We are talking about civilization in the wilds of the tropical forest. The ruins of a mysterious civilization that existed for more than a thousand years.

Ancient Mayans. They built majestic pyramids, luxurious palaces and spacious squares. In the jungle they were masters.

They effectively used energy sources and created amazing engineering structures and works of art for one and a half thousand years.

But suddenly An ancient civilization with a centuries-old history has disappeared: the bustling cities are deserted, and the jungle closes over them.

Mayan code

Tikal was one of the few cities that gained strength in the Preclassic period, and successfully existed until the end of the Classic period. The history of this city was uninterrupted.

But in the 6th century, Tikal had a rival: the star of a city called.

The Mayans had two cities with strong rulers: Calakmul and Tikal. Between them there were conflicts. As a rule, their initiator was Calakmul: he constantly entered into alliances with Tikal's neighbors against a common enemy.

Ikin-Chan-Kawil and the Temple of the Great Jaguar

Calakmul became a powerful state thanks to its decisive and far-sighted ruler. His name was Ikin-Chan-Kawil.

He built one of the most famous Mayan structures, this pyramid has survived centuries: .

Construction required enormous effort. The pyramid was not only a temple, but also symbol of the power and authority of the ruler: it was assumed that, having become convinced of the power of the ruler, people would go over to his side.

Building in the rainforest is still difficult today, but they built the pyramids with Stone Age tools. Most of the technologies that we use in the construction of large structures were unknown to the Mayans: they there were no draft animals, there were no metal tools.

The Mayans had only virtually inexhaustible supplies of limestone and labor. Every subject of the state was obliged to work annually for the ruler certain time.

From the quarries to the construction site the stone had to be dragged or carry it on your back. For this they had baskets with a strap, or, as it is also called - headband. In this way it was possible to carry tens of kilograms of stones.

Step by step the pyramid grew higher. Wooden “scaffolding” was erected and rearranged as needed. The blocks were hewn with stone chisels and wooden mallets.

The inner surface of the walls was left untreated, but the outside was polished: they were coated with a solution - the so-called "Mayan plaster", and painted red.

They knew about the wheel, about metal, but in practice they did not use either one or the other. Apparently, they believed that the more labor expended, the greater the value of the structure.

The façade of the Temple of the Great Jaguar faces west, towards the setting sun. The temple on the main square of Tikal was a symbol of the power of the ruler who paid the debt of the people to the gods.

Ikin-Chan-Kawil built it in honor of the victory over the main rival, Calakmulem, in 736. Then in 743-744 he defeated Calakmul's allies who threatened Tikal to the west and east. The noose that was squeezing Tikal’s “throat” was torn.

In honor of this victory, he rebuilds and expands the palace and erects new pyramids. Tikal in its current form is mainly the fruits of that victory.

Most likely, it was he who started construction Tikal's tallest structure – Temple IV. A pyramid with a volume of 200 thousand cubic meters of stone and a height of 65 meters with a 22-story building. From its top, overlooking the rainforest, there was a magnificent view of the city.

In other Mayan cities, tall structures were also built, but during the reign of Ikin-Chan-Kawil Tikal was the most powerful city Mayan civilization. But not the only one.

Mysterious ruler

400 kilometers to the west, another dynasty was building its acropolis. In the 7th century, an extraordinary ruler appeared there. He turned one of the wettest cities in the world into a “Mecca” of New World architecture.

He enters the sanctuary, looks around and sees in the floor holes with stone plugs. He suggests that ropes were threaded through these holes to lift a massive slab like the current drop doors. He moves the slab and walks down the stairs, which are clogged with dirt and rubble.

No one has ever seen such Mayan pyramids before, and he begins to dig. He walks along the wet steps, reaches the landing and sees that the stairs turn. He continues to dig and finds secret doors and false passages- a clear sign that the construction plan was carefully thought out.

Finally, after 3 long years, he reaches the base of the 25-meter staircase. In front of it is a small passage and a stone sarcophagus with 6 skeletons - the remains of those who were sacrificed so that they would guard the one who built this temple. But he doesn’t know the name of this person yet.

And finally, he sees a door in front of him - a huge triangular stone. Together with his assistants, he opens the door and goes inside.

There is crypt measuring 9 meters in length and 7 in height. And in it - massive sarcophagus made of a single piece of limestone with a carved lid depicting the ruler.

Its edge is painted with cinnabar - a red paint and smeared with poison against possible robbers. If the Egyptians had used this method, perhaps more ancient treasures would have reached us.

Here we see shield image, the same shield is depicted in the sanctuary. In the language of the ancient Mayans, the shield sounds like “pacal”. Alberto Ruz opened the tomb of the outstanding Mayan ruler - Pakala Great.

Pacal the Great

The discovery of the Temple of the Inscriptions changed our understanding of the Mayan pyramids: they were not just tombs.

In addition to the stairs, the builders led to the tomb well in the form thin wall pipe. Through this pipe, any word spoken at the top of the pyramid could be heard in the crypt. Thus, it was possible to directly communicate with Pakal, who was lying in the tomb.

