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Mayan Mountains

The Maya Mountain Range extends about 70 miles (115 km) northeastward beginning at the Guatemalan border and stretching across, entering central Belize. The mountains rapidly stretch through the coastal plain, all the way to the east and north, but gradually gravitate towards the west, eventually becoming the Vaca Plateau, which extends and enters eastern Guatemala. The range and the plateau are both significantly separated and share a consistent elevation throughout, the highest peaks being reached at Doyle’s Delight (which is 3,688 feet) and the Victoria Peak (3,680 feet), in the crossway Cockscomb Range, perpendicularly extending towards the sea from the main divide. The mountains were granted their name by the Mayans, who withdrew to the mountains before the Spaniards, leaving considerable centers, including Lubaantun on the mountains’ southeastern periphery, deserted before them.

Crops and Livestock

Mayan civilization raised llamas at the top of a mountain and farmed crops at the bottom of the mountains. Not only did they raise llamas, but it was also cows, chickens, pigs, and more, indicating that they raised a variety of animals. They raised many animals to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner such as maize (corn), squash, beans, tobacco, and cocoa, which were the main crops that Mayans grew.

Mayan Cities

Mayan cities tended to be home to a significant population of residents, typically ranging from around 5,000 to 50,000 people in each city, causing these areas to be filled with activity. Religious centers would also commonly be discovered in the center of these cities. These structures were flat-topped pyramids constructed with limestone. Why were flat-topped you may ask? Well, the tops of these temples were utilized by Mayan priest-kings for religious rituals. Another architectural structure incorporates palaces, only found in some cities. A primary key city was Palenque. This location was contemplated as a crucial source of power since it bordered the highlands and lowlands.

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The Formation of Beliefs

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Maya religious beliefs are formed on the notion that virtually everything in the world contains k'uh or sacredness. K'uh and k'uhul, similar terms that are utilized to explain the spirituality of all inanimate and animate things, describe the most divine life force of existence. Maya's belief establishes the creation and sanctity of homo sapiens, the Earth, and all things sacred. This divine sanctity can be translated into Maya creation myths as well.

Mayan Gods

If you've ever thought the religions that exist today were the same as they were in the past, you're wrong, and here's why. According to Britannica, Mayans were polytheistic, worshipping important gods (to them) such as Itźamna, the supreme Mayan god and original creator who possessed many forms, including a feathered serpent known as Kukulcán. Rulers told their people that to please their gods, they needed to perform human sacrifice. Additionally, captives were used to sacrifice to the Chac god of rain and sunlight, which the Mayas believed controlled everything. The main focus of the Mayans in their religion was creating huge pyramids for gods and having credence that they wanted strict rules for class systems. Additionally, the Mayans had a sport called the Mayan ball game, which was religious since the team that lost was sacrificed to the gods. Pacal, a priest-king, sacrificed people and sometimes animals. Pacal was known for using blood to please the gods, while also being the longest ruler, ruling for an incredible 68 years.

The Maya Creation Myth

Before explaining the Maya creation myths, it is crucial to understand the differences between the two sources where the Maya creation stories have been discovered. These sources include the Popol Vuh and the books of Chilam Balam. The Popol Vuh is associated with the highlands of the Maya nation, which is now modern-day Guatemala. It contains text about human creation, prophecies, and traditional myths and histories. The books of Chilam Balam are commonly associated with the lowland Maya of the Yucatán area of Mexico. Several books of chilam balam are titled for the area in which they were composed. The most famous and influential books include the books of Chumayle, Tizimin, Mani, Kaua, Ixil, Tusik, and Codex pérez. These books were typically written by jaguar priests, a literal translation for chilam balam. These books date to colonial Spanish times (1500 CE), hence there's an influence of Spanish colonialism on the creation stories of the chilam balam.

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Hieroglyphics

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The Mayans made hieroglyphs which would stand for an object and/or sound. The Maya had 800 distinct hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphs were carved on the stone columns and on codexes, which were record books. Exploration of Maya sites began in the 1830s, by the 20th century, a small portion of their hieroglyphic writing was deciphered, and more about their history and culture became known. Most of what historians know about the Maya comes from the remains of the architecture and art. The Mayans created the only true writing system for all of the Americas.

The Mayan calendars

The Mayans created calendars using astronomy, which would know the exact moon phases and predict the sun and moon eclipses. The earliest record of a Mayan calendar is called the calendar round.  It was two calendars that overlapped one another. The first calendar was the Tzolkin cycle, which had 260 days, and roughly correlated to the Maya agricultural cycle.  Mayan astronomers used the 260-day calendar to record the movements of the planets, sun, and moon.  When used consecutively with the standard 365-day "haab" calendar, the two would align every 52 years.  The calendar round was phenomenally accurate.

Pitz/ulama (The ballgame created by the Mayans)

Although this game was frequently played casually, crucial ritual aspects were also a part of it. This game was commonly played to settle disputes between rival societies. There were to be 2-5 players in each team that tried to hit a solid rubber ball through a stone ring by only using their elbows, wrists, and hips. Mayans from many different social classes came to watch the games, and some placed bets on the game, as well as slaves, land, and homes, which could either be won or lost during games. It's believed that the team that lost, was sacrificed, while the captain of the losing team was beheaded. The matches symbolized the battles between gods in the sky and lords of the underworld.

