Questions On The Artifacts And Sources Of The Collection And Source Using Parenthetical Documentation

“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.

Celestial bodies - the sun, moon, planets, and stars - have provided us a reference for measuring the passage of time throughout human existence. Ancient civilizations like: China, India, Babylon, and Greece relied upon the apparent motion of these bodies through the sky to record and determine seasons, months, and years. We know little about the details of timekeeping in prehistoric eras. However, records and artifacts usually uncover that in every culture, people were preoccupied with measuring and recording the passage of time. Stonehenge, built over 4000 years ago in England has no written records, but its alignments show its purposes apparently included the determination of seasonal or celestial events, such as lunar

That need for structure is probably the reason that the Mayans developed such an amazingly accurate calendar. They also developed a complex style of hieroglyphic writing that we have not fully deciphered. Through their knowledge of astronomy and mathematics they calculated the lunar cycle, predicted eclipses, and formulated a unique calendar system was very accurate. Their calendar was only one day off every 6000 years. That makes it more accurate than our calendar today (Hooker 6). Two fundamental

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

The Mayan priests studied their measurement of time. The Maya had a calendar with 18 months each containing 20 days, plus 5 unlucky days that made up the Mayan year. They also had a religious calendar that had 260 days in it. Each day was given a name and a number. They believed that each day was a god that carried the weight of the day on its back.

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

What happened to the Mayan civilization before it mysteriously collapsed is still a mystery, but heart-stopping achievements were made. Throughout 3000 years the Native tribe of the Maya inhabited México, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras until the Spanish arrived. They were so secluded from anyone else, that they could not learn information from other tribes and they came up with all ideas themselves.(BGE) Trade routes, the creation of beautiful cities, establishing the number system and developing three calendars we all breathtaking achievements accomplished by the Mayan culture. Using scale, effort, genius, and significance four achievements will be argued about which was the most remarkable. Obviously the development

The Mayans were also were technologically advanced. They used their own math system. One dot stood for one, a bar symbolized five, and a shell figure was zero. The numbers were expressed vertically with the highest on top. The also created a very precise calendars. Two different calendars were calculated 260-day and a 365-day. They were able to calculate the dates because at noon time there was no shadow. This was important for them to use in predicting eclipses, scheduling religious ceremonies, and when to plant and harvest.

Most agree though, that it offers a graphic representation of the Mexica cosmos’ (Palfrey). In The Aztecs, Smith sums up what is to be believed the thought of the Aztecs when they carved the calendar stone “The Aztec calendar stone conveyed the message that the Aztec empire covered the whole earth (territory in all four directions), and that it was founded upon the sacred principles of time, directionality, divine warfare, and the sanction of the gods” (Smith 270). Keeping the Aztec calendar is proof of ancient cultures mathematical and scientific achievements without the aid of modern technology. The study of the sun stone could lead to further advances in mathematics and acts as a road map to our celestial bodies from that era of our history.

The Long Count calendar was calibrated by means to record major events such as those described from glyphs on stelae. Starting around the 1960’s archaeologists and researchers turn their focus to the hieroglyphs left behind by the Maya. Due to the increase of study of the hieroglyphs, researchers hit a turning point in what they mistakenly knew about the Maya. Like J. Eric Thompson, Carnegie Institution of Washington archaeologist, many early explorers would have thought that the Mayan society was very peaceful. This declaration was mistaken since at the time there was little to no understanding of the Mayan hieroglyphs. Today, with the understanding of most Mayan writing, archaeologists have concluded that the Maya were warrior-like people with a very active community who took place in battles, sacrificial ceremonies, and even

The characteristics that defined the Classic Maya were no longer being pursued. The strong central governments of the Classic Maya built palaces and monuments. Pakal of Palenque built a massive palace beginning in 650 AD. Tahn Te ' K 'inich of Acqueteca wanted to elevate the status of Acqueteca, and his model for that was through massive construction and ceremonial activity. He dedicated large steala which depicted the king as a great warrior. He also commisioned for a great pyramid to be built. It never was finished, but the point is that he was very intentional in displaying his power through construction. Acqueteca is a great example of a city who 's central political system was disrupted that led to its eventual abandonment. As said above, Tahn Te ' K 'inich was commissioning many buildings while maintaining a strong ceremonial center. This all changed when Acqueteca was faced with imminent military attacks. K 'inich had to abandon all commissioned work, and begin construction on a series of wall to protect the city. Because there was such a rush to put up defensive walls, it created great disruption in the ceremonial and social lives of the people of Acqueteca. The walls were never fully finished, and through excavations, Acquetca was a place that was hastily left. The palace was swept clean except relics that were sealed away presumably for hiding purposes. The fate of K 'inich is unknown, but it is obvious that he fled. There is no evidence

Birdcage: This amazing artifact shows the thought of birds and the respect towards them. This birdcage is well designed and durable, the nobles would have a sturdy and an elegant birdcage while a commoner would have a simple looking cage, using the less sturdy material. The Aztecs used birds for sacrifices and for appearances and they used several birds' feathers, for decoration, clothing, and for fans. Birds were highly respected though the most respected bird was the quetzal. The quetzal was highly respected for its feathers and its appearance, you see the quetzal's appearance looked similar to the god, Quetzalcoatl, the green, blue, and red fur matches the look of Quetzalcoatl. Quetzals were highly hunted for its feathers, used in things

What Mayan writing seems to represent is a sacred language used only by the elite, initiated, and known only by them. The language of the Mayan was identical with that of the Yucatan Indians, given the fact that writing was identical. The Maya kept records on large stone monuments called stelae. They used the Steele to record important dates and to take note of great events in the lives of their rulers.(Price 91)They also used the stelae to recount the positions of the “heavenly bodies”_ particularly the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter.(Miller)

     Their empire covered an area of roughly 400,000 to 500,000 square kilometers. This area included the present day countries of Belize, Guatemala, western Honduras and El Salvador, and also southern portions of Mexico. These lands have a very diverse terrain, from the mountainous highlands to the tropical lowlands. The wide range of geographical features meant that the

The breathtaking splendor of ornate cites, the beautifully constructed grand temples, and the ingeniously developed and advanced caledretics, mathematics, and astronomy easily mark one of the most interesting and prosperous periods in Latin American history. Over period spanning approximately six centuries, the Maya of Central America reached artistic and intellectual heights that no other group in the New World had seen