To the Ends of the Earth

Maya facts

Writing

Maya writing consisted of hieroglyphics, or 'glyphs'. It took a long time for Europeans to decipher these, mainly because – until archaeologists began to explore Central America in the late 19th century – there was only a small number of glyph examples in European libraries.

Maya writing dates back to 600 BC. It was considered a sacred activity so only priests and nobles were allowed write. It was a mixed script made up of both phonetic syllables and logographs (pictures that stand for specific words). So, for example, the word for jaguar, balam, could be written either by drawing a jaguar head or by writing the syllables ba-la-ma (the final vowel is silent).

Numbers

The Maya numbering system was not decimal. Instead they used a system based on the number 20 – the vigesimal system. Numbers were written using a bar-and-dot notation: one bar equalled 5, one dot equalled 1, so two bars and two dots meant 12. Some numbers had cosmic meanings: '1' meant the beginning of things, '9' referred to the underworld and '13' to the heavens.

The calendar

When the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés arrived in Central America in 1517, the Mayan calendar was more accurate than the European one. Because the solar year lasts 365.25 days, rather than a round figure of 365, an extra day has to be added every fourth ('leap') year to keep things straight. In medieval times, the European calendar didn't do this, so it gradually went out of synch with nature. By contrast, the Maya calendar did compensate for the extra day and so was more accurate.

However, for everyday use, the Maya preferred a calendar that recorded cycles of 260 days (probably based on an approximation of the nine months between conception and birth) rather than the solar year.

Human sacrifice

The Maya practised human sacrifice during religious ceremonies. They believed that, because the gods had given them life, humans owed the gods a debt that could only be repaid by killing other human beings. Sacrifice was also one way of repaying the death god for stealing life from him.

Cannibalism

Cannibalism was not uncommon among the Maya. The eating of human flesh by ancient and indigenous peoples is a controversial subject, in part because some European invaders spread reports of cannibalism as propaganda to justify their conquests. However, archaeological evidence of butchery marks on bones found in household refuse suggests that the practice did exist among the Maya. During religious ceremonies, they may have consumed human hearts, flesh and blood as a form of communion.

Burial

Dead masters took their servants with them. In one tomb in Palenque, Mexico, a skeleton was found of a 25-year-old woman, whose job had been to seal the tomb door from the inside: her hand prints were found on the jar of plaster used to seal up the door. Her bones were discovered in a corner where, after completing her work, she had sat down to await death.

The jaguar

The most feared beast in Central America, the jaguar was also a religious symbol. Maya lords believed that they received their power and prestige from jaguar gods, and as a result, these human leaders often wore jaguar skins. The animal was sometimes sacrificed during religious ceremonies – their skeletons, occasionally headless, have been found in Maya burials.

The snake

Another important religious symbol was the snake, which often represented the idea of ecstasy. Because they shed their skins and swallow prey, snakes were also seen as symbols of rebirth. Lords danced the serpent dance; in some calendars, the fifth day was the Snake.

Ballgames

For some 3,000 years, the Maya played games with a rubber ball. The best known took place in the ballcourt that was a feature of every city. This was usually an alley formed by two parallel structures, some remains of which have survived. Rules varied, but two teams – each consisting of two or three players – were usually involved, and points were scored by hitting the ball at a ring of markers. The game was both a sport to bet on and a metaphor for the cosmos, with the ball seen as the sun moving in and out of the underworld. Sometimes the game's winners would sacrifice the losers to the gods.

Survival

Although the Maya have endured repression and persecution in one form or another for the past 500 years, ever since the arrival of Europeans, more than 6 million of their descendants still maintain a culture that is recognisably Mayan in areas of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras.

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