Among one of the fascinating civilizations of the earth is the Mayan civilization. The Mayan civilization consisted of people from Central American and Mexico who were generally known as the Mayan People.
Looking at the Mayan civilization timeline, the culture began at the 2600 BC and ended in the 19th century. We can see that the society of the Mayans got covered in controversy and mystery. But, their name came from the ancient city of Mayapan called the Yucatan.
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However, there are specific facts about the Mayan civilization and its people. Here are some of them.
1. Mysterious Mayan Civilization
The Mayan people and the Mayan civilization became the victim of catastrophic collapses, which were fatal in their history. There were large Mayan cities in the 10th and the 2nd century.
Why Mayan Civilization Collapsed?
In particular, Mayan historians were settling on three main factors that might have led to the collapse of the Maya: war between the city-states, overpopulation, and drought.
During the time, they were not able to identify the reason why they got left. However, these reasons alone are not responsible for marking the end of the Mayan civilization.
2. Incredible Beauty Standards of the Mayan Civilization
The Mayan Civilizations had some beauty standards set. Unlike other cultures, the beauty of the Mayan people did not come from their natural bodies.
They had set the rules according to their hard work in which they had to perform certain body modifications. Out of all the beauty practices, they flattened their forehead. Hence, this practice required a lot of hard effort.
3. Crossed Eyes with beauty
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As the Mayan people had different explanations for beauty, they also had a belief that anyone with the crosses-eye was a sign of favor from their god known as Kinich Ahau, who had a cross-eye.
So, they thought that cross-eye is a blessing that came from the god and was very valuable. This was not enough! The children of the Mayan spent hours playing with the objects that would cross their eyes forever.
4. Inked
According to the Mayan religion, the Mayan people loved to tattoo their bodies. Both men and women of this civilization loved to get attached. But, they waited for their marriage.
After their formal marriage ceremony, they get a tattoo in their arms, faces, backs, and legs, which is a part of the Mayan religion. However, the tattoo of the women looks smaller than men.
5. The need for sacrifices in the Mayan Civilization
The Mayan Religion had a ritual of human sacrifice. As per their religion, the people considered sacrifice as a vital part and an honor. So, they cut their ribs and would remove the beating heart.
Hence, the Mayan civilization is very tough to understand. The people from this civilization had a strong belief that the people who made sacrificed would get into heaven.
6. Planning of the Mayan Civilization
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As we all know, the Mayan civilization had awkward buildings. They would expand the cities both inward and outward in a haphazard way.
At times, they would build one building on top of the other existing buildings too. So, it was clear that the Mayan people had no proper planning on building their cities.
7. An open view of the World
Looking at the buildings of the Mayan civilization, we can see pyramids and palaces. But. As most of the buildings had ball courts to perform ceremonies, they would align the structure with the stars.
8. The importance of God
The Mayan people had blind faith in the god. They would give importance to the sun and the moon. Also, they had a view that the heavenly bodies had a direct impact and significance in their life. So, they would consider that these celestial bodies helped them to communicate with the god.
Apart from the gods of the Mayan people, know the modern-day gods.
9. Book Worms
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Mayans wrote books for the first time in history. The people that belonged to the Mayan civilization timeline had a great love for the writing and screen-folded their writing, just like the magazines of today. They used the bark of wild fig trees to make pages. In history, they have written over 10,000 books.
10. The Vigesimal Math System of the Mayan Civilization
Like the people of this civilization believed in astronomy, they had a firm belief in abstract math too. They have the base 2o system for mathematics, known as the vigesimal math system.
With the help of it, they would create architectural wonders. Also, it helped the Mayan people to make their great calendars and manage their economy.
