NAME: NADIA MOHAMMED
CENTER NUMBER:
REGISTRATION NUMBER:
TITLE OF STUDY:
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF
MAYAN & TAINO CIVILISATIONS
RESEARCH TOPIC:
ARE THERE ANY SIMILIARITIES OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE MAYAN AND TAINO CIVILISATIONS?

NAME OF SCHOOL: ASJA GIRLS COLLEGE, BARRACKPORE

INTRODUCTION According to archeologists, the Taino people arrived in the Caribbean islands several thousands of years ago from their ancient ancestral homeland in the South American headwaters of the Orinoco River. Based on research conducted on the ancestral people of the region, it was believed that the Tainos were largely influenced by the Mesoamerican peoples who were commonly known as the Mayans of the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. Mayan culture was believed to be one of the most advanced of all the ancestral peoples and the Tainos realizing the level of enlightenment of the Mayans and a shared basis of religious and spiritual beliefs adopted aspects of the Mayan culture, spirituality and societal structures that are quite evident when an analysis of the civilizations is conducted. Today modern archeologists are beginning to recognize that the interchange of cultural norms and ideas of the two groups are more extensive than previously thought as they go beyond the superficial aspects such as the hierarchic stratification of society and extends to the intimate connections of spirituality.
Figure 1: picture of origins of Mayan Civilization

Figure 2: picture of origins of Taino Civilization

ORIGINS OF THE MAYAN AND TAINO CIVILISATIONS About 2000 years ago the Mayans created one of the greatest civilization in the Western Hemisphere based on aspects of their social, economic, cultural and religious organizations. Archeologists have traced the settlement of the Mayan civilization to as early as 150 BC however the rise of their culture did not begin until approximately 259 AD. The Mayan civilization which soon became one of the greatest of the New World was primarily based in the northern Petenin Guatemala and consisted of over 40 cities each with a population of suddenly declined due to climate conditions and exhaustion of agricultural lands. Despite its drastic decline, Mayan populations still exist in the areas of Guatemala and Honduras, Southern Mexico, and the peninsular of Yucatan. These tawns were built in the midst of dense tropical jungle. The Mayan studied the start and invented a calendar. There were priests and officials and a who le system of religion and government which ruled the people who were scattered over this large area of central America Roads connected one town to another and Mayan canoes spread trace across the Caribbean sea. According to Archeologists the Tainos civilization was the largest and most widespread of the groups living in the Caribbean region from 1200-1500 AD and can be best characterized by its advanced political organization, elaborate ceremonial life and well developed act. Despite their number they were virtually wiped out within one hundred years of the arrival of the Spaniards and thus today it is documented that there are no Tainos currently existing and all knowledge about them comes from the remains of art and other artifacts.

ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION OF THE MAYAN AND TAINO CIVILISATIONS Both the Mayan and Taino civilizations had established economic organizations within the civilization. Neither the Mayans nor the Tainos had an actual form of currency however they used subsistence and prestige items to trade valuable items such as food and other subsistence items like clothing, tools, basic pottery and salt. In Mayan societies valuable items included commodities which were not readily available as well as prestigious items which were non-practical but used as an indication of wealth in society such as jade, copper, highly decorated pottery and ritual items. Most Mayan cities produced their own subsistence items and practiced surplus farming so that excess may be stored or traded. This practice was unlike that of the Tainos who did not rely as heavily on agriculture and produced just enough that would be consumed by members of the community. The Tainos unlike the Mayans were best known for having exploited their natural resources and their development of techniques of agriculture, hunting and fishing. Unlike the Mayans, the Tainos practiced Conoco cultivation as the main agricultural technique and planted items such as maize, peanuts, peppers, beans, squash, tobacco, cotton and arrow root.
Figure 3: Pictures of items traded for economic gain by the Mayan and Taino civilizations

RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION OF THE MAYAN AND TAINO CIVILISATIONS Religion and the spirit world was an important aspect of life for both the Mayans and Tainos and both had religious practices which were polytheistic. Polytheistic refers to the worship of many Gods and Spirits. The Mayans worshipped Quetzalcoatl who was considered the great God and culture hero, as well as Chac, the rain God and Yum Kaax, the corn God as well as a total of one hundred and sixty six other Gods. They offered blood sacrifices and they believed that torture and human sacrifices brought fertility. They worshipped Gods who were representative of the Sun, moon, rain, and corn. The main reason for worship in Mayan culture was to ensure good crops in a primarily barren land. Mayan religion was based on nature and as such respected and observed the Sun, Moon, Stars and Venus. Mayans set and organized festivals, made sacrifices and decided dates for planting and harvesting. The sun was important for the calendar system. The most important of the planets for the Mayans were Venus as they associated its movement to coincide with wars. They practiced human sacrifice and even their sacred ball game called pok-a-tok had ritual significance and therefore the losers would be sacrificed. The Tainos who also believed in the spirit world did not give offerings to their Zemis except once a year. Zemis were usually made of wood, stone, bone and ancestral remains with the exception of one of the most famous Zemis made which was known as the beaded Zemi. The beaded Zemi was one of the most remarkable of the Tainos’ artistic developments and was known for its history of being emblematic of Taino spirits. According to an article on the History of the Tainos, it was forcefully conceived and elegantly crafted and combined ideas and materials from three different cultures into a stunningly original work of art. The Tainos civilizations that the spirits presided over the cosmos associated with wind, rain, sea, human fertility and the successful growth of crops. It was believed that at the beginning of time, the spirits blanketed the cosmos with invisible layers of geometric designs and symmetrical motifs which showed the connectedness that unite the universe. In such civilizations there were men who were called piaimers who they believed possessed supernatural powers. Each household in Tainos civilization had Zemis and the more one possessed was indicative of status in the community. The Tainos believed in eight classes of spirits both good and evil and therefore based on their belief in Zemis were painted on the body which would remove the spirit causing the illness. When offerings to the Zemis were to be made they began with a procession of the villagers who would wear their best ornaments and carry baskets of cassava bread and singing songs of praise. Before worship they would induce vomiting with specials stick to signify the purging of self.
Figure 4: Picture of religious artifacts CULTURAL AND SOCIETAL ORGANIZATION OF THE MAYAN AND TAINO CIVILISATIONS The societal structure of both the Mayan and Taino civilizations were similar as both were classified as non-egalitarian societies as there was a hierarchical order of the people. Both the societies were ruled or governed by a head chief. In Mayan society the chief was called the Halach Uinich whilst in Taino society the chief was called a Cacique, both of which were hereditary in nature. Both the Mayans and the Tainos lived in theocratic kingdoms that had been divided into classes but the Taino’s societal structures were more detailed having been divided into three social classes. The Naborias were the working class; the Nitainos were the sub-chiefs and noblemen which included the bohiques or priests and medicine men. The chiefs were the leader in both societies and thus each village or province was ruled by one. The houses of both the Mayan and Taino people were small and simple however the Mayans was greatly advanced in size and architectural structure as compared to the Taino people. Despite the Mayan simplicity of house structure of the ordinary community members the homes of the nobles were built of sculptured stones; an architectural advancement that the Tainos did not posses. The ordinary people of the Mayan community lived on the outskirts of the temple whereas the Tainos which were segregated into much smaller communities resided around the community square and living space. Both the civilizations were steeped in family life and thus extended family type homes were a common occurrence; however they still did not practice polygamy with the exception of Chiefs in Taino civilizations and in Mayan civilizations were some men had one wife but different concubines. Unlike the much smaller civilizations of the Tainos, the Mayans at the height of its existence boasted of forty cities with each having a population of about five thousand to fifty thousand inhabitants. The principal cities in Mayan civilizations were Tikal, Uaxactun, Copan, Bonampak and Palenque. The basis of the Mayan architecture was more advanced than any of the period and was centered on stonework as the land they occupied was not fertile but filled with limestone which could be quarried and used in the production of cement similar to modern buildings. They built huge palaces and temples with distinct architectural styles and features. They used rubble cement similar to modern builders and built temples on raised platforms which were plastered and four sided using the corbel vault principal, which means they constructed arch like structures until they meet at the top which made the building stronger and more stable. The architecture of the Mayan civilizations was also linked to their belief in astronomy. Many important Mayan buildings were designed in accordance to astronomy and the desire for the planets to be visible from the top of the building or through a window at important times of the year. The Mayan civilization was the only of its time to have developed a system of indigenous science which means they had a class of priest trained in mathematics and astronomy. Unlike the Tainos who had no calendar or writing system could only count to twenty the Mayans had developed pronouncedly accurate calendar system. The main purpose of the development of a calendar system was to calculate the appropriate time for religious festivals and rituals. They had their own form of writing known as Hieroglyphs which was a picture based form and were the only civilization before to have the concept of zero. They accurately calculated the solar year and compiled precise tables of positions of moons and the planet also predicting solar eclipses. There were two types of calendar systems which were the Calendar Round and the Long count. The Mayan long count calendar was divided into different units of time of the solar year which amounted to 365 days, however the Calendar round consisted of two separate calendars the first being the solar year and the second the 260 day Tzolkin cycle which were made up of cycles which align every 52 years.

BIBLIOGRAPHY * ‘Ancient Maya Economy and Trade’, Latin American History, www.latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/Maya/p/Ancient-Maya-Economy-And-Trade.htm, January 20th, 2014 * Baldeosingh, Kevin and Mahase, Radica. Caribbean History for CSEC. Oxford University Press, 2011 * ‘History of the Taino Indians’- http://www.fjcollazo.com/documents/TanioIndRpt.htm- December o4th * McKillop, Heather. The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives. New York: Norton, 2004. * Claypole, William and Robottom, John. Caribbean Story Book 1. Longman Publishing, 2001.