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Maya

Maya

:This article is about the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. See Maya people for a discussion of the modern Maya. For other meanings of the word Maya, see Maya (disambiguation) The Maya civilization is a historical Mesoamerican civilization, which extended throughout the northern Central American region which includes the present-day states of Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras and parts of El Salvador, as well as the southern Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco and the entirety of the Yucatán peninsula. Within this region, elements associated with the Maya civilization have been found which date back to approximately 1000 BCE. The region had however been inhabited since at least the 10th millennium BCE, and the point at which distinctive Maya-like characteristics first arose is not well-defined. By the period known to archaeologists as the mid-Preclassic (or mid-Formative, around 600 BCE), some of the earliest Maya complexes had been constructed. The later Classic period (c. 250 - 900) witnessed the peak of widespread urban center construction and the recording of monumental inscriptions, particularly in the southern lowland regions. Some of these monumental inscriptions give insight into the lives of ancient Maya women. For reasons which are still much debated, many of these sites were abandoned in the Terminal phase of this period (the so-called "Terminal collapse"), although in several places these activities continued, particularly in northern Yucatán. Detailed monumental inscriptions all but disappeared. During the succeeding Post-Classic period (to the early 16th century), development in the northern centers persisted, characterised by an increasing diversity of external influences; however by the time of the Spanish arrival in 1519 most of these centers had substantively declined. The Maya civilization shared many features with other Mesoamerican civilizations, for there was a high degree of interaction and cultural diffusion throughout the region. Although aspects such as writing and the calendar did not originate with the Maya, their civilization developed these to their fullest extent. Maya influences can be detected as far afield as central Mexico, more than 1000 km from their homelands. Equally, many external influences are to be found in Maya art and architecture, particularly in the Post-Classic period; these are thought to be mainly a result of trade and cultural exchange, rather than direct external conquest. Contrary to popular perception, the various Maya peoples themselves had not "disappeared", neither at the time of the Classic period decline nor with the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores and the subsequent colonization of their lands. The Maya peoples persist in contemporary Mesoamerican societies, maintaining a distinctive set of traditions and beliefs, albeit generally combined with more recent practices such as widespread adoption of Roman Catholicism. The Maya and their descendants form sizeable populations in the modern-day nations of Guatemala, Honduras and Belize, and also of the Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, Campeche and Yucatán. Many different Mayan languages are still spoken as their primary language.

Origins

Archaeological evidence shows the Maya started to build ceremonial architecture at approximately 1000 BCE. There is some disagreement about the borders and difference between the early Maya and their neighboring Pre-Classic Mesoamerican civilization, the Olmec culture. The Olmec and early Maya seem to have influenced each other. The earliest monuments consist of simple burial mounds, the precursors to pyramids erected in later times. Eventually, the Olmec culture faded after spreading its influence into the Yucatan peninsula, present-day Guatemala, and other regions. The Maya developed the famed cities of Tikal, Palenque, Copán and Kalakmul, as well as Dos Pilas, Uaxactun, Altun Ha, Bonampak and many other sites in the area (see list of sites, below). They developed an agriculturally intensive, city-centered empire consisting of numerous independent city-states. The most notable monuments are the pyramids they built in their religious centers and the accompanying palaces of their rulers. Other important archaeological remains include the carved stone slabs usually called stelae (the Maya called them Tetun, or "Tree-stones"), which depict rulers along with hieroglyphic texts describing their genealogy, war victories, and other accomplishments. The Maya participated in long distance trade in Mesoamerica and possibly further lands. Important trade goods included cacao, salt, and obsidian; see also: Obsidian use in Mesoamerica.

Art

Obsidian use in Mesoamerica] Obsidian use in Mesoamerica]] Obsidian use in Mesoamerica Many consider Maya art of their Classic Era (c. 200 to 900 CE) to be the most sophisticated and beautiful of the ancient New World. The carvings and stucco reliefs at Palenque and the statuary of Copán are especially fine, showing a grace and accurate observation of the human form that reminded early archaeologists of Classical civilization of the Old World, hence the name bestowed on this era. We have only hints of the advanced painting of the classic Maya; mostly what have survived are funerary pottery and other Maya ceramics. Also a building at Bonampak holds ancient murals that survived by serendipity. With the decipherment of the Maya script it was discovered that the Maya were one of the few civilizations where artists attached their name to their work.

Architecture

As unique and spectacular as any Greek or Roman architecture, Maya architecture spans many thousands of years; yet, often the most dramatic and easily recognizable as Maya are the fantastic stepped pyramids from the Terminal Pre-classic period and beyond. These pyramids relied on intricate carved stone in order to create a stair-step design. Each pyramid was dedicated to a deity whose shrine sat at its peak. During this "height" of Maya culture, the centers of their religious, commercial and bureaucratic power grew into incredible cities, including Chichen Itza, Tikal, and Uxmal. Through observation of the numerous consistent elements and stylistic distinctions, remnants of Maya architecture have become an important key to understanding the evolution of their ancient civilization. Terminal Pre-classic. In the Quiché language, Tazumal means 'pyramid where the victims were burned'.]]There are also cave sites that are important to the Maya. These cave sites include Jolja Cave, the cave site at Naj Tunic, and the Cave of the Witch. There are also Origin Cave myths among the Maya. Some cave sites are still used by the modern Maya in the Chiapas highlands.

Urban design

As Maya cities spread throughout the varied geography of Mesoamerica, the extent of site planning appears to have been minimal; their cities having been built somewhat haphazardly as dictated by the topography of each independent location, Maya architecture tends to integrate a great degree of natural features. For instance, some cities existing on the flat limestone plains of the northern Yucatan grew into great sprawling municipalities, while others built in the hills of Usumacinta utilized the natural loft of the topography to raise their towers and temples to impressive heights. However, some semblance of order, as required by any large city, still prevailed. At the onset of large-scale construction, a predetermined axis was typically established in congruence with the cardinal directions. Depending upon the location and availability of natural resources such as fresh-water wells, or cenotes, the city grew by connecting great plazas with the numerous platforms that created the sub-structure for nearly all Maya buildings, by means of sacbeob causeways. As more structures were added and existing structures re-built or remodeled, the great Maya cities seemed to take on an almost random identity that contrasts sharply with other great Mesoamerican cities such as Teotihuacan and its rigid grid-like construction. At the heart of the Maya city existed the large plazas surrounded by their most valued governmental and religious buildings such as the royal acropolis, great pyramid temples and occasionally ball-courts. Though city layouts evolved as nature dictated, careful attention was placed on the directional orientation of temples and observatories so that they were constructed in accordance with Maya interpretation of the orbits of the stars. Immediately outside of this ritual center were the structures of lesser nobles, smaller temples, and individual shrines: the less sacred and less important structures had a greater degree of privacy. Outside of the constantly evolving urban core were the less permanent and more modest homes of the common people. Classic Era Maya urban design could easily be described as the division of space by great monuments and causeways. In this case, the open public plazas were the gathering places for the people and the focus of the urban design, while interior space was entirely secondary. Only in the Late Post-Classic era did the great Maya cities develop into more fortress-like defensive structures that lacked, for the most part, the large and numerous plazas of the Classic.

