The Maya Ruins​—Lonely Sentinels From a Bygone Age

By Awake! correspondent in Guatemala

FROM the warm, semiarid plains of the Mexican Yucatán down to the luxuriant, evergreen rain forests of Guatemala and Belize and on through to the hot valleys of El Salvador and Honduras in Central America is found an irregular mosaic of partially restored Maya ruins. Like lonely sentinels, they betoken a bygone age of towering temples and imposing palaces skillfully designed and decorated. Once the wonder of their world and now a fascinating archaeological enigma, they are reminders of a splendor that has vanished forever.

What made the Maya civilization, dating back over 2,000 years, so outstanding? In spite of the total absence of wheeled vehicles, metal tools, beasts of burden, and the keystone arch, and with the problem of an ever-​encroaching jungle, the Maya succeeded in developing the greatest pre-​Columbiana Indian civilization ever discovered on the North American continent. “It saw the perfection of a writing system​—the only true writing system ever developed in the Americas—​and some notable advances in mathematics and astronomy,” noted Smithsonian magazine. “These people had thought up the useful concept of zero and they had a calendar that enabled them to make fairly precise computations of planetary and celestial cycles.”

The Classic Period

The Maya ever sought to quantify and record time, and their greatest achievements were in this field. During their Classic period, from 250 C.E. to 900 C.E., they successfully measured the tropical year and accurately predicted solar and lunar eclipses and the revolutions of Venus in relation to the sun.

Records were kept by Maya scholars and scribes on paper made from the wild fig tree’s inner bark that had been pounded and coated with lime. Their writing, a mixture of phonetic symbols that represented units of sound and ideographs that stood for words, is one of the five basic writing systems developed by man. The New Encyclopædia Britannica states that the Maya discovery of positional numeration and the zero could be considered “one of the most brilliant achievements of the human mind.” History notes only two other civilizations that developed the mathematical concept of the number zero, the Hindu and the Arabic.

Although these were amazing accomplishments, archaeologist Michael D. Coe, in his book The Maya, provides perspective: “But one should not exaggerate. Science in the modern sense was not present. In its place we find, as with the Mesopotamian civilizations, a combination of fairly accurate astronomical data with what can only be called numerology, developed by priests for religious purposes.”

With an estimated peak population of 3,000,000, the Maya, in some 40 cities of over 20,000 population each, built impressive pyramids and temples. Although they lacked wheeled vehicles, they transported huge quantities of stone for these structures and shaped the blocks by means of harder stone, abrasive twine, volcanic glass, and other natural materials. Unlike the rounded keystone arches of Roman architecture, their finely engineered buildings made use of the corbel arch​—formed by successive overlapping and projecting layers of masonry on both sides of an opening that were mated at the top by a capstone. Walls of buildings were elaborately decorated with sculpture and hieroglyphs. In addition, the Classic period was identified by the making of multicolored pottery and the erection of stelae, upright slabs, on which outstanding events were recorded.

Maya Stelae

Since time immemorial, man has striven to record his name and exploits for posterity on imperishable materials, such as clay and stone, as evidenced by the famous Nabonidus Chronicle of bygone Babylon and the Rosetta Stone of ancient Egypt. The Maya were no exception. At least a thousand stone shafts, or stelae, of various shapes and sizes, with an average height of from eight to ten feet [2.5-3 m], have been discovered. These stelae are now understood to be monuments honoring Maya rulers​—recording their regnal periods and history. The 86 stelae found at Tikal, Guatemala, give the impression of huge tombstones. Only 21 of them are sculptured, generally showing an ornately dressed figure facing left in shallow relief, wielding a scepter and trampling captives.

One of the mysteries that has plagued Mayanists has been the interpretation of Maya hieroglyphic writing known as glyphs. How much has been deciphered? “I think we can read about 75 percent of the glyphs on the monuments now,” says Maya scholar David Stuart. “And from this it seems that the Maya were mostly interested in recording the lineage of their rulers, when they took office, how many captives they took in war, and when they performed ritualized bloodletting ceremonies and sacrifices.”

Three significant breakthroughs, in rapid succession, aided in the deciphering. First, in 1958, epigraphist Heinrich Berlin proved that the monuments contained “Emblem Glyphs” that either identified the Maya cities where the monuments were found or the Maya dynasties that ruled them.

The second breakthrough occurred in 1959 when Mayanist Tatiana Proskouriakoff discovered a linkage for 35 dated monoliths in Piedras Negras​—purposefully erected in seven groupings—​and the fact that none of the seven groupings’ time span covered more than an average lifetime. Each group was shown to record real-​life events in a complete regnal period. Finally, it was proved that the hieroglyphs represented a writing system having phonetic symbols and grammatical structure.

