Even before the European invasion and colonization in the Western Hemisphere, the Native Americans of Latin America practiced civilization that was clear competition for the inventive and scholarly accomplishments that were observed in China, India, Mesopotamia, and the Mediterranean region. These accomplishments are believed to have been invaluable because they were recorded well before the introduction of Eastern technology was introduced to the Western hemisphere, something that makes them very impressive. Among the communities that lived in areas that are marked for such great civilization is the Maya community. This community occupied regions in the present country of Mexico, Belize, El Salvador Guatemala, and the Honduras region. They were famous for the massive stone pyramids that they built for their rulers; they used the wheel in times when they had not been invaded by the Europeans so that we know it was their invention, the dye that they made from the dried insects, the feathers that they traded from exotic birds and the jade ornaments that they made from stones by using stone tools. In addition to this, they made weapons from the soft obsidian and traded with other communities; in other words, they were also long distant traders.
Pre-Columbian art and architecture by the Native Americans demonstrate the expertise that they displayed in making the structures about the environment that they lived in. they always had nature in mind as they constructed the structures, showing a great taste in aesthetics. Their sense of aesthetic was embedded in the responsiveness they had to the natural dualities for instance the existence of day in contrast with night, the existence of land and water, life and death, light and dark, the sun at day time and the moon at night, and so forth.
The Maya people were agriculturalists. In the pre-classic period, the Maya people cultivated crops for their domestic use mostly. They are known for the cultivation of corn as their staple food which they used to brew and also to make cakes with. The women did the grinding of this corn on special stones for domestic use. As the population in the region became extensive they increased their agricultural activities so that they even cultivated more for exchanging with others for other basic needs. Agriculture was the stronghold of the economy in the Maya community. It was especially extensive among the people in the lowland regions. The people in the southern lowland region were famous for the control they had over trade among the Maya Community. Since the soft obsidian rock that was used in the making of the weapons was found in the Southern region and as a result, the people in the South were in a better position to control the movement of the stone in the region and in all the regions that they traded with.
As the classic period checked in around the year 250 C.E and 900 C.E, there was an increase in the population and the agricultural activities increased in turn. This led to the increase in the production of the surplus produce that was traded. There was an increase in the number of trade items ranging from the jade ornaments that were made from stones, the feathers of the green parrot and other birds, a dye that was made from dried insects, and weapons that were made from the obsidian; all from the southern region. Their counterparts in the lowland regions traded agricultural goods like corn and cacao seeds. Initially, they exchanged goods with other goods but later the system improved, and sometimes they would do barter trade or use cacao seeds as a medium of exchange (currency). This was an improvement in their economic status, something that boosted development hence giving the economy the forward push that it needed. Agriculture and trade improvement led to the improvement in their political system where the leaders who initially had less power now started assuming the powerful position. With this improvement, there was an improvement in the government system where the leaders assumed more responsibility to protect their territories. This led to the increase in warfare as a result of the leaders trying to ensure that they protected their people from adversaries.
With this increase in the trading goods, the trading activities increased and started to extend beyond the Mayan boundaries. The Mayan merchants started engaging in long-distance trade with their neighbors. This activity led to the extensive networking of the trade routes in the region. This was adapted from their trading partners the Teotihuacán and the Zapotec, and other groups that were from the center of Mexico and the gulf coast of México. With these increased trading activities, there was a remarkable development in the political and economic scenes in the then Maya Community. As it is common with the current economies, there were power struggles, an occurrence that led to the increase in rivalry and hence warfare in the region. This resulted in the Kings’ capturing their rivals and sacrificing them to the deities that they worshipped, for example, the god of corn. The more they fought, the greater the trading in weapons, an aspect that boosted trade in the region. Apart from boosting the trade, there was also an increase in conflicts in the region as various Kings sought to rule over the others. There was capturing of war prisoners who were enslaved by their captors. The greed for power was stronger, and this made the region vulnerable to the outsiders in case there was an attack, they would not support each other because of the enmity they had already built.
