The Maya Civilization

Collage of the Maya I made

What ancient civilization was able to determine astronomical thousands of years into the future, is believed to be one of the first civilizations in the world to create a fully developed written language, and even invented the number 0? There’s only one: the Maya.

Beginning as early as 3000 B.C. and not reaching their collapse until the mid 1500s, this Mesoamerican civilization [Mesoamerica: The term used for the area from Central Mexico to El Salvador. The cultures of the Maya, Aztec, and Olmec are thus called "Mesoamerican."] flourished longer than almost any civilization on the planet. This is in fact, part of what helped them calculate such precise astronomical dates. By watching the orbits, cycles, and alignments of the universe, the Maya were able to determine when certain events would happen and how. They for example were able to determine that every 25,800 years, the center of the milky way aligns exactly with the sun. The Maya viewed this alignment as a new era, and some theorize that this was believed by the Maya to be a time when the world was destroyed, and then recreated. The next “rebirth” and actually the next alignment is going to happen on December 21, (and by some theories, the Maya may have thought of this rebirth on December 22, or 23) 2012. One theory however, recommends that crystal skulls that may or may not have been made by the Maya can save us. In fact, this idea of crystal skulls is what the latest Indiana Jones movie: “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”, is based on.




To show their astronomical dates and others, the Maya with the help of other Mesoamerican cultures, created three calendars: the Haab calendar, the Tzolkin calendar, and the Long Count calendar. The Long Count is actually slightly more accurate than our calendar today because of how it represents leap year, and could easily be used instead of our current Gregorian calendar.

According to Wikipedia, "Although the Mesoamerican calendar did not originate with the Maya, their subsequent extensions and refinements of it were the most sophisticated"

Each calendar served a different purpose: The Long Count was used to date historical events, The Tzolkin was used to date religious events, and the Haab was used to date more minor events.

The Maya also combined architecture with their ability to make calendars as well. Pyramids with steps were used, each step standing for a day. These “calendars” also have a special secret. At 3 PM on the autumn solstice, a serpent appears to crawl across the pyramid. In addition, these are some of the most well built monuments in the world, and have survived for over a thousand years in very good condition.

The Maya foretold the future on their calendars as well, however many of their fortunes are ridiculed by people. The Maya divided their primary predictions into eras all of which were twenty years each. These twenty periods, also called katuns, continue until December 21, 2012 (and by some theories December 22, or 23) and talk about a wide variety of predictions. One of their best known katuns began in 1855 and went until 1875, part of which was during the American Civil war. It said it will be a time when people will lose faith in their leaders. Leaders will be harmed, and subjects will separate. Skeptics however, believe this to be too broad of a prediction.

The best known discovery the Maya made, however is their discovery of 0, which was used to help them form their calendar in the first place. They are in fact believed by some scholars to be not only the first in North America, but the first in the world to create it. Although their counting system was very different than ours today, being based on a system of 20, not 10, their use of zero was just the same. Zero was represented by a shell, unlike the rest of their numbers which were a series of dots and lines.

Mayan Numbers 1-19. Because they used a base system of 20, 20 was written like 10, with a 1 above a 0.  21 was written with a 1 above a 1. For more information, see http://www.michielb.nl/maya/math.html I will also be writing an article about this in the future

To record all of their amazing achievements however, the Maya had to make yet another discovery. Writing. The Maya are believed to be one of the first civilizations in the world to create a fully developed written language, and made a smoother, more durable form of paper than the Romans. The Maya used this system of writing to create hundreds or possibly thousands of codices, (Codicies: books of information) in which they wrote about their rituals, customs, and of course, achievements. Sadly, during the Spanish conquest of Mexico, all but three and a not yet proven authentic fourth codex were destroyed. These remaining codices, now named for the city at which their located, are: the Dresden Codex, the Paris Codex, the Madrid Codex, and the not yet proven authentic Grollier Codex.

Unfortunately, most of the Mayan’s discoveries didn’t benefit us, because we didn’t actually translate any of these texts until around fifty years ago, and by then, we had all the Mayan had: A written language, the number 0, ways of building, and ways of predicting astronomical events.]

This is why the Maya aren’t that well known.

We still can however learn from the Maya. Thriving for some 4000 or more years, and making some of the most important discoveries known, the Maya can be considered one of the greatest civilizations ever to be formed. Knowing their achievements and faults can help us as a nation thrive as well. The ultimate downfall of their civilization came from the Spanish conquest of Mexico, most likely because they weren’t prepared for such a sudden attack. Their civilization became such a great one from their constant advancements and observations.

But one must still wonder. What else? Is that the only reason they thrived? Is there more to the Mayan's success? Perhaps there is another reason: King Pacal.

King Pacal (603-683 A.D.) was a well known Mayan leader who had an advanced knowledge in mathematics. King Pacal's predecessor was his mother, Sak K'uk'. In the Mayan culture, women only took the role of ruler if no men were available. When King Pacal reached 12 years of age, he, by Mayan standards, has reached his official maturity. Because of this, at 12 years of age, on July 29, 615, King Pacal officially became ruler of Palenque. On his tombstone, is a long inscription, and on him is a death mask made almost entirely out of jade. Because of this and other historical evidence, it has been concluded that King Pacal and his mother made a significant influence on the Maya. Perhaps leaders like him were what caused the civilization to thrive. Perhaps that is how the Maya civilization discovered so many things, and gave us so much.

But there is something more important the Maya gave us, than the jade masks, or the fact their advancements helped them thrive. It's that all of what they did was possible, even in such a primitive time. It really is hope, and knowing that nothing, no matter how difficult it may seem, is impossible.