Maya civilization

History Main article: History of the Maya civilization The history of Maya civilization is divided into three principal periods: the Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic. [ 1 ] These were preceded by the Archaic Period, during which the first settled villages and early developments in agriculture emerged. [ 2 ] Modern scholars regard these periods as arbitrary divisions of Maya chronology, rather than indicative of cultural evolution or decline. [ 3 ] Definitions of the start and end dates of period spans can vary by as much as a century, depending on the author. [ 4 ] Preclassic period (c. 2000 BC – 250 AD) Main article: Preclassic Maya The Maya developed their first civilization in the Preclassic period. [ 8 ] Scholars continue to discuss when this era of Maya civilization began. Maya occupation at Cuello (modern Belize) has been carbon dated to around 2600 BC. [ 9 ] Settlements were established around 1800 BC in the Soconusco region of the Pacific coast, and the Maya were already cultivating the staple crops of maize, beans, squash, and chili pepper. [ 10 ] This period was characterized by sedentary communities and the introduction of pottery and fired clay figurines. [ 11 ] During the Middle Preclassic Period , small villages began to grow to form cities. [ 12 ] Nakbe in the Petén department of Guatemala is the earliest well-documented city in the Maya lowlands, [ 13 ] where large structures have been dated to around 750 BC. [ 12 ] The northern lowlands of Yucatán were widely settled by the Middle Preclassic. [ 14 ] By approximately 400 BC, early Maya rulers were raising stelae. [ 15 ] A developed script was already being used in Petén by the 3rd century BC. [ 16 ] In the Late Preclassic Period, the enormous city of El Mirador grew to cover approximately 16 square kilometres (6.2 sq mi). [ 17 ] Although not as large, Tikal was already a significant city by around 350 BC. [ 18 ] In the highlands, Kaminaljuyu emerged as a principal centre in the Late Preclassic. [ 19 ] Takalik Abaj and Chocolá were two of the most important cities on the Pacific coastal plain, [ 20 ] and Komchen grew to become an important site in northern Yucatán. [ 21 ] The Late Preclassic cultural florescence collapsed in the 1st century AD and many of the great Maya cities of the epoch were abandoned; the cause of this collapse is unknown. [ 22 ] Classic period (c. 250–900 AD) Stela D from Quiriguá , representing king Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Yopaat [ 23 ] The Classic period is largely defined as the period during which the lowland Maya raised dated monuments using the Long Count calendar. [ 24 ] This period marked the peak of large-scale construction and urbanism , the recording of monumental inscriptions, and demonstrated significant intellectual and artistic development, particularly in the southern lowland regions. [ 24 ] The Classic period Maya political landscape has been likened to that of Renaissance Italy or Classical Greece , with multiple city-states engaged in a complex network of alliances and enmities. [ 25 ] The largest cities had 50,000 to 120,000 people and were linked to networks of subsidiary sites. [ 26 ] During the Early Classic, cities throughout the Maya region were influenced by the great metropolis of Teotihuacan in the distant Valley of Mexico . [ 27 ] In AD 378, Teotihuacan decisively intervened at Tikal and other nearby cities, deposed their rulers, and installed a new Teotihuacan-backed dynasty. [ 28 ] This intervention was led by Siyaj Kʼakʼ ("Born of Fire"), who arrived at Tikal in early 378. The king of Tikal, Chak Tok Ichʼaak I , died on the same day, suggesting a violent takeover. [ 29 ] A year later, Siyaj Kʼakʼ oversaw the installation of a new king, Yax Nuun Ahiin I . [ 30 ] This led to a period of political dominance when Tikal became the most powerful city in the central lowlands. [ 30 ] Tikal's great rival was Calakmul, another powerful city in the Petén Basin. [ 31 ] Tikal and Calakmul both developed extensive systems of allies and vassals; lesser cities that entered one of these networks gained prestige from their association with the top-tier city, and maintained peaceful relations with members of the network. [ 32 ] Tikal and Calakmul engaged in the manoeuvering of their alliance networks against each other. At various points during the Classic period, one or other of these powers would gain a strategic victory over its great rival, resulting in respective periods of florescence and decline. [ 33 ] Calakmul was one of the most important Classic period cities. In 629, Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil , a son of the Tikal king Kʼinich Muwaan Jol II, was sent to found a new city at Dos Pilas , in the Petexbatún region, apparently as an outpost to extend Tikal's power beyond the reach of Calakmul. [ 34 ] For the next two decades he fought loyally for his brother and overlord at Tikal. In 648, king Yuknoom Chʼeen II of Calakmul captured Balaj Chan Kʼawiil. Yuknoom Chʼeen II then reinstated Balaj Chan Kʼawiil upon the throne of Dos Pilas as his vassal. [ 