The 20-ton sarcophagus was supposed to survive eternity. To put the body inside, you had to move the lid to the side. After Pakal's death, the lid was put in place, the entrance was walled up and the stairs were filled up.

The stone cutters depicted on the lid a symbolic picture of Pakal's rebirth in the afterlife. And also a kind of table in which 640 hieroglyphs were placed with a narration of the history of Pakal's reign.

In most Mayan pyramids there are practically no texts; with the Temple of the Inscriptions the situation is the opposite: literally every stone, both outside and inside, reminds us that here is the resting place of the founder of one of the greatest Mayan dynasties.

In 683 in the 68th year of his reign at the age of 80 the great Mayan ruler Pacal died. The body was painted with cinnabar and strewn with jewelry. The faces were covered with a jade mask.

Kan Balam

Pacal was a great ruler, but his son waited patiently for his turn - almost 50 years.

We had to do something great. The laws of physics and Mother Nature came to the rescue.

684 The great ruler Pacal turned Palenque into a city such as the Mayan culture had never known. After 68 years in power, he was buried in a tomb rivaling those of the Egyptian pharaohs. It was up to his son to continue the work started by his father. His name was Kan Balam.

Pacal founded the dynasty, but strengthened the state and thereby created the conditions for its continuation by his son.

48-year-old ruler began construction of three temples at once. This complex immortalized his name.

He built "Group of the Cross"- one of the most complex and elegant temple complexes in Mayan history. His creation towered over his father's palace. It is believed that this complex reflects the character of its creator: he wanted to leave a memory of himself, just as his father wanted.

He ordered the construction of three structures: Temple of the Cross, Temple of the Foliated Cross and Temple of the Sun.

Mayan number system

In this era, architecture reached a qualitatively new level. Mayan number system allowed for complex calculations not available to other cultures.

The Mayans were ahead of the rest of humanity, by entering a symbol to represent zero. A set of three symbols: shells for zero, dots for ones, and lines for fives in various combinations allowed operations with huge numbers.

The Greeks and Romans were great engineers, but their mathematical system was limited because it did not have a zero. Oddly enough, the great builders and philosophers, compared to the Mayans, were worthless mathematicians.

It is possible that the architects of Kan-Balan were able to extract square root and knew about the golden ratio, the proportions inherent in inanimate nature, animals and even humans are 1 to 1.618.

The ratio of the distance from the crown to the navel and from the navel to the soles corresponds almost exactly.

Scientists find this proportion in structures erected thousands of years ago: in Egyptian pyramids, in Greek. I studied it: there is an opinion that the golden proportion is present in the features.

It is possible that with the help of sticks and rope alone, the engineers of Kan-Balam were able to extract. In the Temple of the Cross, the pylons at the entrance, the gates themselves, and the walls of the interior are close to this proportion. The dimensions of the side walls and facades when viewed from above are related as 1 to 1.618.

The alternation of squares and rectangles creates an amazing geometric picture on the floor of the Temple of the Cross, full of mythological and historical symbolism.

Water supply Palenque

But not all buildings in Palenque were built with the afterlife in mind; the architects also thought about more practical things.

Between 800 and 1050, Chichen Itza becomes a large and powerful city. People flocked here from all over the country, and he took advantage of them.

Karakol – astronomical observatory

In the city, among other buildings, it stands out Karakol, astronomical observatory. Time and stars The Mayans were extremely interested; they looked in the sky for answers to their questions.

Most likely the Mayans used such a device as visor. Observing the passage of stars through the crosshairs of the viewfinder, they drew certain conclusions.

Despite their primitive tools, the Mayans accurately calculated the movements of the stars and planets and the passage of time.

Karakol does not fit into the general layout of the city, but a deviation of 27.5 degrees to the northwest corresponds northernmost position of Venus in the sky.

The building is focused on celestial bodies and phenomena, namely: movement of Venus and equinox.

. The narrow slits appear to be arranged in a random manner, but they precisely correspond to astronomical events.

Judging by the fact that the proportions and orientation of Karakol do not fit into the overall layout, we can judge roles of Venus in Mayan ideas.

Venus behaves differently from other celestial bodies; it moves across the sky in one direction and then in another. Apparently, Caracol indicated the days when Venus changes direction.

Knowing the patterns of movement of celestial bodies, Maya created two interconnected calendars: ritual and solar These were the most accurate calendars of the ancient world.

The Mayan solar year consisted of 365 days. In addition, they determined the periods of revolution of Venus and lunar eclipses with no less accuracy.

New era of Mayan flourishing

It took the Mayans only 200 years to revive the civilization that had fallen into decline in the south. But, as it turned out, in the north he was waiting for them no less terrible enemy: He destroyed the Mayan culture, leaving the cities untouched.

In the 9th century AD For some unknown reason, the cities of the classical Mayan period become empty, and new era of prosperity.

With the revival of culture in the north, the Mayans were able to put their knowledge of astronomy into practice as never before. The Maya's reverence for celestial mechanics left its mark on the architecture of Chichen Itza.

The main structure of Chichen Itza was, or “Castle”, built in the 9th-10th centuries AD.

