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The Maya civilization emerged circa 2000 BCE, and for centuries they ruled over an extensive territory in Central America. This Mesoamerican civilization was incredibly developed for the time, and had unique customs. Unfortunately, most Mayan books were destroyed, but some artifacts and monuments still survive to this day.
In this gallery, we travel back in time to pre-Columbian America and bring you a glimpse of what life was like for the Mayans. Click on and discover why the Maya civilization is so fascinating.
The Maya civilization inhabited most of the Yucatán Peninsula, including modern-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras.
The civilization’s history can be divided into three periods: pre-classic (2000 BCE-250 CE), classic (250-900 CE) and post-classic (950-1539 CE). The classic era, also known as the Golden Period of Mayan history, was when the civilization thrived the most. The Maya empire grew to 40 cities during this time.
It estimated that each Mayan city had about 5,000 to 50,000 inhabitants. The total Mayan population reached about two million during the classic era.
La Danta is actually larger than the pyramids of Egypt, including Giza, making it one of (if not the) largest pyramids in the world.
The Mayans were accomplished readers of the skies. They managed to track the lunar month and solar year, as well as the synodic period (aka cycle of Venus), with great precision.
Many Mayan monuments are connected to astronomical events. It’s possible to see different patterns of light on pyramids, which are connected to times of the year (which was vital information for harvesting).
There is also lots of numerical symbolism. On the Chichén Itzá pyramid, for instance, each of the four sides have 91 steps for the 91 days of the four seasons. These make for a total of 364, which with the top platform (which counts as one step) adds up to 365 steps—the number of days in a year.
Having a long head was considered attractive and a sign of status in Mayan culture, so head binding, also known as artificial cranial deformation, or head flattening, was a thing. The Mayans would shape their children’s skulls so they'd look elongated. The exact reason why has been the subject of speculation. It may have been to emulate the shape of corn, similar to the head of the maize god, or perhaps to emulate a jaguar’s skull.
The Mayans would place gemstones on their teeth. They’d often use turquoise, cinnabar, quartz, jadeite, hematite, iron pyrite, or serpentine, among others.
The Mayans sought to make the children of the elite cross-eyed. A popular method was to hang a piece of thread in between babies' eyes with an attachment, so the babies would focus on the object. Being crossed-eye was considered attractive for Mayans. Kinich Ahau, the Mayan sun god, was depicted cross-eyed.
The Mayans loved big noses. So much so that they modified their noses with artificial nose bridges to achieve the desired appearance.
Mayans loved their tattoos and indeed they had intricate designs, mostly depicting animals and gods. Tattoos were symbols of a person’s social status, religious power, and skill. Men would often get tattoos only after they got married. They would tattoo their faces, arms, legs, backs, and hands. For their part, women would mostly stick to their upper bodies, except for their breasts.
Piercings were an important element in the Mayan world. One ceremony involved having the tongue pierced with a stingray spine. The blood and pain would be considered an offering to the gods. But the Mayans would not just pierce their tongues. They’d also ornate their noses, lips, and ears.
Scarring was also used. In this statue of a noble woman, it's possible to see it on the chin and between the eyebrows.
Both men and women had elaborate hairstyles and adorned their hair with numerous accessories, including feathers, flowers, and jaguar skins.
A receding hairline was considered attractive in men, so some would burn layers of hair to achieve the look. In general, longer, more ornate hairstyles were associated with higher status.
Cacao, from beans to leaves, was really important in Maya culture. It was used as food, for religious purposes, and as medicine. Chocolate was even used as a currency.
Unlike today, the Mayans would make their chocolate drink by mixing cacao with water and ingredients such as honey or cornmeal. They would also make a chocolate drink by fermenting cocoa beans, which would be drunk or sometimes administered as an enema during ritual ceremonies.
The Mayans worshiped over 250 gods. Because there are not a lot of sources, parts of Mayan theology still remain a mystery. According to Mayan tradition, humanity was built from corn. Deities created the first humans using both white and yellow corn.
The Mayans not only built complex buildings, but they also laid down an impressive network of roads, irrigation canals, and even reservoirs.
The Mayans had their own version of a popular ballgame played in Mesoamerica, which they called pitz. It was played in an I-shaped field using a rubber ball. Players would keep the ball in motion by hitting it with their bodies, but without using their hands.
The Zumpul-ché or Zum Pul Ché (better known as Temazcal, a term mostly used by the Aztecs), was used for healing, as well as for spiritual purposes. Women would often use it during the postpartum period, and so did anyone in need of healing. Many religious/spiritual rituals would take place in these steam rooms.
You may remember that doomsday was supposed to be in 2012, according to a Mayan calendar. Except, there is no evidence that the Mayans actually believed the world was ending that year. The assumption was based on one particular stone calendar, which happened to end around 2012.
While there is no evidence, there are reports by the Spanish that the Mayans wore rubber sandals. Even if this is not true, they did use rubber, nonetheless (including balls and bands).
Together with the Sumerians, the Mayans were among the first civilizations to use zero as a number placeholder. Mayan numbers (represented by symbols) went from zero to 20. They also placed greater importance on the numbers nine and 13.
Tobacco was heavily consumed by the Mayans. The herb would be smoked, but the Mayans also used other methods, such as chewing and snorting. Administering tobacco through enemas was also done by shamans.
Human sacrifice was used to please the gods and often performed when important events took place (e.g. when a new ruler rose to power, or a building was completed). Victims were usually prisoners.
Despite not having iron, horses, or gunpowder, the Maya fought the Spanish for about 200 years. It was not until 1697, when the last Mayan city (Nojpetén) was conquered, that they lost the fight.
You may recognize the famous pyramid Chichen Itza, which can be found in Yucatán, Mexico. But there are many other monuments and even cities being discovered. Lagunita and Tamchén, both also in Mexico, are two examples of Mayan cities discovered in 2014. Also not so long ago, in 2018, scientists discovered yet another Mayan city hidden under the Guatemalan jungle.
While the Maya civilization as we know it died off long ago, there are still many descendants alive today. In fact, it’s estimated that over 40% of the population of Guatemala has Mayan ancestry.
Sources: (History Collection) (TheTravel) (Ranker) (National Geographic) (History on the Net)
Why the Maya civilization is so fascinating
Mayan culture and history continues to fascinate to this day
LIFESTYLE Mesoamerica
The Maya civilization emerged circa 2000 BCE, and for centuries they ruled over an extensive territory in Central America. This Mesoamerican civilization was incredibly developed for the time, and had unique customs. Unfortunately, most Mayan books were destroyed, but some artifacts and monuments still survive to this day.
In this gallery, we travel back in time to pre-Columbian America and bring you a glimpse of what life was like for the Mayans. Click on and discover why the Maya civilization is so fascinating.