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Maya civilization

Maya architecture Maya calendar Mayan languages Maya mythology Maya peoples Maya religion Maya society Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2272x1704, 2113 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Maya civilization Maya mythology Spanish conquest of Yucatán Maya calendar Mayan languages Maya peoples Maya bloodletting Template... 74. ... As unique and spectacular as any Greek or Roman architecture, Maya architecture spans many thousands of years; yet, often the most dramatic and easily recognizable as Maya are the fantastic stepped pyramids from the Terminal Pre-classic period and beyond. ... The Maya calendar is actually a system of distinct calendars and almanacs used by the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and by some modern Maya communities in highland Guatemala. ... Page 9 of the Dresden Codex showing the classic Maya language written in Mayan hieroglyphs(from the 1880 Förstermann edition) Mayan languages (alternatively: Maya languages[1]) constitute a language family spoken in Mesoamerica and northern Central America. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about the people of the former Maya civilization after the conquest by Spain. ... This article or section is missing needed references or citation of sources. ... Maya degree of interaction and cultural diffusion throughout the region. ...

Maya history

Spanish conquest of Yucatán

Bloodletting was a ritual of the Maya people, which dates back to ancient Mesoamerica. It was also a common practice for other cultures, but is generally associated with the rituals of the Maya. The Maya believed that the gift of blood to the gods, especially royal blood, was crucial to their well-being, and that it validated their worthiness in the Maya community. The Spanish Conquest of Yucatán was the campaign undertaken by the Spanish conquistadores against the Late Postclassic Maya states and polities, particularly in the northern and central Yucatán Peninsula but also involving the Maya polities of the Guatemalan highlands region. ... 74. ... The cultural areas of Mesoamerica Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Spanish: Mesoamérica) was a geographical culture area extending from central Honduras and northwestern Costa Rica on the south, and, in Mexico, from the Soto la Marina River in Tamaulipas and the Rio Fuerte in Sinaloa on the north. ... Human blood smear: a - erythrocytes; b - neutrophil; c - eosinophil; d - lymphocyte. ... Members of the British royal family A royal family is the extended family of a monarch. ...

In a typical bloodletting ritual, rulers cut or pierced their ears, cheeks, tongues and genitals. Whichever body part the Maya drew blood from, there was a specific reason for each body part. For example, a man would pierce his penis and let the blood drip on some paper. The reason for this is because it symbolized human fertility. Bloodletting (or blood-letting, in modern medicine referred to as phlebotomy) was a popular medical practice from antiquity up to the late 19th century, involving the withdrawal of often considerable quantities of blood from a patient in the belief that this would cure or prevent illness and disease. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Bat ears come in different sizes and shapes The ear is the sense organ that detects sound. ... Look up Cheek in Wiktionary, the free dictionary The Cheeks are the fleshy area of the face below the eyes and between the nose and the left or right ear, the skin being suspended by the chin and the yaws. ... For other uses, see Tongue (disambiguation). ... A sex organ, or primary sexual characteristic, narrowly defined, is any of those anatomical parts of the body (which are not always bodily organs according to the strict definition) which are involved in sexual reproduction and constitute the reproductive system in a complex organism; namely: Male: penis (notably the glans... Michelangelos David is widely considered to be one of the finest artistic portrayals of a man. ... The penis (plural penises, penes) is an external male sexual organ. ...

Some of the other body parts being pierced (the tongue, ears, etc.) was done because when the blood was released, it symbolized the fact that they wanted to procure human life. The blood that was released from the body of the "Bloodletters" (as they were called) was usually burned. That way, smoke would rise, and this smoke was considered to be an offering to the gods. Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin: wise man or knowing man) under the family Hominidae (the great apes). ... Smoke from a wildfire Smoke is a suspension in air (aerosol) of small particles resulting from incomplete combustion of a fuel. ...

The Maya had strict beliefs in regards to the gods they worshipped, and this offering was very important for them because they felt as if it would help them retain health in their lives. Bloodletting was the most important ritual to the Maya. It was not so much a daily activity, but its importance was obvious when it did take place. Worship usually refers to specific acts of religious praise, honour, or devotion, typically directed to a supernatural being such as a god or goddess. ...