365 steps, according to the number of days of the year in the Mayan civil calendar. The 52 slabs symbolize the 52-year cycle, and the 9 steps symbolize the 18-month cycle of the solar calendar.

The temple is oriented so that twice a year the shadow of the Sun falls in a certain way. When looking at the balustrade and the northwest corner of El Castillo at sunset one could see amazing game of shadows. The illuminated triangles of the pyramid's ledges ended at the foot with the stone head of a snake. A “snake” descended from heaven to earth, and this meant the onset of the rainy season.

The Mayans saw this as a manifestation of the will of the god, the "Feathered Serpent".

The Mayans knew how to determine the days when the length of day and night is the same. Every year on March 21, the descent of Kukulkan could be observed.

The layout of the city around El Castillo has acquired a new quality - space: temples, market, ball court, colonnades.

Most likely, the sides with colonnades served not only ritual purposes. Perhaps they were either specially invited here, or anyone could come here to watch processions of ambassadors and merchants from other cities arrive in the city.

These columns are similar to the Greek and Roman ones, but for the Mayans they were a completely new type of building structure, they allowed the roof to be flat. There is no need for stepped masonry, which did not give 100 percent confidence that the vault would not collapse.

The design of the columns is simple: cylindrical drums They were placed one on top of the other on a layer of gravel. A square slab was placed on top, and the roof was made of wood and covered with lime mortar.

Now what was happening inside the temples was accessible to more people than in the era of the classical Mayan pyramids. Only a select few climbed those pyramids, the temples were placed on top, and from below it was not visible what was happening in them, but buildings with columns were more accessible.

Death of the Mayan civilization

However, this did not last long, the heyday of Chichen Itza lasted 200 years, and then it suffered the fate of its southern neighbors: it mysteriously depopulated.

When the Spaniards landed in Yucatan in 1517, all Mayan cities were abandoned and abandoned. The heirs of the collapsed civilization lived in scattered settlements, but courageously resisted .

It turned out to be difficult to conquer them: instead of taking the ruler prisoner, they had to capture villages one by one. When leaving, they left behind potential hotbeds of rebellion.

The Mayan warriors killed the conquistadors by the thousands, but their weapons were powerless against another enemy: illnesses. Over 100 years, 90% of the population of the New World died. The survivors faced persecution.

Came from Spain to convert the Mayans to Christianity, and in his zeal knew no mercy.

Landa was an idealist. He arrived in the New World to save souls and convert the natives to the true faith. But the Mayans were by no means going to give up their beliefs.

12 July 1562 Landa burned all the Mayan manuscripts, believing them to be devilish writings. The knowledge accumulated by the Mayans over a thousand years was destroyed; for history it was great tragedy.

By good fortune, four codexes escaped destruction in the flames and are not lost over time. In the 19th century, some of these manuscripts were rescued from the hands of the monks, and over time they became known to the general public.

Mayan archeology is just beginning

The ancient Mayans tried to find answers to questions by looking from the earth to the sky, and now we are looking for answers by looking from the sky to the earth.

Recently NASA and with the help of modern technology they tried to find new, unknown Mayan cities. Hills covered with forest may well be the ruins of ancient cities abandoned hundreds of years ago. Perhaps the answer to the Mayan mysteries lies beneath our feet.

Mayan archeology is just beginning: an incredible number of cities, temples and other structures have not yet been explored. The “golden” age of Mayan archeology lies ahead: by the end of the century it will be one of the most studied civilizations of the Ancient World.

The Mayans were smart, inventive, but also prone to violence. Why is this highly developed and at the same time mysterious civilization so attractive to scientists generation after generation? The architecture of majestic palaces and temples? Intricate hieroglyphs? Or amazing knowledge of astronomy and mathematics with the concept of zero, unprecedented in antiquity? Or a people who managed to build not a village, not a small town, but magnificent cities in one of the most inhospitable corners of the planet?

Hidden until now in the tropical rainforests between and Yucatan hundreds of unknown Mayan cities. In Palenque alone, one and a half thousand structures have not yet been excavated. If you imagine what archaeological treasures await scientists in cities like Tikal and Palenque, it becomes clear that the jungle still holds many secrets of the mysterious Mayan civilization.

When the Spanish conquistadors sailed to Central America in 1517, their goal was to destroy the Mayan civilization. But upon arrival, the colonizers discovered that much of their work had already been done before them. The imposing limestone cities - a classic feature of one of the most advanced societies of antiquity - have already been overgrown by jungle.

How the Mayans met their end remains one of history's most enduring mysteries. The Mayan people survived; they even managed to organize long-term resistance to European aggressors. But by the time the Spanish landed, the political and economic power that had built the famous pyramids there and supported a population of two million had already disappeared.

The Mayans laid their first foundations in the first millennium BC, and the civilization reached its peak around 600 AD. e. In the chronology of Mesoamerica, the Mayans are located between the early Olmecs and the late Aztecs. Archaeologists have found thousands of ancient Mayan cities, most of which are scattered throughout the southern Mexican Yucatan Peninsula, Belize and Guatemala.

There are likely more Mayan ruins beneath the thick layer of rainforest.

