Post 3 - Origin of Empire

Origin of Mayan empire.

 

During the Pre-Classic period, Mayan cities seemed to enjoy a peaceful coexistence, with achievements coming slowly.  Pyramids constructed during that era were adorned by pleasant art.  For example, a huge sculpture of a peaceful head (called a mask) is found at the Mask Temple in the old city of Lamanai.   The Classic period, when it arrived, brought much war, and the achievements came more quickly.  Also, the art became very violent.  For example, we know that the Mask temple was enlarged, and its peaceful art was covered with a layer of steps.  The purpose of art in the Classic period seemed to have become propaganda, intended to emphasize the power of the king and to intimidate any who may question his authority.  During this period, the religion became quite brutal and ritual human sacrifice became a part of their ceremonies.  This change of attitude was depicted in the art, and peaceful themes were replaced by violent.

When this Classic period ended, The Mayans mysteriously began to abandon their cities in Belize and the jungle overcame the magnificent palaces and the pyramids.  When the Spanish arrived, a few Mayan cities remained in the Yucatan area, the northern part of the Empire.

Early researchers believed that the ancient Mayans left no written records, but that is not true.  When the Spanish conquered the Mayan cities that had not yet been abandoned, they were disgusted by the brutal religious rituals.  Spanish priests saw that the Mayan documents written on paper and animal skins were filled with killing and bloody sacrifices, and they assumed that these were mostly religious documents.  They believed these documents were works of the devil and burned them.  A few survived and are now entrusted to museums in Europe.

The Spanish priests, however, did not destroy all Mayan historical records.  The ancient Mayans recorded important events on stone columns called stela that they erected in their cities, and these carvings did not show the brutal rituals so the priests did not destroy them.  When the Mayan language was decoded, these stela gave researchers an accurate description of major historic events and important people in a city.  Since the stela were authorized by the ruler, they treated him kindly, sometimes included a sculpture depicting him. 

The Maya invented a very accurate calendar and this was used by all their cities, so the records carved on stela often contained the exact date an important event occurred.  By comparing the stela of different cities, researchers could determine if some event involved more than one city and could even trace the movement of an important person from one city to another.

These stela are proving to be very useful to researchers attempting to determine the cause of the drastic change that ended the peaceful Pre-Classic period and brought in the more violent, creative Classic period.

Before the Maya, a peaceful people named the Olmec occupied Central America. These Olmec seemed to be much like the Maya, except their art showed a more peaceful existence and their achievements came slowly.  Did the Mayans conquer the Olmec and occupy their cities, or did these Olmec suddenly change and become the violent Maya?

A stela found among the ruins of an ancient city in Guatamala may answer that question, and also reveal the events that ended the Pre-Classic period and abruptly ushered in the Classic period.