The Mayan civilization is one of the most splendid ancient civilizations in the Americas, it began to rise around 2000 BC and went through three periods, namely the Classical period, the post-classical period and the colonial period. The Maya have extraordinary achievements in mathematics, astronomy, architecture, art, writing, etc., and are known as the "Egypt of the Americas".
However, the Mayan civilization declined abruptly around the 9th century AD, many cities were abandoned, and traces of the Maya seem to have disappeared. It is a historical mystery that has caused countless people to explore and conjecture. How the hell did the Maya disappear?Why did their civilization decline?Are their descendants still there?
The Mayan civilization flourished from the 3rd to the 9th centuries AD, also known as the Classical period. During this period, the Maya established a number of sprawling city-states such as Tikal, Barenque, Palenque, Copan, etc., all of which had magnificent pyramids, temples, palaces, and squares, as well as elaborate carvings and frescoes.
The social structure of the Maya was hierarchical, with nobles, priests, soldiers, artisans, peasants, etc. The Mayan form of politics was a city-state system, with each city having its own ruler, sometimes allied with each other or at war. The economy is largely dependent on agriculture, and they use the resources of the rainforest to grow crops such as corn, beans, pumpkins, peppers, and also raise animals such as turkeys, ducks, and dogs.
The religion of the Mayans was polytheistic, they worshipped many gods including the god of the sun, the moon, the god of rain, etc., and they believed that the gods were in charge of the fate of the natural world and mankind and needed to please them through sacrifices and prayers. Sacrifices were sometimes brutal, with human or animal blood, hearts, or other organs used to worship the gods, and even human sacrifices.
The culture of the Maya people is very rich, they have a unique writing system, they can record language with pictographs and syllabic symbols, their writing is engraved on stone tablets, pottery, paper or leather, and they have preserved a lot of knowledge about history, mythology, astronomy, mathematics, etc.
The Mayans had a decimal math system, and they invented the concept of zero, as well as operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and squarering. The Maya astronomy was very accurate, they were able to observe and ** the movement of the sun, moon, Venus, Mars and other celestial bodies, and also calculate the occurrence of solar and lunar eclipses, their calendar was very complex, they had three calendars, namely the long calendar, the drowjin calendar and the Habu calendar, they were able to use these calendars to determine the beginning and end of time, and also predict future events.
The period of decline of the Mayan civilization was from the 9th century to the 16th century AD, that is, the post-classical period and the colonial period. During this period, many of the Maya city-states were gradually abandoned, the population and culture of the Maya declined significantly, and the Maya politics and society underwent significant changes. The reason for the decline of the Mayan civilization is a historical mystery, and there are many different theories, the most mainstream of which are the following:
Environmental change: The overexploitation and misuse of tropical rainforest resources by the Maya people has led to environmental problems such as soil degradation, water depletion, and climate drought, which have affected the Maya's agricultural production and quality of life, and triggered crises such as famine, disease, and social unrest.
Internal conflicts: The rivalries and wars between the Maya city-states, which led to the depletion of human and material resources, as well as the destruction of social order, weakened the unity and cohesion of the Maya, making them unable to defend themselves against external threats.
External invasions: The decline of the Maya was due to the fact that external invaders, such as the Toltecs, Aztecs, Spaniards, etc., carried out military and cultural conquests of the Maya, destroying Mayan cities and civilizations, and forcing them to accept foreign religions and institutions.
The decline of the Mayan civilization does not mean the disappearance of the Maya, in fact, the descendants of the Maya have always lived on the land of the Americas, they have retained a part of the Mayan language and culture, but also incorporated some foreign elements, forming a diverse Mayan ethnic group.
According to the latest statistics, there are currently about 6 million to 8 million Maya people, mainly distributed in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador and other countries, they have different Mayan languages and customs, such as Quiche, Yucatan, Char, Mamu, etc., their way of life also has agriculture, handicrafts, commerce, etc., their religious beliefs also have Catholicism, Protestantism, primitiveism, Emerging religion, etc., their social status also varies from high to low, some Mayans are politicians, scholars, Artists, athletes, etc., and some Mayans were poor farmers, workers, vagrants, etc.
The civilization and history of the Maya people are very worthy of our admiration and learning, their achievements and contributions are part of human civilization, their decline and predicament are also a lesson in human history, and their disappearance and continuation are also a diversity of human culture.
Thank you for reading and supporting us!