After about 200 years of serious archaeological research, we have learned enough about the Mayan civilization to admire it. Their distinctive art and architecture showed that they were a people of excellent craftsmen.

The Mayans were also intellectually advanced. They had a good understanding of mathematics and astronomy, and used them to align pyramids and temples in accordance with the precession of the planets and the solar equinoxes. And they used the only known writing system in Mesoamerica, a bizarre-looking set of characters, Mayan hieroglyphs.

The miracles left by the Mayans provided them with a mystical aura. But how civilization perished is real mysticism, in every detail. And it seems we understand why the Mayans came to an end.

Let's start with what we know. Somewhere in 850 AD. BC, after centuries of prosperity and dominance, the Mayans began to abandon their magnificent cities, one by one. In less than 200 years, the greatness of civilization has reached only a fraction of its former glory. Isolated settlements remained, but the Mayan heyday was gone forever.

Beyond the tragic scale of the Mayan decline, despite decades of research, archaeologists still don't know what caused it. As in the case of the Roman Empire, there was clearly more than one culprit for the fall of civilization. But the pace of the Maya's death has led some scientists to conclude that the cause was a major catastrophe, capable of destroying cities one by one in its path.

There are many theories about what brought about the end of the Mayans. Among them are the old and well-known ones - invasion, civil war, loss of trade routes. But since climate records in Central America were collated in the early 1990s, one theory has become particularly popular: the Mayan civilization was doomed by severe climate change.

In the centuries immediately before the collapse of the Maya - the so-called "classic era" from 250 to 800 AD. e. - civilization was buzzing. The cities prospered, the harvest was rich. Climate records (which come primarily from analysis of cave formations) indicate that relatively heavy rainfall occurred throughout the Mayan area during this period. But the same records show that around 820 AD. e. The region was hit by 95 years of intermittent droughts, some of which lasted for many decades.

Since these droughts were first identified, scientists have noticed a striking correlation between their timing and the Mayan collapse. And while correlation alone is not enough to close the question, the close connection between droughts and the fall has led experts to believe that a 9th-century climate shift may have somehow caused the Mayan decline.

However, no matter how attractive the drought explanation may be, it is not enough. Because not all Mayan cities fell along with the drying up of the climate.

The Mayan cities that fell during the droughts of the 9th century were mostly located in the southern part of their territory, in what is now Guatemala and Belize. In the Yucatan Peninsula to the north, however, the Mayan civilization not only survived these droughts, but flourished. This northern resurgence throws a spanner in the works for the drought theory: if the south was paralyzed by climate change, what happened to the north?

Various explanations have been proposed for this north-south discrepancy, but so far no theory has prevailed. However, a recent discovery may shed light on this enduring paradox.

Mayan archaeologists have difficulty extracting data. Virtually no written records of the Maya, of which there were once thousands, survived colonial times (on orders of Catholic priests, the Spaniards burned piles of Mayan books - of which only four are known). Instead, scientists rely on calendar records on stone monuments, stylistic analysis of Mayan pottery, and radiocarbon dating of organic materials to determine when the ancient Maya flourished.

Previous studies have already determined the approximate age of the main urban centers in the northern Maya civilization; it turned out that the north survived the droughts of the 9th century. However, until recently, this data sample had never been collected in a single study. And it is important to do this, because you can look at the northern Maya as a whole and, based on this, determine the general trends of ups and downs.

In a study published in December, archaeologists from the US and UK brought together for the first time all the calculated ages of urban centers in the northern Maya lands. 200 dates were collected from sites throughout the Yucatan Peninsula, half obtained from stone calendar records and half from radiocarbon dating. Then scientists were able to create a broad picture of the times when the northern Mayan cities were active, as well as the times when each of them could have sunk into oblivion.

What scientists have found significantly changes our understanding of when and perhaps why the Mayan civilization came to an end. Contrary to previous belief, the north declined during droughts - in fact, it suffered two of them.

Stone records showed that in the second half of the 9th century there was a 70% decline in the activity of Mayan cities. This rate of decline is echoed in radiocarbon dating across the northern Maya region: wood construction declined during the same period. What is important is that at the same time, drought was destroying the Mayan civilization in the south - and for the north this did not go unnoticed.

Scientists believe that the decline in creative activity indicates the political and social collapse that was taking place in the north. The north certainly fared better than the south in the 9th century, but recent evidence suggests that the region still experienced significant decline. Previously, it was undetectable due to the subtle nature of the event: declines in production, even large ones, are difficult to detect without the comprehensive, region-wide analysis carried out by the new study.

The decline of the north in the 9th century is an interesting detail in Mayan history, but there is nothing fundamental about it - after all, we already knew that the northern Mayans survived the droughts of the 9th century (Chichen Itza and other centers flourished in the 10th century).

Yet scientists have identified a second decline that has changed our understanding of Mayan history. After a brief recovery during the 10th century (which, remarkably, coincided with an increase in rainfall), scientists noticed another sharp decline in production at numerous sites in the northern Maya territory: stone carving and other construction activity fell by almost half from 1000 to 1075 BC. n. e. Moreover, as during the crisis 200 years ago, scientists have discovered that the decline of the 11th century Maya took place against the backdrop of severe drought.