35 ] He thereafter served as a loyal ally of Calakmul. [ 36 ] In the southeast, Copán was the most important city. [ 31 ] Its Classic-period dynasty was founded in 426 by Kʼinich Yax Kʼukʼ Moʼ . The new king had strong ties with central Petén and Teotihuacan. [ 37 ] Copán reached the height of its cultural and artistic development during the rule of Uaxaclajuun Ubʼaah Kʼawiil , who ruled from 695 to 738. [ 38 ] His reign ended catastrophically when he was captured by his vassal, king Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Yopaat of Quiriguá . [ 39 ] The captured lord of Copán was taken back to Quiriguá and was decapitated in a public ritual. [ 40 ] It is likely that this coup was backed by Calakmul, in order to weaken a powerful ally of Tikal. [ 41 ] Palenque and Yaxchilan were the most powerful cities in the Usumacinta region. [ 31 ] In the highlands, Kaminaljuyu in the Valley of Guatemala was already a sprawling city by 300. [ 42 ] In the north of the Maya area, Coba was the most important capital. [ 43 ] Classic Maya collapse Main article: Classic Maya collapse Main article: Ancient Maya art During the 9th century AD, the central Maya region suffered major political collapse, marked by the abandonment of cities, the ending of dynasties, and a northward shift in activity. [ 27 ] [ 44 ] No universally accepted theory explains this collapse, but it likely had a combination of causes, including endemic internecine warfare, overpopulation resulting in severe environmental degradation , and drought . [ 45 ] During this period, known as the Terminal Classic, the northern cities of Chichen Itza and Uxmal showed increased activity. [ 27 ] Major cities in the northern Yucatán Peninsula were inhabited long after the cities of the southern lowlands ceased to raise monuments. [ 46 ] Classic Maya social organization was based on the ritual authority of the ruler, rather than central control of trade and food distribution. This model was poorly structured to respond to changes, because the ruler's actions were limited by tradition to such activities as construction, ritual, and warfare. This only served to exacerbate systemic problems. [ 47 ] By the 9th and 10th centuries, this resulted in collapse of this system of rulership. In the northern Yucatán, individual rule was replaced by a ruling council formed from elite lineages. In the southern Yucatán and central Petén, kingdoms declined; in western Petén and some other areas, the changes were catastrophic and resulted in the rapid depopulation of cities. [ 48 ] Within a couple of generations, large swathes of the central Maya area were all but abandoned. [ 49 ] Both the capitals and their secondary centres were generally abandoned within a period of 50 to 100 years. [ 26 ] One by one, cities stopped sculpting dated monuments; the last Long Count date was inscribed at Toniná in 909. Stelae were no longer raised, and squatters moved into abandoned royal palaces. Mesoamerican trade routes shifted and bypassed Petén. [ 50 ] Postclassic period (c. 950–1539 AD) See also: League of Mayapan Zaculeu was capital of the Postclassic Mam kingdom in the Guatemalan Highlands . [ 51 ] Although much reduced, a significant Maya presence remained into the Postclassic period after the abandonment of the major Classic period cities; the population was particularly concentrated near permanent water sources. [ 52 ] Unlike during previous cycles of contraction, abandoned lands were not quickly resettled in the Postclassic. [ 26 ] Activity shifted to the northern lowlands and the Maya Highlands; this may have involved migration from the southern lowlands, because many Postclassic Maya groups had migration myths. [ 53 ] Chichen Itza and its Puuc neighbours declined dramatically in the 11th century, and this may represent the final episode of Classic Period collapse. After the decline of Chichen Itza, the Maya region lacked a dominant power until the rise of the city of Mayapan in the 12th century. New cities arose near the Caribbean and Gulf coasts, and new trade networks were formed. [ 54 ] The Postclassic Period was marked by changes from the preceding Classic Period. [ 55 ] The once-great city of Kaminaljuyu in the Valley of Guatemala was abandoned after continuous occupation of almost 2,000 years. [ 56 ] Across the highlands and neighbouring Pacific coast, cities came to occupy more-easily defended hilltop locations surrounded by deep ravines, with ditch-and-wall defences sometimes supplementing the natural terrain. [ 56 ] One of the most important cities in the Guatemalan Highlands at this time was Qʼumarkaj , the capital of the aggressive Kʼicheʼ kingdom . [ 55 ] The government of Maya states, from the Yucatán to the Guatemalan highlands, was often organized as joint rule by a council. However, in practice one member of the council could act as a supreme ruler, while the other members served him as advisors. [ 57 ] Mayapan was an important Postclassic city in the northern Yucatán Peninsula . Mayapan was abandoned around 1448, after a period of political, social and environmental turbulence that in many ways echoed