HunterByrd

Mayan Culture

I suppose the above photo leaves no doubt where I've been, and (part of) what I was up to last week. An abbreviated visit to the great Chitchen Itza complex on the Yucatan peninsula did much to change life-long misconceptions about the dominant culture in Central America, circa 200-1300 AD (that's 'CE' to you academic, agnostic, time-papering liberals who've just gotta 'have it your way' types).

First, I learned that the Mayans were centered upon sacrifice, bloody sacrifice, in the pursuit of their Sun and Water god-oriented religious practices. In quite horrific ways, indeed. The only levels of society not subject to being offered up at one time or another were the highest levels of nobility and (of course) the priests who did the performing. Second, they were very war-like. I had erroneously believed these attributes belonged more to the later Aztecs...

Third, this grand society was an incredibly hard-working one. While their stone structures were not as formidible as their earlier Egyptian counterparts, the labor was no less intense. For instance, the grand complex above mentioned, just happens to sit on a man-made (stone/fill)plateau which is, on average, eight to nine feet above the jungle it is built upon! The central area is immense. Eyeballing it, I estimated it was a minimum of 100 acres. The pyramid (above) is estimated to have taken 12,000 people twenty years to build...

Of course, you know about Mayan mathematical and astronomical prowess...

For what it is worth, if you harbor a desire to climb the pyramid, as we did, you had better pack your bags and go there now. I was given the firm understanding that direct access to this, and other significant Mayan ruins and restorations will be closed to the public as early as next year.