Contrary to popular belief, women also participated the brutal bloodletting rituals. some times, if a king was sacrificing some part of his body, his wife would also sacrifice a part of her body as well. A common practice of women participating in the bloodletting rituals was for the woman participant to pull a rope through her tongue. The painful part is that the rope had thorns all over it. This made for an extremely difficult and messy situation for the women involved. Image of a woman on the Pioneer plaque sent to outer space. ... Look up monarch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Coils of rope used for long-line fishing A rope (IPA: ) is a length of fibers, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. ... Raised thorns on the stem of the wait-a-bit climber Prickles on rose stems Thorns of the Ocotillo A spine is a rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure on an animal, shell, or plant, presumably serving as a defense against attack by predators. ...

The Maya sometimes conducted what was known as a "heart sacrifice"; they would cut open the chest of a person and physically remove the heart. The Maya would sometimes use knives made of obsidian glass. It was often very sharp, and was substantially more efficient in cutting body parts or skin, whichever was being cut in order to fulfill the sacrifice. The heart and lungs, from an older edition of Grays Anatomy. ... Obsidian from Lake County, Oregon Counterclockwise from top: obsidian, pumice and rhyolite (light color) Obsidian is a rock which is a type of naturally occurring glass, produced by volcanoes (igneous origin) when a felsic lava cools rapidly and freezes without sufficient time for crystal growth (see glass transition temperature). ...

Sacrifices sometimes occurred with very small children, with some children bought expressly for the bloodletting ritual. Children redirects here. ...

Some experts believe that certain body parts being sacrificed in the bloodletting rituals were more important than others. For instance, some people think that the ears are the most important, while others believe that the tongue is more essential in the sacrifice. Some even believe that the ancient Maya people conducted bloodletting not for the religious aspect the rituals, but instead for the political gains that could be made. It is thought by some experts that some of the Maya people who performed the bloodletting rituals were actually just deceiving the rest of the community, and that this was actually done in order to manipulate the community. This idea is rejected by many, especially since religion was such an important part of the Maya lifestyle. Various Religious symbols, including (first row) Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Bahai, (second row) Islamic, tribal, Taoist, Shinto (third row) Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, Jain, (fourth row) Ayyavazhi, Triple Goddess, Maltese cross, pre-Christian Slavonic Religion is the adherence to codified beliefs and rituals that generally involve a faith in a spiritual... Politics is the process by which groups make decisions. ...

Fairly unknown to lots of people, the persons involved in the Maya bloodletting rituals would sometimes come up with ways to deal with the excruciating pain caused by the rituals. Some of these ways include taking hallucinogenic drugs, and finding certain parts on the body which would be more fatty or less sensitive (this way the pain would be somewhat lessened). The general group of pharmacological agents commonly known as hallucinogens can be divided into three broad categories: psychedelics, dissociatives, and deliriants. ...

Bloodletting in art

Bloodletting was one of the most common subjects of Maya art. Many examples show rulers of the Maya people sacrificing their bodies and blood as offering to the gods. The Maya art shows a more idealistic depiction of bloodletting, and the idea of bloodletting in Maya Mythology is evident in many forms of art.

An example of a graphic depiction of bloodletting in Maya art is at Yaxchilan, a city which was inhabited during the ancient Mesoamerican period. On two different parts of a building in Yaxchilan, there are some graphic scenes of bloodletting. There are two scenes, and these scenes show the literal sense and an example of what bloodletting is, and they also illustrate the idea that the Maya conducted bloodletting as a way of communicating with the gods that they worshiped in their everyday lives. One of the pyramids on the upper terrace of Yaxchilan. ... The cultural areas of Mesoamerica Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Spanish: Mesoamérica) was a geographical culture area extending from central Honduras and northwestern Costa Rica on the south, and, in Mexico, from the Soto la Marina River in Tamaulipas and the Rio Fuerte in Sinaloa on the north. ...

References

• [1]
• [2]
• [3]
• Ancient Mexico & Central America by Susan Toby Evans
• Mesoamerican Archaeology by Julia A. Herndon and Rosemary A. Joyce
• Yaxchilan: The Design of a Maya Ceremonial City by Carolyn E Tate - History - 1992 - 320 pages.
• Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest Civilization by Arthur Demarest - Social Science - 2004 - 390 pages.