...Tangible History: A Short Study in Mayan Languages and Writing The distinctive characteristics that set men apart from animals have always baffled the minds of scientists and philosophers alike. Amongst these characteristics, language in and of itself remains one of the key ingredients to the puzzle. As a species, we humans have the ability to not just form distinctive sounds (like most animals can), but words—not just one set, but many; thousands of languages have existed over the centuries, each one more unique and complex than the last. The ability to communicate is as old as the human race is itself, and while we may not be able to understand every language in certainty, it does not mean we are going to stop trying. The first written languages as a whole appeared in the Mesopotamian and Egyptian areas simultaneously about 15,000 years ago. (Coe 1992: 13) Since then, thousands have sprung—seemingly out of nothing. Languages influence and loan to each other, words that have very little change (whether in pronunciation or spelling) no matter what language they are in. (Wichman and Brown 2003: 57, Coe 1992: 50) Without spoken language, a writing system is impossible—verbalized languages are one of the key ingredients to achieving a written language. (Coe 1992: 21) And it is here that we come to perhaps one of the most important ideas about ancient peoples: without a written language, it is hard to know practically anything about ancient peoples. Without documentation...
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...The first civilization of the Mesoamerica era was the Mayans, also making them one of the most ancient. The Mayans were a highly intellectual civilization, having knowledge in areas such as writing and literacy, mathematics, and astronomy. A big part of their lifestyle was religion. The Mayan art has been known to be richest of the new world having “great complexity of patterns and a variety of media expressions”. The Mayan civilization left an impressive history to study. Developing the only known fully written language of the pre-Columbus time goes to showed the skills of the Mayans. In addition, inscriptions showed their complex problem solving techniques in math, holding the civilization as the developers of the idea of zero. The first known scientist where among these people. One of the Mayan’s greatest accomplishments was there astronomy work with the calendar. They timed the earth’s orbit around the sun accurately, and created an accurate calendar. Art is an important part of how people study the Mayan lifestyle and culture. Their artwork is very spiritual, showing how religious they were. Also out of the Art, their architectures can be recognized as their most memorable artwork. Another great accomplishment of theirs are their structures that still stand for people around the world to admire. The Mayans dedicated their life to their gods. Although they are intelligent and hard workers, they had war-like rage. This independent city-state culture were constantly at war...
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...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...
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...End of Mayan Civilization Samuel Nathaniel H. Stansbury HUM 111 11/3/2012 The mystery concerning the fundamental explanation for the collapse of the Mayan Civilization has been a major focus for researchers in the fields of anthropology and archeology for a considerable period of time. At the very core of this mystery of the Mayan collapse was the question of how could such a strong, stable civilization that had flourished for approximately twenty-seven hundred years disappear without a clear, rational explanation. As a result, researchers have put forth a large number of theories for the explanation of the collapse and subsequent decimation of the Mayan empire. Although it would be convenient or simple to put forth a theory concerning only one reasonable or rational factor explaining the collapse of the Mayan civilization, this would be both insufficient and impossible from a strictly theoretical standpoint. For example, Henry M. Sayre argues that by 900 A. D. (900 CE), Mayan civilization had been decimated as a result of not just one single factor, but, rather, as a result of a number of equally important factors. These factors included overpopulation and accompanying ecological degradation, political competition, and warfare (Sayre, 2012, p.392). Once again, it is essential to clearly articulate the fact that it is theoretically impossible to put forth only one single underlying factor in a theory offering a coherent explanation for the collapse of the Mayan civilization...
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...After watching “Cracking the Mayan Code” on YouTube, I obtained a good amount of information about the Mayan people and their language. The Mayans lived in a region that extended from Southern Mexico through Central America. The cities were full of inscriptions called hieroglyphics which were carved in monuments, objects, painted on pottery and written in bark paper books. It was an ancient language expressed in writing. The hieroglyphics had ‘secret’ messages that are still trying to be solved today. Archaeologists tried breaking the code of visuals and scripts, but only got so much done ever since they’ve been discovered. They noticed that blood was everywhere in the hieroglyphics, which brought out a darker view of the Mayan culture. Mayan...
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...Theories Behind the Disappearance of the Mayan Civilization Travis Epling Prof. Aprile Castagna Cappuzzo Introduction to Humanities 2 May 2014 Theories Behind the Disappearance of the Mayan Civilization There are many theories behind the decline of the Mayan Civilization. They range from over-population, war, famine, immigration, deforestation, climate change, and even aliens. When we say the disappearance of the Mayans we do not mean that the culture completely disappeared, we are talking about and extreme reduction in population. Tom Server believes as much as 90 to 95 percent of the population. Many of the major bustling cities of the Mayan Empire such as Tikal, Palenque, and Copan were simply abandoned for, what appears to be, no reason. Many of these theories have been debunked over time with the development of new science technology that allows for more thorough of investigations of these ancient civilizations. The first theory we will visit will be the affects of deforestation which also encompasses part of the climate change theory. NASA archaeologist, Tom Sever(2004) states that , “The Mayan civilization in Mesoamerica was one of the densest populations in human history”. He believes that the population during the height of the Mayan Empire would have been between 1800 and 2600 people per square mile. In 2000, the population density of Los Angeles was around 2300 for a comparison. The extreme amount of people living in the area would have put...
