Sacrifice In Mayan Culture

The ceremony had begun. The girl watched as her brother was brought through the crowd by the chilam, a priest specializing in human sacrifices (Klobuchar 13). She knew when they started to climb the steps of the pyramid her brother’s fate was sealed. There was no way to save him; he would be sacrificed to satisfy the gods thirst for blood. Her brother was innocent; unfortunately they were slaves so this didn’t matter. She cried out in horror at the realization that her only family would be lost. They had reached the top of the pyramid, and the chilam forced him onto a stone alter. They restrained her brother. She didn’t want to watch as she knew what would happen to her brother, the chilam would cut his chest open and then remove his heart.

Knowing this, she looked away; she knew the sacrifice had concluded when she heard the thumping of her brother’s body being tossed down the pyramid steps. The sister had seen enough, rather heard enough, and she left the ceremony in tears mourning the loss of her last family member. NEED A TRANSITION, HELP ME. The Mayans became one of the most influential cultures in the Americas because of their unique religion, art, and traditions.
The world was on edge in 2012, they feared the world would end on December 21, 2012. The prediction was based on the Mayan calendar, in particular the long count calendar. Fortunately for us, the prediction was wrong. Even though it was incorrect, the Maya long count calendar may have been the most accurate calendar of the ancient world (“Maya Culture”). The Mayans had two other calendars, one for farming and one for religion (Maloy 32). Their farming calendar is much like the calendar that we use today as it also has 365 days (Maloy 32). While their farming calendar was similar to the Gregorian calendar used today, the religious calendar was different and had only 260 days (Maloy 32).
The Mayan culture was defined by their religion.

Klobuchar explains how the Mayans were driven by their beliefs and known to offer sacrifices to their gods (13). Most of these sacrifices were animals, but occasionally they would carry out human sacrifices (Klobuchar 13). The human sacrifices were looked upon as the ultimate sacrifice and often took place on top of pyramids. Human sacrifices varied from criminals to orphans (Sharer "Social Stratification in Maya Culture”). Sacrifices weren’t the only tribute to the Mayan gods as they constructed many architectural wonders. These consisted of stone pyramids, temples, and palaces (Ramirez, Stearns, and Wineburg

206).
Traditional Mayan architecture consisted of many different types of structures.

These include ball courts, palaces, tombs, temples, and pyramids (Klobuchar 5). These were frequently built of limestone (Foster 26). Although limestone was used periodically to build, the common houses weren’t built using this as they were far more simplistic than the pyramids they built. While they weren’t complex, the common houses were far from shabby as they had a pole framework with a thatched roof and daub walls made from an adobe coated sticks constructed similar to a lattice (“Maya Architecture”).
Mayan’s writing allowed them to record their history, and because of this we are able to know more about the Mayans and their culture. They wrote using hieroglyphics, picture writing, based off of the Olmec’s script writing system (Maloy 9). These glyphs are thought to be the most advanced writing system in the ancient world (“Maya Culture”). As a result they weren’t deciphered until the 16th century by Diego de Landa (“Maya

Epigraphy”).
The Maya were widely spread throughout Mesoamerica, a region in Mexico and Central America; being so widely spread created a problem. Since the Maya were located in many different environments, it was difficult to be ruled by a single person. The solution to this conundrum was city-states that allowed for each city-state to be ruled by a separate person (Ramirez, Stearns, and Wineburg 206). Although each city-state was unique, they were linked by warfare and trade (Ramirez, Stearns, and Wineburg 206). They traded using canoes to traverse the rivers and provide goods such as jade, cocoa beans, obsidian, and honey (Klobuchar 53; Foster 37).
The Maya, like the majority of societies, had a class system. At the top were the elites, also known as the religious leaders who controlled the government, decided upon war, and updated the calendar using their expertise in astronomy (Klobuchar 11). After the elites, there was the middle class and then the commoners. Common men completed all of the laborious tasks such as farming, hunting, and fishing. The common women fulfilled a more traditional role around the house as they made clothes, meals, pottery, and baskets in addition to raising the children and supplying the house (Klobuchar 44-46).