Mayan Civilization
- Type of Government. The Mayan civilization was organized as a network of city-states, with each state being ruled by a hereditary monarchy.
- Background. ...
- Government Structure. ...
- Political Parties and Factions. ...
- Major Events. ...
- Aftermath. ...
What type of government did the Mayans have?
Ancient Maya government was formed on the basis that rulers were thought to have been god-like, which to some might suggest one unified state. However, the consensus amongst anthropologists supports that each major Maya city remained its own independent and sovereign entity with its own unique struggles for political power.
When did the Mayan civilization begin?
Ancient Maya Statue on the rocks near the ocean. The Maya had one of the greatest civilizations of the Western Hemisphere before the Spanish conquest of Mexico and Central America. The rise of the Maya began around 250 A.D.
Why was the Mayan civilization important?
The Maya belief in god-like rulers also made it important to keep the line of power in the family, which would occasionally include a woman ruler. The various Maya city-states are found in what is today Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The civilization extended from circa 1500 BCE to approximately 1500 CE.
How did the Mayans rule their cities?
Rather, each Maya city-state had its own individual ruling family that controlled the city and surrounding rural area. Some city-states were larger and controlled other smaller city-states, ruling them indirectly but taking tribute from the smaller polity. The king, or k’ul ahau or sacred ruler, was an absolute monarchy.
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Definition
The Maya are an indigenous people of Mexico and Central America who have continuously inhabited the lands comprising modern-day Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Campeche, Tabasco, and Chiapas in Mexico and southward through Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras.
Translations
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About the Author
A freelance writer and former part-time Professor of Philosophy at Marist College, New York, Joshua J. Mark has lived in Greece and Germany and traveled through Egypt. He has taught history, writing, literature, and philosophy at the college level.
Recommended Books
The Maya Civilization: An Enthralling Overview of Maya History, Starting...
Cite This Work
Mark, J. J. (2012, July 06). Maya Civilization . World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/Maya_Civilization/
License
Written by Joshua J. Mark, published on 06 July 2012 under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms.
What were the roles of the Batab?
The batab held positions as military leaders, overseers, administrators, town councilors, constables, tax collectors and high priests.
Why did the city states become more militant during the late Classic era?
During the late Classic era, city-states became even more militant, warring to obtain territory and resources and for increased prestige and power . Continual warfare is one of the reasons given for the decline of the great Classic era in the 8th and 9th centuries.
What are the three main periods of Maya civilization?
The history of Maya civilization is divided into three principal periods: the Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic periods. These were preceded by the Archaic Period, during which the first settled villages and early developments in agriculture emerged. Modern scholars regard these periods as arbitrary divisions of Maya chronology, rather than indicative of cultural evolution or decline. Definitions of the start and end dates of period spans can vary by as much as a century, depending on the author.
When were the Maya cities built?
The first Maya cities developed around 750 BC, and by 500 BC these cities possessed monumental architecture, including large temples with elaborate stucco façades. Hieroglyphic writing was being used in the Maya region by the 3rd century BC.
What were the main crops of the Maya?
2000 BC to 250 AD) saw the establishment of the first complex societies in the Maya region, and the cultivation of the staple crops of the Maya diet, including maize, beans, squashes, and chili peppers.
What was the most important city in the northern Maya region?
Chichen Itza was the most important city in the northern Maya region.
What were the buildings of the Maya?
Architecturally, city buildings included palaces, pyramid-temples, ceremonial ballcourts, and structures specially aligned for astronomical observation. The Maya elite were literate, and developed a complex system of hieroglyphic writing. Theirs was the most advanced writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas.
How to identify glyph blocks in Maya?
Glyph blocks are usually arranged in a grid pattern. For ease of reference, epigraphers refer to glyph blocks from left to right alphabetically, and top to bottom numerically. Thus, any glyph block in a piece of text can be identified. C4 would be third block counting from the left, and the fourth block counting downwards. If a monument or artefact has more than one inscription, column labels are not repeated, rather they continue in the alphabetic series; if there are more than 26 columns, the labelling continues as A', B', etc. Numeric row labels restart from 1 for each discrete unit of text.
Is the Mayan civilization a part of the Western civilization?
They should always be called Maya and not Mayan. Since at least the time of Spanish colonialism, Maya are also full participants in and culture bearers of "Western civilization" to the same extent than any other "westerner" is participates in, promotes, and continues "Western civilization.".
What is the Mayan government?
