They prized a long, backward sloping forehead, which was attained by bounding the skulls of infants with boards (Hooker pp). Moreover, crossed-eyes were also important, and this was achieved by dangling objects in front of the infants' eyes in order to permanently cross the eyes, a practice that is still used today (Hooker pp).
The Maya number system was a base 20 system (Mayan pp). Most likely the reason for base 20 came from ancient people who counted on both their fingers and their toes (Mayan pp). And although it was a base 20 system, called a vigesimal system, the number five also played a major role, probably again relating to five fingers and toes (Mayan pp). They used a system of bar and dot as a sort of "shorthand" for counting written from bottom to top, a dot represented 1 and a bar represented 5 (Maya pp). This system probably arose from using a pebble and a stick for counting (Mayan pp). A surprising and advanced feature of their system is the "zero," represented by a shell for reasons that cannot be explained and the positional nature of the system (Mayan pp).
In a true base twenty system the first number would denote the number of units up to 19, the next would denote the number of 20's up to 19, the next the number of 400's up to 19, etc. However although the Maya number system starts this way with the units up to 19 and the 20's up to 19, it changes in the third place and this denotes the number of 360's up to 19 instead of the number of 400's. After this the system reverts to multiples of 20 so the fourth place is the number of 18-202, the next the number of 18-203 and so on (Mayan pp).
The Maya had a highly complex writing system, using pictographs and phonetic or syllabic elements (Maya1 pp). These symbols were carved into stone, however, the most common place for writing was books make from bark paper that was coated with lime to make a fresh white surface which were screen-folded and bound with wood and deer hide (Maya1 pp). These books are called codices, codex is singular, and due to their perishable nature and zealous Spanish book burning, only four codices remain today (Maya1 pp). The contents of these books varied and probably contained information used by priests or the noble class to determine dates of importance or seasonal interest and perhaps dynastic information (Maya1 pp).
The Maya were accomplished astronomers whose primary interest were Zenial Passages when the Sun crossed over the Maya latitudes (Maya2 pp).
Annually, the sun travels to its summer solstice point, a latitude of 23-1/3 degrees north, and most of their cities were located south of this latitude which means they could observe the sun directly overhead during the time that the sun was passing over (Maya2 pp). This happened twice a year, evenly spaced around the day of the solstice, and the Maya could easily determine these dates because at local noon, there was no shadow (Maya2 pp). The Diving God was the Mayan god who represented this position of the Sun (Maya2 pp).
Today, the Maya can be found in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and the five Mexican states of Tabasco, Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo (Maya3 pp). There are approximately thirty different indigenous Mayan languages, however, the majority of the Maya also speak Spanish (Maya3 pp). The present day Guatemalan Mayas have preserved much of their culture and religion (Maya3 pp). However, there can be found a mixture of Mayan and Western European traditions, an aspect most obvious in religious practices, in which the modern Maya have created their own brand of Christianity, a blend of Catholic tradition and ancient ritual (Maya3 pp). The Mayans are...
Whether this is in fact the case will be explored in the next section. The Case for Mayan Culture Researchers that do not agree with Haug and others argue that the Mayan culture has continued throughout history and has been passed down to individuals that are still alive today within areas of Central America. There is some agreement regarding this between various researchers that have studied Mayan culture, rituals, and architecture.
A date carved in stone throughout Mayan lands is 9-9-2-4-8 (July 29, 615 AD) when Lord Pakal, the great King of Palenque, ascended to his throne. The numbers are read from the bottom up (as the corn grows from the earth up to the sky). 9-9-2-4-8 would thus be understood as: 9 baktuns -- 3600 years; 9 katuns -- 180 years; 2 tuns -- 730 days; 4 uinals -- 80
history of the native American Indians is a long and colorful one. The first Indians arrived on the North American continent subsequent to the end of the Ice Age approximately 15,000 years ago. These early Indians arrived from Siberia as they passed through Alaska and gradually settled throughout what is now the United States. These early arriving Indians were hunter-gatherers and, as a result, they traveled freely across the
History Of Native Americans How did Native responses to European activities affect the direction that colonies took? In 1585, Richard Hakluyt guaranteed that the economic potential of the North America is strong enough to provide the basis for the creation of a grand English commercial empire. He assured that the colonization by Englishmen would open profitable and productive new American markets. The next 178 years proved really beneficial for the Native Americans
Important ceremonies required that the sacrifice be held down at top of a pyramid or raised altar "while a priest made an incision below the rib cage and ripped out the heart with his hands. The heart was then burned in order to nourish the gods" ("Mayan Religion"). Though only captives were sacrificed to the gods, bloodletting was also common practice among the Mayan aristocracy. Blood was drawn from
Mayan People There are many historical mysteries which have fascinated human and encouraged investigation. Among the most often examined and theorized over are the potential reasons for why the Mayan civilization suddenly disappeared from the face of the Earth. Scholars, conspiracy theorists, and all manner of investigators have looked into the culture, the people, and the environment in the vain effort to finally determine exactly what happened to this large population.
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