Mayan Culture

Mayan culture
The first concrete traces of the Mayan civilization date back to the Preclassic period around 1,800 BC in the Mirador Basin in Petén, northern Guatemala, though some settlements are thought to be over 6,000 years old (Coe, 2005). Signs of chiefdom political organization emerged during the Middle Preclassic era (ca. 1,000–400 BC), leading to the birth of a ruling elite and thedevelopment of city-state governing systems in the Late Preclassic (ca. 400 BC–100 AD), leading to rivalry and wars among them. (Sharer and Tucker, 2006).
See Dr. Richard Hansen's Lecture in UFM, about Mirador Basin, Guatemala on Feb 5 2007
The Mayans were the only ancient American civilization with a recorded history of their own, the Mayans broadcast on stone billboards (stelas), the loudestmessages of all Mesoamerican cultures. They recorded on lithic monuments, pottery, papers, and skins, the grand events of their abstruse culture. Though their hieroglyphs remain to be totally deciphered, we may soon have the benefit of viewing an advanced civilization built upon "primary technology" taken to the fullest understanding of nature's provisions. In other words the Mayans went about as far asthey could go within a category of earth and stone technology. Their knowledge of the Primary Technology (Nature) surely surpasses ours.
The Maya flourished thanks to a deep understanding of their geographic setting, and surprising adaptations to the environmental conditions that surrounded them. They conceived the world as a quadrangular space that was ordered and measured at the time ofcreation. The gods created the face of the earth, u watch ulew, as a propitious place for human life. In the words of the Popol Vuh:
"All then was measured and staked out into four divisions, doubling over and stretching the measuring cords of the womb of sky and the womb of earth. Thus were established the four corners, the four sides"
The ancient Maya culture was the more advanced in the Americancontinent, moreover, the World of the Maya has many faces: some of them ancient, as found carved on Sculptures, paintings and towering temples, others as modern as those of the people who live in Guatemala today. They are the descendants of the ancient Maya people.
Photo: The Rabinal Achi, A UNESCO Oral Masterpiece
Guatemala is a showcase of natural history and dramatic Landscapes, with 37volcanoes, beautiful lakes, Tropical rain forest, dense pine forest, and more, but its greatest asset is the rich and colorful traditions of the various ethnic communities, 23 in total. Each group has its own language, its special folklore, yet they share a common ancestral heritage as expressed in religion, music, dance, a Theater play The Rabinal Achi foods and even social organization. Mayainfluences can be found in both the performing and design arts. The handcraft of textiles, in particular, is wonderfully colored, and part of the everyday dress, a big difference with its neighboring countries.

The Maize God being dressed by ladies, then paddled in a canoe (Vase in Pool Vuh Museum, Guatemala)
Most archaeologists agree that ancient Guatemala was the cultural and commercecenter of the Americas, and that the Mayan civilization, is the jewel of all ancient American cultures, and one of the greatest civilizations the world has ever known. Once centered in what is now Guatemala, extending through-out the nation and into neighboring Chiapas, Yucatán, Campeche, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras a region known as Mesoamerican. The investigations in La Blanca, El Mask,Ujuxte, Monte Alto, Balberta and others in the Pacific Lowlands, the very early sites of Naranjo and Kaminal Juyú in the Highlands and several more in The Mirador Basin, located in
Classic Maya Ahau
The Petén Lowlands, could produce information about the development of social stratification, the emergence of
Classic Maya Ahaui'il
Elite and the process of urbanization in an area which is...