Much of what we now know about ancient Mayan government came from the ancient manuscript called Chilam Balam. Most scholars believe that the Books of Chilam Balam were directly translated from ancient Mayan hieroglyphic codices. According to these codices the Yucatan Peninsula was governed for almost two hundred years by the “Triple Alliance.” The Triple Alliance consisted of the three most important cities in the Mayan realm. They were Mayapan, Chichen Itza, and Uxmal. The Alliance existed between the years of 987AD and 1185AD. The lords of these three cities held the reigns of government over the entire Yucatan Peninsula. We also know that these three centers did not flourish simultaneously, and that originally Chichen Itza was the most important center. Then sometime around 1200AD, Mayapan emerged as the capital and most important city.
What was the name of the Spanish chief that controlled the Yucatan?
The Spaniards found the Yucatan divided into 19 sectors, with each one controlled by an individual cacique. The cacique or chief was called Halach Uinic which means “he who reigns”. He carried the tile “Ahau” which meant king. This position was hereditary and usually was passed to the oldest or most competent son.
Who governed the area outside of the city?
Under the Ahua were the Batabes who governed the areas outside of the city. The Batabes administrated all of the business of the area. He served as judge, tax collector, executive, priest, and head of the military. He was also in charge of the distribution of land, and how it was cultivated.
Where did the Maya Empire come from?
Source. The Maya Empire, centered in the tropical lowlands of what is now Guatemala, reached the peak of its power and influence around the sixth century A.D. The Maya excelled at agriculture, pottery, hieroglyph writing, calendar-making and mathematics, and left behind an astonishing amount of impressive architecture and symbolic artwork.
What were the natural resources of the Maya?
Though foreign invaders were disappointed by the region’s relative lack of silver and gold, the Maya took advantage of the area’s many natural resources, including limestone (for construction), the volcanic rock obsidian (for tools and weapons) and salt. The environment also held other treasures for the Maya, including jade, quetzal feathers (used to decorate the elaborate costumes of Maya nobility) and marine shells, which were used as trumpets in ceremonies and warfare.
Did the Maya have an irrigation system?
In the southern Maya lowlands, however, there were few navigable rivers for trade and transport, as well as no obvious need for an irrigation system. By the late 20th century, researchers had concluded that the climate of the lowlands was in fact quite environmentally diverse.
Do The Maya Still Exist?
Descendants of the Maya still live in Central America in modern-day Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and parts of Mexico. The majority of them live in Guatemala, which is home to Tikal National Park, the site of the ruins of the ancient city of Tikal. Roughly 40 percent of Guatemalans are of Mayan descent.
Overview
History
The history of Maya civilization is divided into three principal periods: the Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic periods. These were preceded by the Archaic Period, during which the first settled villages and early developments in agriculture emerged. Modern scholars regard these periods as arbitrary divisions of Maya chronology, rather than indicative of cultural evolution or de…
Mesoamerica
The Maya civilization developed within the Mesoamerican cultural area, which covers a region that spreads from northern Mexico southwards into Central America. Mesoamerica was one of six cradles of civilization worldwide. The Mesoamerican area gave rise to a series of cultural developments that included complex societies, agriculture, cities, monumental architecture, writing, and cale…
Geography
The Maya civilization occupied a wide territory that included southeastern Mexico and northern Central America. This area included the entire Yucatán Peninsula and all of the territory now incorporated into the modern countries of Guatemala and Belize, as well as the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador. Most of the peninsula is formed by a vast plain with few hills or mou…
Politics
Unlike the Aztecs and the Inca, the Maya political system never integrated the entire Maya cultural area into a single state or empire. Rather, throughout its history, the Maya area contained a varying mix of political complexity that included both states and chiefdoms. These polities fluctuated greatly in their relationships with each other and were engaged in a complex web of rivalries, periods of dominance or submission, vassalage, and alliances. At times, different politi…
Society
From the Early Preclassic, Maya society was sharply divided between the elite and commoners. As population increased over time, various sectors of society became increasingly specialised, and political organization became increasingly complex. By the Late Classic, when populations had grown enormously and hundreds of cities were connected in a complex web of political hierarchies, th…
Warfare
Warfare was prevalent in the Maya world. Military campaigns were launched for a variety of reasons, including the control of trade routes and tribute, raids to take captives, scaling up to the complete destruction of an enemy state. Little is known about Maya military organization, logistics, or training. Warfare is depicted in Maya art from the Classic period, and wars and victories are menti…
Trade
Trade was a key component of Maya society, and in the development of the Maya civilization. The cities that grew to become the most important usually controlled access to vital trade goods, or portage routes. Cities such as Kaminaljuyu and Qʼumarkaj in the Guatemalan Highlands, and Chalchuapa in El Salvador, variously controlled access to the sources of obsidian at different points in Maya history. The Maya were major producers of cotton, which was used to make the t…