Ixchel Research Paper

​Many of the cultures that we have today have evolved from past events. Such as language it was something that became known throughout the years. Some of the languages that came from that were English, Spanish, German, and Latin to name a few. These languages were derived more past civilizations. One important civilization that is known for having great success is the Mayan civilization. The Mayan civilization is known for many things like they fully developed written language, art, architecture, math and some other factors. Historians have said that they don’t know an exact date of when this civilization rose up but they do mention that it flourished for about 2000 years. Although staring in 250 AD it is said that it was the start of their high point and it continued until the arrival of the Spanish in 1524. The Maya area covers southern Mexico and northwestern Central America. According to Sharer the area is divided into three regions: the Pacific coastal plain to the south, the highlands in the center, and the lowlands to the north. Even though these three regions were under the same civilization they all practiced different religious rituals. Religion plays a big role in every civilization. Some civilizations tend to praise more than one god and they always mention that what they have is thanks to their god. When they see things going wrong they often say that their god is punishing them because they did something that the god/s did not like. This tends to be the same

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

Throughout time, there are many instances of early civilizations accomplishing breathtaking feats that we find awe worthy even today. These cultures helped shape humanity as a whole, and paved the way for people everywhere. Of these early cultures, one of the most remarkable was undoubtedly the Mayans. The Mayans lived in Mesoamerica, around Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize. They were an isolated group of people that thrived on farming and raised crops such as Maize, Beans, and Chili Peppers. They also Fished often and hunted Deer and other woodland creatures.

The Maya were a people from Middle America, which includes modern Guatemala, Southern Mexico, and Northern Belize (Editors). The Maya civilization was considered to be “one of the most dominant indigenous societies of Mesoamerica,” (Maya). “The Maya excelled at agriculture, pottery, hieroglyph writing, calendar-making, and mathematics, and left behind an astonishing amount of impressive architecture and symbolic artwork,” (Maya). They also gave mankind the modern calendar (Jarus, Maya). The Mayans were a very advanced people, but one of the most important things in the Mayan culture was their religion/god worshipping rituals.

The ancient Maya once occupied a vast geographic area in Central America. Their civilization inhabited an area that encompasses Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and parts of the states of Chiapas and Tabasco, as well as Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. "From the third to the ninth century, Maya civilization produced awe-inspiring temples and pyramids, highly accurate calendars, mathematics and hieroglyphics, and a complex social and political order" ("Collapse..." 1). Urban centers were important to the Maya during the Classic period; they offered the Mayans a central place to practice religion.

Popol Vuh is the Creation Story Myth by the Mayans. It is a myth history of the Quiché Maya of central highland Guatemala. Once subjugated by Pedro de Alvarado in 1524 (Woodruff 97). It was originally written by the K’iché people in the ancient times (1554-1558 CE). It was believed that all books written at that time where hidden from Christian missionaries so the author has hidden identities but then found their works and destroyed. Only four works of the Yucatan Maya survive in the present day. The Dresden, Madrid, and Paris Codices and the Chilam Balam. And only one of the Quiche: The Popol Vuh. At the beginning of the 18th century Francisco Ximénez discovered the original book of Popol Vuh. He translated the only remaining sources of the book manuscript in Spanish. Francisco Ximénez is a parish priest of Chichicastenango in highland Guatemala. His work is now placed in the Newberry Library, Chicago. The Popol Vuh translated as “The Council Book” or “The Book of people” (The Book of the Mat). It is considered now as a sacred book of the Mayans because it serves as a priceless resource for understanding Maya religion, culture, and history. If any else books were still existing from the Las Casas, it is believed have not yet come to light. To understand this topic better, this paper will demonstrate some things about Popol Vuh and the story behind Xibalba.

The Maya of Mesoamerica, along with the Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru, made up the high civilizations of the American Indians at the time of the Spanish conquest. Both the Aztecs and the Incas were late civilizations, between 1300-1533 AD, but the Maya of the Yucatan and Guatemala exhibited a cultural continuity spanning more than 2,000 years, 1000 BC-AD 1542. Many aspects of this culture continue yet today. The Ancient Maya in their time had actually refined writing.

Zilia is a young Incan princess who is abducted by the Spaniards during the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. The Temple of the Sun, the only home she had ever seen and known, is forcefully separated from her, causing her to feel distraught. During her captivity, her sources of consolation were her love for her beloved fiancé and sun-god figure of her people, Aza, and her quipus, “cords of cotton or gut to which other cords of different colors were attached…served then as annals and codes...” (Graffigny

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 ancient Mayan civilization settled in the Yucatan Peninsula in around 900 AD. This civilizations was one of the most advanced of its times. They created their own religion, language, mathematical structure, a very precise calendar, and many other things.

This shows that the Earth goddess was a ‘force to be reckoned with the Ibo’s eyes. Most of their life depended on pleasing her. If they didn’t, it had terrible consequences.

There are many names for Our Lady of Guadalupe like the Virgin of Guadalupe, and Tonantzin, but they all mean the goddess that protected the people and came to Juan Diego. Over thousands of years the story of Tonantzin, what the native Aztec people called their Virgin Mother Mary, has been passed down and celebrated in the Mexican culture for all of the good and protection that they believe she has brought them. In Rodolfo Corky Gonzales’ epic poem “Yo Soy Joaquin” he references this Aztec goddess, Tonantzin because she is a religious figure, she was considered a native and she is a symbol of independence.

In “Aztec temples priests guarded the temple fires, made offerings, prayed and cleaned whilst female priests accompanied male tasks by spinning, weaving clothing and sweeping the temple.”Although these tasks may be considered trivial in a modern/ western perspective, her responsibilities were equally important because cloth was used as currency/tribute in markets and sweeping was highly valued since the Aztec’s believed this was purifying the world. Furthermore, whilst head male priests performed many sacrificial rituals, priestesses were also essential to many rites because only they could perform certain rituals/feasts such as the Ochpanizli – Important feast – dedicated to the mother goddess known as Toci. This may be because this was a female deity however priestesses’ had certain responsibilities that made them different than male priests but equal because these were highly valued. These ideas on gender complementarity or equality may have developed from religion. For example, male and female deities were two distinctive parts as Goddesses were responsible for sustaining life however both equally created human life. Regardless the Aztec priestess shows historians that her responsibilities were different because she was a distinct part of the gender complementarity structure, however her roles and responsibilities were as equally valuable as male priests.

Maya culture is one of the oldest and most intelligent tribal races. The flourishing period of Maya was between 300 and 900. The principal food in Maya was maize, which was also called “the maize culture”. They had no livestock such as sheep and horses. Also, they made the calendar and divided a year to 18 months. In addition, they built huge stone temples and held bloodletting ceremonies in order to sacrifice

Almost every aspect of Maya life was centered on religion. These ancient Mesoamerican peoples worshipped many gods and goddesses; this was part of their daily lives, despite class differences in their sophisticated society. Religion served as a basis for the government and social life. Priests and shamans played an important role in their government, conducted religious ceremonies, and made sacrifices to the gods. The Maya believed in the supernatural, and used this belief to explain life and their universe. Every object, whether it is part of nature or man made, was considered sacred and worshipped.