And not just any drought. The droughts of the 9th century were certainly severe. But the 11th century brought the region's worst drought in 2,000 years - a "megadrought".

After a short recovery, there was a decline in production in the north - amid drought. Climate data shows that rainfall decreased for most of the century, from 1020 to 1100, just at the same time as the collapse of the northern Maya. One correlation by itself means little. But two made even skeptics believe in this causality.

The 11th century megadrought had previously been cited as the cause of the fall of the northern Maya, but older dating methods were unable to clearly determine whether the two events overlapped. A detailed analysis published in December allowed us to say with some confidence that climate change was responsible for not one, but two periods of Mayan decline.

The first wave of droughts put an end to the Mayans in the south, and the second, apparently, doomed them in the north.

After the second wave of droughts, the Mayans never recovered. Chichen Itza and most of the important centers in the north never flourished again. There are a few outliers - like the northern city of Mayapan, which flourished in the 13th to 15th centuries - but they do not compare in size or complexity to the Classic Maya cities. In many ways, the 11th century was the last gasp of the Mayans.

Climate change appears to have played a major role in the fall of the Mayans. But why?

Most archaeologists' explanations for the collapse involve agriculture. The Mayans, like all major civilizations, relied heavily on crops for their economic success - and, of course, to maintain their enormous workforce. The simplest explanation for the decline of the Maya would be the annual decline in harvests caused by droughts, which gradually reduced the political influence of the Maya and ultimately led to complete social disintegration.

But even proponents of the drought hypothesis admit that the picture needs to be much more detailed.

"We know that there was increasing military and sociopolitical instability in Maya territory due to the droughts of the 9th century," says Julie Hoggart of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, who contributed to the December climate analysis.

Intercity conflict is also a good way to destroy civilization; perhaps the Mayans simply killed each other. Perhaps all this took place against the backdrop of severe droughts. As food supplies dwindled during the dry decades, the struggle for resources became increasingly intense, eventually leading to a tipping point where the ancient Mayan civilization was irreparably fragmented.

There is also at least one explanation that does not require any military action. Perhaps it was not the warriors who doomed the Mayans, but their talents. Because the Mayans were excellent artisans and environmental sculptors.

To grow enough food to feed their millions, the Mayans dug a huge system of canals, sometimes hundreds of kilometers wide, that allowed them to drain and raise the swampy, barren lands that abounded in Mayan territory, turning them into arable land. Some archaeologists called them "floating gardens." The Mayans also cleared huge tracts of forest for both agriculture and their cities.

Some scientists believe that proper management of the environment could have caused the further collapse of the Maya, for example, due to the deterioration of the natural climate. Some scientists believe that deforestation for land clearing and agriculture may have led to localized drought effects that were exacerbated during widespread drought.

An indirect consequence of their agricultural misfortune may be that they have allowed their populations to become too large, with large populations vulnerable to continued declines in food supplies.

Whatever the reason - or reasons - for the fall of the Mayans, we know something about the fate of the people who were left with the consequences of it all. Since 1050 AD e. The Mayans took to the road. They left the interior lands where their ancestors flourished and headed towards the Caribbean coast or other water sources, lakes and rivers.

The Mayan exodus may have been motivated by famine. If crops did die after the droughts of the 9th and 11th centuries, moving to water-rich areas would make sense, as it would provide access to sea food and fertile land near the sea. Whatever the reason, the Mayans wandered towards moisture.

But, again, this has always been the case. One of the responsibilities of the Mayan rulers was to communicate with the gods, who ensured a wet year and good harvests. In sites across the Mayan world, archaeologists have recovered human bones from the bottom of lakes and sinkholes - believed to be doors to the afterlife: eloquent evidence that humans were sacrificed to appease the gods. When the rains were good and civilization flourished, it was clear that the Mayan prayers had been answered.

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Following the rediscovery of Mayan rainforest cities, researchers and archaeologists began to debate the cause of their decline. It is not surprising that, given the current state of these once great cities, many Europeans and Americans initially strongly rejected the very idea of ​​​​a civilization thriving in the wilds of the tropical rain forest. They concluded that the decline of the Mayan cities was inevitable in such unfavorable natural conditions and that civilization could never have arisen there on its own. From their point of view, the Mayans were colonists from other places - from Mexico to Egypt or China. Nowadays, archaeologists are not inclined to perceive the rain forest as an environment hostile to human habitation, and do not at all object to the local origin of the Maya Indians.

Another explanation popular in early writings about the collapse of the Mayan civilization was a sudden natural disaster. The silent cities, swallowed up by the rainforest, really gave the impression that they had been abandoned in a hurry: people fled the disaster and never returned. Several Mayan cities, including Quirigua, were actually subject to earthquakes, and in Xunantunija one of the palaces that suffered significant damage from the earthquake was never rebuilt. However, most major Maya centers (located quite far from fault lines in the Earth's crust) show no evidence of earthquake damage.

Epidemic diseases, such as the bubonic plague in medieval Europe, led to mass death and great social unrest. Yellow fever has been suggested as one of the reasons for the Maya's withdrawal from the cities on the low plains, although the disease does not appear to have been very common in the New World before 1492. Such an explanation is possible in principle, but we have no physical evidence to support the theory of an epidemic disease: neither numerous skeletons of dead people, nor mass graves of epidemic victims.

