The cause behind the rise of the Maya has long been a controversial topic. Over the past eighty years, scholarship has been polarized around two conflicting propositions, ‘externalist’ and ‘internalist’ models. The first (externalist) view posits that the Maya lowlands experienced and “overt and disruptive” Teotihuacan presence in the late fourth century A.D., that was accompanied with “military incursion if not political domination.” The second (internalist) view interprets the evidence of interaction with foreign sites, as a means of Maya elites distancing themselves from the general population and/or legitimizing new dynastic rulership lines by associating themselves with the powerful foreign city-state of Teotihuacan (Stuart 1996). As Braswell (2003, p.7) points out it is important to note, that neither camp denies that the interaction took place. Rather, it is the degree of impact the Teotihuacan had on the Maya, that is, the duration of political, social and economic changes, stimulated by foreign interaction. This can be determined by the evidence provided by architecture, imported material goods, and iconography. The majority of this evidence derives from Teotihuacan, along with the three most powerful Maya city-states at the time of initial interaction – Tikal, Copan, and Kaminaljuyu. As with all history, the ‘facts’ provided by the evidence, is open to interpretation by each historian.
The contributors of the volume Highland-lowland Interaction in Mesoamerica: Interdisciplinary Approaches (Miller 1983) provides the basis of opinion “regarding the influence of central Mexican culture in various parts of the Maya region during the epoch of the maximum splendour of Teotihuacan.” As a result of this work many sc...
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... The Maya and Teotihuacan Reinterpreting Early Classic Interaction Edited By Geoffrey E. Braswell, University of Texas Press, 2003, p.273-314.
George L. Cowgill Teotihuacan and Early Classic Interaction: A Perspective from outside the Maya Region, The Maya and Teotihuacan Reinterpreting Early Classic Interaction Edited By Geoffrey E. Braswell, University of Texas Press, 2003, p.115-336.
Joyce Marcus The Maya and Teotihuacan, The Maya and Teotihuacan Reinterpreting Early Classic Interaction Edited By Geoffrey E. Braswell, University of Texas Press, 2003, p.337-356.
Marketonis November 15, 2007: Fire Is Born (Nace el Fuego): The mysterious invader who brought the Mayan Empire much of its splendour, http://thefivesusa.wordpress.com/2007/11/15/fire-is-born-nace-el-fuego-the-mysterious-invader-who-brought-the-mayan-empire-much-of-its-splendor/
Inga Clendinnen's Aztecs:An Interpretation is an outstanding book dealing with investigations into how the Mexica peoples may have veiwed the world in which they lived. From the daily life of a commoner to the explosively, awe inspiring lives of the priests and warriors. Clendinnen has used thoughtful insights and a fresh perspective that will have general readers and specialist readers alike engaged in a powerful and elegantly written interpretation that is hard to put down without reflection upon this lost culture.
In her study of the sixteenth century Maya, Inga Clendinnen quotes Antonio de Ciudad Real, saying “when the Spaniards discovered this land, their leader asked the Indians how it was called; as they did not understand him, they said uic athan, which means, what do you say or what do you speak, that we do not understand you. And then the Spaniard ordered it set down that it be called Yucatan.” Mutual misunderstanding and incommensurability play many key roles in colonial relations between the Spanish missionaries and the Maya. Social and cultural relations and the effects of misunderstanding between the Maya and Spaniards greatly affected daily life and caused great unrest
Mathew Restall was born in a suburb of London, England, in 1964. He grew up in Spain, Venezuela, and East Asia, but was schooled in England, primarily at Wellington College, before going on to receive a BA degree with first-class honors in Modern History from Oxford University in 1986. He earned a PhD in Latin American History from UCLA in 1992, studying under James Lockhart, and has since held teaching positions at various universities in the United States. A prolific scholar, Restall 's twenty books and fifty articles and essays published since 1995 have earned him an international reputation as a leader in his field. His books include The Maya World: Yucatec Culture and Society, 1550-1850 (1997), Maya Conquistador (1998), Invading Guatemala (with Florine Asselbergs, 2007), 2012 and the End of the World: The Western Roots of the Maya Apocalypse (with Amara Solari, 2011), Latin America in Colonial Times (with Kris Lane, 2011), and The Conquistadors (with Felipe Fernández-Armesto, 2012). His book The Black Middle: Africans, Mayas, and Spaniards in Colonial Yucatan won the Conference on Latin American History’s 2009 prize for best book on Mexican history. His most widely read book is Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest (2003), also published in Spanish and in Portuguese. Restall has shared with us some of the greatest treasure we will ever know by correcting the myths that we have learned about growing up and then bein told it was all a lie in college. I believe Restall is such a great author because he uncovers the truth, isn’t that what we want everyone to write? The cold hard
The Mayan hunters pursued large game like jaguars, wild boars, and snow leopards as well as small game like hares, rabbits, and squirrels. The three animals that seem to be the most prevalent in Mayan writings are the deer, iguana, and the quetzal bird. This has led archeologists to believe that these animals must have been more than just a food source. It is believed that the quetzal bird was not killed but only captured. While it was captured, they would pluck the feathers from it because they were considered very valuable. The Maya viewed hunting as more than just a food source, similar to the other native peoples we have studied. They had certain rituals t...
