Mayan Civilization - Essay Example

Background Study - Mayan Civilization Mayan Society One of the most prominent civilizations which has ever lived on face of earth was unified empire of Maya Civilization. Maya Civilization by many researchers have also been termed as different groups having unique and different features and norms but all had one thing in common and that was culture. Maya Civilization were also religious and artistic nation as were the Greeks but Maya had independent political ideology which made them stand as a separate sovereign state. If analyzed, Yucatan Peninsula had around twenty states functioning. Very rare but a woman was posted on ruling position. Despite having such powers she would never be given the title of Mah Kina (Hill, 1732). Many historians after closely studying history and different civilizations have come to conclusion that Mayans as a society were native cultured people belonging to Northern part of America. As a civilization or populations and resources, they occupied a terrain of an estimate sixty thousand square miles. This also included Southern Mexico, adjacent segment of Northern Guatemala. Mayan society: the Mayans were the most important of the cultured native peoples of North America, both in the degree of their civilization and in population and resources, formerly occupying a territory of about 60,000 square miles, including the whole of the peninsula of Guatemala and Yucatan. However it is to be noted that majority population always resided in same region outside large cities. As other tribes, Maya also had important tribes which formed strength of whole nation. Key tribes were Quiche and Cakchiquel of Guatemala. Each tribe part of Maya society held high cultural values. In North America Maya were being most advanced civilization and also most prehistoric. Despite being so prestigious, their numbers are estimated to be around two million approximately (Andrien, 814). Maya Civilization & Cultural Division If analyzing Maya civilization culturally, they could be segmented into three sections, i.e. south, north and central. It was the southern region where first signs of Maya civilization could be traced back. Izapa carvings reflect Gods that were antecedents of classic deities and at and at Kaminaljuyu glyphs on stelea indicates the signs of origination of Maya writing system. Olmec influence could be clearly traced in this area when historians studied it. Southern lowlands from Tabasco lying in northwest to Belize all made up the central region. While southern region constituted of Guatemalas Motagua River region. Along River and throughout the Peten Maya civilization flourished due to availability of resources in region. However during late classic period, in Northern region which included northern lowlands was also densely populated by tribes’ part of Maya civilization. It was stated by historians that during this period influence from central region of Mexico helped in creation of fusion Maya Toltec culture (Haug, 1733). Maya Civilization – Language Mayans spoke language which had more resemblance to Spanish. And till now this language is being spoken by approximately three lakh inhabitants. Out of these, two third are pure decedents of Maya which reflects whites and mixed blood. Occupying adjacent land in Chiapas, Tabasco, and the Yucatan cape, a large part of Guatemala, and smaller piece of Honduras and Salvado, Mayans constituted of around twenty tribes. All these were closely related and spoke closely related vernacular & (accepting the Huastec of northern Vera Cruz Huastec’s and San Luis Potosi of south-east Mexico). Prehistoric builders of the devastated cities of Palenque and Copan also belonged to same group of tribes (England, 740). Class System in Maya Civilization Well established and diverse class system existed during existence of Maya civilization. Society was divided into those who were termed as class that ruled and those who were considered backbone of this great civilization i.e. farmers and labourers. Gap between both these main segments was filled by people who were educated, artists, architects and scribes. Stone work, architect, pottery work, craft and work on clothes clearly reflected the skill and innovation Mayans possessed. Surprisingly priesthood doesn’t reflect in Maya civilization and society structure clearly reflects that these duties were being performed by ruling class of society (Price, 25). Government Structure As traces of monarchy has been found in all ancient civilizations, here also government was traditional, inherited and was monarchy based. With ruling class being religious guide for the kingdom, highest religious authority was held by the king of the holy city of Izamal. However the king used to consult to close members of his monarchy on matters that were of high importance. King looked after of rites and ceremonials of the nations very closely. Flowery white coloured robes were used to be dressing of King when he used to appear in public gathering or occasions. Clothes used to be decorated with valuable stones and gold. Addition to this he used to wear his crown which was made of pure gold. Crown was decorated with gorgeous quetzal plumes reserved for royalty, and borne upon a canopied palanquin (Sharer, 13). With governors system in pace, each governor was given command of one city in order to look after city as a representative of king. All governors appointed belonged to noble and imperial families. They held superior position within their own government of city they governed. Towns and villages were looked after by rulers belonging to third tier of government. They did not belong to royal blood but were noble. All decisions which king made used to be dependent on advice and information being provided by Governors, council which had lords and priests. Council of Lords was made up of military commanders. Every lord and official belonging to lower level of command had to own a portion of land for cultivation and production. Cultivation on these lands was done by common people of the city (Price, 20). Officials and council lords received no remuneration and were held accountable for needy, deprived and unfortunate of concerned areas. Priests being selected and given charge on lower level were selected through appropriate process. Being royal wasn’t necessary for lower level appointments. The princess who belonged to royal blood was lead of female order of priesthood. Ordinary people were mostly involved in professions such as traders, merchants, artists. For enjoying all facilities being provided by the kingdom they had to pay taxes. It was researched that each family had to provide certain number of members to military and provide some portion of land to government from its holdings. All such contribution kept the kingdom in strong shape and economically in strong position to serve the cause of nation. Maya Civilization also had class of slaves which mainly constituted from prisoners captured during war and their families. All these were than utilized by kingdom in a very productive manner by appointing all of them on unoccupied grounds to cultivate these lands for betterment of kingdom (Sharer, 7). Importance of Clan System Class system was considered the back bone of Maya Civilization. Whereas the entire society was strongly based on tribe system the male being head of