The Ancient Mayan City - Research Paper Example

Topic Figure The Mayan civilization (Schele & Mathews, 1999). The ancient Mayan is prominent of its architectural distinctiveness and it’s marvellous cultural existence. Historical records bared that the city is home to people whose center of interaction and social exchanges transpired at Tikal. This paper will relate the architectural wonders of Mayan city and how these symbols correlate to their lives and meanings of being. The place is also a site of wonderful temple-pyramids which revealed the classical period when masons freely made platforms, temples, palaces, pyramids and house mounds of residents. The temple pyramids were made of limestone blocks and lorded over other surrounding structures. Lattice of stone were also added in Maya roof comb to make it as a grand-looking edifice. Figure 2. The Mayan civilization (Schele & Mathews, 1999). Architects considered the Maya site in Tikal of Guatemala as most extraordinary construction of buildings as a work of art. The site is imposed with temples of the Giant Jaguar (ca. A.D. 700), Masks (ca. A.D. 699), and the North Acropolis (Canadian Museum of Civilization, 2010a). It was believed that at the core of the Giant Jaguar temple is a high priest’s tomb with hundreds of vases and jade as offerings. A quiet sanctuary was also built intended for worshipper at the top of the nine-tiered pyramid (Canadian Museum of Civilization, 2010a; Totten, 1926). The rooms in these temples are accordingly narrow and design for ritual or ceremonial activities only. Some perceived that the design and alignment of these rooms are significant and might have meanings too. Other eye-catching structures in the city are palaces in single-storey platforms with several rooms and with interior courtyards (Canadian Museum of Civilization, 2010b). The nunnery in Uxmal also looked like a palace (Canadian Museum of Civilization, 2010b). Rulers, elites and the noble families are presumed by archaeologists to have occupied these structures and those cell-like rooms in some structures were probably rooms of religious leaders in their communities e.g. priests, monks, and nuns (Ching, Jarzombek, & Prakash, 2011). They also had this structure known as Temple of the Sun at the Palenque and some sturdy edifice of a Great Gate at Labna (Ching, Jarzombek, & Prakash, 2011). These structures are magnificently and impressively beautifying its plazas and courtyards. Architecture considered the Mayan city structures as expressive of sophisticated decoration of arts, carvings, and wall paintings of ancient symbols (Ching, Jarzombek, & Prakash, 2011). Those building are interconnected by roads made of stones, also known as causeways. Experts criticized that Maya city was built in an apparently unplanned manner and they observed that temples and palaces were torn but rebuilt repetitively in many centuries (Lees, 2011). Probably because local residents are incline to preserve these historic sites for tourism and for cultural reasons. Architects also described the site as wielded with defensive earthworks, especially those cities historically known to be resided by ancient Mayan civilization (Lees, 2011; Falk, 2012). For them, these protective walls are quiet unusual but they also thought that this could be a significant part of the conflict situations they had in those epoch (Lees, 2011). The Mayan civilization is prominent with its intricate but most accurate calendar system with such calculations that jibe with the solar years in tropical regions of the world (Dumois, 2012). They were combined geologists and astronomers who sourced their understanding of their relation to the world by seeking guidance to the movements and developments of heavenly body, like the sun, moon, stars and planets. They had their observatories, shadow-casting. Inspired by their studies of the celestial and astrological realities, they are able to make their Mayan calendar based on their chronicles. Experts opined that the constructions of their buildings are attuned with compass direction. This is demonstrated by the fact that during sunny season, the sun can overcast its shine in the observatory’s small opening—illuminating the interior wall (Lees, 2011). Other alignments explained the location of other temple and palaces—such as the illumination of the stairs of Chichen Itza which was dedicated to Quetzalcoatl, another name of a feathered serpent god (Miller, 1991). Religious experts posit that Mayan people aligned their buildings to the movement of the sun and star to express their glorification and veneration of God. The locations of the buildings are defined in accordance to their relation with God and in accordance to the customary rituals they have adhered to (Miller, 1991). Those anthropologists who have studied their culture opined that the repeating cycles of the creation of the building, as described in Mayan mythology, is basically illustrative of their relation to God and their negligence at times to sustain these practices or rituals. This civilization had the strong belief that gods are guided by the sun and moon which journey in the underworld too. For these, they believed that heavenly bodies needed human understanding and intervention too which can be expressed through rituals and sacrifices. By death, the Mayan who offered self to the gods is conferred with immortality. Modern religious leaders may argue that this practice is paganistic but the deep relation of these people to nature, to the solar system and to the constellations provided traditional patterns of realities that are appreciated still up to these days. Their hieroglyphic writings and sense of history is considered as one of the best account of the world. Though there artworks and glyphs require some decipherment, however these provided deeper insights on how they managed their judicial system, religious practices, political relations, economic activities and social interactions. In conclusion, it can be inferred that buildings are not mere structures of edifices built by carpenters to accommodate people who needs to be sheltered. These are expression and symbols of their faith, beliefs, cultural practices and relation with the universe and the world about (Schmidt, Garza, & Nalda, 1998). The architectural patterns convey how people value arts, symbols, and meanings of their identities. It revealed their history and how their pattern of living is distinctly attuned to the relation of this earth and with the solar system (Schele & Mathews, 1999). They are the most ecologically related to the universe and have acknowledged themselves merely as cog of the universal whole where their participations are required to complete the relation of human being and to the cosmos (Schele & Mathews, 1999). Moroever, their buildings also determine the stature of people who are living within its confines and thus correlate their rooms to the kind of functions and roles they portray in their community during their times. Some of the symbols are grandly considered as the codes of kings (Schele & Mathews, 1999). References Canadian Museum of Civilizaion (2010a). Maya civilization: Cities of the Ancient Maya. 1 Oct. 2012. Web. Canadian Museum of Civilization (2010b). Maya civilization: Astronomy. 1 Oct. 2012. Web. Ching, F., Jarzombek, M., & Prakash, V. A Global History of Architecture. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2011. Print.  Lees, S. Visions of Architecture. London: & C Black, 2011. Print.  Schele, L. & Mathews, P. The Code of Kings: The Language of Seven Sacred Maya Temples and Tombs. New York: Scribner, 1999. Print.  Schmidt, P. J., Garza, M.D.L., & Nalda, E. Maya. New York: Rizzoli, 1998. Print.  Miller, M. E.. Maya Art and Architecture. London: Thames & Hudson, 1999. Print.  Totten, G. O. . Maya Architecture, Washington, D.C.: Maya, 1926. Print.  Falk T. How ancient Mayan cities dealt with drought. Smartplet.com. July 18, 2012.Web. September 15, 2012.  Dumois L. The Maya civilization, cities of the Maya. mexconnect.com. January 1, 2006. Web. September 15, 2012.  Falk T. How ancient Mayan cities dealt with drought. Smartplet.com. July 18, 2012.Web. September 15, 2012.  Read More