Maya societies were clearly divided into two classes, the elite and the commoners. This distinction was usually made by who had more power and wealth, a person was usually born into both. The Elite had control over the politics and religion in each city (Sharer, “Social Stratification”). The vast majority of people were considered commoners, but how do you tell which ones are commoners, and which are Elites? Architecture gives us the biggest clue to who had this power and wealth, and who did not. “Monument building and elaborate, vaulted tomb chambers indicate the presence of social ranking and ruling elites. It is likely that ancestor worship was acquiring more weight as the rulers became ever more responsible for acting as intermediaries with the gods and ancestors for the benefit of their people” (Fash). One of the biggest archaeological insights into Maya lifestyles is art...
When the Spanish began to arrive in Mexico and in Central America in the early 15th century, one of the many civilizations they found was the Maya. The Maya, building upon the Olmec culture, were located in present-day Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, southern Mexico, and the Yucatan Peninsula. Even though they had many similarities, the Maya were separated by language differences. Because of that they were organized into city-states. Since there wasn’t a single city-state powerful enough to impose a political structure, the period from 200 A.D. to the arrival of the Spanish was characterized by the struggle of rival kingdoms for dominance.
Both the Spaniards and Aztecs reinvestigated their religions as a result of their encounter and conquest. Understanding the context of both the Spanish and Aztec cultures before their encounter and conquest is important to understanding the events of the conquest. This also sheds light on how both the Spanish and Aztecs learned about each other. They attempted to reflect frameworks from their own cultures onto the new one;
Carlsen, Robert. The War for the Heart & Soul of a Highland Maya Town. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1997.
North of the progressing Maya, in the area of modern day Tabasco, Mexico, the Olmec culture was advancing. The presence of these Olmecs would have a profound impact on Maya society and culture. The early Maya began trading and interacting with the more advanced Olmec over a prolonged period. This contact altered the Maya way of life in almost every aspect.
Mott, N. (2012) Why the Maya Fell: Climate Change, Conflict—And a Trip to the Beach? [online]
In the Central America, most notably the Yucatan Peninsula, are the Maya, a group of people whose polytheistic religion and advanced civilization once flourished (Houston, 43). The Maya reached their peak during the Classic Period from around CE 250 to the ninth century CE when the civilization fell and dispersed (Sharer, 1). Although much has been lost, the gods and goddesses and the religious practices of the Classic Maya give insight into their lives and reveal what was important to this society.
Thompson, john. The Rise and Fall of Maya Civilization. 2 edition . Univ of Oklahoma, 1973. 335. Print.
The musical traditions of Mayan possess a characterized hybrid nature from the traditions of pre and post encounter instrumentation, performance, practice, and beliefs. In the present day, it is possible to evaluate the Mayan music from a contemporary point to determine the characteristics affiliated with both European and indigenous. This paper aims at explaining the musical selections of Mayan music using scholarly literature to assert premise regarding the hybridization. In the light of the social context, it is possible to say that the Mayan music of nowadays has some references from both pre and post Encounter perspectives. Maya music is regarded as a function of the system that involves Maya beliefs symbols and other practices
... Dos Pilas, Tikal, Copán and Quirigua went to war with one another quite often: Dos Pilas was invaded and destroyed in 760 A.D. Did they war with one another enough to cause the collapse of their civilization?” (Minster). The famine theory was that as cities grew the population became larger and put a big strain on the food production. Climate change could’ve put down ancient Maya. They were extremely vulnerable to droughts, floods, or any change in the conditions that affected their food supply. This article strengths and weaknesses of the hypotheses are straightforward and basic common sense but don’t show enough science evidence. Experts in the field simply do not have enough solid information to state with clear-cut certainty how the Maya civilization ended. The downfall of the ancient Maya was likely caused by some combination of the factors above (Minster).
The Maya culture has a long history that started in about 1000 BC. The history of the Maya is divided up into four different time periods: The Middle Preclassic Period, Late Preclassic Period, Classic Period, and Postclassic Period. The Middle Preclassic Period was when the small areas started to become city-like in the way that they started to build larger temples. The Late Preclassic Period was when the cities began to expand with paved roads and massive pyramids. The Classic Period was the time the Maya civilization hit it’s peak. Populations were growing rapidly and the structure of politics was formed. The Postclassic Period was when warfare was on the rise and cities were being abandoned(Coe 2005). This paper will focus on the Classic Period due to the fact that that is the greatest time period in Maya history.