each tribe. Head of each tribe was more of guardian than owner who would own a tribe and pass it on in lineage. Processing no powers over the tribal lands; salt marshes and fishing areas were free for all and only a fixed portion of land was owned by tribal head. This assists towards minimizing possibilities of corruption and accumulation of wealth in the community. Tax collection which was main source of income for running the kingdom was collected in a very organized manner and was done through points which were authorized by the government dignitaries. If a person dies there was proper system in place for division of equally among male members of family (Hage, 11). Judiciary System Trials of key cases were held in front of royal council which was headed by king. Cases having less severity were heard by rulers on provincial level and local judges. Typically support was provided by commission and lawyers providing help for defendant. Heinous or non heinous; crimes were always punished in a manner to give strong message across population that there was zero tolerance for crimes in society. Usually throwing from high spot, making slave and putting heavy fines were adapted for punishments. Incarceration was used on rare occasions to punish culprit. Code defining punishments was flexible and merciful. In many cases where culprit was charged of murder, only fines used to be imposed. A child would be under parent protection until he or she reached age of marriage. In case of boys it was twenty and for girls it was never determined. Children only had right to practice profession which their parents had been practicing. However members belonging to noble families used to be highly educated and were kept under the observation of priests for writing, music, history, war, and religion. Female members of noble families had to keep low profile and keep themselves to private places. On the other hand the boys reaching maturity had to live and even sleep in separate rooms. Family celebrations and feasts used to be held on every birthday and anniversaries (Andrien, 814). Matrimonial Affairs Marriage between members of same gender was not allowed and punished under law. Those who still went for same gender marriages were labelled as recluses and all their rights were slashed and property forfeited. Marriage with sister of dead wife or with sister of mother was also strictly not allowed under law (Ardren). Kingship & Politics Mayan people could be traced back to 1800 B.C. in Yucatan lowlands and south region of Mexico. Well developed culture which they processed, had slowly developed in early stages historians state that they had no concept notion or idea of ruling family or even kings or families being termed as royal. Evidence of this development could be tracked back to 300 B.C. when certain kings were found in some parts of Maya civilization. First royal house, Yax Ehb Xook, existed in the period of Preclassic. Concept of kingship became concept in 300 A.D. when in honor of building of stelae begun. These were very humongous structures of stone statues which mainly defined kings and what they had achieved and accomplished for civilization (Sharer, 10). Kings in Maya Civilization It was claimed by all kings that they were directly sent by God. Thus by establishing such a claim they laid foundation of claim on each and every resource and gained status higher than other humans but less than God. In any public ceremony or events being held across kingdom, royal family and the king had core role to play. Establishing link with God they used to give blood sacrifices, dance, and play music. Succession always was a mail affair. But historians track certain instances where due to unavailability of suitable male, queens gained the divine right to rule the kingdom. From the founder till the current king ruling; all kings were given a number but these numbers weren’t captured in statues which were built after king’s death. This acted towards creating a void in history for tracking each king and his activities (Price, 20). Maya King’s Life Since birth, in Maya civilization a king used to be groomed to rule a whole kingdom. Many different rites and tests had to be passed by prince in order to reach top of the whole kingdom. Being young, it was expected of him that by age of six he had to have his first bloodletting. It was expected of him to be the person to lead whole army in battles or small battles against opponent clans. Capturing high level prisoners was also one of his duties. An extensive ceremony used to take place whenever a prince used to be crown king. Activities in this ceremony ranged from sitting on Jaguar with crown of headdress of multiple colors and shells. As mentioned earlier, being king he was supreme commander of armies and was expected to participate in armed conflicts. Participating in religious activities was also one of his duties. He was considered as a medium between Gods and human. King had the luxury of having multiple wives (Hage, 15). Relations with other Cities/ States Mayan tribes historically never jelled up as a united empire like other civilizations such as Incas or Aztecs but they were successful in maintain contacts with other cities and states. Such contacts helped in flourishing trade and keeping good terms politically. Mayans always had flourishing trade of prestigious and expensive items such as, gold, feathers and jade. Food stuff also became part of trade in order to support growing population. Skirmishes were common for taking slaves or injured people and presenting them for sacrifices in order to get favor of Gods (Hill, 1732). Downfall of the Maya Civilization Culturally, politically and militarily, Maya civilization witnessed its height in classic era. Ranging from 700 A.D. to 900 A.D. but later rapid and permanent decline was witnessed. It remains a mystery as to how such a great civilization fell apart despite having strong in built norms and values. Battles grew as civilization grew and all wars were fought in order to have control of scarce resources. Cities were attacked, humiliated and totally destroyed. All this and luxuries of royal family had been accumulating pressure on working class. This eventually led to civil war. Shortage of food became a common and resulted into deadly revolts (Haug, 1735). Works Cited Andrien, K. J. “The Maya World: Yucatec Culture and Society, 1550-1850.”Ethnohistory 2000 : 813-815. Print. Ardren, Traci. Ancient Maya women. AltaMira Press, 2002. Print. England, Nora C. “Mayan Language Revival and Revitalization Politics: Linguists and Linguistic Ideologies.” American Anthropologist 105.4 (2003): 733-743. Hage, Per. “The Ancient Maya Kinship System.” Journal of Anthropological Research 59.1 (2003) : 5-21. Print. Haug, Gerald H et al. “Climate and the collapse of Maya civilization.” Science (New York, N.Y.) 299.5613 (2003): 1731-1735. Print. Hill, Robert. “Maya Civilization.” Ethnohistory 299 (2003) : 1731-1735. Price, T. Douglas et al. “Kings and commoners at Copan: Isotopic evidence for origins and movement in the Classic Maya period.” Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 29.1 (2010) : 15-32. Print. Sharer, Robert James, and Loa P Traxler. “The Ancient Maya Kinship System1.” Journal of Anthropological Research 59 (2003): 5-21. Print. Read More

 

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