the Classic period collapse in the southern Maya region . The city's abandonment initiated a protracted era of endemic warfare, disease, and severe climatic disruptions across the Yucatán Peninsula, which ultimately subsided shortly before Spanish contact in 1511. [ 58 ] Even without a dominant regional capital, the early Spanish explorers reported wealthy coastal cities and thriving marketplaces. [ 54 ] During the Late Postclassic, the Yucatán Peninsula was divided into a number of independent provinces that shared a common culture but varied in internal sociopolitical organization. [ 59 ] On the eve of the Spanish conquest, the highlands of Guatemala were dominated by several powerful Maya states. [ 60 ] The Kʼicheʼ had carved out a small empire covering a large part of the western Guatemalan Highlands and the neighbouring Pacific coastal plain. However, in the decades before the Spanish conquest the Kaqchikel kingdom had been steadily eroding the kingdom of the Kʼicheʼ. [ 61 ] Contact period and Spanish conquest (1511–1697 AD) Main articles: Spanish conquest of the Maya , Chiapas , Guatemala , Petén , and Yucatán See also: Spanish conquest of Honduras , Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire , and Spanish colonization of the Americas Page from the Lienzo de Tlaxcala showing the Spanish conquest of Iximche , known as Cuahtemallan in the Nahuatl language In 1511, a Spanish caravel was wrecked in the Caribbean, and about a dozen survivors made landfall on the coast of Yucatán. They were seized by a Maya lord, and most were sacrificed , although two escaped. From 1517 to 1519, three separate Spanish expeditions explored the Yucatán coast, and engaged in a number of battles with the Maya inhabitants. [ 62 ] After the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan fell to the Spanish in 1521, Hernán Cortés despatched Pedro de Alvarado to Guatemala with 180 cavalry, 300 infantry, 4 cannons, and thousands of allied warriors from central Mexico; [ 63 ] they arrived in Soconusco in 1523. [ 64 ] The Kʼicheʼ capital, Qʼumarkaj, fell to Alvarado in 1524. [ 65 ] Shortly afterwards, the Spanish were invited as allies into Iximche , the capital city of the Kaqchikel Maya. [ 66 ] Good relations did not last, due to excessive Spanish demands for gold as tribute, and the city was abandoned a few months later. [ 67 ] This was followed by the fall of Zaculeu , the Mam Maya capital, in 1525. [ 68 ] Francisco de Montejo and his son, Francisco de Montejo the Younger , launched a long series of campaigns against the polities of the Yucatán Peninsula in 1527, and finally completed the conquest of the northern portion of the peninsula in 1546. [ 69 ] This left only the Maya kingdoms of the Petén Basin independent. [ 70 ] In 1697, Martín de Ursúa launched an assault on the Itza capital Nojpetén and the last independent Maya city fell to the Spanish. [ 71 ] Persistence of Maya culture Main article: Maya peoples The Spanish conquest stripped away most of the defining features of Maya civilization. However, many Maya villages remained remote from Spanish colonial authority, and for the most part continued to manage their own affairs. Maya communities and the nuclear family maintained their traditional day-to-day life. [ 72 ] The basic Mesoamerican diet of maize and beans continued, although agricultural output was improved by the introduction of steel tools. Traditional crafts such as weaving, ceramics, and basketry continued to be practised. Community markets and trade in local products continued long after the conquest. At times, the colonial administration encouraged the traditional economy in order to extract tribute in the form of ceramics or cotton textiles, although these were usually made to European specifications. Maya beliefs and language proved resistant to change, despite vigorous efforts by Catholic missionaries. [ 73 ] The 260-day tzolkʼin ritual calendar continues in use in modern Maya communities in the highlands of Guatemala and Chiapas, [ 74 ] and millions of Mayan-language speakers inhabit the territory in which their ancestors developed their civilization. [ 75 ] Investigation of Maya civilization Drawing by Frederick Catherwood of the Nunnery complex at Uxmal The agents of the Catholic Church wrote detailed accounts of the Maya, in support of their efforts at Christianization , and absorption of the Maya into the Spanish Empire. [ 76 ] This was followed by various Spanish priests and colonial officials who left descriptions of ruins they visited in Yucatán and Central America. [ 77 ] In 1839, American traveller and writer John Lloyd Stephens set out to visit a number of Maya sites with English architect and draftsman Frederick Catherwood . [ 78 ] Their illustrated accounts of the ruins sparked strong popular interest, and brought the Maya to world attention. [ 76 ] The later 19th century saw the recording and recovery of ethnohistoric accounts of the Maya, and the first steps in deciphering Maya hieroglyphs. [ 79 ] The final two decades of the 19th century saw the birth of modern scientific archaeology in the Maya region, with the