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The Mayan government and rulers

Have you ever wondered when you are paying something and that things go up in price because of political situations and government. Well that didn't exist in the back before. In the Mayans government they created a hierarchical government where the people who ruled were only kings and priests. They had a system where even today we see that this world is the people who control the resources. To show power some of the rulers wanted to have near relationships with the people who had jade having political alliance to have these precious items recognized for being more than something unique but used to obtain  power. Women in this era also had an important role in society. They helped make alliances in the political agreements. A famous ruler in the maya, also a priest and warrior was Pacal. He ruled for 68 years and was more known for bloodletting to the gods.

Mayan Politics did not begin with kings in the early preclassic period, much of the political system in the Maya polities began in the late preclassic period around 300 BCE. Throughout the Maya era, the Maya remained in separate politics and did not unite as one empire. Mayan polities were independent from each other, the Mayan civilization is seen as an internationally trading civilization. The increased trade of the classic states contributed to the politics of the Maya. Researchers have understood that the Maya underwent two cycles of politics. The cycles involved an initial period of rise and fall, then a so-called “rebound” time which was shorter than the first period, but still followed the normal patterns of the cycle and went on until the late Post=classic Mayan period. The first cycle involved a longer period of time for economic, Political, and population development. While the number of polities did fall at the end of the first cycle of collapse around 900 CE, the polities didn’t completely vanish.

The people of maya wanted to give blood to the gods

as an offering

Priest-kings like Pacal killed animals and

Sometimes people offer offerings to the gods.

One Mayan ruler was named Pascal. He ruled

the Maya for 68 years. Like other Maya

rulers, he was a priest as well as a warrior.

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Trading and Currency

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If you’ve ever thought about how the Mayan farmers collected items that they could not grow/create, then this section will surely answer your questions! Mayan farmers (both lowland and highland residents) began to trade with the Central American and Mexican populations to obtain items such as jade and feathers. The primary materials that they’d trade were obsidian and cacao beans, which were their main source of currency. The economy was based on trade of staple crops as well as prestigious items such as gold, copper, jade and decorated pottery. Obsidian is a volcanic rock that is classified as glass-like. It can be a crucial resource since it may be used to create arrow tips and cutting tools. Additionally, cacao beans were maintained only for the upper social classes (such as warriors since it was believed that they provided long-lasting nourishment, and it was also part of their military rations) since they had a rich taste, while the expensive ones were commonly ground and stirred together with a variety of other flavors (such as vanilla) to create a frothy beverage that was more on the bitter side and has the taste of dark chocolate infused with a high percentage of cacao. These cacao drinks were often distributed at important events such as special religious marriages and funeral ceremonies. Mayans maintained connections with several city-states through trade, economic agreements, and fealty to aristocratic leaders. A supreme military commander, priests, chiefdoms, and kings oversaw each city-state. Slaves were also used by the Mayans.

The Mayan Government

The Mayan government was a hierarchical structure of priests, kings, and other members of the aristocracy who ruled over individual city-states. Mayans had several city-states they were aligned with through allegiance to the aristocratic leaders, trade, and other alliances. Individual city-states were ruled by kings, chiefdoms, priests, and a supreme military commander. The Mayans also utilized slaves.

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The Ranks in Mayan Society

The society of the Mayans was divided into 4 different groups, including names to differentiate them: Maya almehenob (the nobles), Maya ahkinob (the priesthood), Maya oh chembal uinieol (the common people), and Maya ppencatob (the slaves). The highest rank of the Mayans was called the halach uinic, also known as “true man.” The highest role was often passed on from the generation from father to eldest son (unless there was no heir to pass it down to, in that case, a successor would be elected from the noble family by a council of lords) since it was a hereditary position. Since the halach uinic was the highest rank of the hierarchy, it possessed ultimate political authority over the city-state and saw to civil affairs, including relations with neighboring cities. A cloth was used to cover the face of the halach uinic, which fended off people from interacting with him. This action was performed as a sign of respect and honor. Additionally, the halach uinic chose regional managers from the wealthier Mayans with more exceptional ranks that constructed the nobles. These managers are also known as batabs; They would benefit the halach uinic while they administer governments and overlook the village's crucial payment of tributes, also known as taxes, to the hierarchy.

The Mayan Priests

The Mayan priests had a considerable place in society since their ranks were higher. The Mayan priests were administrators, scholars, astronomers, and mathematicians, in addition to their religious duties. Priesthood heavily influenced the Mayans as the nobility. These priests had a vast range of knowledge, which meant they could proficiently gain control over the superstitions of the masses, causing them to be both feared and respected for the power and knowledge they held. Priests had many duties, including human sacrifice, which was strictly only executed by the priest called nacom. The nacom would remove the heart of the victim during sacrificial ceremonies. Additionally, there were religious practices such as the study of divination, interpreting spiritual omens, and predicting future events.

The Lower Ranks

Commoners and slaves were at the bottom of society. Commoners served higher roles, such as nobles and priests, working as farmers, architects, stonecutters, and carpenters. They were working to support both themselves and the people above them. The acceptable use of slaves eventually arose during the Post-classic era of the Maya. Prisoners of war, orphans, the children of those already enslaved, and ones caught stealing were all considered slaves. However, laws did accept payment for those that are enslaved to be released, which meant that the length the slave was supposed to serve was no longer for life. Slaves were generally at the hands of their owners since they weren’t classified as significant enough to receive a higher role in society.