The Peasant Revolt And The Fall Of The Mayan Civilization - Essay Example

The Peasant Revolt And The Fall Of The Mayan Civilization The Mayan civilization is a Mesoamerican civilization that was of its own kind. It was established in the pre-classic periods between 2000 BC and AD 250. It was known for the developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas. In addition, the Mayan civilization had a highly sophisticated art and magnificent architecture. They were also advanced in astronomy and mathematics. Mayan cities registered a highly developed state in the Classical period and continued throughout the post-classic period up to the arrival of the Spanish (Demarest 23-25). The high level of interaction and the diffusion of culture were in the region and this explains why Maya civilization had many features in common with the other Mesoamerican civilization. Epigraphy, writing, and calendar did not originate in Maya; however, these advances were highly developed by them. There is evidence of Maya influence from Belize, El Salvador, central Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. The many of outside influences are evident in the Maya art and architecture that are believed to be because of the trade with other people and cultural exchange. The people of Maya never vanished with the decline during the classical period or Spanish colonization (Maloy 39). Today, the Maya people are still existing maintaining set of traditions and beliefs. The Maya civilization geographically extended to the present day southern Mexico States of Tabasco, Chiapas, the Yucatan states of Quintana Roo, northern Central America, Campeche present day Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize. There are still arguments on when the Maya civilization began the archeological discoveries of the occupation of Maya at Belize and Cuello. Sedentary communities characterized the early Maya community in that the Mayan people had skills in pottery and fired clay figurines. The early sites in Maya include Chocola, and Izapa whom produced cocoa at around 600 BC. The Maya first written hieroglyphics inscriptions were dated 250 BC. Unfortunately around the 100AD, there was abandonment of Maya sites due to the wide spread decline which was known as the pre-classic collapse and it marked the end of the Mayan civilization (Perl 110-112). Between 250 AD and 900AD, these classic periods were characterized by the large-scale construction, record of monumental inscription, urbanism, intellectual artistic development, particularly in the southern region. During this period, city-states such as Caracol, Palenque, Calakmul, Copan, Lamanai, Bonampak, and Dos Pilas developed rapidly because of intellectual artistic development in the Mayan society. In addition, the Maya people numbered in millions, a factor that made them create a multitude of kingdoms, built palaces, temples, and small empires. The Mayan people also developed a hieroglyphic writing system and engaged in ceremonies in the central lowlands of the Maya territory. The mediation units during this time generally took the form of trade and commercial centers. Stepped pyramids that were built in the palaces of their rulers and religious centers were the most notable monuments. The Maya people participated in long distance trade with the Zapotec and Mesoamerican cultures. The archeologist discovered gold from Panama, seashells, and obsidian, which proves that there was exchange of goods between different cultures. The classic era was characterized by sophisticated art. There were carvings and reliefs at the Palenque that reminded the scholars of classical civilization of the world. There are ceramics that reveals some clues of paintings that were produced during this era. Maya architecture is evident of a civilization that existed for a long period. The easily recognized piece of architecture is the stepped pyramids and well-preserved caves like jolja and the candelaria. It has been argued that the Maya people remodeled the temple and pyramids after every fifty-two years. This remodeling was done by the new rulers or for political matters. Scholars argue that there was minimal planning during the construction of city-states, though the architecture in Maya integrated the natural features. Some of the cities were built on the plains hilltops. Some cities utilized the topography to come up with magnificent structures that had impressive heights. The Maya civilization collapsed during the classic period and the abandonment of the cities between the eighth and ninth century. The collapse of Maya civilization is the biggest mystery to the archaeologists. The sophistication and development of the Maya culture does not relate with the suddenness of the collapse of the civilization (Webster 46-52). There was abandonment and the collapse of the early and advanced Maya centers of the southern lowlands during the eighth and ninth Century. The inscriptions of the monuments were destroyed because of the reduction of large monumental constructions. Archeologically this indicated the first evidence of decline. Some scholars like E.W Andrews argue that there was nothing like the collapse of the Maya civilization because some parts of northern Maya were able to prosper during that period and continued with the civilization. There are many theories that have been formed to explain the collapse of the Maya civilization. The peasant revolt is believed to have led to the collapse of the Mayan civilization. During the 730AD to 790 AD, Maya had reached its peak in construction and development (Freidel and Schele 66-7). The Maya people constructed magnificent structures without the help of machines and beneficial tools, although the civilization had started to weaken. The peasants and the lower caste had the burden of construction; they did endless contraction of big temples for the rich priests, the pyramids, and the palace for the royal. This endless contraction and the marking of ball courts though they really added beauty to the cities and urban centers, they were becoming a burden to the lower class of people because they started getting tired with the lifting of heavy rocks and commitment of their time. Peasants were also forced to provide labor free. The Mayan civilization declined because of the peasant revolt this is because the hierarchy of the Mayan kingdom was dependant of forced or slave labor. The upper classes possessed much power and wealth but they were minority in society. The Majority peasants gave up their work and revolted against the Mayan leadership. When the peasants revolted, the nobles and priests were forced to fend for their families and themselves. Initially dependent on slaves or free labor and the peasants, the Mayan civilization declined because the priests and the nobles did not understand how to farm or work on the land. In the end, they were either coerced to leave the Cit States or were conquered which led to the collapse of the Mayan civilization (Thompson 99). The increase of the burdensome of life undermined the religious developments and caused the lower classes of people to revolt against the rich and the elite who were exploiting them. This revolt was mainly against the priests who were very rich and ruled the Maya people. This revolt by the peasants explains why there are very many unfinished buildings, ceremonial centers, and the abrupt decline of the function of the elite. The peasant revolt is believed to have been unplanned and it might have happened in impulsive series. The peasants who were annoyed burned the palaces the temples and other structures were the rich priest were residing hence the decline of the Maya civilization (Thompson 75-79). There are other theories other than the peasant revolt that led to the decline of the Maya civilization. One of the theories is the overuse of the soil making which made it loose fertility. It is argued that the peasants in Maya used to cultivate and feed the cities. They used to be very knowledgeable on how to maintain the soil fertility. The farmers burnt the rain forest and waited for the ash to be rained on in order to enrich the soil, then crops were planted producing ample harvest. Some cultivated pieces of land were left fallow in order to regain their fertility hence this enabled the farmers to maintain soil fertility. Unfortunately, there was drought that affected the peasant production. Due to the panic caused by famine, the peasants started cultivating all the land hence making it loose its fertility. Due to soil infertility and the reduction in production, this made the people abandon the town. Some scholars argue that climate change and drought might also have led to the decline of the Mayan civilization (Sharer and Traxler 84). In conclusion, the Maya civilization was so advanced and unique in terms of art and architecture. Despite its raise, peasant revolt because of oppression and discrimination in Society led to the decline of the Mayan civilization. Although to some scholars, it is still a mystery to how such an advanced civilization would have collapsed within a very short period. Works Cited Demarest, Arthur. Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest Civilization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Print. Freidel, David and Schele, Linda. A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya. New York: William Morrow Paperbacks, 1992. Print. Maloy, Jackie. The Ancient Maya. New York: Children’s Press, 2010. Print. Perl, Lila. The Ancient Maya. New York: Children’s Press, 2005. Print. Sharer, Robert and Traxler, Loa. Ancient Maya, 6th Ed. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2005. Print. Thompson, John. The Rise and Fall of Maya Civilization. Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma, 1973. Print. Webster, David. The Fall of the Ancient Maya: Solving the Mystery of the Maya Collapse. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2002. Print. Read More