The Maya are the aboriginal dwellers of Central America and Mexico. Their present day population covers areas like Campeche, Tabasco, Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Chiapas, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala (Mark, 2012). The emergence of Maya Civilization took different stages in different eras like the Archaic Period, the Olmec Period, the Zapotec Period, the Teothicun Period, the El Tajin Period, the Classic Maya Period and the Post-Classic Period. Each of these periods was characterized by significant developments in the culture and civilization of the Maya people. Historically, the Maya were considered to be the most progressed society in the Mesoamerica before the invasion of the Spanish in the sixteenth century (Minster, 2018).
Civilization of the Maya begun during the Archaic Period occurred between 7000-2000 BCE. This era was characterized by animal hunting and fruit gathering culture among the Mayans. It was also in this era that the Maya started establishing their villages and constructed scared spots for their gods. The second era is The Olmec Period that occurred between the1500-200 BCE. Here, the main developments were the religious practices and more complex sculpture skills. The ideologies that the land of Maya was previously inhabited by the giants widely spread during this era and local Olmec elders used their authorities to facilitate more complex skills in sculpture. The third era is the Zapotec Period that lasted between 600 BCE-800 CE. This era was dominated by the spread in the culture of writing, astronomy skills, knowledge on mathematics and exploitation of the calendar. The fourth era is the Teotihuacan Period (200-900 CE) where the Teotihuacan expanded in size and influence compared to other competing cities. Teotihuacan was a popular religious place devoted to the Great Mother Goddess and the Plumed Serpent; however, the city was later deserted around 900 CE.
The next important era is the El Tajin Period or the Classic Period (250-900CE) which involved the establishment of El Tajin city that was a renowned business hub at that time. The population of the Maya also increased and various sporting activities like ball games were also introduced during this era. The seventh era is the Classic Maya Period (250-950 CE) which was the peak in the civilization of the Maya. There was the emergence of new cultures during this period like the acquisition of new art and architecture
styles as a result of interaction. The art of mathematics, astronomy, architecture and the visual arts were perfected and refined during this period. The last remarkable era is the Post-Classic Period that ended in the 1524 CE. The adverse climate change and the population surge during this era are cited as the reason for the massive population migration from the great Maya cities. It was during this period that Spanish invasion was also dominant and the trouncing defeat of the Quiche Maya in 1524 CE in a battle christened the Battle of Utatlan marked the termination of the traditional Maya Civilization (Mark, 2012).
Having gone through the classical periods in the Maya Civilization, this research paper therefore is going to look into some of the civilizations carried by the Maya during these periods like the Hieroglyphic Writing System, Monumental Carvings, the Architecture and Early Classic Funeral Pyramids of the olden Maya.
1. Hieroglyphic Writing System
The Maya hieroglyphic writing system was very complex, advanced and independent from the other writing systems. For this reason, their writing was very unique and sophisticated from other writing systems that existed. The Maya writing dates to the Classic era where the writings were made on stone monuments and the ceramic vessels (Kettunen & Helmke, 2005). According to the Kettunen and Helmke, 2005, the hieroglyphic writing system of the Maya is made up of more than a thousand different signs and the writings were made on codices, wooden lintels, obsidian, stucco façades, frescoes on the walls of buildings, cave walls, animal shells, bones, jadeite, brick, and clay . The Maya hieroglyphic texts were written in a Ch’olan language even though there are influences from other language. Their glyphs are made up of picture of things, animals and people which can be presented in diverse ways to represent a readable message. To read the Mayan glyphic, one needs to be aware of mutual interaction and interpretation of pictures that can then make it easy to decode the message.
There are however standard rules that must be adhered to in order to read the Mayan hieroglyphics. One of the method involved first reading the two glyphic in a left to right direction after which you go down to the next row until you reach the bottom and then again you start at the top of the subsequent column. The figure below with the top of first column being a wider glyph is a demonstration of the reading of the Mayan script.
Figure 1, Reading order of a stele from Yaxchilan.
