Archaeology has a way of inspiring images of exotic times of long ago. Curiosity about the past has excited the hearts and minds of mankind for centuries. Oscar Wilde, a poet and archaeologist, said “[Archaeology] was a means by which they could touch the dry dust of antiquity into the very breath and beauty of life, and fill the new wine of romanticism forms that had been old and outworn” (p54). It’s easy for us to fantasize about a time much different than our own, and often we choose not to see the injustice and inequalities that existed. For the scope of this exposition, the focus will not be on the mysteries of the ancient world. Instead, it will be aimed at the economical inequalities of gender and class in the ancient society, and how archaeological evidence found in Mayan architecture, diet, and burial sites is used to detect these inequalities. Maya societies were clearly divided into two classes, the elite and the commoners. This distinction was usually made by who had more power and wealth, a person was usually born into both. The Elite had control over the politics and religion in each city (Sharer, “Social Stratification”). The vast majority of people were considered commoners, but how do you tell which ones are commoners, and which are Elites? Architecture gives us the biggest clue to who had this power and wealth, and who did not. “Monument building and elaborate, vaulted tomb chambers indicate the presence of social ranking and ruling elites. It is likely that ancestor worship was acquiring more weight as the rulers became ever more responsible for acting as intermediaries with the gods and ancestors for the benefit of their people” (Fash). One of the biggest archaeological insights into Maya lifestyles is art... ... middle of paper ... ...erests of the few, had an incredibly negative impact on the lives of the many. Discussion Archaeologists can learn about gender and class inequalities in a society by not just looking at the facts and data. Archaeology should be a tool to bridge the gap between data and history. Draw on the concepts of geography and anthropology to look at the data and interpret it as what it means for the person and people you’re digging up, not just as hard facts. I think I did a pretty good job of trying to interpret what the significance of the little bit of data we have about the Maya. My strength in this assignment was the section about the burials. I found an abundance of information of burials, so it made it easier to work with. My weakest point was trying to prove women had economic inequality by the use of monuments, or lack thereof. Overall, I think I did pretty well.
As far back as Rigoberta Manchu can remember, her life has been divided between the highlands of Guatemala and the low country plantations called the fincas. Routinely, Rigoberta and her family spent eight months working here under extremely poor conditions, for rich Guatemalans of Spanish descent. Starvation malnutrition and child death were common occurrence here; rape and murder were not unfamiliar too. Rigoberta and her family worked just as hard when they resided in their own village for a few months every year. However, when residing here, Rigoberta’s life was centered on the rituals and traditions of her community, many of which gave thanks to the natural world. When working in the fincas, she and her people struggled to survive, living at the mercy of wealthy landowners in an overcrowded, miserable environment. By the time Rigoberta was eight years old she was hard working and ...
In the fertile valleys or high plateaus the Mayas, Incas, and Aztecs built communities and villages practicing sedentary lifestyles. They had for the most part “permanent, intensive agriculture.” (Lane and Restall 2012) This allowed them to produce complex foods that benefitted the villages because it made them possible but it also resulted in social stratification. “Agricultural activities of the majority allowed a minority to live and work as artisans, merchants, warriors, nobles and royalty – permitting the development of writing, metallurgy, bureaucracy, and other features of high civilization.” More specifically, the Mayans were able to create the most complete of the three Mesoamerican writing systems, “one that was still used in the early sixteenth century.” (Lane and Restall 2012) They were also able to expand, but their expansion would also be their demise. Because they were so large -- filled with regional kingdoms and empires -- the Spanish were easily able to conquer
The most remarkable achievement of the Maya was their calendar. Every Mayan achievement listed, however, are very remarkable in their own right. Remnants of the Mayan society are still seen throughout our world today from all four of their discussed achievements. One could have an ethnocentric denial of the sheer remarkability of the advancements of the Maya because of some of the advancements of the Western World at that time period, however, the Maya achieved feats that the Western World could not even fathom. In fact, much of Maya architecture, such as their pyramids, cannot even be replicated today. The Mayan civilization may have physically declined centuries ago, but their concepts and principles will forever keep the Maya alive.
They were known for having a system of writing. The Mayans had a system of writing and an accurate calendar. They built pyramids and temples. They worship nature gods, like Gods of the Sun, Gods of the Rain, and Gods of the Corn. They performed rituals involving animal spirits. The political system was hierarchical government, that was ruled by kings and priests. The economic system had a production and distribution of good with a society and geographical area. The Mayans political organization was divided into kings, nobles, priests, merchants, artisans, and slaves. When it came to their aesthetics they had carvings in wood, obsidian,bones, and
Instead of unifying their empire, the Mayan civilization had “city-states”. “City-states only ruled the surrounding area, or nearby states if they were powerful enough” (http://latinamericanhistory.about.com). The idea of “kings” wasn’t apparent until the late preclassic periods. Mayan kings claim to have descended from the gods and planets. “The Kings and royal family had important roles at public ceremonies. They channeled their connection to the Gods through sacrifices, dance, spiritual trances and hallucinogenic enemas” (http://latinamericanhistory.about.com). The Mayans political system didn’t fully develop until the Classic Era. This system had a four-tiered political hierarchy, starting with the kings and his major cities. After the major cities came small groups of vassal city-states. The third tier in the hierarchy was the affiliated villages. Finally, the fourth tier, the hamlets, cities devoted to
Maya state society had a complex writing system. They used hieroglyphs and left books that reconstitute their story. They had advanced technology and used for example the slash and burn method in agriculture. They found ways to grow crops on raised field. The Maya civilization was based on kingship. There were constant warfare and each new ruler would try to extend the Maya territory. The rulers exercised considerable civil and probably religious power, and an elite that exercised administrative functions aided their rule. A class of scribes or perhaps priests tended to the cult of the state and specialized in calendric observations and calculations The Maya got in touch with other groups through trade and
Even though humans now days built buildings with machines, the Mayans carried heavy stones with their bare hands to build their beautiful cities. Mayans were highly intelligent people, who lived in the classic period of 200 CE and in Mexico. That lived in isolation from the rest of the world. Mayans believed in many gods like sun god, rain god, death god, and many other god's. They would please their gods by bringing one of their sacrificial victims on top of a god's temple and sacrificing them. The Mayans gods were to be nourished by the human blood. Mayans knew a lot about of nature and the world around them. By knowing about those things, it helped them live a better life and make their life more comfortable and rewarding than most people
In the Central America, most notably the Yucatan Peninsula, are the Maya, a group of people whose polytheistic religion and advanced civilization once flourished (Houston, 43). The Maya reached their peak during the Classic Period from around CE 250 to the ninth century CE when the civilization fell and dispersed (Sharer, 1). Although much has been lost, the gods and goddesses and the religious practices of the Classic Maya give insight into their lives and reveal what was important to this society.