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...exhibited a culture that was not only sophisticated and ahead of its time, but also one of great art and rituals. What was of great significance to these people was the Mayan Ballgame. The ballgame will be analyzed throughout this text, signifying its importance to the Mayan culture as evidenced in various articles and how these articles contribute to our understanding of these people. Though these written articles differ in some aspects they are all effective in advancing our knowledge of Mayan history and civilization because collectively they communicate how the ballgame taught Mayan values and proper behavior, was crucial in Mayan ritual and civilization, and how it was used as an interaction with other civilizations. How was this Mayan ballgame played? All the information historians have on the ballgame derived from visiting the actual sites in Mesoamerica where these games were played and the interpretation of various glyphs depicting the game. According to Freidel, Schele, and Parker, the ballcourts were oriented at the North – South axis, probably in line with astrological movement of stars, and usually in the center of the city-state. And though there were variations in the courts and the game itself most were shaped like a capital “I” with sloping playing surfaces and a sunken alley were the Mayans probably...
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...Extended Essay In World Religions [pic] “An Investigation into the Sacrificial Blood Rituals of the Maya Culture.” Abstract This essay focuses on the religious beliefs and practices of the ancient Mayan civilization that spanned from the borders of present day Honduras up to Mexico, but which only a certain amount is truly known. The principal reason why I chose to focus on these people was to challenge myself to try and gain a greater understanding of why they engaged in such strange rituals as bloodletting and even human sacrifice? What prompted them to commit such acts? I proposed that the performance of these actions, as they seemed to be so entwined with their culture, must have had something to do with their religious beliefs but which ones exactly, and how did they originate? It was with this in mind that I conducted an investigation into the sacrificial blood rituals of Maya culture. Thus, from conducting library based research - using books, Encyclopedias and the Internet - I found out that the Mayans had created for themselves a complex Creation Myth and pantheon of gods. It was to supposedly sustain these gods, who were constantly fighting against one another, that the Mayan conducted bloodletting and human sacrifices, believing that in return the gods would provide them the water needed to grow their maize. The gods, replenished by this blood, were able to maintain the harmony of the universe by preventing any one group of...
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...Farming's Impact on the Rise and Fall of the Mayan Empire History is an ever-changing concept. The world as we know it has not always been the way we know it to be, and with each new discovery a different connection/story line is revealed. One of the greatest mysteries of ancient history is the fall of the Mayan Civilization. The Mayan's are thought to be one of the most technologically advanced and successful civilizations of our world's early and most primitive times, but as quick as they conquered they vanished. There are many different theories as to what caused the Mayan's to fall and disappear however, the theory that seems to have the most support is that the one thing that allowed them to be most successful also doomed them in their final days... farming. The Mayan Civilization grew so rapidly due to their advanced agricultural techniques, their ability to develop and perfect these techniques based on their need to produce more food for their growing needs, however ultimately these farming methods failed them leaving their enormous civilization dependant on food THEY farmed hungry and forced to move on or die out. To start, the Mayan's weren't a very large nation nor did they have very usable land to be able to farm on. They were located in Mesoamerica in the center of many wetlands and hills/mountains, however they did not let these hindrances stop them, instead, they used their unique habitat, and developed new ways of farming that proved to be VERY successful...
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...Disappearance of the Mayan Civilization The disappearance of the Mayan Civilization has always been a very interesting mystery to me. What happened to the Mayan people? This question has baffled many scientists, researchers, as well as historians since they disappeared of the face of the earth it seems. NASA-funded researchers believe that the Mayans themselves are responsible for their own extinction. The Mayans were supposedly a great culture that constructed pyramids and pavilions throughout Mesoamerica beginning around A.D.300 and disappearing around A.D. 900 (Harvey, D.A. 1977). By around A.D. 900, the Mayan civilization was in steep decline. New building stopped and the pyramids and ball courts were gradually abandoned to the jungle. Around this time the lowland population dropped by around 90 percent. There has been a lot of debate about what caused the collapse of the classic-era Mayan culture. Research by Stuart and Harvey (1977) suggests that the burdens of ritual warfare between city-states became too much or that a great epidemic decimated the population. Usually cultures will slowly become extinct as a result of numerous battles and many times from famine. However the Mayans simply disappeared as a culture. Researchers believe that Mayans were in harmony with their environment, but they made common mistakes as does most other cultures. Deforesting of the land and vegetation caused suffering for the Mayan people in that they could not find food and...
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...MI:Gale Introduction: My name is Manpreet Singh and I have chosen ethnography. Furthermore, I am going to write about the history of Maya. History: The location of Maya is southeastern Mexico; Guatemala; Belize; Honduras; El Salvador and their population is near about 8-10 million and they use different type of language such as Spanish; English; Mayan dialects and their religion is Folk Catholicism; evangelical Christianity. The Mayan civilization started in meso America about 4000 years ago and this period is known as Pre-classic period. However, from 250-900 AD Mayan culture reached on its highest point and done a great advancement in the different fields such as art, architecture, astronomy, and as well as in mathematics and they figured out the concept of zero also and Mayan People also created accurate calendar for 365 days. And they built great monuments and buildings also from their only the advancement gets started. During this period Maya human progress was framed by...
