The mysteries of Mayan civilization worry the minds of millions of people. Amazing constructions built by these people centuries ago amaze not only with their scale but also with unique technologies.Scientists still can not understand where the Mayan civilization has such knowledge and tools to create stone buildings. However, there are many other riddles, which we will talk about in this article.
Mayan civilization
As of 2019, the territory where the Mayan civilization was developing was composed of the following states: Mexico (Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan, Tabasco, Quintana Roo), Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras (western part).
Historians claim that the Mayans settled there as early as 2 millennia B.C. They grew maize (a kind of corn) and hunted. The clothes for them were large pieces of canvas, which they wrapped around.
The Maya people lived in buildings similar to shacks, covered with clay. The material for the roof was palm leaves. An interesting fact is that this civilization did not know the wheel and metal, and also did without pets.
Religion played a big role in Mayan life. They worshiped their gods, who were regularly sacrificed by human beings. They managed to construct a set of magnificent pyramids that are not conceding on the beauty and greatness of the Egyptian pyramids.
Today anybody can not only see the pyramids of Mayan civilization but also to consider the images carved on them. It is worth noting the high-class layout of cities, some of which are included by UNESCO in the list of World Heritage Sites.
For scientists, it is still a mystery where the Mayan civilization could learn such deep knowledge in mathematics and astronomy.
Also, they were able to create an effective system of agriculture, which resulted in rich harvests.
Maya sought to live in harmony with nature. Their priests so precisely defined planetary cycles that their calculations are not inferior to modern calculations. Calendars created by them still delight and surprise the whole scientific world.All numbers of calendars - solar and ritual, are directly connected with the names of the gods concerning a current of time. It is interesting to know that the Maya took the year 3113 B.C. as the point of time reference, which is much earlier than the first settlements on Yucatan.
Thus, any date necessarily corresponds with the position of any heavenly body, leaning on a reference point and its place in both calendars.According to the Mayan civilization, the universe was a chain of worlds above each other. So the sky consisted of 13 layers, while under the ground there were 9 layers. Paradise in their view was placed around the original tree, and on the four sides of the earth grew another tree.
As a result, the sky was held on these five trees. The ancient Maya viewed their universe as a house so that it had a square shape. They also paid great attention to the flow of time and even deified it.
Interestingly, the Mayans looked at the time as a three-dimensional phenomenon, expressed as follows:
- Solar - equal to one year.
- Ritual - associated with religious rituals. The solar year had 18 months, and the remaining 5 days of Maya were considered unsuccessful.
- The third type of time belonged to their main deity.
All 3 temporary forms crossed each other once in 52 years. This period was considered to be the most terrible because it had to be accompanied by various natural disasters and other misfortunes for people.
Crystal skulls
In the first half of the last century, the daughter of British archaeologist Mitchell Hedges managed to find a mysterious object - a human skull made of crystal and weighing about 5 kg.When the experts investigated the discovery, they concluded that the skull was made before the Mayan civilization. The experts were convinced that it was not polished, and was also equipped with a complex system of lenses.Already at the end of the 20th century, a housewife, riding a horse, found another mysterious artifact. It also turned out to be a crystal skull, which, however, was twisted and deformed in every way. Specialists began to study ancient manuscripts with renewed vigor to unravel the mystery of the origin of both finds.
Later, they came across an ancient story that told about 13 crystal turtles of the goddess of death. It also said that they were all hidden in different places. After learning about it, archaeologists began to search for the remaining 11 artifacts.As a result, similar skulls were found in the area between Mexico and Tibet, the number of which exceeded 13 pieces. However, the first of them was the most ideal of all points of view.
What remained of the Mayan civilization
Today the number of Mayan descendants reaches 3 million people. They live in countries such as Mexico, Honduras, Belize, and Guatemala.Many of them adhere to the beliefs and customs of their ancestors. Even those who have adopted Christianity continue to combine biblical teachings with pagan traditions.
The dawn of Mayan civilization fell on the 9th century A.D., after which the decline began. These people ceased to exist even before the arrival of Spanish conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés.The most cities have been left by inhabitants in connection with what these places have swallowed up jungle.
Modern archaeological finds only increase the number of mysteries, which went to us from the Mayan civilization. Deciphering texts of these people, scientists do not cease to be surprised by that deep knowledge that possessed ancient inhabitants.
At the moment, no one has managed to explain where the Mayans came from, where they went, and how they made such progress in different spheres.