meticulous work of Alfred Maudslay and Teoberto Maler . [ 80 ] By the early 20th century, the Peabody Museum was sponsoring excavations at Copán and in the Yucatán Peninsula. [ 81 ] In the first two decades of the 20th century, advances were made in deciphering the Maya calendar, and identifying deities, dates, and religious concepts. [ 82 ] Since the 1930s, archaeological exploration increased dramatically, with large-scale excavations across the Maya region. [ 83 ] 1892 photograph of the Castillo at Chichen Itza , by Teoberto Maler In the 1960s, Mayanist J. Eric S. Thompson promoted the ideas that Maya cities were essentially vacant ceremonial centres serving a dispersed population in the forest, and that the Maya civilization was governed by peaceful astronomer-priests. [ 84 ] These ideas began to collapse with major advances in the decipherment of the script in the late 20th century, pioneered by Heinrich Berlin, Tatiana Proskouriakoff , and Yuri Knorozov . [ 85 ] With breakthroughs in understanding of Maya script since the 1950s, the texts revealed the warlike activities of the Classic Maya kings, undermining the view of the Maya as peaceful. [ 86 ] ^ Estrada-Belli 2011, pp. 1, 3. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 98. Estrada-Belli 2011, p. 38. ^ Estrada-Belli 2011, p. 1. ^ Demarest 2004, p. 17. ^ Estrada-Belli 2011, p. 3. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 98. ^ Masson 2012, p. 18238. Pugh and Cecil 2012, p. 315. ^ Estrada-Belli 2011, p. 28. ^ Hammond et al. 1976, pp. 579–81. ^ Drew 1999, p. 6. ^ Coe 1999, p. 47. ^ a b Olmedo Vera 1997, p. 26. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 214. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 276. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, pp. 182, 197. ^ Saturno, Stuart and Beltrán 2006, pp. 1281–83. ^ Olmedo Vera 1997, p. 28. ^ Martin and Grube 2000, pp. 25–26. ^ Love 2007, pp. 293, 297. Popenoe de Hatch and Schieber de Lavarreda 2001, p. 991. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 236. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 275. ^ Martin and Grube 2000, p. 8. ^ Schele and Mathews 1999, pp. 179, 182–83. ^ a b Coe 1999, p. 81. ^ Martin and Grube 2000, p. 21. ^ a b c Masson 2012, p. 18237. ^ a b c Martin and Grube 2000, p. 9. ^ Demarest 2004, p. 218. Estrada-Belli 2011, pp. 123–26. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 322. Martin and Grube 2000, p. 29. ^ a b Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 324. ^ a b c Olmedo Vera 1997, p.36. ^ Foster 2002, p. 133. ^ Demarest 2004, pp. 224–26. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, pp. 383, 387. ^ Salisbury, Koumenalis & Barbara Moffett 2002. Martin & Grube 2000, p. 108. Sharer & Traxler 2006, p. 387. ^ Martin and Grube 2000, pp. 54–55. ^ Martin and Grube 2000, pp. 192–93. Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 342. ^ Martin and Grube 2000, pp. 200, 203. ^ Martin and Grube 2000, pp. 203, 205. ^ Miller 1999, pp. 134–35. Looper 2003, p. 76. ^ Looper 1999, pp. 81, 271. ^ Demarest 2004, p. 75. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 554. ^ Webster, David (21 November 2012), "The Classic Maya Collapse" , in Nichols, Deborah L. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology (1 ed.), Oxford University Press, pp.  324– 334, doi : 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195390933.013.0023 , ISBN   978-0-19-539093-3 , retrieved 28 November 2024 ^ Coe 1999, pp. 151–55. ^ Becker 2004, p. 134. ^ Demarest 2004, p. 246. ^ Demarest 2004, p. 248. ^ Martin and Grube 2000, p. 226. ^ Foster 2002, p. 60. ^ Sharer 2000, p. 490. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, pp. 613, 616. ^ Foias 2014, p. 15. ^ a b Masson 2012, p. 18238. ^ a b Arroyo 2001, p. 38. ^ a b Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 618. ^ Foias 2014, pp. 100–02. ^ Masson and Peraza Lope 2014. ^ Andrews 1984, p. 589. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 717. ^ Restall and Asselbergs 2007, p. 5. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, pp. 759–60. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 763. Lovell 2005, p. 58. Matthew 2012, pp. 78–79. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 763. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, pp. 764–65. Recinos 1986, pp. 68, 74. ^ Schele and Mathews 1999, p. 297. Guillemín 1965, p. 9. ^ Schele and Mathews 1999, p. 298. ^ Recinos 1986, p. 110. del Águila Flores 2007, p. 38. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, pp. 766–72. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, pp. 772–73. ^ Jones 1998, p. xix. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 9. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 10. ^ Zorich 2012, p. 29. Thompson 1932, p. 449. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 11. ^ a b Demarest 2004, p. 31. ^ Demarest 2004, pp. 32–33. ^ Koch 2013, pp. 1, 105. ^ Demarest 2004, pp. 33–34. ^ Demarest 2004, pp. 37–38. ^ Demarest 2004, p. 38. ^ Demarest 2004, p. 39. ^ Demarest 2004, p. 42. ^ Demarest 2004, p. 44. ^ Demarest 2004, p. 45. ^ Foster 2002, p. 8.