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...Nicole Fano Dr. Barrett World Civilizations: Latin America 21 Oct 2013 Paper One: Guatemala According to World-O-Meters, a real time world statistics website, there are more than seven billion people in the world. Is that not incredible? Over seven billion people. Yet, most of us will never truly or try to understand all the different types of cultures or their history that make up the total population in the world. Being a young lady who is half Filipino and Italian, it has always interested me how different the Filipino and Italian cultures are when comparing the two. These differences range from the food to mannerisms and traditions. However, there is one thing in common with these two very different cultures, they have a history of how they came to be. In order to truly understand all types of people, we must take the time to look at their history and learn about it. In this paper, I’ve chosen to take a deeper, more in-depth look at Guatemala and the ways people lived prior to the 1800s in terms of transculturation, hegemony, and the Columbian Exchange. “Transculturation” is the merging and converging of cultures. According to Maureen Shea, author of Culture and Customs of Guatemala, when Christopher Columbus arrived, it was “an encounter between European and Mesoamerican worlds” (2). The Europeans had arrived to establish “dominance while the Mesoamericans fiercely resisted the invaders, especially initially”. However, they found it “advantageous to acculturate...
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..."Until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven" (1156 Crucible). Mass hysteria has been an issue all throughout history. The root cause of this is usually just misinformation or straight up lies. Although sometimes you cannot blame the people who regard the hysteria as truth. Threatening someone's livelihood, family, and well being causes them to think irrationally. Mass hysteria in a time or crisis can result in an overreaction and loss of critical thinking. Examples of this throughout history are the Salem Witch Trials, The Red Scare, and the 2012 Mayan Calendar scare. Within the Salem Witch Trials, was a vast amount of hysteria that cost the lives of many people. Religion and “the devil” played a key role in the cause of the trials and even does today “The Christian belief in the existence of the Devil is widely accepted in modern-America” (Kenneth). The use of unknown evils as well as spectral evidence to instill fear into the commoners propelled the hysteria “witchcraft is... an invisible crime, is it not? Therefore, who may possibly be witness to it?” (Miller). Leaders of the court realize that witchcraft is something with no real evidence to it other than he said she said. Evidence during this time was allowed to be completely circumstantial, which in turn made claims by people get too much traction too quickly. Even the more level headed characters in the crucible could succumb to the nonsense. One of...
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...| Disappearance of the Mayan Civilization | | | Jerome A Brown Jr. | 2/4/2013 | | No one can say for certain what happened to the Mayan people, but theories abound and include varied possible alternatives to explain the abrupt and mysterious disappearance of the Mayan civilization. Many historians have questioned “how” or “why” the Mayan civilization disappeared after the 10th century; however there is no definitive answer to this question. One possible theory is the Mayan’s civilization grew to such an extent that they deforested so much of the region that it had significant climate changes, thereby forcing the Mayan people to immigrate to other regions (Server, 2004), this theory has some scientific background, and scientists have used satellites to study the topsoil of Central America. They found that right before the civilization collapse, the sediment had changed from tree pollen to weed pollen, suggesting there were no more trees in the area. The result of a treeless environment is the erosion of fertile topsoil, warmer climate, and a possible reduction of precipitation. Since the Mayans depended on water reservoirs from precipitation, this would have had a detrimental effect. Another theory surrounding the disappearance of the Mayan people is consistent droughts that took place preceding the tenth century and the reduction of civilization through various wars caused the Mayan civilization to dwindle down to virtual extinction...
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...Apocalypto follows the journey of a Mayan villager by the name of “Jaguar Paw”. This adaptation of the Mayan Empire illuminates a prophecy, surrounding Jaguar. The movie was historically accurate as far as Mayan Empire culture and the sacrificial process. The appearance of the Mayans in this film was spot on. They had stretched ear lobes, long hair, outlandish headdresses, burn scars, and tattoos. It didn’t delve into the every day life enough for it to be accurate, or inaccurate. The opening scenes consisted of hunting, and a village campfire, and that’s as far as it went for daily life. Where it was inaccurate and somewhat flawed was the over take of the village. Apocolytpo dramatically told the story of the villagers being captured, and many people argue that the Mayan’s were not as malicious as they were portrayed. Some Maya researches argue that the film is “violent and depraved”. Jaguar and his fellow village members are peaceful and harmonious together. On an early morning Jaguar wakes from a dream and quickly notices warriors with torches surrounding the village. The village people are brutally beaten, slaughtered, and dragged away as captive to be sold as slaves, and offered as sacrifice for their God. In the midst of the gory demise of the village, Jaguar hides his childbearing wife (Seven), and toddler sun (Turtles Run) into a deep hole. The warriors lead the villagers through a harsh path, to what looks to be the Mayan Capitol. At their destination, the...
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