During the classic period, there was the introduction of classes in which there were the upper classes and the lower classes. The upper classes are the ones who benefitted the most from the development of the economy and trade. Those who worked so hard to see this happen, the lower class, benefitted the least. They gave three-thirds of their agricultural produce to the upper class and they also gave most of their services to the upper class. Some slaves were war captives most of the time. This group was owned by individuals or families and they had to do menial tasks for their owners. They would also be sacrificed when their owner died so that they would continue with their service to them after death. The aspect of class in the Mayan community led to the weakening of those in the lower class, and even though they worked to ensure that the upper class lived luxuriously, there was the element of separation, something that makes the people divided. As we know, division in ruling creates a lack of trust, something that can make a great nation fall.
It was during the classic period that the climax of large-scale construction and urbanization was recorded with a very momentous scholarly and inventive development especially in the southern lowland regions. There was the development of the concentrated empires that were city-centered with various city-states like Palenque, Tikal, and Copan, among others. Among the most outstanding palaces, they built is the one in Cancuen, one of the largest palaces in the Maya area. They also invented a system of writing referred to as hieroglyphic which they used in the description of their lineages, warring activities, and their success in war and other accomplishments that they had in general. With the construction of these buildings, there was an element of power. The structures symbolized the security that the people had and the strength of their rulers. This aspect of building the strong buildings showed that they were established in terms of expertise and they were set to go a long way as a community. They symbolized the aspect of permanence.
The economy of the Mayan Community was the backbone of its development. It was boosted by the agricultural practices and the trading activities in the region. There was also the aspect of the architecture and the artistic nature of the Mayans which improved their development. All these culminated into a very strong community that was civilized and urbanized very early. The economy of Mayans was no doubt stable, an assurance that they would not fall. As it assured them of basic supplies that are important for the survival of the community, there was also how it divided the community. This was through the scramble of power by the leaders of the various regions in the community. There was so much concentration, as the region developed, on the control of the region even though the people in the various regions cooperated in various activities like trade. The Southern lowland region is known for having recorded the highest development in the whole region as compared to the region in the northern lowlands.
There are very many similarities between our current global society and the Mayan community. Our global society is divided into sections; the developed world, the developing world, and the underdeveloped world. These sections demand that there be different efforts made to improve them. Currently, the most preferred government system is a democracy where people are allowed to choose their leaders. Unfortunately, just like in the Mayan times, there is greed for power, and leaders fight to be the ones that rule. Even though the class systems are different, they are still witnessed. We still have people in the upper classes, the middle class, and the low class. This is determined, however, by the struggle that an individual puts in to ensure that they align themselves to a particular class. However, some communities are known for their systems that bind people to a particular class regardless of whether they are wealthy or not, for example, the Indians. In the present situation where the world is believed to be headed to being a global village, we expect such situations to be changed.
Apart from the fight for power, there is the improvement of trade, an aspect of the ancient Maya community, in the development of any particular country. National, regional and international trade are being encouraged to ensure that a country trades what it produces in excess and return gets what it cannot produce, all in the name of development. Trade is the one thing that is believed to connect very many countries and also the basis of the economy of almost all countries. Countries that control some of the highly sought trade commodities are believed to be powerful. Most inter-nation wars in the world today are caused by the struggle to control the particular resources in question.
In our present time, with the great globalization, there is the aspect of losing our culture in preference to other cultures that we see as being superior or most preferred. The Mayan culture was brilliant because they were civilized without the interference of the Eastern hemisphere technologies. Their life challenges taught them how to ensure that they do not succumb to situations that face them. They improved their living style in response to their environment and not by introducing a borrowed technique that might work well in one region and not in another. This is a good leaf to borrow from this community. The world is dynamic and there is a need for improvements in our lives to catch up with the changes like global warming, the pollution in our environment, and many others. There is a need for us to come up with solutions that will suit the environment that we live in. this way, we will be able to survive even the harshest of conditions.
Although the Maya civilization blossomed in the tropics of Central America for a period of more than one thousand years with a production of deluxe structural design and art in the world, it disappeared strangely and left a landscape of wrecks repressed by the forests. This is one of the greatest mysteries in history only comparable to the fall of the Roman Empire, a riddle that has been beyond unraveling by scholars for many generations. Mostly observed is the fact that the Maya of the southern lowlands suffered a decline that was caused by calamities towards the end of the eighteenth century AD. Whole populations were migrating, the royal buildings were neglected and the headstones were no longer made. Different theories tell different reasons for the collapse. In modern global situations, we should take lessons.
Work cited
Webster, L. The Fall of the Ancient Maya: Solving the Mystery of the Maya Collapse.