Caribbean hurricanes often swept over the Mayan lowlands, devastating large areas of agricultural land. The themes of hurricanes and disease are intertwined in the hypothesis that a devastating maize virus reached the coastal lowlands, carried from the eastern Caribbean by hurricane-force winds, and destroyed the maize crops on which the Mayans depended for their prosperity. As a leading authority on Mayan history, Professor Robert Scherer of the University of Pennsylvania, points out:

“The idea that the transient and relatively localized effects of hurricanes can cause the decline of an entire civilization is quite difficult to stomach. Deforestation in the path of a hurricane may even have had a beneficial effect, as it cleared new land for agricultural exploitation.”

Another version of the disaster is contained in the hypothesis of an invasion of a more warlike people from Mexico, which caused the fall of the Mayans. Professors Jeremy Sabloff and Gordon Willey of Harvard University have suggested that invaders, better armed and organized, came from the Gulf Coast and swept through the Mayan lands like locusts. The cities of Ceibal and Altar de Sacrificio reveal dramatic changes in the forms of household ceramics, architecture and sculpture; this allowed researchers to claim that the cities were captured by strangers who established their own customs and orders there. The foreign presence in Ceibal is clearly indicated by the appearance of the gods of the Mexican pantheon and the image of an apparent foreigner with a pageboy haircut and a trimmed mustache, with the inscription "Ah Bolon Tun" on a sculpture dating from 849.

However, most archaeologists agree that the prime candidates for the role of invaders are the Putun Mayans, a race of warriors and traders who experienced strong Mexican influence and controlled coastal trade routes. What benefit did the greatest traders of ancient Central America want to gain from the destruction of their main clients? Perhaps the invaders were a symptom rather than the cause of the problem; the Putun Maya simply retreated inland to protect their trade routes as the Mayan civilization of the southern plains collapsed around them.

According to some researchers, the cause of the fall of the Mayan civilization was a conflict of a more peaceful nature. They argue that lowland residents depended on trade relations with Mexico to support ambitious building programs carried out by city rulers. Everything was fine while trade routes passed through Tikal, but in the 9th century. n. e. a shorter sea route around the Yucatan Peninsula was opened. Having lost their main source of wealth, the Mayan rulers became impoverished, and their cities soon fell into decay.

The history of the Mayan civilization is full of mysteries. One of them is the reason for the sudden disappearance of this ancient people, who had reached an amazingly high level of cultural development.

Origin and habitat

The Maya, one of the civilizations of Mesoamerica, began to form around 2000 BC. e. It developed in the Mexican states of Yucatan and Tabasco, the countries of Guatemala and Belize, Honduras and El Salvador. The area where these ancient tribes lived is divided into three climatic zones: rocky and arid mountainous territory, tropical jungle and areas with rich fauna.

There are several theories about the origin of the people, as well as where the Mayans disappeared to. There is a version that they came from Asia, and even a fantastic assumption that they are the descendants of the inhabitants of the mythical Atlantis. Another theory claims that they came from Palestine. As evidence, they cite the fact that many elements are similar to Christian ones (the idea of ​​the coming of the Messiah, the symbol of the cross). In addition, the people are very similar to the Egyptian ones, and this suggests that they are somehow connected with Ancient Egypt.

Mayan Indians: the history of a great civilization

Researchers are lucky - many sources have been preserved from which they can draw a picture of the life of this ancient people. Its history is divided into several large periods.

In the pre-classical era, the Indians were small tribes that obtained food by hunting and gathering. Around 1000 BC e. Many small settlements of farmers appear. El Mirador is one of the first Mayan cities, now famous for its huge pyramidal complex 72 meters high. It was the largest metropolis of the pre-classical period.

The next era (400 BC - 250 AD) is characterized by great changes in the life of the Indians. Cities are growing rapidly and monumental architectural complexes are being built.

250-600 n. e. - the time of the classical era of the development of the people of Mesoamerica. During this period, rival city-states emerged. Their architecture was represented by magnificent architectural structures. Typically, buildings were located around a rectangular central square and were decorated with masks of gods and mythological figures carved in stone. The history of the Mayan tribe says that a feature of their settlements was the presence of pyramids up to 15 meters high in the center of the cities.

By the end of the Classic period, the population of the lowlands of Guatemala had reached an impressive 3 million people.

The late classical period is the time of the highest flowering of the culture of the ancient people of Mesoamerica. Then the great cities were founded - Uxmal, Chichen Itza and Coba. The population of each of them ranged from 10 to 25 thousand people. The history of the Mayan tribe cannot but surprise - at the same time, there were no such large settlements in medieval Europe.

Mayan occupations and crafts

The main occupations of the Indians were agriculture (slash-and-burn and irrigation), beekeeping and crafts. They grew maize (the main crop), beans, tomatoes, pumpkins, various types of peppers, tobacco, cotton, sweet potatoes and a variety of seasonings. An important crop was cocoa.

