![]() In ancient Mayan civilisation there were knights orders like the ones of jaguar, tiger or eagle, fully regarded as schools of transcendental and magic knowledge. Again we can find Mayan sacred symbols in their frescos and paintings: the maize god, the spirit bird, the initiation serpent, the solar deities and the deities of darkness, the jaguar that can overcome any obstacle, the sacred tree as an expression of both the cosmos and the inner path, the spirits of fire, water, wind… Similarly the paintings are very elegant, beautiful and symbolic as well as colourful like those encountered in Bonapak murals, where a number of scenes, musical instruments, conflicts, clothings and rituals were represented or the paintings from the many vessels found in archaeological excavations. a sort of miters as a symbol of power and wisdom solar faces as purity of soul and spirit big ears symbolising the internal ear, the ability of listening hands in a mystic gesture or forming an alchemical cross as a symbol of sublimation of the energies inside scepter as internal power belts as fusion between the human and the divine, working apron for the internal builder and other alchemical symbols such as spheres, cube-shaped stones, triangles, the tree of life, the seed, the X-shaped cross, six-pointed stars, etc. The characters carved in them showed different attributes, e.g. In addition to its historical and chronological value, the steles and the friezes had also a symbolic, internal meaning. Through them the Mayas represented their higher beings showing special features. This particular period is therefore considered as the Golden Age of Mayan Civilisation: It saw the emergence of many cities like Uxmal, Copán, Kabah, Izamal, Cobá, Calakmul, Palenque, Piedras Negras or Chichén Itzá.Īround this time they created extraordinary sculptures, friezes, steles and monoliths. It is in this Classic period when the Mayan cultural process reached its peak in terms of society, technology, politics, economy, and art, besides major advances in astronomy and arithmetic, all this resulting in one of the greatest Mayan contributions to the world, the Mayan calendar. From 200 AD began the so-called Classic period - although more recent archaeological discoveries of real works of art like San Bartolo murals, or the frieze of El Mirador, dated from the year 300 BC, arise the need of reconsidering that date, defined by the use of the Long Count writing system that would remain up to the 9th century, date in which this complex notation formula stopped being used. Later on, in what we call Preclassic period, the oldest things found are building ruins, utensils, jade and ceramics manufactured with great care from 2500 BC (Cuello, Belice), pyramidal structures in places such as Tikal and Uaxactún from 1500 BC, and the temples-pyramids, acropolis and extraordinary palaces located in El Mirador, in Petén region of current Guatemala. ![]() The is why we can imagine the great difficulty that transporting goods represented, or materials and the huge stone blocks needed to build pyramids, temples, ball games, palaces, steam baths, sculptures an so on, in a places dominated by jungles and deep forests or by volcanoes.įrom a paleontological point of view, human activity is found from 40,000 BC in areas like Santa Marta in Chiapas or the Loltun Cave in Yucatan. Neither did they use animals, for which the transport system depended uniquely on small shipments, or human power. ![]() Attention should be drawn to the fact that, even though they knew about the wheel, they didn’t use it. ![]() ![]() Many cities and ceremonial centres were erected in the Mayan area, with pyramids rising above the highest jungle trees. Therefore it is believed that Mayan culture could have reached what is now Colombia. It extended from the Pacific coastal area, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean all the way to the high inland mountains, from the leafy tropical jungle to the high volcanic plains, with weather and regional diversity.īesides this geographic scope, it is known that the Mayas travelled through earth and sea to other Mesoamerican and perhaps even Southamerican regions, hence many artefacts from their Culture were found in other Mexican towns - Christopher Columbus found himself with a Mayan boat with 25 people who were trading goods in the Yucatan coast - and there are some records that describe ships of up to 50 crew members. It also includes some regions of Tabasco and Chiapas in the same way in the Petén area, with the republics of Guatemala and Belize and other regions of Salvador and Honduras. The Mayan area covers an extension of about 325 000 square kilometres, which includes the Mexican states of Yucatan, Quintana Roo and Campeche. ![]()
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