There were four main classes for the Mayan. There was the ruling class of nobles or kings who controlled land. Next there were scholars and merchants. The broadest class were the peasants who were farmers and fishers. At the bottom were slaves who were usually war captives. The person who controlled everyone, even the kings was the emperor. The emperor had complete control over everything and everyone.
This region is ripe for gender, and general, archaeology since it contains, "...a rich ethnohistorical literature, with detailed descriptions of contact-period societies," as well as plenty of cultural material left behind in the archaeological record [McCafferty & McCafferty 2012: 68]. Investigating the region is not a new phenomena, since it has been studied and excavated for over one hundred years. What is new about the investigations, is the lens researchers choose to look through the evidence. The purpose for the large amount of gender archaeology producing results in the Mesoamerican region is the inconsistencies between the historical record and the archaeological record. Aztec women were portrayed as subordinate compared to Aztec men in early studies, while the ethnohistoric record portrayed women as more active [McCafferty & McCafferty 2012: 68]. Throughout the article, different investigations document female roles in textile productions, spindle whorls, and in artworks. The evidence for women being active members in markets as well as prominent citizens. Investigations have also shown men to be buried with typical female associated grave goods as often as women [McCafferty & McCafferty 2012: 73]. The lines between traditional male and female gender roles are blurred as evidence shows that typical gendered objects are shared and borrowed. The McCafferty article also associates this evidence as being more ideal for possibly the elite class and not necessarily a strict norm adhered by everyone. The important step to move foreword with gender studies in archaeology is to collaborate with other disciplines. Archaeology already borrows theories and methods from hard sciences and social sciences. By continuing to collaborate with social sciences especially, archaeology will benefit in the aid of question identity in the archaeological
The mayans established a government.Some people believed they had god like rulers.However, they had kings and nobles.Sometimes they had women rulers.The kings and nobles lived inside the city in large stone palaces.The kings and nobles had everything provided for them.To go along with that they had slaves that carried them wherever they wanted to go.
Gender Roles in Ancient Greek Society Throughout history, the roles of women and men have always differed to some degree. In ancient Greece, the traditional roles were clear-cut and defined. Women stayed home to care for children and do housework while men left to work. This system of society was not too far off the hunter gatherer concept where women cared for the house and the men hunted.
According to The Society for American Archaeology, the definition of Archaeology is, “to obtain a chronology of the past, a sequence of events and dates that, in a sense, is a backward extension of history.” The study of ancient civilizations and archaeology is rather ambiguous due to the primitive nature of the time period. With little imagery and even less textual evidence, professionals in the field must work diligently when studying their subjects. Naturally, archaeologists cannot see or communicate with those whom they are studying, so they must be extraordinarily meticulous when analyzing past cultures. This relates to all aspects of the ancient world including; foods, raw materials, artifacts, agriculture, art work and pottery. All of these elements can collectively provide new and innovative information to curious archaeologists who may wish to gain a better understanding of those who came before us. This information is equally beneficial for both historians and archaeologists who plan to compare the histories of societies from all around the world. In the world of archaeology, archaeologists strive to better explain human behavior by analyzing our past. Therefore, the study of archaeology is a key element in understanding a time before our own.
The Maya culture has a long history that started in about 1000 BC. The history of the Maya is divided up into four different time periods: The Middle Preclassic Period, Late Preclassic Period, Classic Period, and Postclassic Period. The Middle Preclassic Period was when the small areas started to become city-like in the way that they started to build larger temples. The Late Preclassic Period was when the cities began to expand with paved roads and massive pyramids. The Classic Period was the time the Maya civilization hit it’s peak. Populations were growing rapidly and the structure of politics was formed. The Postclassic Period was when warfare was on the rise and cities were being abandoned(Coe 2005). This paper will focus on the Classic Period due to the fact that that is the greatest time period in Maya history.
...The Mayans were polytheistic and they believed in many manifestations of their one God Kunabku and these manifestations looked over everything. Priests were appointed not only through their religious commitment but also thought their literacy level. The Halach Uinic was also referred to as the K’uhul Ajaw which refers to Holy Lord/ Ruler which demonstrates the close association between the king and God and in turn State and Religion. The Mayans also believed in ancestor worship and communication performed by the Halach Uinic and priests during their hallucinations. Bloodletting was also an activity practiced by the Mayans as a means of sacrifice towards their God and as worship. It was drained from captives in war and prisoners but a nobles’ blood was especially treasured and used on special occasions