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Writing and literacy Pages from the Postclassic period Paris Codex , one of the few surviving Maya books in existence Maya script on Cancuén Panel 3 describes the installation of two vassals at Machaquilá by Cancuén king Taj Chan Ahk . [ 1 ] Ceramic vessel painted with Maya script in the Ethnologisches Museum , Berlin The Maya writing system is one of the outstanding achievements of the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas. [ 2 ] It was the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system of more than a dozen systems that developed in Mesoamerica. [ 3 ] The earliest inscriptions in an identifiably Maya script date back to 300–200 BC, in the Petén Basin. [ 4 ] However, this is preceded by several other Mesoamerican writing systems , such as the Epi-Olmec and Zapotec scripts . Early Maya script had appeared on the Pacific coast of Guatemala by the late 1st century AD, or early 2nd century. [ 5 ] Similarities between the Isthmian script and Early Maya script of the Pacific coast suggest that the two systems developed in tandem. [ 6 ] By about AD 250, the Maya script had become a more formalized and consistent writing system. [ 7 ] The Catholic Church and colonial officials, notably Bishop Diego de Landa , destroyed Maya texts wherever they found them, and with them the knowledge of Maya writing, but by chance four uncontested pre-Columbian books dated to the Postclassic period have been preserved. These are known as the Madrid Codex , the Dresden Codex , the Paris Codex and the Maya Codex of Mexico (previously known as the Grolier Codex , which was of disputed authenticity until 2018). [ 8 ] [ 9 ] Archaeology conducted at Maya sites often reveals other fragments, rectangular lumps of plaster and paint chips which were codices; these tantalizing remains are, however, too severely damaged for any inscriptions to have survived, most of the organic material having decayed. [ 10 ] In reference to the few extant Maya writings, Michael D. Coe stated: [O]ur knowledge of ancient Maya thought must represent only a tiny fraction of the whole picture, for of the thousands of books in which the full extent of their learning and ritual was recorded, only four have survived to modern times (as though all that posterity knew of ourselves were to be based upon three prayer books and 'Pilgrim's Progress'). — Michael D. Coe, The Maya , London: Thames and Hudson, 6th ed., 1999, pp. 199–200. Most surviving pre-Columbian Maya writing dates to the Classic period and is contained in stone inscriptions from Maya sites, such as stelae, or on ceramics vessels. Other media include the aforementioned codices, stucco façades, frescoes, wooden lintels, cave walls, and portable artefacts crafted from a variety of materials, including bone, shell, obsidian, and jade. [ 11 ] Writing system Main article: Maya script The Maya writing system (often called hieroglyphs from a superficial resemblance to Ancient Egyptian writing) [ 12 ] is a logosyllabic writing system, combining a syllabary of phonetic signs representing syllables with logogram representing entire words. [ 11 ] [ 13 ] Among the writing systems of the Pre-Columbian New World, Maya script most closely represents the spoken language. [ 14 ] At any one time, no more than around 500 glyphs were in use, some 200 of which (including variations) were phonetic. [ 11 ] The Maya script was in use up to the arrival of the Europeans, its use peaking during the Classic Period. [ 15 ] In excess of 10,000 individual texts have been recovered, mostly inscribed on stone monuments, lintels, stelae and ceramics. [ 11 ] The Maya also produced texts painted on a form of paper manufactured from processed tree-bark generally now known by its Nahuatl-language name amatl used to produce codices . [ 16 ] [ 17 ] The skill and knowledge of Maya writing persisted among segments of the population right up to the Spanish conquest. The knowledge was subsequently lost, as a result of the impact of the conquest on Maya society. [ 18 ] The decipherment and recovery of the knowledge of Maya writing has been a long and laborious process. [ 19 ] Some elements were first deciphered in the late 19th and early 20th century, mostly the parts having to do with numbers , the Maya calendar, and astronomy. [ 20 ] Major breakthroughs were made from the 1950s to 1970s, and accelerated rapidly thereafter. [ 21 ] By the end of the 20th century, scholars were able to read the majority of Maya texts, and ongoing work continues to further illuminate the content. [ 22 ] [ 23 ] Logosyllabic script Reading order of Maya hieroglyphic text , consisting of twelve glyph blocks arranged in two double columns The basic unit of Maya logosyllabic text is the glyph block, which transcribes a word or phrase. The block is composed of one or more individual glyphs attached to each other to form the glyph block, with individual glyph blocks generally being separated by a space. Glyph blocks are usually arranged in a grid pattern. For ease of reference, epigraphers refer to glyph blocks from left to right alphabetically, and top to bottom numerically. Thus, any glyph block in a piece of text can be identified. C4 would be third block counting from the left, and the fourth block counting downwards. If a monument or artefact has more than one inscription, column labels are not repeated, rather they continue in the alphabetic series; if there are more than 26 columns, the labelling continues as A', B', etc. Numeric row labels restart from 1 for each discrete unit of text. [ 24 ] Although Mayan text may be laid out in varying manners, generally it is arranged into double columns of glyph blocks. The reading order of text starts at the top left (block A1), continues to the second block in the double-column (B1), then drops down a row and starts again