Building materials

A surprising aspect of the great Maya structures is their lack of many advanced technologies that would seem to be necessary for such constructions. Lacking metal tools, pulleys and perhaps even the wheel, Maya architecture required one thing in abundance: manpower. Yet, beyond this enormous requirement, the remaining materials seem to have been readily available. All stone for Maya structures appears to have been taken from local quarries. They most often utilized limestone, which remained pliable enough to be worked with stone tools while being quarried, and only hardened once removed from its bed. In addition to the structural use of limestone, much of their mortar consisted of crushed, burnt, and mixed limestone that mimicked the properties of cement and was used just as widely for stucco finishing as it was for mortar. However, later improvements in quarrying techniques reduced the necessity for this limestone-stucco as their stones began to fit quite perfectly, yet it remained a crucial element in some post and lintel roofs. In the case of the common homes, wooden poles, adobe, and thatch were the primary materials; however, instances of what appear to be common houses of limestone have been discovered as well. It should be noted that one instance, in the city of Comalcalco, fired-clay bricks have been found as a substitute to stone because of a lack of substantial stone deposits.

Building process

All evidence seems to suggest that most stone buildings existed on top of a platform sub-structure that varied in height from less than a meter, in the case of terraces and smaller structures, to 45 meters in the case of great temples and pyramids. A flight of often steep stone steps split the large stepped platforms on at least one side, contributing to the common bi-symmetrical appearance of Maya architecture. Depending on the prevalent stylistic tendencies of an area, these platforms most often were built of a cut and stucco stone exterior filled with densely packed gravel. As is the case with many other Maya relief, those on the platforms often were related to the intended purpose of the residing structure. Thus, as the sub-structural platforms were completed, the grand residences and temples of the Maya were constructed on the solid foundations of the platforms. As all structures were built, little attention seems to have been given to their utilitarian functionality and much to their external aesthetics; however, a certain repeated aspect, the corbeled arch, was often utilized to mimic the appearance and feel of the simple Maya hut. Though not an effective tool to increase interior space, as it required thick stone walls to support the high ceiling, some temples utilized repeated arches, or a corbeled vault, to construct what the Maya referred to as pibnal, or sweatbath, such as those in the Temple of the Cross at Palenque. As structures were completed, typically extensive relief work was added ... often simply to the covering of stucco used to smooth any imperfections; however, many lintel carvings have been discovered, as well as actual stone carvings used as a facade. Commonly, these would continue uninterrupted around an entire structure and contain a variety of artwork pertaining to the inhabitants or purpose of a building. Though not the case in all Maya locations, broad use of painted stucco has been discovered as well. It has been suggested that, in conjunction to the Maya Long Count Calendar, every fifty-two years, or cycle, temples and pyramids were remodeled and rebuilt. It appears now that the rebuilding process was often instigated by a new ruler or for political matters, as opposed to matching the calendar cycle. However, the process of rebuilding on top of old structures is indeed a common one. Most notably, the North Acropolis at Tikal seems to be the sum total of 1,500 years of architectural modifications.

Notable constructions

Ceremonial platforms

These were commonly limestone platforms of typically less than four meters in height where public ceremonies and religious rites were performed. Constructed in the fashion of a typical foundation platform, these were often accented by carved figures, altars and perhaps tzompantli, a stake used to display the heads of victims or defeated Mesoamerican ball game opponents.

Palaces

Large and often highly decorated, the palaces usually sat close to the center of a city and housed the population's elite. Any exceedingly large royal palace, or one consisting of many chambers on different levels might be referred to as an acropolis. However, often these were one-story and consisted of many small chambers and typically at least one interior courtyard; these structures appear to take into account the needed functionality required of a residence, as well as the decoration required for their inhabitants stature. Archaeologists seem to agree that many palaces are home to various tombs. At Copán, beneath over four-hundred years of later remodeling, a tomb for one of the ancient rulers has been discovered and the North Acropolis at Tikal appears to have been the site of numerous burials during the Terminal Pre-classic and Early Classic periods.

E-groups

This common appearance in the Maya cities remains somewhat of a mystery. Appearing without fail on the western side of a plaza is a pyramid temple, facing three smaller temples across the plaza. It has been theorized that these E-groups are observatories due to the precise positioning of the sun through the small temples when viewed from the pyramid during the solstices and equinoxes. Other ideas seem to stem from the possible creation story told by the relief and artwork that adorns these structures.

Pyramids and temples

equinox Often the most important religious temples sat atop the towering Maya pyramids, presumably as the closest place to the heavens. While recent discoveries point toward the extensive use of pyramids as tombs, the temples themselves seem to rarely, if ever, contain burials. Residing atop the pyramids, some of over two-hundred feet, such as that at El Mirador, the temples were impressive and decorated structures themselves. Commonly topped with a roof comb, or superficial grandiose wall, these temples might have served as a type of propaganda. As occasionally the only structure to exceed the height of the jungle, the roof combs atop the temples were often carved with representations of rulers that could be seen from vast distances. Beneath the proud temples sat the pyramids that were, ultimately, a series of platforms split by steep stairs that would allow access to the temple.

Observatories

The Maya were keen astronomers and had mapped out the phases of celestial objects, especially the Moon and Venus. Many temples have doorways and other features aligning to celestial events. Round temples, often dedicated to Kukulcan, are perhaps those most often described as "observatories" by modern ruin tour-guides, but there is no evidence that they were so used exclusively, and temple pyramids of other shapes may well have been used for observation as well.

Ball courts

As an integral aspect of the Mesoamerican lifestyle, the courts for their ritual ball-game were constructed throughout the Maya realm and often on a grand scale. Enclosed on two sides by stepped ramps that led to ceremonial platforms or small temples, the ball court itself was of a capital I shape and could be found in all but the smallest of Maya cities. See also: Mesoamerican ballgame Mesoamerican ballgame

