Term Paper on "Mayan Culture"

Term Paper 9 pages (2957 words) Sources: 7 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Mayan Culture

Who Were the Mayans?

The Mayans were one of the earliest civilizations to build great buildings which still stand today. Much of their architecture related in some way to the things that were important to them in everyday life. These people will never be forgotten, because monuments to them remain in the form of the ruins of their ancient cities and burial chambers, but many argue that the Mayan culture died out many years ago. Many of the things that the Mayans created had to do with death and religion, which were closely tied together, for obvious reasons.

Some of the most popular of the Mayan creations were their pyramids. These pyramids were huge, and some took as long as 300 years to construct. Inside the pyramids were many different things, depending on what the original pyramid was built for. For example, some pyramids contained temples, while others contained strategically placed doors that lined up with star formations. These kinds of pyramids were likely used as observatories. Regardless of whether the pyramid was used to look at the stars, or talk to a priest, almost all Mayan architecture was closely tied in with religion. Religion was so important in the Mayan culture that it overshadowed everything, including the everyday life of the people. It was for this reason that the structures and pyramids were built.

While it is not known if there were any other reasons for building the pyramids, they are definitely sturdy structures that could have likely withstood an attack from any enemies that the Mayans might have had. Their functionality, as well as their solidity, has to be weighed against the fact that they took so long to construct. No one really knows what the Mayans did for shelter while they were building pyramids; did they live in huts or other small houses, or did they simply sleep in the open until such time as the pyramid could be finished? The Mayans have been gone a long time, and archeologists have given society no answers. This question, like so many others about the Mayans, will likely remain unresolved.

Some of the things that are known about the Mayan culture gives insight into the pyramids and other large structures that they built. For example, Mayans did not have a form of government like people do today, with a president who was elected. The Mayans had a King, and that particular King ruled over the land and people that were in his domain. That is not to say that every Mayan who lived during a certain time period was ruled by the same person. The Mayans were not an entirely collective society, and they congregated in several different areas which were made up of different groups. In other words, just because there was a Mayan civilization in one area, that does not mean that there was not another Mayan civilization in another area, ruled by a different King.

As for what architecture tells us about the Mayan people, the creation of pyramids and temples that were as large and time-consuming as those created by the Mayans indicate a race of people who were strong, intelligent, and willing to work together for a common goal. Very likely, Mayans were interested in their collective society, as well as their own families, and they worshiped their King. Religion was extremely important to them, as has been mentioned. They used their pyramids and other structures as places to worship, and reverence to their gods was a vital part of their daily lives.

Archeological evidence indicates that the Mayans were a proud people who survived many hardships, and continued to live their lives. Their lives were often difficult, especially for the women, who worked at weaving articles of clothing and grinding things such as corn for food. The men of the Mayan civilization did not have easy lives either, as they toiled in the sun to build pyramids and temples that many would not live to see completed.

The Mayan culture, many say, died out with them hundreds of years ago, because there are no longer any Mayan civilizations. However, others say that, even though there are no longer people that call themselves Mayans, their culture is still very important and it is still alive today in Central America.

The Case Against the Mayans

Many researchers and scholars state that the Mayan culture and people died out suddenly in the ninth century. One researcher and paleoclimatologist, Gerald Haug, heard author Richardson Gill's theory that drought caused the Mayans to vanish and although many other archaeologists discounted this, Haug found the idea quite fascinating (Ness, 2003). Haug's study indicated that in 810, 860, and 910 there were severe droughts in the area of the world that the Mayans inhabited. The climate patterns were examined off of the coast of Venezuela, which is actually many hundreds of miles from the Mayans sites, which were found in Belize, Mexico, and Guatemala (Ness, 2003).

However, these areas are all affected by the same types of weather patterns, and therefore they could be used quite easily for comparisons of this type. The research that Haug did was published in the journal 'Science' and was seen to be a most important work when it comes to the argument that the Mayan civilization was destroyed in the ninth century by severe drought (Ness, 2003). The weather patterns that would have been seen in that part of the world during that time period are indicative of the severe droughts that were discussed by Haug, and the information that Haug provides appear to be solid. While not all researchers agree that this is what took place, there are some indications that it may have taken place to a lesser degree more recently in other areas.

This idea of drought causing the decline of a people is not a completely new one, as it has happened to others in the past, although their societies have not completely disappeared. For example, in the late 1990s there was a period of deterioration in Indonesia, which witnessed a severe drought, the Asian financial crisis, and the collapse of government with no political institutions in place. The poor were badly impacted by all of this, and therefore there was damage done to society overall. While the drought was not Indonesia's only concern, it was one of the more serious issues that caused problems for those people during that period of time (USINDO, 2004).

Another way that the drought could have been especially problematic for the Mayans was through disease and contamination. For example, heavy rains that are seen after a prolonged drought can promote higher levels of contamination from anthrax and other contagions within the soil (Braun & Zoidis, 2001). These specific factors are believed to help to maintain the organisms in large enough quantities to promote the infection of people and animals. There would have been no treatment for many of these diseases during that time period and therefore there would have been little that could be done to help individuals that were sickened by disease-causing organisms in this way. While it is unlikely that these types of organisms were used for warfare during that period in history, they still could have sickened many people through accidental exposure (Brachman & Friedlander, 1994).

There are many researchers, however, that do not agree with Haug's idea of how the Mayans died out and that also do not feel that disease-causing agents were the culprit, either. These other researchers believe that there was a combination of factors as opposed to just one reason that the Mayans disappeared. These problems or reasons include militarism, mismanagement, famine, epidemics, exploitation, bad weather, and abuse of the ecology that they had, among other ideas (Crist & Paganini, 1980). During that time period, government, production, social interaction, and every other area of life was run by the male members of society. Some of the mismanagement came from the idea that the Mayans, like many cultures during that time, were a very male-dominated type of society. Women were not permitted to speak out or to question the men on any matters. The women, therefore, were expected to stay home and do the traditional housekeeping activities that were required of them (Blanton, et. al. 1999).

These roles of men and women were traditional in many societies during the time period in which the Mayans existed, although some societies were stricter about the issue than others were, and some civilizations deemed women to be much more important than did other civilizations. However, whether or not women were seen as significant in the Mayan culture does not seem to be directly significant in regard to what made the Mayan civilization die out. This death of the civilization, however, is also assumed to mean the death of the culture, but some do not feel as though this is the case, and they argue that the Mayan culture is still very much alive down in areas of Central America.… READ MORE

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