from the left half of the double column (A2), and thus continues in zig-zag fashion. Once the bottom is reached, the inscription continues from the top left of the next double column (C1). Where an inscription ends in a single (unpaired) column, this final column is usually read straight downwards. [ 24 ] Individual glyph blocks may be composed of a number of elements. These consist of the main sign, and any affixes. Main signs represent the major element of the block, and may be a noun , verb , adverb , adjective , or phonetic sign . Some main signs are abstract, some are pictures of the object they represent, and others are "head variants", personifications of the word they represent. Affixes are smaller rectangular elements, usually attached to a main sign, although a block may be composed entirely of affixes. Affixes may represent a wide variety of speech elements, including nouns, verbs, verbal suffixes, prepositions, and pronouns. Small sections of a main sign could be used to represent the whole main sign. Maya scribes were highly inventive in their usage and adaptation of glyph elements. [ 25 ] Writing tools Although the archaeological record does not provide examples of brushes or pens, analysis of ink strokes on the Postclassic codices suggests that it was applied with a brush with a tip fashioned from pliable hair. [ 17 ] A Classic period sculpture from Copán, Honduras, depicts a scribe with an inkpot fashioned from a conch shell. [ 26 ] Excavations at Aguateca uncovered a number of scribal artefacts from the residences of elite status scribes, including palettes and mortars and pestles . [ 27 ] Scribes and literacy Commoners were illiterate; scribes were drawn from the elite. It is not known if all members of the aristocracy could read and write, although at least some women could, since there are representations of female scribes in Maya art. [ 28 ] Maya scribes were called aj tzʼib , meaning "one who writes or paints". [ 29 ] There were probably scribal schools where members of the aristocracy were taught to write. [ 30 ] Scribal activity is identifiable in the archaeological record; Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil I, king of Tikal, was interred with his paint pot. Some junior members of the Copán royal dynasty have also been found buried with their writing implements. A palace at Copán has been identified as that of a noble lineage of scribes; it is decorated with sculpture that includes figures holding ink pots. [ 31 ] Although not much is known about Maya scribes, some did sign their work, both on ceramics and on stone sculpture. Usually, only a single scribe signed a ceramic vessel, but multiple sculptors are known to have recorded their names on stone sculpture; eight sculptors signed one stela at Piedras Negras. However, most works remained unsigned by their artists. [ 32 ] ^ Demarest, Barrientos and Fahsen 2006, pp. 832–33. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 125. ^ Diehl 2004, p. 183. ^ Saturno, Stuart and Beltrán 2006, p. 1282. ^ Love 2007, p. 293. Schieber Laverreda and Orrego Corzo 2010, p. 2. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 225. ^ Kettunen and Helmke 2008, p. 10. ^ Romero, Laura; Saavedra, Diana (24 September 2018). "El Códice Maya de México, auténtico y el más antiguo" [The Maya Codex of Mexico, authentic and the oldest one]. Gaceta UNAM (in Spanish) . Retrieved 17 November 2022 . ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 126. Foster 2002, p. 297. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 129. ^ a b c d Kettunen and Helmke 2008, p. 6. ^ Ellsworth Hamann 2008, pp. 6–7. ^ Tanaka 2008, pp. 30, 53. ^ Macri and Looper 2003, p. 5. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, pp. 120, 123. ^ Miller and Taube 1993, p. 131. ^ a b Tobin 2001. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 120. ^ Coe 1994, pp. 245–46. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, pp. 135–36. ^ Foster 2002, pp. 271–72. ^ Macri and Looper 2003, p. 11. ^ Kettunen & Helmke 2008, p. 9. ^ a b Kettunen & Helmke 2008, p. 16. ^ Kettunen & Helmke 2008, pp. 24–25. ^ a b Webster et al. 1989, p. 55. ^ Cite error: The named reference Aoyama05p293 was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ Foster 2002, p. 331. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 123. ^ Drew 1999, p. 322. ^ Drew 1999, p. 323. ^ Foster 2002, p. 278.

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Religion and mythology Main articles: Maya religion and Maya mythology In common with the rest of Mesoamerica, the Maya believed in a supernatural realm inhabited by an array of powerful deities who needed to be placated with ceremonial offerings and ritual practices. [ 1 ] At the core of Maya religious practice was the worship of deceased ancestors, who would intercede for their living descendants in dealings with the supernatural realm. [ 2 ] The earliest intermediaries between humans and the supernatural were shamans . [ 3 ] Maya ritual included the use of hallucinogens for chilan , oracular priests. Visions for the chilan were likely facilitated by consumption of water lilies , which are hallucinogenic in high doses. [ 4 ] As the Maya civilization developed, the ruling elite codified the Maya world view into religious cults that justified their right to rule. [ 1 ] In the Late Preclassic, [ 5 ] this process culminated in the institution of the divine king, the kʼuhul ajaw, endowed with ultimate political and religious power. [ 3 ] The Maya viewed the cosmos as highly structured. There were thirteen levels in the heavens and nine in the underworld, with the mortal world in between. Each level had four cardinal directions associated with a different colour; north was white, east was red, south was yellow, and west was black. Major deities had aspects associated with these directions and