Writing and literacy

Writing system

: Main article: Maya hieroglyphics The Maya writing system (often called hieroglyphics from a vague superficial resemblance to the Ancient Egyptian writing, to which it is not related) was a combination of phonetic symbols and logograms. It is most often classified as a logographic or (more properly) a logosyllabic writing system, in which syllabic signs play a significant role. It is the only writing system of the Pre-Columbian New World which is known to completely represent the spoken language of its community. In total, the script has more than a thousand different glyphs, although a few are variations of the same sign or meaning, and many appear only rarely or are confined to particular localities. At any one time, no more than around 500 glyphs were in use, some 200 of which (including variations) had a phonetic or syllabic interpretation. The earliest inscriptions in an identifiably-Maya script date back to the 1st century BCE. However, this is preceded by several other writing systems which had developed in Mesoamerica, most notably that of the Olmec culture, which originated around 700 - 500 BCE. The Maya system is believed by Mayanist scholars to have derived from this earlier script; however in the succeeding centuries the Maya developed their script into a form which was far more complete and complex than that of its predecessors. Since its inception, the Maya script was in use up to the arrival of Europeans, peaking during the Maya Classical Period (c. 200 - 900 CE). Although many Maya centers went into decline (or were completely abandoned) during or after this period, the skill and knowledge of Maya writing persisted amongst segments of the population, and the early Spanish conquistadores knew of individuals who could still read and write the script. Unfortunately the Spanish displayed little interest in it, and as a result of the dire impacts the conquest had on Maya societies the knowledge was subsequently lost, most probably within only a few generations. At a rough estimate, around 10,000 individual texts have so far been recovered, mostly inscribed on stone monuments, lintels, stelae and ceramic pottery. Maya civilization also produced numerous texts using the bark of certain trees in a "book-format", called a codex. Shortly after the conquest, all of these latter which could be found were ordered to be burnt and destroyed by zealous Spanish priests, notably Bishop Diego de Landa. Out of these Maya codices, only three reasonably-intact examples are known to have survived through to the present day. These are now known as the Madrid, Dresden, and Paris codices. A few pages survive from a fourth, the Grolier codex, whose authenticity is sometimes disputed, but mostly is held to be genuine. Further archaeology conducted at Mayan sites often reveals other fragments, rectangular lumps of plaster and paint chips which formerly were codices; these tantalizing remains are however too severely damaged for any inscriptions to have survived, most of the organic material having decayed. The decipherment and recovery of the now-lost knowledge of Maya writing has been a long and laborious process. Some elements were first deciphered in the late 19th and early 20th century: mostly the parts having to do with numbers, the Maya calendar, and astronomy. Major breakthroughs came starting in the 1950s to 1970s, and accelerated rapidly thereafter. By the end of the 20th century, scholars were able to read the majority of Maya texts to a large extent, and work done in the field continues to further illuminate the content. In reference to the few extant Maya writings, Michael D. Coe, a prominent linguist and epigrapher at Yale University stated: :"[O]ur knowledge of ancient Maya thought must represent only a tiny fraction of the whole picture, for of the thousands of books in which the full extent of their learning and ritual was recorded, only four have survived to modern times (as though all that posterity knew of ourselves were to be based upon three prayer books and 'Pilgrim's Progress')." (Michael D. Coe, The Maya, London: Thames and Hudson, 4th ed., 1987, p. 161.) Most surviving pre-Columbian Maya writing is from stelae and other stone inscriptions from Maya sites, many of which were already abandoned before the Spanish arrived. The inscriptions on the stelae mainly record the dynasties and wars of the sites' rulers. Much of the remainder is funeral pottery, mostly describing the afterlife.

Writing tools

Although the archaeological record does not provide examples, Maya art shows that writing was done with brushes made with animal hair and quills. Codex-style writing was usually done in black ink with red highlights, giving rise to the Aztec name for the Maya territory as the "land of red and black".

Scribes

Scribes held a prominent position in Maya courts. Maya art often depicts rulers with trappings indicating they were scribes or at least able to write, such as having pen bundles in their headdresses. Additionally, many rulers have been found in conjunction with writing tools such as shell or clay inkpots.

Literacy

Although the number of logograms and syllabic symbols required to fully write the language numbered in the hundreds, literacy was not necessarily widespread beyond the elite classes. Graffiti uncovered in various contexts, including on fired bricks, shows nonsensical attempts to imitate the writing system.

Mathematics

Aztec The Maya (or their Olmec predecessors) independently developed the concept of zero, and used a base 20 numbering system (see Maya numerals). Inscriptions show them on occasion working with sums up to the hundreds of millions and dates so large it would take several lines just to represent it. They produced extremely accurate astronomical observations; their charts of the movements of the moon and planets are equal or superior to those of any other civilization working from naked eye observation. Maya priests and astronomers produced a highly accurate measure of the length of the solar year, far more accurate than that used in Europe as the basis of the Gregorian Calendar. They did not use this figure for the length of year in their calendar, however. Instead, the Maya calendar(s) were based on a year length of exactly 365 days, which means that the calendar falls out of step with the seasons by one day every four years. By comparison, the Julian calendar, used in Europe from Roman times until about the 16th Century, accumulated an error of one day every 128 years. The modern Gregorian calendar accumulates a day's error in approximately 3257 years.

Religion

Like the Aztec and Inca who came to power later, the Maya believed in a cyclical nature of time. The rituals and ceremonies were very closely associated with hundreds (possibly thousands) of celestial/terrestrial cycles which they observed and inscribed as separate calendars (all of infinite duration). The Maya shaman had the job of interpreting these cycles and giving a prophetic outlook on the future or past based on the number relations of all their calendars. If the interpretations of the shamen spelled bad times to come, sacrifices would be performed to change the moods of the gods. Much of the Maya religious tradition is still not understood by scholars, but it is known that the Maya, like most pre-modern societies, believed that the cosmos has three major planes, the underworld, the sky, and the earth. The Maya Underworld is reached through caves and ball courts. It was thought to be dominated by the aged Maya gods of death and putrefaction. It was not considered a place of torture like the Christian hell. The Sun and Itzamna, both aged gods, dominated the Maya idea of the sky. The night sky was considered a window showing all supernatural doings. The Maya configured constellations of gods and places, saw the unfolding of narratives in their seasonal movements, and believed that the intersection of all possible worlds was in the night sky. Maya gods were not discrete, separate entities like Greek gods. The gods had affinities and aspects that caused them to merge with one another in ways that seem unbounded. There is a massive array of supernatural characters in the Maya religious tradition only some of which recur with regularity. Good and evil traits are not permanent characteristics of Maya gods, nor is only "good" admirable. What is inappropriate during one season might come to pass in another since much of the Mayan religious tradition is based on cycles and not permanence. The life-cycle of maize lies at the heart of Maya belief. This philosophy is demonstrated on the Maya belief in the Maize God as a central religious figure. The Maya bodily ideal is also based on the form of the young Maize God. This is demonstrated in their artwork. The Maize God was also a model of courtly life for the Classical Maya. The Maya believed that the universe was flat and square, but infinite in area. They also worshipped the circle, which symbolised perfection or the balancing of forces. Among other religious symbols were the swastika and the perfect cross. Like other Mesoamerican peoples, the Maya assigned colors to each of the cardinal directions. For example, the east is red and the south is green or yellow. The Maya also recognized a fifth direction of center, which existed everywhere. Just as there is always an "east" there is always a "center." The center was conceptualized by the Maya as a giant ceiba tree, the trunk of which connected the different planes of existence. It is sometimes believed that the multiple "gods" represented nothing more than a mathematical explanation of what they observed. Each god was literally just a number or a explanation of the effects observed by a combination of numbers from multiple calendars. Among the many types of Maya calendars which were maintained, the most important included a 260-day cycle (the tzolk'in), a 365-day cycle which approximated the solar year (the haab', or "vague year"), a cycle which recorded lunation periods of the Moon, and a cycle which tracked the synodic period of Venus. It is highly likely, but not conclusively demonstrated, that the orbits of other visible planets were also observed. Philosophically, the Maya believed that knowing the past meant knowing the cyclical influences that create the present, and by knowing the influences of the present one can see the cyclical influences of the future. Maya rulers figured prominently in many religious rituals and often were required to practice bloodletting, such as using sculpted bone or jade instruments to perforate their penises, or drawing thorn-studded ropes through their tongues. Maya rulers were also relied upon religiously to organize the building of temples and monuments. : Main article: Maya mythology

