Transcript
October 22nd
The Maya
King Pakal’sjade burial
mask
Tikal, Guatemala
Pyramids at Giza, Egypt
Building an experimental pyramid,in the film “This Old Pyramid”
Carving on the lid of the sarcophagus(stone casket) of King Pakal, Palenque
Erich Von Daniken believes that the carvingShows Pakal beaming up to a space ship.
Artist’s rendition of Maya city of Tikal, 700 AD
Cityscape in Apocalypto
Scene from the movie “Star Wars”, the ruin here is the ancient Maya city of Tikal
Main activities for today’s class
We will answer the question “Who are the Maya?”
We will talk about why the Maya are seen to be so mysterious and then show thatthe Maya are in fact not that mysterious
We talk about one particular mystery (What happened to the ancient Maya?) anduse inquiry in the social sciences to resolve this mystery
Modern Maya (2002) Ancient Maya (700 AD)
Maya language family contains 31 modern languages
Italian: Differenza
Spanish: Diferencia
French: Difference
Romance language family(it is called “Romance” because it developed from Latin, the language of ancient Romans)
The word “difference” in Romance languages
The word “eight” in Mayan languages
Yukatek: Ox
Quiche: Ux
Chorti: Uax
Who are the Maya?
--A large group of ancient and modern people that --speak a Maya language --live in the northern part of Central America
(Guatemala, Belize, and parts of Honduras, El Salvador, and Mexico) --share a heritage based on farming corn
slash and burn agriculture
digging stickfor planting
seeds
Core of Maya cuisine
agouti
White-tailed deer
“apple” snail(Pomacea)
Other foods eaten by the earliest Maya
Basic houses of the Maya
Feature 262: early house floor from Cuello, Belize, 700 BC
By 300 BC, somevillages have developedinto massive cities such as El Mirador,Guatemala
In these cities, religion ishuge (largest buildings aretemples). Religion isa source of power.
The Mayamaize god(Hunahpu)
Birth of the maizegod from a turtle shell
The Mayarain god
(Chac)
The face ofChac on thecorner of a
building
Blood sacrifice depicted on walls of the ruins of San Bartolo, 200 BC
By 300 AD, Maya culturehits full stride with theemergence of powrefulkings (as seen in tombs,carvings, and texts)
Maya tombat Rio Azul
Tomb of Pakal,at Palenque
Photo of Pakal’s burial
Tikal city center
Pyramid of the magician, Uxmal
Rosalila temple,Copan, Honduras
King Pakal’sjade burialmask, Palenque
Jade burial mask, Calakmul
Pottery produced by attached specialists in workshops located within Palaces
Copan Stela A
Copan
WaxaklahunUbah K’awil(18 are thefaces of theGod K’awil)(695-738)
Copan
Copan Stela A
Copan
CopanStela A,reverse
WaxaklahunUbah K’awil(18 are thefaces of theGod K’awil)(695-738)
Structure10L-26
Structure 10L-26 andThe Hieroglyphic Stairway,constructed by Copan’s 14th Ruler, K’akJoplah Chan K’awil, after the13th ruler, WaxaklahunUbah K’awil, was capturedand in battle with the rival kingdomof Quirigua
Reasons why the Ancient Maya are said to be mysterious
2) Advanced ancient culture in the middle of a rain forest
3) Mysterious writing, difficult to decipher --leads to mistaken ideas, such as the idea that the Maya were peaceful
4) The ancient Maya appear to have disappeared. What happened to them?
1) Many people believe the claims about ancient spaceships
We will show that all of these mysteries have been solved. In other words, the Mayawere and are a very exciting group of people, but they are not more mysterious thanany other group of people.
In summary, the Maya have the most attractive art and architecture of the new world, anda very complex writing system. They seem more intellectually and aesthetically gifted than other new world cultures.
Carving on the lid of the sarcophagus(stone casket) of King Pakal, Palenque
Erich Von Daniken believes that the carvingShows Pakal beaming up to a space ship.
Carving on the lid of the sarcophagus(stone casket) of King Pakal, Palenque
The serpent’s mouth: a portal between the world of the livingand the world of the ancestors
Carving on the lid of the sarcophagus(stone casket) of King Pakal, Palenque
The equipment that opens the portal:stingray spice for blood letting, shellas symbol of blood, bowl/incense burnerto contain and enliven the blood
Carving on the lid of the sarcophagus(stone casket) of King Pakal, Palenque
The world tree: this is what links the two sidesof the portal.
Carving on the lid of the sarcophagus(stone casket) of King Pakal, Palenque
Double headed snake: symbol of rulership as wellas the sky, place of ancestors. Shows the directionin which Pakal is traveling
Reasons why the Ancient Maya are said to be mysterious
Conclusion: The carving on the lid of Pakal’s sarcophagus does not depict a spaceship.The carving on the lid shows a local Maya belief about how deceased rulers travel tothe sky to join the ancestors.
1) Many people believe the claims about ancient spaceships
2) Advanced ancient culture in themiddle of a rain forest
Reasons why the Ancient Maya are saidto be mysterious
slash and burn agriculture
Advantage of rivers: --predictable water for irrigation --flood provide nutrients
Agriculture along the Nile
The Maya had few rivers, lots of swamps
The problem: Slash and burn agriculture does not support a large population…
To build this, you need a large population
Raised field agriculture
The mystery of the rainforest civilization: how did the Maya support a large population?Answer: they had forms of agriculture that were more intensive than slash and burn
Raised fieldsalong the edges
of a swamp
Agricultural terraces atthe city of Caracol,Belize
The mystery of the rainforest civilization: how did the Maya support a large population?Answer: they had forms of agriculture that were more intensive than slash and burn
Terraces to prevent soilerosion
Terracesat Caracol
2) Advanced ancient culture in the middle of a rain forest
Reasons why the Ancient Maya are said to be mysterious
Conclusion: It is unusual to have an advanced culture in a rainforest, but not mysterious.We now know that the Maya used a number of intensive farming techniques thatsustained the high populations necessary to support an advanced culture.