The Mayans were also involved in fruit cultivation. Now it is difficult to say which of the fruit trees were cultivated. Residents used papaya, avocado, ramon, chicosapote, nance, and marañon for food.

Despite their high level of development, the Mayans never stopped collecting. Palm leaves were used as roofing material and raw material for weaving baskets, the collected resin was used as incense, and coroso was used to make flour.

Hunting and fishing were also among the main activities of the Indians.

From archaeological research it is clear that skilled artisans lived in Yucatan and Guatemala: gunsmiths, weavers, jewelers, sculptors and architects.

Architecture

The Mayans are known for their majestic buildings: pyramidal complexes and palaces of rulers. In addition, they created beautiful sculptures and bas-reliefs, the main motifs of which were anthropomorphic deities.

Sacrifices

Among the buildings that have survived to this day, the main part is occupied by buildings of a religious nature. This fact and other sources allow us to conclude that religion occupied a central place in Mayan life. They are known for their bloodletting rituals and human sacrifices offered to the gods. The most cruel of the rituals was burying the victim alive, as well as ripping open the stomach and tearing out the heart from the body of a still living person. Not only prisoners, but also fellow tribesmen were sacrificed.

The mystery of the disappearance of the people

The question of where the Mayans disappeared continues to interest many researchers. It is known that by the 9th century the southern territories of the Indians began to empty out. For some reason, residents began to leave the cities. This process soon spread to central Yucatan. Where did the Mayans go and for what reason did they leave their homes? There is no answer to this question yet. There are hypotheses that try to explain the sudden disappearance of one of the peoples of Mesoamerica. Researchers name the following reasons: enemy invasions, bloody uprisings, epidemics and environmental disaster. Perhaps the Mayans upset the balance between nature and man. The rapidly growing population has completely exhausted natural resources and began to experience serious problems with a lack of fertile soil and drinking water.

The latest hypothesis about the decline of the Mayan civilization suggests that this was due to severe drought, which led to the devastation of the cities.

None of these theories has received serious confirmation, and the question of where the Mayans disappeared is still open.

Modern Maya

The ancient people of Mesoamerica did not disappear without a trace. It was preserved in its descendants - the modern Mayans. They continue to live in the homeland of their famous ancestors - in Guatemala and Mexico, preserving the language, customs and way of life.

Many geographical discoveries of Europeans culminated in the colonization of new lands and the brutal suppression or even extermination of local peoples. This was the case with the discovery of the Yucatan Peninsula and the Mayan culture.

In fact, historians are primarily interested in the fate of civilizations. At the same time, very few of them pay attention to the natural causes that led to the degradation and death of this or that civilization. It is usually believed that the main culprits are neighboring states or warlike conquering tribes, as well as newcomers from Europe.

However, it was not so easy to explain the collapse of the Mayan culture by such reasons. It turned out that in this case it is necessary to take into account geographical factors and conduct paleogeographic studies. They, in turn, shed light on the complex set of reasons that affect any society, because it is in indissoluble unity with the natural environment.

But first we need to go back to the 16th century. After the unsuccessful expedition of Francisco Cordoba, a new campaign was organized under the command of Juan Grijalva - on four ships with 240 soldiers. The chief helmsman was Alaminos, and one of the participants was Bernal Diaz. This time they landed first on a coastal island, and then on the mainland - on the northeastern outskirts of Yucatan, west of Cordoba.

After armed clashes with the Indians, Grijalva managed to establish trade with them, receiving food and a small amount of low-grade gold products. Local residents pointed to the west, making it clear that there was a lot of gold there, and repeating the word “Mexico City”. But even without that there was a lot of gold, because the Emperor of Mexico, the Aztec leader Montezuma, ordered not to interfere with the advance of the newcomers and to exchange the yellow metal, which they loved so much, for their goods.

And this time the Spaniards had a chance to see altars covered in human blood, terrible idols. They saw the bodies of victims with severed arms and legs, open chests. Diaz saw one of the bloody rituals: “That day they sacrificed two boys, cut their chests and put their bloody hearts as a gift to their dirty god. They wanted to fumigate us, but we didn’t give in. We were very shocked by the sight of those so cruelly slaughtered boys."

This time the expedition examined the coast of Yucatan for about 1000 km, finally making sure that it was a peninsula. The brought cargo of gold inflamed the passions of the conquistadors, who learned about the existence of a rich country on the continent. This marked the beginning of the discovery, conquest and destruction of the Aztec and Mayan empires. (However, Spain and Portugal, which initially flourished on captured gold, eventually relegated their economies to the second-class level in Europe.)

A question arises that is also relevant for our era: why did the great civilizations of the New World collapse relatively quickly? If the states of the Incas and Aztecs were at the height of power and culture, small detachments of conquistadors would not have been able to conquer them. This is confirmed by the events that accompanied the discovery of Yucatan by Europeans. But in this case, the conquistadors were opposed by the rather savage descendants of the great Mayans, who had once created the most accurate calendar in the ancient world.