Agriculture

The ancient Maya had diverse and sophisticated methods of food production. It was formerly believed that slash and burn (swidden) agriculture provided most of their food but it is now thought that permanent raised fields, terraccing, forest gardens, managed fallows, and wild harvesting were also crucial to supporting the large populations of the Classic period in some areas. Indeed, evidence of these different systems persist today: raised fields connected by canals can be seen on aerial photographs, contemporary rainforest species composition has significantly higher abundance of species of economic value to ancient Maya, and pollen records in lake sediments suggest that corn, manioc, sunflower seeds, cotton, and other crops have been cultivated in association with deforestation in Mesoamerica since at least 2500 BCE. Contemporary Maya people still practice many of these traditional forms of agriculture, although they are dynamic systems and change with changing population pressures, cultures, economic systems, climate change, and the availability of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

Decline of the Maya

In the 8th and 9th centuries CE Classic Maya culture went into decline, with most of the cities of the central lowlands abandoned. Warfare, ecological depletion of croplands, and drought or some combination of those factors are usually suggested as reasons for the decline. There is archaeological evidence of warfare, famine, and revolt against the elite at various central lowlands sites. However, there is no single cause universally accepted for their decline. The Maya cities of the northern lowlands in Yucatan continued to flourish for centuries more; some of the important sites in this era were Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Edzná, and Coba. After the decline of the ruling dynasties of Chichen and Uxmal, Mayapan ruled all of Yucatan until a revolt in 1450; the area then devolved to city states until the Spanish Conquest. The Itza Maya, Kowoj and Yalain groups of Central Peten survived the "Classic Period Collapse" in small numbers and by 1250 CE reconstituted themselves to form competing polities. The Itza kingdom had its capital at Noj Peten, an archaeological site thought to underlay modern day Flores, Guatemala. It ruled over a polity extending across the Peten Lakes region, encompassing the community of [http://www.famsi.org/reports/02007/index.html Eckixil] on Lake Quexil. These sites and this region were inhabited continuously by independent Maya until after the final Spanish Conquest of 1697 CE. Post-Classic Maya states also continued to thrive in the southern highlands. One of the Maya kingdoms in this area, the Quiché, is responsible for the best-known Maya work of historiography and mythology, the Popol Vuh. The Spanish started their conquest of the Maya lands in the 1520s. Some Maya states offered long fierce resistance; the last Maya state, the Itza kingdom, was not subdued by Spanish authorities until 1697.

Rediscovery of the Pre-Columbian Maya

The Spanish American Colonies were largely cut off from the outside world, and the ruins of the great ancient cities were little known except to locals. In 1839 United States traveler and writer John Lloyd Stephens, hearing reports of lost ruins in the jungle, visited Copán, Palenque, and other sites with English architect and draftsman Frederick Catherwood. Their illustrated accounts of the ruins sparked strong interest in the region and the people, and they have once again regained their position as a vital link in Mesoamerican heritage. Much of the contemporary rural population of Guatemala and Belize is Maya by descent and primary language; a Maya culture still exists in rural Mexico.

Maya people

:This article will mostly concern itself with the Maya civilization after the conquest by Spain. Their pre-Columbian culture is dealt with in the Maya civilization article. The Maya people are a Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America. There are an estimated 6 million Maya people living in this area at the start of the 21st century. Some are quite integrated into the modern culture of the nations in which they reside, others continue a more traditional culturally distinct life, often speaking a Maya language. The largest populations of Maya people are in the Mexican states of Yucatán, Campeche, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, and Chiapas, and in the Central American countries of Belize, Guatemala, and the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador.

The Yucatán

The largest group of modern Maya is in the Yucatán region of Mexico. They commonly identifiy themselves simply as "Maya" with no tribe (unlike in the Highlands of Western Guatemala), and speak the language which anthropologists term "Yucatec Maya", but is identified by speakers and Yucatecos simply as "Maya", although the Spanish language is commonly spoken as well. Especially in the western areas, even those of mostly or all Maya descent who speak Maya at home often identify themselves as "Mestizo", showing a degree of assimilation and identification with the Mexican mainstream culture. Historically, the population in the eastern half of the peninsula was less affected by and less integrated with Hispanic culture than those of the western half. A large 19th century revolt by the Yucatec Maya, known as the Caste War of Yucatán, was one of the most successful modern Native American revolts; results included the temporary existence of the Maya state of Chan Santa Cruz, recognized as an independent nation by the British Empire. The development of the Caribbean Sea tourism resorts in Quintana Roo such as Cancun and the encouragement of many people from other parts of Mexico to move to that region has been seen by some critics as motivated in part by the desire of the Mexican government to lessen the Maya identity of that region and to make it more generically "Mexican".

Chiapas

Chiapas was long part of Mexico least touched by the reforms of the Mexican Revolution. Many Maya there gave support to the Zapatista Army of National Liberation. Maya groups in Chiapas include the Tzotzil and Tzeltal, in the highlands of the state, and the Ch'ol in the jungle.

Guatemala

In Guatemala, the largest and most traditional Maya populations are in the western highlands. In Guatemala the Spanish colonial pattern of keeping the native population legally separate and subservient continued well into the 20th century. This resulted in many traditional customs being retained, as the only other option than traditional Maya life open to most Maya was entering the Hispanic culture at the very bottom rung. Considerable identification with tribes, often corresponding to pre-Columbian nation states, continues, and many people wear traditional clothing that displays their specific local identity. Clothing of women tends to be more traditional than that of the men, as the men have more interaction with the Hispanic commerce and culture. Maya peoples of the Guatemala highlands include the Quiché, Mam, Pocomam, Kaqchikel, Ixil, Kekchi, Tz'utujil, Jacaltec, and Xinca.

Other Maya groups

The most traditional of Maya groups are the Lacandon, a small population avoiding contact with outsiders until the late 20th century by living in small groups in the rain forests.

Quotes

- "We are not myths of the past, ruins in the jungle or zoos. We are people and we want to be respected, not to be victims of intolerance and racism." -- Rigoberta Menchú Category:Maya people

Maya (disambiguation)

The word Maya or maya can refer to:

People

- The Maya — a Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America
- the modern Maya people
- the pre-Columbian Maya civilization
- the Maya language

Art and Entertainment

- Maya Plisetskaya, one of the greatest female danseurs
- Maya Angelou – author and poet
- Maya Deren – avant-garde filmmaker
- Maya Rudolph – Saturday Night Live cast member

Music

- “Maya”, a song by the Incredible String Band
- Maya — the singer Maya Days (The Tamperer feat. Maya, "Feel it")

Television

- Maya – an hour-long television adventure series
- Maya the Bee – a character in a popular German children's book and television series
- Maya, an alien character on the television series Space: 1999

Religion

- Maya — a concept in Hindu/Vedic philosophy
- a state of misperception of reality
- the inherent force of the Divine Mother (Devi)
- Maya — a concept in Sikh philosophy
- the illusion of physical reality or superimposition of finite perception on the infinite reality
- the idea of seeing the whole world as an illusion
- Maya, the mother of the historical Buddha

Other

- Maya — A computer program (software) by Alias Systems for creating 3D computer graphics
- Maya — the common name for the Eurasian Tree Sparrow
- Maya — an ancient Egyptian personage.
- Maya Gold — a brand of orange-flavoured, organic chocolate produced by Green & Black's and the first product ever to carry fairtrade labelling.
- Maya — a river in the region of Sakha
- MAYA — a design consultancy located in Pittsburgh, USA
- Maya, meaning "yeast" in Turkish
- Maya — a yellow ranger in Power Rangers Lost Galaxy
- Maya sticks, resin-rich wood used as a firestarter
- Maya, a book by Jostein Gaarder (ISBN 0753811464)

Civilization

The word civilization (or civilisation) has a variety of meanings related to human society. The term comes from the Latin civis, meaning "citizen" or "townsman". Latin Latin civilization.]]