Reasons why the Ancient Maya are saidto be mysterious
3) Mysterious writing, difficult to decipher --leads to mistaken ideas, such as the idea that the Maya were peaceful
Constantine Rafinesque (1783-1840)Transylvania University professor,
Lexington, KY, 1819-1826
= 5
October14th
Reasons why the Ancient Maya are saidto be mysterious
3) Mysterious writing, difficult to decipher --leads to mistaken ideas, such as the idea that the Maya were peaceful
Glyphs highlighted in red are calendrical glyphs.
They give the impression that Mayahsitory was about the passage oftime, not war.
Moat surrounding the centerof Becan
Bonampakmurals
Yaxchilan lintel 6: Bird Jaguar and ally capture two enemies(grabbing one of them by the hair)
Yaxchilan lintel 17 Early 20th century rendering
Reasons why the Ancient Maya are said to be mysterious
3) Mysterious writing, difficult to decipher --leads to mistaken ideas, such as the idea that the Maya were peaceful
Conclusion: Though hieroglyphs have been difficult to decipher, there is nothing unusuallymysterious about what the Maya wrote. Hieroglyphic inscriptions talk about warfare, thelives of kings, relations between cities, religious ceremonies, the passage of time, and theobjects on top of which the hieroglyphs were written.
Reasons why the Ancient Maya are said to be mysterious
4) The ancient Maya appear to have disappeared. What happened to them?
Reasons why the Ancient Maya are said to be mysterious
4) The ancient Maya appear to have disappeared. What happened to them?
1. Recognizing multiple dimensions to a good question
Aspects of Intellectual Inquiry in the Social Sciences
3. Evaluating evidence
2. Recognizing multiple answers to a question or a problem
5. Exploring the ethical implications of differing approaches, methods or conclusions
4. Developing potential solutions to problems based on sound evidence and reasoning
Reasons why the Ancient Maya are said to be mysterious
4) The ancient Maya appear to have disappeared. What happened to them?
Aspects of Intellectual Inquiry in the Social Sciences
--Did they disappear or just move elsewhere?
--If they disappeared, what does this mean?
They died outThey became less visible
1. Recognizing multiple dimensions to a good question
Reasons why the Ancient Maya are said to be mysterious
4) The ancient Maya appear to have disappeared. What happened to them?
Aspects of Intellectual Inquiry in the Social Sciences
--Did they disappear or just move elsewhere?
--If they moved, where did they go?
--If they disappeared, what does this mean?
They died outThey became less visible
1. Recognizing multiple dimensions to a good question
Reasons why the Ancient Maya are said to be mysterious
4) The ancient Maya appear to have disappeared. What happened to them?
--What has caused Maya culture to change between 900 AD and today?
--Recognizing multiple dimensions to a good question
Aspects of Intellectual Inquiry in the Social Sciences
--Did they disappear or just move elsewhere?
--If they moved, where did they go?
--What caused them to disappear and to move elsewhere?
--If they disappeared, what does this mean?
--What similarities exist between contemporary Maya and ancient Maya?
They died outThey became less visible
Northern Yucatan, Guatemalan Highlands, Belize
Reasons why the Ancient Maya are said to be mysterious
4) The ancient Maya appear to have disappeared. What happened to them?
--Recognizing multiple dimensions to a good question
Aspects of Intellectual Inquiry in the Social Sciences
--What caused them to disappear and to move elsewhere?
--Recognizing multiple answers to a question or a problem
DroughtForeign invasionInternal warfare
--Evaluating evidence
--Evaluating evidence
Drought expectations
You would see paleo-ecological evidence of less rainfall
You would see deterioration of nutrition (skeletons in burials should indicatepeople dying young, would stunted growth, and more disease)
Foreign invasion expectations
Yes, there was bad health
There is such evidence but some cities were abandoned before drought
but there was also bad health before drought
You would see find a big increase in artifacts from foreign areas
No such increase was found
Internal warfare expectations
You would see lots of fortifications, at both big sites and small sites
Aguateca
Commoner settlements move to hilltops and defend themselves with walls
3. Evaluating evidence
Drought expectations
You would see paleo-ecological evidence of less rainfall
You would see deterioration of nutrition (skeletons in burials should indicatepeople dying young, would stunted growth, and more disease)
Foreign invasion expectations
Yes, there was bad health
There is such evidence but some cities were abandoned before drought
but there was also bad health before drought
You would see find a big increase in artifacts from foreign areas
No such increase was found
Internal warfare expectations
You would see lots of fortifications, at both big sites and small sites
Yes, there are such fortifications but only in some parts of the Maya area
4. Developing potential solutions to problems based on sound evidence and reasoning
Drought may play a role in some cases, internal warfare may play a role in other cases
1. Recognizing multiple dimensions to a good questionAspects of Intellectual Inquiry in the Social Sciences
3. Evaluating evidence2. Recognizing multiple answers to a question or a problem
5. Exploring the ethical implications of differing approaches, methods or conclusions4. Developing potential solutions to problems based on sound evidence and reasoning
Modern Maya (2002) Ancient Maya (700 AD)
The Maya did not “disappear”: there are 7 million Maya living today. Rather, they migratedand changed. To say that the ancient Maya disappeared is to deny a connection betweenmodern and ancient Maya, thus robbing modern people of a proud heritage.
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