The pattern of reading follows the order of the number where you start from the numerical 1 until you reach number 15 in that subsequent order.
Maya wording basically involves pictures and signs to represent words and syllables. These pictures can be combined and modified differently to convey different information like the example below.
(a) CHUM [mu] TUN-ni (b) CHUM [mu] TUN-ni (c) CHUM [TUN-ni]
Figure 2, Three ways of merging pictures/ signs CHUM, TUN and ni
The above sign can be used to represent the word chum tuun meaning ‘stone seating’. The above representation is just one of the ways in which arrangemets can be made within the text to write a message though multiples of such arrangements can be applied with a single text for economic and artistic purposes (Kettunen and Helmke, 2005).
The Maya writing system also involves the use of logograms, phonotecism, phonetic complements, semantic determinatives and diacritical signs, polyphony and homophony (polyvalence) and number of known hieroglyphs.
Logograms and phonetic signs are used to symbolise meanings and sounds of words in any language system. Maya also made the use of phonetic signs to represent syllables which could either function as consonant-vowel sound or the consonant sound with no accompanying vowel. The phonetic complements on the other hand helped the reader in the reading of the logogram. The semantic determinatives and diacritical signs gave the reader the exact meaning of glyphs with double meanings and in conveying the meant pronunciation of the word or sign.
The challenging feature of the Mayan system of writing is associated with the polyvalence and homophony, polyvalence means that two or more different words that are totally different in pronunciation share the same writing style, for example are the words tuun
and ku (polyphones) while homophony meant that unlike signs are representation of the same phonetic value like the Mayan words for snake, four and sky that is read as “chan”.
Figure 3, A representation of the Mayan Homophony
The Maya also had quite a number of known hieroglyphs that are associated with the following problems;
i. The phonetic value could be known but the meaning cannot be decrypted,
ii. The meaning is known but the phonetic value is associated with uncertainty, vagueness or entirely unknown,
iii. Phonetic value and meaning could be partly known or entirely not known.
The general word order of Maya hieroglyphic followed the verb-object-subject pattern but on several occasions the object is missing and it is the clauses start with the date that gives the distinctive method of the Maya text (Kettunen and Helmke, 2005).
2. Monumental Carvings
The ancient Maya also made use of monumental sculptures and image carvings to keep in line with their past characters, stories, and material remains. The Maya had great sentimental values in their images and objects that not only contained useful information for them but also acted as the direct link between them and their sacred forefathers (O’Neil, 2010).
It was during the Preclassic and the Classic periods that the ideology about the visual representation of naturalism, science and figures was actualised. Images represented humans and humanlike bodies and they extended on finding out what the naturalism of these images meant to human (O’Neil, 2010).
Majority of Maya sculptures were based on the description of their present moment, (O’Neil, 2010). They would take a stone slab and create markings that described the special current event. Such slabs would bear the image of the leader that may have contributed to the special event being celebrated. The leader would be drawn in a garb indicating authority or even ceremonial attire. Such ceremonious events included victory over a battle. The sculpture would include the divine gods, the leaders present in the event, leader and his family members, or even the slaves bowing to their leader (O’Neil, 2010).
Sculptures could hardly wear out soon and thus they were passed over from one generation of the Maya people to another generation. Such carvings were given great care and the subsequent generations would in no doubt believe that they were sacred objects (O’Neil, 2010). In the events that the older sculptures were broken, the Maya would take it and accord it burial at the sacred sites. Some research evidence shows that some of these sculptures were buried with leaders and they would have some kind of gifts beside them (O’Neil, 2010).
An example below is a Mayan sculpture bearing the image of a ruler.
Figure 4, Mayan monument with the image of a leader. Got from Stuart & Graham (2003)
The Maya would sometimes either move or destroy these sculptures because they were revered or disrespected. These objects were also accorded treatment relative to the level of their attributes or importance. Religious practices were also associated with these sculptures (Shele and Miller, 1986).