Senses of the word

1: Literal and technical definitions

By the most minimal, literal definition, a civilization is a complex society. Technically, anthropologists distinguish civilizations in which many of the people live in cities and get their food from agriculture, from band and tribal societies in which people live in small settlements or nomadic groups and subsist by foraging, hunting, or working small horticultural gardens. When used in this sense, civilization is an exclusive term, applied to some human groups and not others.

2: Broader sense

In a broader sense, civilization often can refer to any distinct society, whether complex and city dwelling, or simple and tribal. This sense is often perceived as less exclusive and ethnocentric than the first. In this sense, civilization is nearly synonymous with culture.

3: Human society as a whole

"Civilization" can sometimes refer to human society as a whole, as in "A nuclear war would wipe out Civilization" or "I'm glad to be safely back in Civilization after being lost in the wilderness for 3 weeks". Additionally, it is used in this sense to refer to the potential global civilization.

4: A standard of behavior

Civilization can also mean the standard of behavior, similar to etiquette. "Civilized" behavior is contrasted with "barbaric" or crude behavior. In this sense, civilization implies sophistication and refinement.

5: Superior vs. less complex societies

Another use of civilization combines the first and fourth meanings of the word, implying that a complex society is naturally superior to less complex societies. This point of view has been used to justify racism and imperialism; powerful societies have often believed it was their right to "civilize," or culturally dominate, weaker ones ("barbarians"). This act of civilizing weaker peoples was sometimes called the "White Man's Burden". This article will mainly treat civilizations in the first, narrow, sense. See culture, society, etiquette, and ethnocentrism and for topics related to the broader senses of the term. See also Problems with the term.

What characterizes civilization

Problems with the term Literally, a civilization is a complex society, as distinguished from a simpler society. Everyone lives in a society and a culture, but not everyone lives in a civilization. Historically, civilizations have shared some or all of the following traits:
- Intensive agricultural techniques, such as the use of human power, crop rotation, and irrigation. This has enabled farmers to produce a surplus of food that is not necessary for their own subsistence.
- A significant portion of the population that does not devote most of its time to producing food. This permits a division of labor. Those who do not occupy their time in producing food may obtain their food through trade as in modern capitalism or may have the food provided to them by the state as in ancient Egypt. This is possible because of the food surplus described above.
- The gathering of some of these non-food producers into permanent settlements, called cities.
- A social hierarchy. This can be a chiefdom, in which the chieftain of one noble family or clan rules the people; or a state society, in which the ruling class is supported by a government or bureaucracy. Political power is concentrated in the cities.
- The institutionalized control of food by the ruling class, government or bureaucracy
- The establishment of complex, formal social institutions such as organized religion and education, as opposed to the less formal traditions of other societies.
- Development of complex forms of economic exchange. This includes the expansion of trade and may lead to the creation of money and markets.
- The accumulation of more material possessions than in simpler societies.
- Development of new technologies by people who are not busy producing food. In many early civilizations, metallurgy was an important advancement.
- Advanced development of the arts, including writing. By this definition, some societies, like Greece, are clearly civilizations, whereas others like the Bushmen clearly are not. However, the distinction is not always clear. In the Pacific Northwest of the US, for example, an abundant supply of fish guaranteed that the people had a surplus of food without any agriculture. The people established permanent settlements, a social hierarchy, material wealth, and advanced artwork (most famously totem poles), all without the development of intensive agriculture. Meanwhile, the Pueblo culture of southwestern North America developed advanced agriculture, irrigation, and permanent, communal settlements such as Taos. However, the Pueblo never developed any of the complex institutions associated with civilizations. Today, many tribal societies live inside states and under their laws. The political structures of civilization have been superimposed on their way of life, so they too occupy a middle ground between tribal and civilized.

Civilization as a cultural identity

"Civilization" can also describe the culture of a complex society, not just the society itself. Every society, civilization or not, has a specific set of ideas and customs, and a certain set of items and arts, that make it unique. Civilizations have even more intricate cultures, including literature, professional art, architecture, organized religion, and complex customs associated with the elite. Civilization is such in nature that it seeks to spread, to have more, to expand, and it has the means by which to do this. Nevertheless, some tribes or peoples remained uncivilized even to this day (2005). These cultures are called primitive. They do not have hierarchical governments, organized religion, writing systems or controlled economy exchange for that matter. The little hierarchy that exists, for example respect for the elderly, is mutual and not instituted by force, rather by a sort of mutual agreement. Government does not exist, or at least the civilized version of government which most of us are all familiar with. The civilized world is spread by introducing agriculture, writing system, and religion to primitive tribes. The un-civilized people adapt to the civilized behavior. Civilization is also spread by force, if a tribe does not wish to use agriculture or accept a certain religion it is forced to do so by the civilized people, and they usually succeed due to their more advanced technology. Civilization often uses religion to justify its actions, claiming for example that the un-civilized are savages, barbarians or the like, which, for their own good, should subjugate to the civilization, or their God(s). It is difficult for the un-civilized world to mount any such assault on civilization since that would mean complying to civilizations standards and concepts of advanced violence (war). They would need to become civilized in order to engage in any sort of war. Thus, the intricate culture associated with civilization has a tendency to spread to and influence other cultures, sometimes assimilating them into the civilization (a classic example being Indian civilization and its influence on China, Xanadu, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Southeast Asia and so forth). Many civilizations are actually large cultural spheres containing many nations and regions. The civilization in which someone lives is that person's broadest cultural identity. A female of African descent living in the United States has many roles that she identifies with. However, she is above all a member of "Western civilization". In the same way, a male of Kurdish ancestry living in Iran is above all a member of "Persian civilization". Many historians have focused on these broad cultural spheres and have treated civilizations as single units. One example is early twentieth-century philosopher Oswald Spengler, even though he uses the German word "Kultur", "culture", for what we here call a "civilization". He said that a civilization's coherence is based around a single primary cultural symbol. Civilizations experience cycles of birth, life, decline and death, often supplanted by a new civilization with a potent new culture, formed around a compelling new cultural symbol. This "unified culture" concept of civilization also influenced the theories of historian Arnold J. Toynbee in the mid-twentieth century. Toynbee explored civilization processes in his multi-volume A Study of History, which traced the rise and, in most cases, the decline of 21 civilizations and five "arrested civilizations". Civilizations generally declined and fell, according to Toynbee, because of moral or religious decline, rather than economic or environmental causes. Samuel P. Huntington similarly defines a civilization as "the highest cultural grouping of people and the broadest level of cultural identity people have short of that which distinguishes humans from other species." Besides giving a definition of a civilization, Huntington has also proposed several theories about civilizations, discussed below.

