya”. University of Pennsylvania Almanac. University of Pennsylvania. 4/7/2009.
References
- Coggins, Clemency (Ed.) (1992). Artifacts from the Cenote of Sacrifice Chichen Itza, Yucatan: Textiles, Basketry, Stone, Shell, Ceramics, Wood, Copal, Rubber (Memoirs of the Peabody Museum). Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-873-65694-6.
- Culbert, T.Patrick (Ed.) (1977). Classic Maya Collapse. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0-826-30463-X.
- Drew, David (2004). The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings (New ed.). London: Phoenix Press. ISBN 0-753-80989-3.
- Krupp, Edward C. (1999). “Igniting the Hearth”. Sky & Telescope (February): pp. 94.
- Love, Michael (December 2007). “Recent Research in the Southern Highlands and Pacific Coast of Mesoamerica”. Journal of Archaeological Research (Springer Netherlands) 15 (4): 275–328. doi:10.1007/s10814-007-9014-y. ISSN 1573-7756.
- Miller, Mary; Simon Martin (2004). Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05129-1.
- Miller, Mary; Karl Taube (1993). The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05068-6.
- Reyes-Valerio, Constantino (1993). De Bonampak al Templo Mayor: Historical del Azul Maya en Mesoamerica. Siglo XXI editores. ISBN 968-23-1893-9.
- Sharer, Robert J.; Loa P. Traxler (2006). The Ancient Maya (6th, fully revised ed.). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-4817-9. OCLC 57577446.
- Skidmore, Joel (2006). “The Cascajal Block: The Earliest Precolumbian Writing” (PDF). Mesoweb Reports & News. Mesoweb.
- Webster, David L. (2002). The Fall of the Ancient Maya. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05113-5.
- Coe, Michael D. (1999). The Maya (Sixth ed.). New York: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-28066-5.
- “Maya Ruins”. NASA Earth Observatory.
Further reading
- Braswell, Geoffrey E. (2003). The Maya and Teotihuacan: Reinterpreting Early Classic Interaction. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292709145. OCLC 49936017.
- Christie, Jessica Joyce (2003). Maya Palaces and Elite Residences: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292712448. OCLC 50630511.
- Demarest, Arthur Andrew (2004). Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest Civilization. Cambridge, England; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521592240. OCLC 51438896.
- Demarest, Arthur Andrew, Prudence M. Rice, and Don Stephen Rice (2004). The Terminal Classic in the Maya Lowlands: Collapse, Transition, and Transformation. Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado. ISBN 0870817396. OCLC 52311867.
- Garber, James (2004). The Ancient Maya of the Belize Valley: Half a Century of Archaeological Research. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida. ISBN 0813026857. OCLC 52334723.
- Herring, Adam (2005). Art and Writing in the Maya cities, AD 600-800: A Poetics of Line. Cambridge, England; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521842468. OCLC 56834579.
- Lohse, Jon C. and Fred Valdez (2004). Ancient Maya Commoners. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292705719. OCLC 54529926.
- Lucero, Lisa Joyce (2006). Water and Ritual: The Rise and Fall of Classic Maya Rulers. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292709994. OCLC 61731425.
- McKillop, Heather Irene (2005). In Search of Maya Sea Traders. College Station, TX: Texas A & M University Press. ISBN 1585443891. OCLC 55145823.
- McKillop, Heather Irene (2002). Salt: White Gold of the Ancient Maya. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida. ISBN 0813025117. OCLC 48893025.
- McNeil, Cameron L. (2006). Chocolate in Mesoamerica: A Cultural History of Cacao. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida. ISBN 0813029538. OCLC 63245604.
- Rice, Prudence M. (2004). Maya Political Science: Time, Astronomy, and the Cosmos (1st ed.). Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292702612. OCLC 54753496.
- Sharer, Robert J. and Loa P. Traxler (2006). The ancient Maya (6th ed.). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804748160. OCLC 57577446.
- Tiesler, Vera and Andrea Cucina (2006). Janaab’ Pakal of Palenque: Reconstructing the Life and Death of a Maya Ruler. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press. ISBN 0816525102. OCLC 62593473.
Links
- Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc (FAMSI)
- Mayan Math and astronomy
- Mayaweb (Dutch and English)
- Guatemala, Cradle of The Maya Civilization
- Maya Society and some photos of Tools, Weapons & Artifacts
- Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya at the National Gallery of Art
- Learn more about Maya hieroglyphs and Maya numbering from the National Gallery of Art
- Primary sources of Maya history – part one by Ronald A. Barnett
- Maya articles by Genry Joil.
- Mesoweb by Joel Skidmore.
- The Daily Glyph by Dave Pentecost.
- Junglecasts – podcasts by Ed Barnhart, Nicco Mele, Dave Pentecost
- Ancient Civilizations – Maya Research site for kids
- The Mayan Kingdom A Photographic Web Book on the Mayan Civilization by Tony Trupp
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