3. Architecture and Early Classic Funeral Pyramids
Cities and temples in Maya exhibited refined works or architects like monuments and well decorated facades and palaces, as well as well-designed structures that were used for astronomical observations. To create architectural façade, the Maya architects would first cut a rough form of block and lay it on top of the plastered base. The stucco comprising of smaller pebbles would then be used to plaster the rough surface to give it a refined appearance. Sculptured human would then be mounted in the made stucco and the finishing is done by using paints of rich colors. Walls of the structures were also given coatings of plaster and polychromatic designs for a smooth finishing. Temples were also decorated with large stucco masks. The figures 5 (a) and 5 (b) below show stucco mask and mural painting by the Maya.
Figure 5 (a) Stucco mask Figure 5(b) painted mural
Maya rulers were able to organize large human labour force that provided transportation and quarrying services and masonry and architectural skills were done according to the specialization (Shele and Miller, 1986).
The Maya centers for ceremonies were the residential centers for the ruling class and they also doubled as the administrative centers. Materials used by the Maya in their construction purposes were; woods or the stones. Woods were used for lintels and beams in the construction of huts and some places of worship. Mud was also used as a plaster over the woven walls made of sticks when stones were not available. The mud would then be hardened with the straw.
The common constructions of the Maya that indicated signs of ancient civilization were; Palaces and citadels, Pyramids and temples, E-Groups and observatories, Triadic pyramids and ball courts. Palaces and acropolis were residential areas of the ruling class and they were usually fitted with water supplies (O’Neil, 2010). Some palaces were also large enough to give space for the enthroning ceremony of new leader and others had indoor tombs. Temples were revered places only associated with the gods and the Maya called them ‘k’uh nah’ which means god’s house and they were constructed on top of the pyramids. E-groups on the other hand comprised of three structures facing the fourth one and they represented solstice and the equinoxes. The observatories were designed to monitor the movement of the heavenly bodies (O’Neil, 2010).
Triadic pyramids comprised of a large structure flanked by two relatively smaller structures inwardly facing the building and such triadic pyramids remained to be one of the popular architectural works. Mayan ball courts dated to the Classic period and they were constructed in “I” shape with the center field for playing various sports.
The determinant factors to the construction of these architectural structures were; the climate, local preference, availability of building materials and topography.
The pictures below show pyramid with temple at the top and the entrance façade of a city.
Figure 6 showing some of the construction works of the Maya civilization. From Brooks Kraft/Corbis Historical/Getty Images
Conclusion
The research has shown that the Maya even in the early primitive years were actually prospering until the coming of the Spanish. They possessed architectural skills that enabled them to build temples pyramids, walls, and palaces that were well decorated with paints, carving stones, and stucco statues. Besides these architectural works, the Maya were able to promote writing and literacy. They had a distinctive writing system that they used to communicate with even with their future generations. The Mayans also had strong spiritual connections with their divine sculptures that they claimed offered the direct link to their gods and forefathers.
References
Mark, J.J. (2012). Maya Civilization, Retrieved on Oct. 1, 2018 from https://www.ancient.eu/Maya_Civilization/
Minster, C. (2018). Ancient Maya Architecture: Buildings of the Maya Civilization Retrieved on Oct. 1, 2018 from https://www.thoughtco.com/ancient-maya-architecture-2136167
O’Neil, M. (2010). The Material Evidence of Ancient Maya Sculpture Journal of Visual culture Retrieved on Oct. 1, 2018 from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1470412910380357
Scatterthwaiter, L. (2018). Maya Practice Stone-Carving at Piedras Negras. Retrieved on Oct. 1, 2018 from https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/maya-practice-stone-carving-at-piedras-negras/
Schele, L. and Miller, M. (1986). Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art. Fort Worth, TX: Kimbell Art Museum.
Stuart, D. and Graham, I. (2003) Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions, Piedras Negras. Cambridge, MA: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University.
Kettunen, H. and Helmke, C. (2005).Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs , Retrieved on Oct. 1, 2018 from http://www.mesoweb.com/resources/handbook/WH2005.pdf