Civilizations as complex systems

Another group of theorists, making use of systems theory, look at civilizations as complex systems or networks of cities that emerge from pre-urban cultures, and are defined by the economic, political, military, diplomatic, and cultural interactions between them. For example, urbanist Jane Jacobs defines cities as the economic engines that work to create large networks of people. The main process that creates these city networks, she says, is "import replacement". Import replacement is the process by which peripheral cities begin to replace goods and services that were formerly imported from more advanced cities. Successful import replacement creates economic growth in these peripheral cities, and allows these cities to then export their goods to less developed cities in their own hinterlands, creating new economic networks. So Jacobs explores economic development across wide networks instead of treating each society as an isolated cultural sphere. Systems theorists look at many types of relations between cities, including economic relations, cultural exchanges, and political/diplomatic/military relations. These spheres often occur on different scales. For example, trade networks were, until the nineteenth century, much larger than either cultural spheres or political spheres. Extensive trade routes, including the silk road through Central Asia and Indian Ocean sea routes linking the Roman Empire, India, and China, were well established 2000 years ago, when these civilizations scarcely shared any political, diplomatic, military, or cultural relations. Many theorists argue that the entire world has already become integrated into a single "world system," a process known as globalization. Different civilizations and societies all over the globe are economically, politically, and even culturally interdependent in many ways. There is debate over when this integration began, and what sort of integration - cultural, technological, economic, political, or military-diplomatic - is the key indicator in determining the extent of a civilization. David Wilkinson has proposed that economic and military-diplomatic integration of the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations resulted in the creation of what he calls the "Central Civilization" around 1500 BCE. Central Civilization later expanded to include the entire Middle East and Europe, and then expanded to global scale with European colonization, integrating the Americas, Australia, China and Japan by the nineteenth century. According to Wilkinson, civilizations can be culturally heterogeneous, like the Central Civilization, or relatively homogeneous, like the Japanese civilization. What Huntington calls the "clash of civilizations" might be characterized by Wilkinson as a clash of cultural spheres within a single global civilization. Others point to the Crusades as the first step in globalization. The more conventional viewpoint is that networks of societies have expanded and shrunk since ancient times, and that the current globalized economy and culture is a product of recent European colonialism.

The future of civilizations

Political scientist Samuel P. Huntington has argued that the defining characteristic of the 21st century will be a clash of civilizations. According to Huntington, conflicts between civilizations will supplant the conflicts between nation-states and ideologies that characterized the 19th and 20th centuries. Currently, world civilization is in a stage that has created what may be characterized as an industrial society, superseding the agrarian society that preceded it. Some futurists believe that civilization is undergoing another transformation, and that world society will become an informational society. The Kardashev scale classifies civilizations based on their level of technological advancement, specifically measured by the amount of energy a civilization is able to harness. The Kardashev scale makes provisions for civilizations far more technologically advanced than any currently known to exist.

Negative views of civilization

Religious ascetics in many times and places have attempted to curb the influence of civilization over their lives in order to concentrate on spiritual matters. Over the years many members of civilizations have shunned them, believing that civilization restricts people from living in their natural state. Monasteries represent an effort by these ascetics to create a life somewhat apart from their mainstream civilizations. In the 19th century, Transcendentalists believed civilization was shallow and materialistic, so they wanted to build a completely agrarian society, free from the oppression of the city. Karl Marx "believed that the beginning of civilization was the beginning of oppression". As more food was produced and the society's material possessions increased, wealth became concentrated in the hands of the powerful. The communal way of life among tribal people gave way to aristocracy and hierarchy. As hierarchies are able to generate sufficient resources and food surpluses capable of supplying standing armies, civilizations were capable of conquering neighboring cultures that made their livings in different ways. In this manner, civilizations began to spread outward from Eurasia across the world some 10,000 years ago - and are finishing the job today in the remote jungles of the Amazon and New Guinea. In addition, some feminists believe that civilization is the source of men's domination over women. Together, these ideas make up modern conflict theory in the social sciences. Many environmentalists criticize civilizations for their exploitation of the environment. Through intensive agriculture and urban growth, civilizations tend to destroy natural settings and habitats. This is sometimes referred to as "dominator culture". Proponents of this view believe that traditional societies live in greater harmony with nature than civilizations; people work with nature rather than try to subdue it. The sustainable living movement is a push from some members of civilization to regain that harmony with nature. Primitivism is a modern philosophy totally opposed to civilization for all of the above reasons: they accuse civilizations of restricting humans, oppressing the weak, and damaging the environment. A leading proponent is John Zerzan. Published October 21, 2002.

Problems with the term "civilization"

As discussed above, "civilization" has a number of meanings, and its use can lead to confusion and misunderstanding. However, "civilization" can be a highly connotative word. It might bring to mind qualities such as superiority, humaneness, and refinement. Indeed, many members of civilized societies have seen themselves as superior to the "barbarians" outside their civilization. Many 19th-century anthropologists backed a theory called cultural evolution. They believed that people naturally progress from a simple state to a superior, civilized state. John Wesley Powell, for example, classified all societies as Savage, Barbarian, and Civilized; the first two of his terms would shock most anthropologists today. The early 20th century saw the first cracks in this worldview within Western Civilization: Joseph Conrad's 1902 novel "Heart of Darkness", for example, told a story set in the Congo Free State, in which the most savage and uncivilized behavior was initiated by a white European. This hierarchical worldview was dealt further serious blows by the atrocities of World War I and World War II and so on. Today most social scientists believe at least to some extent in cultural relativism, the view that complex societies are not by nature superior, more humane, or more sophisticated than less complex or technologically advanced groups. This view has its roots in the writings of Franz Boas. A minority of scholars reject the relativism of Boas and mainstream social science. English biologist John Baker, in his 1974 book Race, gives about 20 criteria that make civilizations superior to non-civilizations. Baker tries to show a relation between the cultures of civilizations and the biological disposition of their creators. Many postmodernists, and a considerable proportion of the wider public, argue that the division of societies into 'civilized' and 'uncivilized' is arbitrary and meaningless. On a fundamental level, they say there is no difference between civilizations and tribal societies; that each simply does what it can with the resources it has. In this view, the concept of "civilization" has merely been the justification for colonialism, imperialism, genocide, and coercive acculturation. For all of the above reasons, many scholars today avoid using the term "civilization" as a stand-alone term; they prefer to use urban society or intensive agricultural society, which are much less ambiguous, more neutral-sounding terms. "Civilization" however remains in common academic use when describing specific societies, such as "Mayan Civilization".

Early civilizations

The earliest known civilizations (as defined in the traditional sense) arose in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the Nile valley of Egypt, the Indus Valley region of modern-day Pakistan, the Huang He (Yellow River) valley of China, and on the island of Crete in the Aegean Sea. The inhabitants of these areas built cities, created writing systems, learned to make pottery and use metals, domesticated animals, and created complex social structures with class systems.

