The greatest interest among scientists, historians and archaeologists around the world is caused by the ancient Mayan civilization. For many years now, people have been trying to unravel the secrets that the Mayan people left behind. This civilization is of genuine interest to ordinary people of the planet, because of the secrets and assumptions that scientists put forward regarding the end of the world. The Mayan people compiled a calendar, according to which conclusions are drawn about the impending end of life on Earth.
But no one, until the end did not know everything about the Mayan tribe. This people was first mentioned in the 1st millennium BC. Scientists have discovered where the Mayan tribe lived . They inhabited Central America. Today it is the southern states of Mexico. Also traces of this ancient civilization were found in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Belize. The resettlement of the tribe began with the Peten Plateau. There the climate was relatively humid and warm. Then the Mayan people developed new territories along rivers and on the shores of lakes.
Mayan civilization is considered one of the most developed. They are far ahead of their time. Mastering new lands, they immediately began to cultivate them. In the places of settlements, the Mayan people built cities of stone. Their agriculture was well developed. These tribes grew cotton, cocoa, maize, beans, fruits, and pumpkin. Some tribes mined salt.
The development of the Mayan civilization is evidenced by data on writing, which was well mastered by the tribes. It is presented in the form of hieroglyphs. The Mayan calendar, which still amazes with its high accuracy of compilation, is a testament to deep knowledge in the field of astronomy.
Despite the high level of civilization, the Mayan people have never been united. They were divided into separate states. The population of such states was about ten thousand people. By the second half of the first millennium AD there were a lot of such small states. But at that time, this population was significant. All of these small individual associations made up the Mayan civilization.
The main provisions of the state system, cultural values in all parts of civilization were the same. In each individual state, the dynasty of kings ruled. Then, noble residents and priests walked up the hierarchy. Under them were warriors and merchants. At the last stage of social demarcation were peasants, commoners and artisans.
The main architectural structure of each city was a pyramid. Its height reached 15-20 meters. This was the place of burial of the nobility. Near the pyramid were other residential buildings. The Mayan people built limestone buildings. They had small rooms and narrow corridors.
The Mayan tribes paid great attention to religion. Priestesses were equated with the most distinguished people of the state. God worship and sacrifice were traditional. The purpose of these rituals was to increase the life of the gods, who in the concept of these peoples were mortal. The protection of the gods was the main thing for them, and for the sake of this the blood of animals and innocent people was shed.
At the end of the first millennium AD, tribes began to suddenly leave their homes. An exact definition has not yet been found for this fact. According to various hypotheses, people were looking for new fertile lands or an epidemic overtook them.
In 1517, the Spanish conquistadors visited the peninsula. They captured the tribes and their lands. The Mayan people did not cease to exist. Their descendants to this day live in the countries of Central America.
The Spanish conquerors destroyed the Mayan civilization. Those priceless manuscripts and calendars that have survived to this day are just a fraction of the artifacts of civilization. A lot of valuable material perished in the fire or was simply destroyed along with the Mayan cities.