They were amazing people. It remains a mystery how they were able to correctly determine the length of the year without optical instruments and centuries-old astronomical observations. The Mayan hieroglyphic writing is so complex that it still causes controversy among experts and cannot be deciphered in all respects. In mathematics, these people were the first to introduce the concept of zero. They own original cultural monuments, colorful paintings, and magnificent architectural structures.

The most fantastic versions have been expressed about the origin of the Mayans. Bartolomeo Las Casas suggested that these were descendants of one of the lost tribes of Israel mentioned in the Bible, who, after being defeated by the Assyrian king Sargon II, moved to the New World. Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdez was sure that the surviving inhabitants of the sunken Atlantis moved to Yucatan. However, the opinion of Diego de Landa was confirmed: the Mayan culture developed and flourished on local soil.

Historians have tried unsuccessfully to unravel the mystery of the death of the Mayan culture. Soil scientists, ecologists and paleogeographers joined them. They found out some interesting facts. It turns out that in Yucatan the upper soil horizons are weakened and depleted of nutrients. The reason for this was established: the long dominance of slash-and-burn agriculture. In periodically - after 10-12 years - burned areas, the soil did not have time to restore fertility and was constantly depleted and degraded. Crop failures, famine, and population extinction began.

The wonderful biogeographer N.I., who visited these parts. Vavilov wrote: “The absence of farm animals forced man to limit the sowing area to small areas, carefully cultivate small areas, develop unique skills in caring for plants... Many varieties of corn, beans, papaya, fruit and cotton have reached great perfection here.”

It later became clear that the Mayans practiced more than just slash-and-burn agriculture. They built agricultural terraces and irrigation structures. As historian V.I. writes Gulyaev: “In two months of work, the Maya farmer of the classical period produced such an amount of food that covered all the needs of his family for the year, as well as taxes and tributes paid by the community to the ruling caste. He spent the remaining time on all kinds of household activities and crafts, hunting and served his labor service in the construction of temples, palaces and other public buildings."

It was at that time that the majestic Mayan pyramids were erected. Like all Cyclopean structures, they testify to the flourishing of civilization, the awareness of the people and rulers of their power.

The priesthood was the intellectual elite of society, the custodian of secret knowledge. According to Diego de Landa, the Mayan high priest “appointed priests in the villages when there was a need, testing them in sciences and ceremonies, and entrusted them with affairs of office, obliging them to be a good example for the people, supplying them with books and sending them to places. And these priests were engaged in serving in the temples and teaching their sciences, as well as writing religious books. They gave their students knowledge about the following things: chronology, festivals and ceremonies, administration of the sacraments, about unfortunate days and cycles, methods of predicting them, prophecies, memorable events, cures for various diseases, ancient monuments, how to read and write their hieroglyphs and drawings."

As calendar experts, the priests indicated the dates of agricultural work. In the tropics, where seasons are almost indistinguishable, such information was vital for rational farming.

Priests and rulers practically took responsibility for everything that happened in the country. Constant references to higher powers and divine instructions during natural disasters - severe droughts, earthquakes or tropical cyclones - turned into social conflicts: it turned out that the gods were dissatisfied with what was happening on earth and were angry with the earthly rulers. Riots broke out. Faith in priests was lost. Perhaps, having acquired power over society, the priesthood itself degenerated, stupidly performing rituals, losing the meaning of knowledge, not caring about checking or clarifying it.

On top of everything, this caste of “keepers of knowledge and sacraments” hid their knowledge and secrets from the rest of the people. And when, during social catastrophes and uprisings, the priests were destroyed or expelled, this eventually turned into economic decline: there was no one to keep the calendar, determine the timing of sowing and other agricultural work. Information, a valuable public asset, was lost. This dealt a blow to the entire economic system.

It is possible that even without this, the priesthood, closing itself off as a privileged caste, lost the very essence of skills and rituals, mindlessly repeating the same thing, observing formal instructions automatically. And as you know, thoughtless repetition of information devalues ​​it.

The great Mayan civilization was unable to maintain the high level of culture achieved. And if a social organism does not develop, if it turns into a kind of inert mechanism, if intellectual activity freezes in it, then it begins to degrade relatively quickly. Moreover, in the Mayan Empire, the isolation of individual castes and regions, city-states grew, the unity of society was lost, and intellectual potential and vital energy decreased. And all this happened against the backdrop of decreasing soil fertility and increasing desertification.

The Mayan civilization is one of the few that went through a full natural development cycle: formation, growth, flourishing, stability, decline and death. The last phase was completed by the conquistadors. Using this instructive example, one can study the features of the interaction of environmental, social, economic and intellectual factors in public life. Now that technical civilization has become global, the example of the Mayans is especially valuable. After all, our global civilization is becoming more and more monotonous - following the American model.

...The discovery of Yucatan and then Mexico by Europeans turned into a tragedy for the local population. The newcomers craved only material values, not paying attention to spiritual values. Many monuments of the spiritual culture of the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas were destroyed. In fact, it was only in the 20th century that active research into these disappeared civilizations began and, first of all, the environmental factors of their degradation became clear. This was already a discovery in the field of historical geography and social ecology. Such a scientific discovery has, perhaps, not yet been appreciated and remains incomplete. This is a vast field for new research, the results of which can be extremely fruitful and relevant.