Mesopotamia

The earliest settlement in Jericho (9th millennium BC) in modern-day Palestine, was a PPNA culture that eventually gave way to more developed settlements later, which included in one early settlement (8th millennium BC) mud-brick houses surrounded by a stone wall, having a stone tower built into the wall. In this time there is evidence of domesticated emmer wheat, barley and pulses and hunting of wild animals. However, there are no indications of attempts to form communities (early civilizations) with surrounding peoples. Nevertheless, by the 6th millennium BC we find what appears to be an ancient shrine and cult, which would likely indicate intercommunal religious practices in this era. Findings include a collective burial (with not all the skeletons completely articulated, jaws removed, faces covered with plaster, cowries used for eyes). Other finds from this era include stone and bone tools, clay figurines and shell and malachite beads. Around 1500 to 1200 BC Jericho and other cities of Canaan had become vassals of the Egyptian empire. Several miles southwest of Ur, Eridu was the southernmost of a conglomeration of early temple-cities, in Sumer, southern Mesopotamia, with the earliest of these settlements carbon dating to around 5000 BC. The Sialk ziggurat of Kashan, Iran, also dates to this era. By the 4th millennium BC, in Nippur we find, in connection with a sort of ziggurat and shrine, a conduit built of bricks, in the form of an arch. Sumerian inscriptions written on clay also appear in Nippur. By 4000 BC an ancient city of Susa, in Mesopotamia, seems to emerge from earlier villages. Sumerian cuneiform script dates to no later than about 3500 BCE. Sumer, which was Mesopotamia's first civilization in what is now Iraq, is recognized as the world's earliest civilization. Other villages begin to spring up around this time in the Ancient Near East (Middle East) as well.

Egypt

Anthropological and archaeological evidence both indicate a grain-grinding culture farming along the Nile in the 10th millennium BC using sickle blades. But another culture of hunters, fishers and gathering peoples using stone tools replaced them. Evidence also indicates human habitation in the southwestern corner of Egypt, near the Sudan border, before 8000 BC. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, eventually forming the Sahara (c.2500 BC), and early tribes naturally migrated to the Nile river where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Domesticated animals had already been imported from Asia between 7500 BC and 4000 BC (see Sahara: History, Cattle period), and there is evidence of pastoralism and cultivation of cereals in the East Sahara in the 7th millennium BC. The earliest known artwork of ships in ancient Egypt dates to 6000 BCE. By 6000 BC predynastic Egyptians in the southwestern corner of Egypt were herding cattle and constructing large buildings. Symbols on Gerzean pottery, c.4000 BC, resemble traditional hieroglyph writing [http://www.touregypt.net/ebph5.htm]. In ancient Egypt mortar (masonry) was in use by 4000 BC, and ancient Egyptians were producing ceramic faience as early as 3500 BC. There is evidence that ancient Egyptian explorers may have originally cleared and protected some branches of the Silk Road. Medical institutions are known to have been established in Egypt since as early as circa 3000 BC. Ancient Egypt gains credit for the tallest ancient pyramids and early forms of surgery, mathematics, and barge transport (see Ancient Egypt: Ancient Achievements).

India

The earliest known farming cultures in South Asia emerged in the hills of Balochistan, Pakistan, which included Mehrgarh in the 7th millennium BC. These semi-nomadic peoples domesticated wheat, barley, sheep, goat and cattle. Pottery was in use by the 6th millennium BC. Their settlement consisted of mud buildings that housed four internal subdivisions. Burials included elaborate goods such as baskets, stone and bone tools, beads, bangles, pendants and occasionally animal sacrifices. Figurines and ornaments of sea shell, limestone, turquoise, lapis lazuli, sandstone and polished copper have been found. By the 4th millennium BC we find much evidence of manufacturing. Technologies included stone and copper drills, updraft kilns, large pit kilns and copper melting crucibles. Button seals included geometric designs. By 4000 BC a pre-Harappan culture emerged, with trade networks including lapis lazuli and other raw materials. Villagers domesticated numerous other crops, including peas, sesame seed, dates, and cotton, plus a wide range of domestic animals, including the water buffalo which still remains essential to intensive agricultural production throughout Asia today. There is also evidence of sea-going craft. Archaeologists have discovered a massive, dredged canal and docking facility at the coastal city of Lothal, India, perhaps the world's oldest sea-faring harbor. Judging from the dispersal of artifacts the trade networks integrated portions of Afghanistan, the Persian coast, northern and central India, Mesopotamia (see Meluhha) and Ancient Egypt (see Silk Road). Archaeologists studying the remains of two men from Mehrgarh, Pakistan, discovered that these peoples in the Indus Valley Civilization had knowledge of medicine and dentistry as early as circa 3300 BC. The Indus Valley Civilization gains credit for the earliest known use of decimal fractions in a uniform system of ancient weights and measures, as well as negative numbers (see Timeline of mathematics). Ancient Indus Valley artifacts include beautiful, glazed stone faïence beads. The Indus Valley Civilization boasts the earliest known accounts of urban planning. As seen in Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and (recently discovered) Rakhigarhi, their urban planning included the world's first urban sanitation systems. Evidence suggests efficient municipal governments. Streets were laid out in perfect grid patterns comparable to modern New York. Houses were protected from noise, odors and thieves. The sewage and drainage systems developed and used in cities throughout the Indus Valley were far more advanced than that of contemporary urban sites in Mesopotamia and Egypt and also more advanced than that of any other Bronze Age or even Iron Age civilization.

China

Developed agriculture appears in the 7th millennium BC in the Peiligang culture (discovered in 1977) of Henan, China, including storing and redistributing crops, millet farming and animal husbandry (pigs). Evidence also indicates specialized craftsmenship and administrators (see History of China: Prehistoric times). This culture is one of the oldest in ancient China to show evidence of pottery-making. China's first historical dynasty, the Xia Dynasty, emerged in 2033 BC and may have been a late Neolithic or early Bronze Age culture. Attributed to a later Chinese culture, in the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC), are bronze artifacts and oracle bones, which were turtle shells or cattle scapula on which are written the first recorded Chinese characters and found in the Huang He valley, Yinxu (a capital of the Shang Dynasty).

Guatemala

:For the city, see Guatemala City. The Republic of Guatemala is a country in Central America, in the south of the continent of North America, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, Belize to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast.

