LOST KINGDOMS OF THE MAYA National Geographic

Lost Kingdoms of the Maya Personas importantes: John Lloyd Stephens

Frederick Catherwood

Bill Fash –Copán, Honduras

Arthur Demarest –Dos Pilas, El Salvador

Linda Schele –Palenque, México –Died in 1998

Ricardo Agurcia –Copán, Honduras

Arlen and Diane Chase –Caracol, Belize

David Stuart –Epigrapher Works at many sites interpreting heiroglyphs

Lost Kingdoms of the Maya: Sitios arqueológicos e importantes:

Lost Kingdoms of the Maya Sitios arqueológicos e importantes: Tikal

Lost Kingdoms of the Maya Sitios arqueológicos e importantes: Copán

Lost Kingdoms of the Maya Sitios arqueológicos e importantes: Caracol

Lost Kingdoms of the Maya Sitios arqueológicos e importantes: Palenque

Lost Kingdoms of the Maya Sitios arqueológicos e importantes: Dos Pilas

Preguntas: Q: While Paris was still a village, what were the Maya doing? A: Carving cities out of the jungle

Q: What did the gods make the Maya people from? A: Corn

Q: In 1839, WHO explored western Honduras and WHAT was he looking for? A:  John Lloyd Stephens  Copán

Q: What does GOK stand for? A: “God Only Knows” –Early archaeologists piled loose/fallen stones into piles w/o considering their origin… –Now trying to sort out which stones came from which buildings for restoration

Q: Where did the Maya elite bury their dead? A: Temples (inside tombs)

Q: Was there much gold in this area? A: No!!!

Q: What are Codices and how many remain? A:  Almanacs  (Parts of) 4 remain

Q: What information do the remaining codices contain? A:  Astrological / Astronomical information  Possibly other information as well, but the ones that remain contain the above information

Q: What is so special about the hieroglyphic stairway? A: Longest written text in the new world

Q: What happened to the stairway? A: Put back together out of order (by early archaeologists)

Q: Did American history begin with Columbus? A: No… it began in 200BC with the first Maya King who carved his name on a stone

Q: What happened in a ballcourt? A:  Keep ball in motion w/o hands/feet…  Metaphor for movement of the heavens…

Additional ballcourt game info Wanted to ensure regularity in the movement of the sun, stars, etc. Game had to be played correctly Winner automatically determined by ball through ring Mostly point-based scoring system (like boxing) The Sport of Life and Death: The Mesoamerican Ball Game (An Educational Website)

Q: What was the supreme source of nourishment for the gods? A: Blood

More on Maya Bloodletting Ceremonies Infused with Power? Bloodletting Implements of the Ancient Maya

Q: What is chul-el? A: spirit, soul, life-force, life-energy, energy of the universe

Q: After bloodletting, what could be seen in the rising smoke when the paper strips were burned? A: Their gods

Q: What do dreams tell Maya priests? A: When to plant, when to harvest, when to set the fires, when to do the corn ceremony

Q: What do the different styles of Maya clothing still represent? A:  Their villages / Where they are from  The dream world

Q: How far back do the weave designs go? A: Back to the beginning of time/to the beginning of their world

Q: How is the Maya Underworld (Xibalba) described? A:  “The place of freight”  Watery underworld full of disease and decay  Few people could escape

Q: The Maya elite are buried in royal tombs. Where are the ordinary people buried? A: Under their houses

Q: When building bigger temples, how did they do it? A:  Upper levels collapsed  New structure built over and encompassing the old one

Q: What is Rosalila and why is she so special? A:  Pyramid inside another pyramid  ‘She’ was not collapsed, but rather preserved

Q: What did the cache inside the doorway contain? A: 9 intricately carved blades

Q: Can anyone today reproduce the items from the cache? A: No!!!

Q: What happened in the spring of 562? A: Caracol attacked Tikal and defeated it

Q: Originally war was ritualized. What happened? A:  Warfare became real  “Arms race”  Attacking the populations becomes ‘acceptable’

Q: What was the defensive wall at Dos Pilas made from? A:  Cut stones from the palace walls  Palaces literally ripped apart

Q: What took place in the mid 8th century? A:  Disease & hunger common place  Beginning of the ‘Maya Dark Ages’

Q: What year was the king of Dos Pilas captured and killed? A: 761 AD *ends hieroglyphic inscriptions at the site

Q: What was the last written date at Palenque? A: 799 AD

Q: How soon after did Copán fall silent? A: 20 years later (799+20= 819 AD)

Q: What year did Caracol stop writing? A: 859 AD

Q: What year did Tikal stop writing? A: 879 AD

Reflection: Listen to what the archaeologists/ anthropologists say at the end of the film. Share your own final thoughts here.

Sophisticated culture destroyed and abandoned –Reminds us we can fail –Civilization is a complex phenomena –We can mess up –Results can be catastrophic

In Guatemala during the last 30 years –Civil war 100,000 killed 40,000 ‘disappeared’ –No one can count the numbers of widows/orphans

Maya didn’t disappear –Lost covering/overlay of nobility Dropped the overlay themselves –Still weave –Still farm

Maya didn’t collapse –Much of ancient way of life still continues –They evolved –Still with us –Still maintain customs and societal organization –Much of the ancient ways still around

The men that lived here are some of the greatest men that have lived The ancient Maya are getting their voices back –People like Yax-Pac, Bird-Jaguar, Pacal… No longer anonymous Who built this place, why…

Lots of reasons why the Maya ‘collapse’ occurred –Environmental damage –Disease –Loss of faith in rulers –Warfare