Mayan Indians Civilization - Essay Example

This paper scrutinizes the Mayan civilization and culture in terms of its development, strengths, and collapse.

Mayan Indians were well-developed and highly skilled in artistic jobs such as pottery, carvings, drawings, and ceramics. Some carvings, sculptures, stucco reliefs, and murals are found in the ruins of the Mayan civilization which represent the art of the Mayan civilization (Coe 65). The artistic pieces found are indicative of the artistic skills of the Mayan Indians. The human figures carved on stones and colors used for depicting the civilization and culture of people look so beautiful and refined that the development of arts at that time appears much better than ours. Mayan Indians also attached their names to their created art pieces to inform the viewers about their art and talent (Demarest 43).

Mayan architecture is also very famous like its art. The towering pyramids with steps are regarded as the most influential architects of the Mayan civilization (Sharer and Traxler 42). Caves with carvings are also a distinctive feature of the Mayan Indians. The caves such as Jolja cave, Cave of the Witch, Candelaria caves and many others are famous for their architecture and designs (Demarest 49). Plazas, palaces, ball courts, observatories, and temples are found in their architecturally designed buildings. Roads were also present attaching cities. The buildings also went through several amendments as with changing rulers, the designs also got amended according to new instructions. The architecture as a whole can be considered reminiscent of a great civilization (Coe 78). The buildings and constructions made by the Mayan Indians are depictive of their skill at architecture and design.

The Mayan civilization was quite developed as they had their writing system. They used to write with animal hair brushes and their writing was black with red highlighting (Demarest 59). In the writing system, the Mayan Indians usually used phonetic symbols and glyphs to deliver their messages (Demarest 51). The symbolic language was used to express any kind of views or to inform about anything. The Mayan Indians were able to read and write their language. The names scripted on the sculptures, stone carvings, and drawings were also written in the Mayan language. Along with names, the drawings and carvings also informed about various Mayan stories scripted on the art pieces. Mayans were also very advanced in astronomical and mathematical discoveries and studies due to which, they had developed their calendar and worked in their observatories for any astronomical signs (Culbert 160). Mayan writing was also found on the tombs of people, which revealed stories about the afterlife (Sharer and Traxler 56).

The Mayan society was divided into a hierarchal structure as the topmost people were the nobles, the priests were on the second rank, commoners were the third in the hierarchy and slaves were the last hierarchal unit (Demarest 57). The ruler of the state used to reside in the capital while the cities and towns were controlled by the sub-lords. Under sub-lords, there were many other ranked persons to manage the cities and their people. Palaces were constructed for the rulers and these palaces contained many other buildings within them such as temples, halls, courtrooms, and others (Gill 129). There was a hierarchal structure of the Mayan society as there were Kings, sub-lords, subordinates, priests, nobles, commoners, and slaves in that society.

The Mayan civilization was quite strong as the people of the civilization were skilled and talented people and had a strong hold on many developments of the time such as astronomy, mathematics, phonetics, pottery, writing, architecture, handicrafts, and much more. The Mayan Indians had their numeral system for calculations (Coe 82). They were skilled at astronomical drawings and had their calendar for day and night schedules. The Mayans had divided their days and nights according to celestial cycles (Demarest 58). The civilization was quite well-built because of the advancements and growth in different types of education.

The collapse of Mayan civilization is considered a mystery as researchers and scientists are unable to find a united resolution on its fall. Some people regard volcanoes as behind the collapse of civilization while others depict some epidemic attack on the civilization (Culbert 148). Scientists also attach the fall of the Mayan civilization to severe undernourishment that can be an outcome of some enormous famine (Gill 155). It is also said that an earthquake can be at the back of a Mayan fall down (Culbert 156). Therefore, the reason for the collapse of the civilization as a whole is not clear as scientists and researchers have contradicting opinions regarding the catastrophe.

The Mayan civilization was very much advanced and developed because of its architecture, art, writing, astronomical, and mathematical developments. The buildings constructed by the Mayan Indians are still eye-catching and attractive because of their unique designs and architectural expertise. The hierarchal structure of the society is also depictive of a well-managed and disciplined society. The civilization is indicative of a society that had its developments and was fully equipped as compared to the need of the eras. The Mayan civilization as a whole was quite dominant in its features. Its collapse is a mystery and no one can negate the fact that the civilization excelled over all other civilizations of the classical period because of its progress and advancement in certain fields of society. Read More