History

Main article: History of Guatemala From the 3rd century BC to the 11th century AD, the lowlands area of the Petén and Izabal regions of Guatemala were several indigenous states on the central highlands. Alta Verapaz is known for the fact that, after failing to conquer it by the sword the Spanish entered by the Church, with missionaries who defended the Indians from the cruel treatments of the Spanish army. Many Pre-Columbian Mayan books were lost due to the policy of the Spaniards during the colonial period of burning them. However, several survive, including: The "Popol Vuh", "Anales de los Kakchiqueles", and "Chilam Balam", books that were discovered and preserved by Spanish missionary friars. The name "Goathemala" was given by the Spanish conquistadores to this land, which derives from indigenous words that mean "Land of many trees". During the Spanish colonial period, Guatemala was a General Capitancy (Capitania General de Goathemala) of Spain. It extended from the Soconusco region - located in what is now the Southern part of Mexico (states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, and Yucatan) - to Costa Rica. From a political point of view, this region was not as rich in mineral resources (gold and silver) as Mexico and Peru were. Therefore, it did not have the same importance as those two Viceroyalties had. Its main products were sugarcane, cocoa, and anil (dye obtained from indigo plant to dye textiles). Tired of being forced to trade exclusively with Spain, the Guatemalan elite declared independence of Spain in September 15, 1821. At that time, the Guatemalan Republic included the Soconusco region, as well as what are now the countries of El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Such a big country had a mere 1.5 million habitants, mostly concentrated on the urban centers of the young Republic. However, in 1822, the province of El Salvador convinced the other Guatemalan provinces to join the Mexican Empire, an idea created by Agustin Iturbide. This Empire was short-lived, however, and a year later Guatemala separated itself from Mexico after Iturbide was forced to abdicate and his empire collapsed. As a result of this annexation, Guatemala lost the Soconusco region, which is now part of Mexico. After this, the Guatemalan provinces form the United Provinces of Central America, also referred to as the Central American Federation (Federacion de Estados Centroamericanos). The Capital City remained Guatemala City, which to this day continues to be the biggest and most modern urban center in the entire Central American region. A politically unstable period followed, aggravated by the collapse of the world market for añil (indigo), main export product from the region to Europe. This resulted in each province separating itself from the Federation, beginning with the province of Costa Rica. This confederation fell apart in 1838 to 1840, and Guatemala became an independent nation. Guatemala has long claimed all or part of the territory of neighboring Belize, which used to be part of the Guatemalan Republic since Colonial times. However, Great Britain occupied this territory, and Belize remains English-speaking to this day. While Guatemala recognized Belize's independence in 1991, the territorial dispute between them has not yet been finalized. Negotiations are currently underway under the auspices of the Organization of American States to conclude the dispute. For details, see: http://www.asil.org/insights/insigh59.htm], and the OAS page [http://www.oas.org/main/main.asp?sLang=E&sLink=http://www.oas.org/oaspage/searchform.asp]. Guatemalan history has been marked by the scenario of the Cold War between the [[USA]] and the [[USSR. The Central Intelligence Agency, supported by a small group of Guatemalan citizens, orchestrated the overthrow of the democratic socialist Guatemalan government in 1954. This was known as Operation PBSUCCESS and led to over thirty years of unrest in the nation in which over 100,000 Guatemalans were killed, mostly indigenous Mayan Indians, more than 450 Mayan villages were destroyed, and over one million people became refugees. This is alleged to be one of the worst ethnic cleansings in modern times. Contributing reasons include US support of every successive, non-democratic government in Guatemala. From the 1950s until the 1990s, the U.S. directly supported Guatemala's army by supplying it with combatant training, weaponry, and money. The U.S. sent the Green Berets to Guatemala to transform its Army into a "modern counter-insurgency force," making their army the most powerful and sophisticated in Central America. Further involvement of the CIA in Guatemala included the training of 5,000 anti-Castro Cubans for what would become the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion. 1996 marked the end of a bloody 36-year war with the guerrilla Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG). The signing of the peace treaty was orchestrated by the government of democratically elected President Alvaro Arzu. Since then, the country has enjoyed successive democractic elections, the most recent in 2003. However, corruption is still rampant throughout all levels of government. A huge cache of National Police files discovered in December of 2005 revealed methods of public security officials to quell unrest of citizens during the civil war [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4499354.stm]. Militarily, the Guatemalan army defeated the URNG. However, due to staunch political support from the governments of Spain, France, and Sweden, the URNG was able to continue with its activities. in 1992, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Rigoberta Menchu, an ex-URNG member.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Guatemala Guatemala's unicameral parliament, the Congreso de la República (Congress of the Republic) with 158 seats, is elected every four years, concurrently with the presidential elections. The President of Guatemala acts as the head of state and head of government. In his executive tasks, he is assisted by a cabinet of ministers, which he appoints. See also: Guatemala election, 2003

Departments

Main article: Departments of Guatemala Departments of Guatemala Guatemala is divided into 22 departments (departamentos): #Alta Verapaz #Baja Verapaz #Chimaltenango #Chiquimula #El Petén #El Progreso #El Quiché #Escuintla #Guatemala #Huehuetenango #Izabal #Jalapa #Jutiapa #Quetzaltenango #Retalhuleu #Sacatepéquez #San Marcos #Santa Rosa #Sololá #Suchitepequez #Totonicapán #Zacapa

Geography

Zacapa Main article: Geography of Guatemala Except for the south coastal area, and the vast lowlands of the Peten in the north, Guatemala is mountainous, with a hot tropical climate – more temperate in the highlands, and drier in the easternmost departments. All of the major cities are situated in the southern half of the country; the major cities are the capital Guatemala City, Quetzaltenango and Escuintla. The large lake Lago de Izabal is situated close to the Caribbean coast. Its situation on the Atlantic Ocean has left it a target for hurricanes, including Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and Hurricane Stan in 2005, in which upwards of 1,500 died.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Guatemala The agricultural sector accounts for one quarter of GDP, two-thirds of exports, and half of the labor force. Coffee, sugar, and bananas are the main products. Manufacturing and construction account for one-fifth of GDP. The signing of the peace accords in December 1996, which ended 36 years of civil war, removed a major obstacle to foreign investment. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch caused relatively little damage to Guatemala compared to its neighbors. Remaining challenges include beefing up government revenues, negotiating further assistance from international donors, and increasing the efficiency and openness of both government and private financial operations.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Guatemala According to the CIA World Fact Book, Mestizos (mixed Amerindian-Spanish; locally called Ladino) and Europeans (primarily of Spanish, German, English, Italian, and Scandinavian descent) comprise 60% of the population and Amerindians comprise approximately 40% of the population (K'iche 9.1%, Kaqchikel 8.4%, Mam 7.9%, Q'eqchi 6.3%, other Mayan 8.6%, indigenous non-Mayan 0.2%, other 0.1%). CIA World Fact Book - http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gt.html Though most of Guatemala's population is rural, urbanization is accelerating. Guatemala city (approx. 3 million) is expanding at an amazing rate, and Quetzaltenango (approx. 150 thousand) is growing rapidly as well. Generally impoverished farmers move to the outskirts of the city temporarily or permanently seeking higher wages. These barrios are virtually lawless. In addition, since 2001 the US has been deporting at a high rate. Many Guatemalans return from Southern California with advanced skills in organized crime. Crime is epidemic in Guatemala City and is a growing concern in Xela and other smaller cities. Smaller towns which are blessed with steady tourism, such as the towns around Lago Atitlan, are faring better. There is a measure of increasing prosperity and decreasing interference from the army. A lot of building is going on. It remains to be seen how well these places can adapt to the changes conditions, particularly the influx of foreigners and their vices. The predominant religion is Roman Catholicism, into which many indigenous Guatemalans have incorporated traditional forms of worship. Protestantism and traditional Maya religions are practiced by an estimated 33% and 1% of the population, respectively. Although the official language is Spanish, it is not universally understood among the indigenous population; various Mayan languages are still spoken, especially in rural areas. This is less true among the younger generation because the parents are doing everything possible to teach their children Spanish. There are still many more remote rural areas where opportuninities to learn Spanish are limited. The Peace Accords signed in December 1996 provide for the translation of some official documents and voting materials into several indigenous languages (see summary of main substantive accords).

Religion

Roman Catholicism was by far the strongest religion during the colonisation times. However, Protestant denominations have swept the nation. Around 1 in 3 Guatemalans are Protestant chiefly

Maya

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Reference

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Civilization

Senses of the word

1: Literal and technical definitions

2: Broader sense

3: Human society as a whole

4: A standard of behavior

5: Superior vs. less complex societies

What characterizes civilization

Civilization as a cultural identity

Civilizations as complex systems

The future of civilizations

See also

Negative views of civilization

Problems with the term "civilization"

Early civilizations

Mesopotamia

Egypt

India

China

See also

Further reading

Guatemala

History

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Geography

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Religion