10 Facts About the Ancient Maya

The Truth About a Lost Civilization

Ruins of a Mayan brick pyramid surrounded by bright green grass on a sunny day.

Dennis Jarvis/Flickr/CC BY 2.0

The ancient Mayan civilization flourished in the steamy jungles of present-day southern Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala. The ancient Maya classic age (the peak of their culture) occurred between 300 and 900 A.D. before they went into a mysterious decline. The Maya culture has always been a bit of an enigma, and even the experts disagree on certain aspects of their society. What facts are now known about this mysterious culture?

01
of 10

They Were More Violent Than Originally Thought

Ancient Mayan ruins of a pyramid complex under a blue sky.

HJPD/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 3.0

The traditional view of the Maya was that they were a peaceful people, content to gaze at the stars and trade with one another for jade and pretty feathers. That was before modern researchers deciphered the glyphs left behind on the statues and temples. It turns out that the Maya were as fierce and warlike as their later neighbors to the north, the Aztecs. Scenes of wars, massacres, and human sacrifices were carved into stone and left behind on public buildings. The warfare between city-states got so bad that many believe that it had much to do with the eventual ​decline and fall of the Maya civilization.

02
of 10

They Didn’t Think the World Would End in 2012

Mayan mask close up on a green background.

Wolfgang Sauber/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 3.0

As December of 2012 approached, many people noted that the Maya calendar would soon end. It’s true, as the Maya calendar system was complicated. To make a long story short, it reset to zero on December 21, 2012. This led to all sorts of speculation, from a new coming of the Messiah to the end of the world. The ancient Maya, however, did not seem to worry much about what would happen when their calendar reset. They may have seen it as a new beginning of sorts, but there is no evidence that they predicted any disasters.

03
of 10

They Had Books

Ancient pictographs on yellowed paper.

Michel wal/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 3.0

The Maya were literate and had a written language and books. To the untrained eye, Maya books look like a series of pictures and peculiar dots and scribbles. In reality, the ancient Maya used a complex language where glyphs could represent a complete word or syllable. Not all of the Maya were literate, as the books seem to have been produced and used by the priest class. The Maya had thousands of books when the Spanish arrived, but zealous priests burned most of them. Only four original Maya books (called "codices") survive.

04
of 10

They Practiced Human Sacrifice

Stone step temple against a blue sky with a jungle in the background.

Raymond Ostertag/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.5

The Aztec culture from Central Mexico usually is the one associated with human sacrifice, but that’s probably because Spanish chroniclers were there to witness it. The Maya were just as bloodthirsty when it came to feeding their gods. The Maya city-states fought frequently with one another and many enemy warriors were taken captive. These captives were usually enslaved or sacrificed. High-level captives such as nobles or kings were forced to play in the ceremonial ball game against their captors, re-enacting the battle they lost. After the game, the outcome of which was predetermined to reflect the battle it represented, the captives were ritually sacrificed.

05
of 10

They Saw Their Gods in the Sky

Sculpture of a Mayan god on display at a museum.

Daderot/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 1.0

The Maya were obsessive astronomers who kept very detailed records of the movements of the stars, sun, moon, and planets. They kept accurate tables predicting eclipses, solstices, and other celestial events. Part of the reason for this detailed observation of the heavens was that they believed that the sun, moon, and planets were gods moving back and forth between the heavens, the underworld (Xibalba), and the Earth. Celestial events such as equinoxes, solstices, and eclipses were marked by ceremonies at Maya temples.

06
of 10

They Traded Extensively

Small, carved Mayan artifacts on a white background

-murdoc (Maybe trading)/Flickr/CC BY 2.0

The Maya were keen traders and merchants and had trade networks throughout modern-day Mexico and Central America. They traded for two sorts of items: prestige items and subsistence items. The subsistence items included basic necessities like food, clothing, salt, tools, and weapons. Prestige items were things coveted by the Maya that were not crucial to daily life, for example, bright feathers, jade, obsidian, and gold. The ruling class treasured prestige items and some rulers were buried with their possessions, giving modern researchers clues into Mayan life and who they traded with.

07
of 10

They Had Kings and Royal Families

Ruins of a Mayan palace in the jungle on a sunny day.

Havelbaude/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 3.0

Each major city-state had a king (or Ahau). The Maya rulers claimed to be descended directly from the sun, moon, or planets, which gave them divine ancestry. Because he had the blood of gods, the Ahau was an important conduit between the realm of man and the heavens and underworld, and often had key roles in ceremonies. The Ahau was also a wartime leader, expected to fight and play in the ceremonial ball game. When the Ahau died, rulership generally passed to his son, although there were exceptions. There was even a handful of queens ruling mighty Mayan city-states.

08
of 10

Their Bible Still Exists

Pages from the Popol Vuh, ancient Mayan holy book.

Ohio State Univ/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

When talking about Ancient Maya culture, experts generally lament how little is known today and how much has been lost. One remarkable document has survived, however: the Popol Vuh. This is a sacred book of the Maya that describes the creation of mankind and the story of Hunahpu and Xbalanque, the hero twins, and their struggles with the gods of the underworld. The Popol Vuh stories were traditional ones, and at some time a Quiché Maya scribe wrote them down. Sometime around 1700 A. D., Father Francisco Ximénez borrowed that text, which was written in the Quiché language. He copied and translated it, and although the original has been lost, Father Ximénez’s copy survives. This priceless document is a treasure trove of ancient Maya culture.

09
of 10

No One Knows What Happened to Them

Stone ruins and jungle under a blue sky.

timeflies1955/Pixabay

In 700 A.D. or so, the Maya civilization was going strong. Powerful city-states ruled weaker vassals, trade was brisk, and cultural achievements such as art, architecture, and astronomy peaked. By 900 A.D., however, the classic Maya powerhouses like Tikal, Palenque, and Calakmul had all fallen into decline and would soon be abandoned. So, what happened? No one knows for sure. Some blame warfare, others climate change, and still other experts claim it was disease or famine. Possibly it was a combination of all of these factors, as the experts can’t seem to agree on one root cause.

10
of 10

They’re Still Around

Ixil women holding roses.

Trocaire from Ireland/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0

The Ancient Maya civilization may have fallen into decline a thousand years ago, but that doesn’t mean that the people all died off or vanished. The Mayan culture still existed when Spanish conquistadors arrived in the early 1500s. Like other American peoples, they were conquered and enslaved, their culture erased, their books destroyed. But the Maya proved more difficult to assimilate than most. For 500 years, they fought hard to maintain their culture and traditions. In Guatemala and parts of Mexico and Belize, there are ethnic groups who still hold fast to traditions such as language, dress, and religion that date back to the days of the mighty Maya civilization.

Format
mla apa chicago
Your Citation
Minster, Christopher. "10 Facts About the Ancient Maya." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/facts-about-the-ancient-maya-2136183. Minster, Christopher. (2023, April 5). 10 Facts About the Ancient Maya. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/facts-about-the-ancient-maya-2136183 Minster, Christopher. "10 Facts About the Ancient Maya." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/facts-about-the-ancient-maya-2136183 (accessed March 19, 2024).