The Mayan Culture

With the hullabaloo being created due to the fact thewestern hemisphere and had two calendars, one with
Mayan calendar ends in 2012, there is much interest365 days.They used their system of writing,
concerning the Mayan culture, Mayan religion, and(hieroglyphics), to record information in books made
Mayan symbols.from the bark of fig trees.
The 2012 Mayan Calendar does not signify the end ofThey developed a mathematical system based on the
the world, it only signifies the beginning of a new era ornumber 20 and were the first to use the number 0.
age, a new level of consciousness.It wasn't a life of all work and no play. They had
The Maya believe the cycles are approximately 5,000developed a form of the modern day game of
years in duration and the year 2012 only signifies thebasketball, where a gourd or other round object was
end of a particular era, as that era ends, a new cycleattempted to pass through a hoop high on the wall.
will begin, a change most humans won't even notice.They took this game very seriously, as the losers
According to Mayan belief the Cosmos was made upwere often sacrificed to the Gods. In some instances,
by nine underworlds, this belief was expressed verythe victors were sacrificed as a way of appeasing the
powerfully in their pyramids, which were all built basedGods for some ill conceived misfortune that had
on nine different stories.befallen the tribe. In this circumstance it was an honor
The traditional Mayas believe in the existence, withinto be chosen as a sacrifice and most athletes willingly
each individual,of various sub souls, usually described involunteered.
quasi-material terms(such as 'shadow', 'breath', 'blood',Astronomy was very much a part of their life as was
and 'bone'). The loss of one or more sub souls resultsthe calendar, and mathematics.. Social class was
in specific diseases (such as heart disease, cancer,determined by economics, religious beliefs and politics.
etc.) They were very adept at natural healing, usingAs evidenced still today in the beautiful art work
herbs and plants from the surrounding jungle to healdisplayed throughout Central America and
and nourish their bodies.This art is still evident today,Mexico,there were many talented potters, sculptors
although it is dying out as the old medicine men passand artists with abilities in carving jade and other semi
on.precious stones. The Mayans were intelligent farmers
The Mayas accomplished a lot of "firsts" in this era.and architects as well.
Not only did they build a lot of pyramids and temples,The earliest evidence of the Mayan existence was in
they were experts on building roads and also knewA.D. 250.Geographers soon found that in A.D. 900 the
how to make rubber. Thus they built the mostMayan had abandoned their cities and thus their
advanced road system of their time.civilization slowly vanished.
They had the first advanced system of writing in the