Perhaps nowhere in the Maya area are there to be found such artistic stelae as in the beautiful Copán ruins of western Honduras. Within the perimeter of this elegant Maya center are many skillfully carved monoliths of greenish volcanic tuff called trachyte​—soft when quarried but gradually hardening when exposed to the elements. Superior to the limestone of Tikal, it lent itself to more sculptural freedom of expression, as evidenced by the three-​dimensional effect achieved.

To some, the finest glyphs in existence are those found in quaint Quiriguá​—a small, tranquil Maya center located some 30 miles [50 km] to the north of Copán in Guatemalan banana country, once rain forest. While the temple complex is unimpressive, the 12 sandstone stelae are another story. Stela “E,” weighing 65 tons, is the largest Maya monument; it is 35 feet [11 m] high, 5 feet [1.5 m] wide, and 4 feet 2 inches [1.3 m] thick.

Classic Tikal

Deep in the innermost recesses of the Petén jungle in northern Guatemala lies Tikal, the largest Classic Maya center discovered to date. The heart of this 50-​square-​mile [130 sq km] city covers about 6 square miles [16 sq km], in which are found over 3,000 structures varying from humble abodes to tall, zigguratlike temples. The tallest, Temple IV, the towering Temple of the Double-​Headed Serpent, is 212 feet [65 m] high. The core of Tikal is the two-​and-a-half-​acre [1 ha] Great Plaza, with Temple I, the Temple of the Giant Jaguar, on the east and Temple II, the Temple of the Masks, on the west side.

What was the purpose of these temples? While there is still uncertainty in this regard, Maya archaeologist Edwin M. Shookb told Awake!: “These were temples in the religious sense, and they were built for that purpose. Secondarily, they were used to honor an individual by putting his remains in such a revered place. For example, Westminster Abbey was not built to house tombs. But the British honor their great by putting them in Westminster Abbey. That’s exactly what you have in the whole Maya system. There are few exceptions.” It was Shook who discovered and named Tikal’s major causeways after former explorers​—Mendez, Maudslay, Maler, and Tozzer.

On the other two sides of the Great Plaza sit the North and Central Acropolises, believed to be palaces and administrative buildings. Close to the South Acropolis is the Triple Ball Court, which once resounded to the heavy thud of a rubber ball deflected by players dressed in protective clothing. Since Tikal is situated on a porous limestone base, through which precious rainwater easily filters, it was necessary for the Maya to construct several reservoirs, some of which were originally limestone quarries. These cisterns were lined with a special clay to prevent seepage. The South Acropolis, the East and West Plazas, the Plaza of the Seven Temples, the Central Market, the four major causeways that were used for religious processions, and the Lost World complex​—recently restored by Guatemalan archaeologists—​are the landmarks that make up the remainder of Tikal.

The Demise of the Classic Period

What brought the Classic period to its end? Theories are legion, but no one really knows. What is known is that the erection of dated stelae, palaces, and public buildings suddenly ceased. The last stela found in Tikal is dated 869 C.E. The populace abandoned the great Maya city-​centers and took up living in small, scattered, agricultural villages. The jungle, previously held at bay, now surged forward. Tree saplings took root in the nooks and crannies of the host buildings and became great trees. Their roots, now several feet in circumference, cracked corners, broke limestone blocks, weakened walls, and crushed corbel vaults. Forlorn and forgotten, Tikal and its sister sites were hidden from the outside world to lie dormant within the jungle’s choking embrace.

Would not Maya written records have shed some light? They might have had it not been for their 16th-​century Spanish conquerors. “Diego de Landa, first bishop of Yucatán, in an initial burst of Catholic zeal, intensified the mystery by trying to eradicate all traces of Maya culture,” noted Smithsonian. “He burned quantities of the codices, the native books on bark paper (only four of the Maya codices are known to survive today) that might have clarified matters and saved much later confusion.”

Hence, the Maya world’s mosaic of partially restored ruins in Central America is still an archaeological enigma of our world. Silently, these ruins continue to stand, lonely sentinels from a bygone age.

[Footnotes]

[Picture on page 15]

El Castillo, largest of seven Maya structures in Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico

[Picture on page 16]

Pyramid-temple (seventh century C.E.), the Great Plaza, Tikal, Guatemala

[Pictures on page 17]

Ancient ball game was played in this courtyard in Copán, Honduras

[Credit Line]

Instituto Hondureño de Antropologia e Historia

A Chac Mool, foreground, possibly used to receive human hearts; Temple of the Warriors, Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico