Ancient Mayan
One of the most enduring misconceptions regarding the Mayas over most of the twentieth century was that they were a peaceful, non-violent people who passively watched the sky. Now the Mayas are seen as people continuously defending their urban centers from conquerors and also raiding other groups for sacrifices to their gods. As discussed below, the Mayas were often involved in brutal ceremonies of torture, sacrifice and auto sacrifice to legitimate their connections with deities and ancestors.
The Maya area covers the lowlands of Mexico, the Yucatan peninsula and
areas
of Guatemala, Belize and El Salvador. What scholars refer to as the Maya
was actually not a single cultural group at all but a tremendously
diverse group of city states with different languages and ceremonial
complexes, which span a long
time period (300–1400 CE).
As with other civilizations, the urban cultures of
the Mayas resulted from the violent rendering of the world. This
resulted in the collapse of their cities well before the coming of
Europeans. The most accepted hypothesis for the Mayas’ collapse is that
their jungle environment could not support the continuing increase in
population pressure. Yet the Mayas remain as an exceptional
pre-Columbian
culture.
