Classic Mayan Architecture
Mayan culture existed a thousand years ago, in what is now part of Central America. Its ruins were almost entirely abandoned by 600 A.D, and were not rediscovered until the early 1500’s, by Spanish settlers. Mayan architecture astounded the early conquistadors, and continues to be of great interest to modern archeologists as well. These scientists have labeled a certain period of Mayan architectural history as the “Classic” period.
This refers to a period when the Mayan civilization flourished, and extended from 300 to roughly 900 A.D (Miller 52). Because of our image of classical antiquity, the word “Classic” implies the heights of cultured accomplishment. In the classic period, we envision musicians
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These people built fake mountains by piling rock, and building a foundation on top to build a temple. The Mayans developed these temples further by adding sculpture, and painted faces onto these pyramids. The whole building would then be covered with plaster, and painted red or other bright colors. The Temples were often small, and had three dark rooms in their interior. One of the rooms would be an inner sanctuary where the king preformed his rituals (Liz 1-6). That temples were, in fact, religious buildings is beyond question; structures of the same shape were still in use when the Spaniards arrived and described with horror the bloody sacrifices that took place within the temple walls. Some Mayan temples have multiple doorways and suites of interconnected rooms. In some rooms, plaster-and-stone thrones look through doorways onto courtyards where one can easily envision crowds of religious supplicants (Culbert 165). Many temples also contain architecture that curiously corresponds with certain astrological phenomenon. Most temples constructed during the Classic period have a total of 365 stairs, and openings that align with the summer and winter solstices. When the temples were built, the architects aligned the temples with the sun, the moon, and the stars (Liz 1-6).
Some of the most distinct features of Classic Mayan culture were the pyramids. The pyramids were either temples or
At the top of these temples is where the most important ceremonies and sacrifices took place. In Fiero’s text they were described as being like the Mesopotamian ziggurat. “The Maya temple was a terraced pyramid with a staircase ascending to a platform capped by a multiroomed superstructure. A shrine and sanctuary, it also served as a burial place for priests or rulers.” ( Fiero 461) Many of their temples were built with astronomy in mind, and certain ones were aligned to the movements of Venus, the sun and the moon.
“In the Western Hemisphere, no early culture was more remarkable than the Mayans” (Background Essay). The Mayans were an adept civilization and accomplished many exceptional things during their time. Their deeds include things such as a number system, immense cities, and a vast trade network but there is no Mayan achievement more remarkable than their calendars. The Mayans created three calendars: a sacred calendar called tzolkin, a solar calendar called haab, and a long cycle calendar.
The Maya were believed to existence in 1800 BC and gone by 1500 AD. They had a lot of big cities but no capital. Many of the people lived in hay huts, some in limestone buildings built on tall pyramids which could actually be used as landmarks. They have a constant reminder the gods are present with the pyramids and first one was built right before Christ birth. Their agriculture was based on the economy, there main crop was corn but also grew cotton, beans, squash and cocao. They hunted deer, duck, turkey, monkeys, iguana, and other things with bow and arrows, blowguns, darts to eat, they did a little fishing. The Mayan art was about politics, the
The culture of the Mayans gradually uplifted, and the peak of their civilization appeared during the Classic Age of 250 to 900 CE. During this time, The Mayans created an abundance of art and amazing architecture that still inspire the architects of today. This civilization was on the road to greatness, but this greatness came to an end quickly. The Mayan city-states were in a constant feud and violence was constantly raging. Because of this, The Maya never became a single government unlike other major societies. Despite this, The Mayans achieved many remarkable accomplishments such as their calendar, architecture, marvelous trade system, and genius numerals that continue to be a template for the people of today.
The Mayans were an architectural type of people who based some of their masterpieces off of their religion. The
The Maya were noted as well for elaborate and highly decorated architecture, including temple-pyramids, palaces and observatories, all built without
The collapse of the Mayan Empire is one of history’s greatest mysteries. It was one of the most advanced and developed civilizations of its time period, reining during the Pre-Classic period and into the Classic and Post-Classic Periods (2000 B.C. – 900 A.D.). The territory stretched from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, down to modern day El Salvador in Central America. Its achievements were monumental for the era, being the first empire communicating with the use of a written language having over 800 symbols and producing the first 365 day calendar. They maintained an in-depth understanding of astrological cycles that would assist in planning harvesting cycles and predicting solar eclipses. The Mayan’s
Architecture, the basis of life for the Mayans. Architecture, specifically regarding pyramids. Now, when we think of the word “pyramid” most people will automatically think of the Great Pyramids of Egypt (we’ll get to those). But the Mayans had just as pyramids just as great. See, the technical building of the Maya pyramid was the same as the Egyptians. Both civilizations had pyramids of their own architectural design; Egypt with the well-known triangle and the Mayans with staircases. The use of slaves would help rise the pyramids from the ground, stacking, piling, pulling, and layering stone and clay. The main difference
The Mayan way of life revolved their religion. They had a polytheistic religion praising many gods. Each god had a certain thing that they would rule over or take care of. Chac was the god of rain, Kinich Ahau was the sun god, and Yum Cimil was the god of the underworld. There were many gods and goddess for almost every reason one could think of, there is even a goddess of suicide. They would perform human sacrifices, bleeding rituals, and dances to praise and to
The Maya made small sculptures of clay and carved huge ones from stone. Some of the large sculptures stood over thirty feet high.( Voorhies 326) Early Classic stone sculpture usually features a single Maya ruler celebrating his reign.Many fine
First, the Maya pyramids are constructed symmetrically in order for them to stand for thousands of years. You can also tell that “Temple I in the great plaza,” was constructed symmetrically by drawing a line down the middle of the piece of artwork and you can see that it is exactly the same on both sides. I have actually been to the pyramids of chichen itza, which is similar to “Temple I in the great plaza,” and I was able to walk up the pyramid and it was so fascinating to be able to see how these pyramids and temples were made. The amount of time and energy that was put into these was so fascinating just in order for these pyramids and temples to stay constructed and stay constructed for so long. There were a lot of engineering and mathematical skills that were put into making “Temple I in the great plaza,” in order for the structure to be so
Massive temples hidden in the jungles of the Yucatan, mysterious stone stelas, and cryptic calendars eluding to advanced knowledge of the stars and mathematics are just some of the artifacts originating from the “Classic Maya” period (200 CE-900 CE). However, these popular items should not be the only defining characteristics of a society that dominated the Mesoamerican region for nearly a millennia. Dynastic lines, similar to those found in European houses, were important elements during this period in places like Palenque, Tikal, and Calakmul. Additionally, the Maya experienced violent and consistent warfare between localized powers and the backbone of their society, agriculture, suffered through several multi-year droughts. These factors
The Maya civilization can be divided into three main periods: Pre-Classic, Classic, and Post-Classic. Their greatest accomplishments most likely took place in the Classic period. This period occurred between 250 and 910AD. An extensive trade network was in place during this period that allowed the civilization to grow as large as sixty separate kingdoms. Other technological advances also took place during this time.
All remnants of the distant past are romantic, but ancient Maya civilization has a special fascination. It is a "lost" civilization, whose secrets lie deep in the mysterious tropical forest. The style of Maya architecture and sculpture seems alien and bizarre.
Mesoamerica is the area in which the ancient Maya had lived, and is the area where modern Mayans are still reside. According to Coe, the Mayan geographic can range from Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Yucatan Peninsula, and the Mexican States of Chiapas and Tabasco (1966:17). Yet these areas are not limited to just Mayan. Many structural architecture remains today has proven the complexity of the Mayan culture in Mesoamerica.