colours. [ 6 ] Maya households interred their dead underneath the floors, with offerings appropriate to the social status of the family. There the dead could act as protective ancestors. Maya lineages were patrilineal, so the worship of a prominent male ancestor would be emphasised, often with a household shrine. As Maya society developed, and the elite became more powerful, Maya royalty developed their household shrines into the great pyramids that held the tombs of their ancestors. [ 2 ] Belief in supernatural forces pervaded Maya life, from the simplest day-to-day activities such as cooking, to trade, politics, and elite activities. Maya deities governed all aspects of the world, both visible and invisible. [ 7 ] The Maya priesthood was a closed group, drawing its members from the established elite; by the Early Classic they were recording increasingly complex ritual information in their hieroglyphic books, including astronomical observations, calendrical cycles, history and mythology. The priests performed public ceremonies that incorporated feasting, bloodletting, incense burning, music , ritual dance, and, on certain occasions, human sacrifice. During the Classic period, the Maya ruler was the high priest, and the direct conduit between mortals and the gods. It is highly likely that, among commoners, shamanism continued in parallel to state religion. By the Postclassic, religious emphasis had changed; there was an increase in worship of the images of deities, and more frequent recourse to human sacrifice. [ 8 ] Archaeologists painstakingly reconstruct these ritual practices and beliefs using several techniques. One important, though incomplete, resource is physical evidence, such as dedicatory caches and other ritual deposits, shrines, and burials with their associated funerary offerings . [ 9 ] Maya art, architecture, and writing are another resource, and these can be combined with ethnographic sources, including records of Maya religious practices made by the Spanish during the conquest. [ 7 ] Human sacrifice Main article: Human sacrifice in Maya culture Relief sculpture of a decapitated ballplayer , adorning the Great Ballcourt at Chichen Itza Blood was viewed as a potent source of nourishment for the Maya deities, and the sacrifice of a living creature was a powerful blood offering. By extension, the sacrifice of a human life was the ultimate offering of blood to the gods, and the most important Maya rituals culminated in human sacrifice. Generally only high status prisoners of war were sacrificed, with lower status captives being used for labour. [ 10 ] These prisoners were viewed as trophies for Maya warriors, and their sacrifice brought honour and status to them and their families. [ 11 ] Important rituals such as the dedication of major building projects or the enthronement of a new ruler required a human offering. The sacrifice of an enemy king was the most prized, and such a sacrifice involved decapitation of the captive ruler, perhaps in a ritual reenactment of the decapitation of the Maya maize god by the death gods. [ 10 ] In AD 738, the vassal king Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Yopaat of Quiriguá captured his overlord, Uaxaclajuun Ubʼaah Kʼawiil of Copán and a few days later ritually decapitated him. [ 12 ] Sacrifice by decapitation is depicted in Classic period Maya art, and sometimes took place after the victim was tortured, being variously beaten, scalped, burnt or disembowelled. [ 13 ] Another myth associated with decapitation was that of the Hero Twins recounted in the Popol Vuh : playing a ballgame against the gods of the underworld, the heroes achieved victory, but one of each pair of twins was decapitated by their opponents. [ 14 ] [ 10 ] During the Postclassic period, the most common form of human sacrifice was heart extraction, influenced by the rites of the Aztecs in the Valley of Mexico; [ 10 ] this usually took place in the courtyard of a temple, or upon the summit of the pyramid. [ 15 ] In one ritual, the corpse would be skinned by assistant priests, except for the hands and feet, and the officiating priest would then dress himself in the skin of the sacrificial victim and perform a ritual dance symbolizing the rebirth of life. [ 15 ] Archaeological investigations indicate that heart sacrifice was practised as early as the Classic period. [ 16 ] Deities See also: List of Maya gods and supernatural beings The Maya world was populated by a great variety of deities, supernatural entities and sacred forces. The Maya had such a broad interpretation of the sacred that identifying distinct deities with specific functions is inaccurate. [ 18 ] The Maya interpretation of deities was closely tied to the calendar, astronomy, and their cosmology. [ 19 ] The importance of a deity, its characteristics, and its associations varied according to the movement of celestial bodies. The priestly interpretation of astronomical records and books was therefore crucial, since the priest would understand which deity required ritual propitiation, when the correct ceremonies should be performed, and what would be an appropriate offering. Each deity had four manifestations, associated with the cardinal directions, each identified with a different colour. They also had a dual day-night/life-death aspect. [ 6 ] Itzamna was the creator god, but he also embodied the cosmos, and was simultaneously a sun god ; [ 6 ] Kʼinich Ahau, the day sun, was one of his aspects. Maya kings frequently identified themselves with Kʼinich Ahau. Itzamna also had a night sun aspect, the Night Jaguar , representing the sun in its journey through the underworld. [ 20 ] The four Pawatuns supported the corners of the mortal realm; in the heavens, the Bacabs performed the same function. As well as their four main aspects, the Bakabs had dozens of other aspects that are not well understood. [ 21 ] The four Chaacs were storm gods , controlling thunder, lightning, and the rains. [ 22 ] The nine lords of the night each governed one of the underworld realms. [ 21 ] Other important deities included the moon goddess , the maize god, and the Hero Twins. [ 23 ] The Popol Vuh was written in the Latin script in early colonial times, and was probably transcribed from a hieroglyphic book by an unknown Kʼicheʼ Maya nobleman. [ 24 ] It is one of the most outstanding works of indigenous literature in the Americas. [ 25 ] The Popul Vuh recounts the mythical creation of the world, the legend of the Hero Twins, and the history of the Postclassic Kʼicheʼ kingdom. [ 24 ] Deities recorded in the Popul Vuh include Hun Hunahpu , believed by some to be the Kʼicheʼ maize god, [ 26 ] and a triad of deities led by the Kʼicheʼ patron Tohil , and also including the moon goddess Awilix , and the mountain god Jacawitz . [ 27 ] In common with other Mesoamerican cultures, the Maya worshipped feathered serpent deities . Such worship was rare during the Classic period, [ 28 ] but by the Postclassic the feathered serpent had spread to both the Yucatán Peninsula and the Guatemalan Highlands. In Yucatán, the feathered serpent deity was Kukulkan , [ 29 ] among the Kʼicheʼ it was Qʼuqʼumatz . [ 30 ] Kukulkan had his origins in the Classic period War Serpent, Waxaklahun Ubah Kan , and has also been identified as the Postclassic version of the Vision Serpent of Classic Maya art. [ 31 ] Although the cult of Kukulkan had its origins in these earlier Maya traditions, the worship of Kukulkan was heavily influenced by the Quetzalcoatl cult of central Mexico. [ 32 ] Likewise, Qʼuqʼumatz had a composite origin, combining the attributes of Mexican Quetzalcoatl with aspects of the Classic period Itzamna. [ 33 ] ^ a b Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 91. ^ a b Demarest 2004, p. 176. ^ a b Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 93. ^ Emboden 1979, pp. 50–52. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 721. ^ a b c Demarest 2004, p. 179. ^ a b Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 92. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 722. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, pp. 91–92. ^ a b c d Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 751. ^ Helmke 2020 . ^ Cite error: The named reference ReferenceA was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ Miller and Taube 1993, p. 96. ^ Gillespie 1991, pp. 322–23. ^ a b Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 752. ^ Tiesler and Cucina 2006, p. 493. ^ Fox 2008, pp. 60, 249. ^ Demarest 2004, p. 177. ^ Demarest 2004, pp. 177, 179. ^ Demarest 2004, p. 181. ^ a b Demarest 2004, p. 182. ^ Demarest 2004, pp. 182–83. ^ Demarest 2004, pp. 181–83. ^ a b Miller and Taube 1993, p. 134. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 123 was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p. 729. ^ Christenson 2007, pp. 61n65, 228n646. Miller and Taube 1993, p. 170. Carmack 2001, pp. 275, 369. ^ Miller and Taube 1993, p. 150. ^ Miller and Taube 1993, p. 142. ^ Christenson 2007, pp. 52–53n20. ^ Freidel, Schele and Parker 1993, pp. 289, 325, 441n26. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, pp. 582–83. ^ Fox 2008, pp. 60, 121, 220.

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Agriculture Main article: Maya cuisine See also: Agriculture in Mesoamerica Maize was a staple of the Maya diet . The ancient Maya had diverse and sophisticated methods of food production. It was believed that shifting cultivation (swidden) agriculture provided most of their food, [ 1 ] but it is now thought that permanent raised fields , terracing , intensive gardening, forest gardens, and managed fallows were also crucial to supporting the large populations of the Classic period in some areas. [ 2 ] Indeed, evidence of these different agricultural systems persist today: raised fields connected by canals can be seen on aerial photographs. [ 3 ] Contemporary rainforest species composition has significantly higher abundance of species of economic value to ancient Maya in areas that were densely populated in pre-Columbian times, [ 4 ] and pollen records in lake sediments suggest that maize, manioc , sunflower seeds , cotton, and other crops have been cultivated in association with deforestation in Mesoamerica since at least 2500 BC. [ 5 ] The basic staples of the Maya diet were maize, beans, and squashes. These were supplemented with a wide variety of other plants either cultivated in gardens or gathered in the forest. At Joya de Cerén , a volcanic eruption preserved a record of foodstuffs stored in Maya homes, among them were chilies and tomatoes . Cotton seeds were in the process of being ground, perhaps to produce cooking oil. In addition to basic foodstuffs, the Maya also cultivated prestige crops such as cotton, cacao and vanilla. Cacao was especially prized by the elite, who consumed chocolate beverages . [ 6 ] Cotton was spun, dyed, and woven into valuable textiles in order to be traded. [ 7 ] The Maya had few domestic animals; dogs were domesticated by 3000 BC, and the Muscovy duck by the Late Postclassic. [ 8 ] Ocellated turkeys were unsuitable for domestication, but were rounded up in the wild and penned for fattening. All of these were used as food animals; dogs were additionally used for hunting. It is possible that deer were also penned and fattened. [ 9 ] ^ Fisher 2014, p. 196. ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, pp. 81–82. Demarest 2004, pp. 130–38. Ross 2011, p. 75. ^ Adams, Brown and Culbert 1981, p. 1460. ^ Ross 2011, p. 75. ^ Colunga-García Marín and Zizumbo-Villarreal 2004, pp. S102–S103 ^ Foster 2002, p. 310. ^ Foster 2002, pp. 310–11. ^ Foster 2002, pp. 311–312. ^ Foster 2002, p. 312.

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