Relationship of Mayans and Teotihuacan: A Mesoamerican Mystery
The ancient Maya site of San Bartolo is located in the jungle of El Peten, Guatemala, and features spectacular two millennia-old pyramid temples, writings, and murals. The mystery surrounding the possible ties between certain Maya monuments and Teotihuacan, a major city in central Mexico (the Mayan city), piqued many people's interest. The final thesis that focused on a classic Mesoamerican subject: the nature of the Maya-Teotihuacan relationship and where was the Mayan civilisation located, is based on the research on this topic.
Mayan History
Here, we will discuss the Mayan history from their ancient relationships.
Ancient Relationships
The Maya of Central America (the Maya America) flourished throughout the Early Classic period (A.D. 250-450), and their population peaked during the Late Classic period (A.D. 450-700). They lived in southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, western Honduras, and other places. The Maya were not an empire ruled by a single king like the Aztecs of central Mexico in the 15th and 16th centuries. They were separated into many kingdoms and often battled and traded with one another.
During the Early Classic period, the Maya interacted with other Central American or Maya American societies. Teotihuacan, a site in central Mexico west of the Maya region, was home to one such civilisation. Teotihuacan had established itself as a thriving cultural centre even before most Maya sites had been created. Material culture from Early Classic Maya sites, like architecture, ceramics, painting, hieroglyphic inscriptions, and other artefacts, clearly demonstrates a link between Teotihuacan and the Maya.
On the other hand, the finding of central Mexican material culture at Maya sites has raised more questions about the Maya's relationship with the Teotihuacan people than it has answered.
According to David Stuart, a leading Maya expert, there are two possible reasons for the Maya-Teotihuacan interaction. According to the externalist view, Teotihuacan was a powerful hub that imposed its civilisation on the Maya region by conquering other locations. According to the internalist viewpoint, the Maya were active participants in their relationship with Teotihuacan and willingly appropriated central Mexican art and ideas for their own purposes (Stuart, 2000).
Examining the Maya-Teotihuacan interaction from three perspectives—cultural, political, and economic—might also help to clarify the relationship between the two locations.
A cultural link is formed when a group accepts certain imagery and concepts, such as the Mayans' adoption of Teotihuacan cultural imagery and ideas, which can be seen in the Mayans' architecture and art forms. When one group assumes the identity of another to progress politically, this is known as a political partnership. This may be observed in the Mayans' use of Teotihuacan war imagery to create a central Mexican identity, which they then used to promote their political ambitions.
The trade of physical goods and resources can establish an economic relationship, as evidenced by the Maya and Teotihuacan. To better understand Maya-Teotihuacan contact, we can look at four Maya sites: Kaminaljuyu, Copan, Tikal, and Balberta. Using an internalist approach, one concluded that the Maya were free of Teotihuacan's authority and had friendly connections with this central Mexican site.
Mayan Civilization
Early Maya, 1800 B.C. to A.D. 250
Let us look at the Mayan civilisation from 1800 BC to 250 AD here. The earliest Maya (or the ancient Mayans) settlements date back to around 1800 B.C., announcing the beginning of the Preclassic or Formative Period. Corn (maize), beans, squash, and cassava were among the first crops grown by the Maya (manioc). Maya farmers expanded their presence in highland and lowland regions during the Middle Preclassic Period, which lasted until around 300 B.C.
The Olmecs, the first major Mesoamerican civilisation, emerged during the Middle Preclassic Period. The Maya, like other Mesoamerican peoples like the Zapotec, Totonac, Teotihuacán, and Aztec, inherited from the Olmec some religious and cultural features, including their famed calendar and number system.
Aside from agriculture, the Preclassic Maya exhibited more advanced cultural traits such as pyramid construction, city development (the Mayan city), and writing on monuments.
Mirador, a Late Preclassic city in northern Peten, was one of the most important pre-Columbian cities (also called the Mayan city) ever built. It dwarfed Tikal, the Classic Maya capital, in terms of scale, and its existence shows that the Maya lived centuries before the Classic Period.
Mayan Map
The Maya civilisation lasted between 300 and 900 A.D., with hundreds of cities spread across a broad swath of Central America. These once-flourishing cities today serve as archaeological monuments, extending from Chichén Itzá in northern Yucatán to Copán, nearly 400 miles south in modern-day Honduras.
Each had ceremonial centres where theocratic rulers performed a complex religion centred on various gods, a unique calendar, and rites that included a ball game and human sacrifice. The ancient Maya mastered astronomy, mathematics, art, and architecture and a glyph system for writing on stone, ceramics, and bark paper.
Maya Arts and Culture
Many of the Classic Maya temples and palaces were built in the shape of a stepped pyramid, with exquisite reliefs and inscriptions. These structures have established the Maya's position as Mesoamerica's greatest artist. The Maya achieved important achievements in mathematics and astronomy, including the construction of complex calendar systems like the Calendar Round and zero usage. It was founded on 365 days, then on the Long Count Calendar, designed to last over 5,000 years, both of which were driven by religious rituals.
In the 1830s, serious exploration of Classic Maya sites began. A part of their hieroglyphic writing system had been deciphered by the early to mid-20th century, and more information about their history and culture had become available. Most of what we know about the Maya comes from the architecture and art that has remained, such as stone carvings and inscriptions on buildings and monuments.
The Maya also used tree bark to make paper and wrote in codices (paper books); four codices survived. They are also credited with some of the first chocolate and rubber uses. So, this is all information about Mayan history, Mayan civilisation, and their location.
Did You Know?
A single language existed among the earliest Maya or the ancient Mayans, but by the Preclassic Period, the diverse Maya peoples had developed a vast linguistic diversity. Around 5 million people in modern-day Mexico and Central America speak one of the 70 Maya languages, most of whom are bilingual in Spanish.
Conclusion
So we understand that the Mayan civilisation was very famous, and even today, we can find their descendants near El Salvador, Belize etc. This civilisation was a stepping stone toward better civilisation in the 16th century.
FAQs on Mayans and Teotihuacan
1. What was the relationship between the Mayans and the civilization of Teotihuacan?
The relationship between the Mayans and Teotihuacan was complex, primarily revolving around trade and cultural influence rather than direct rule. Evidence suggests Teotihuacan exerted significant political and cultural sway over key Maya cities like Tikal, especially during the 4th and 5th centuries A.D. This influence is visible in Maya art, ceramics, and architecture, indicating a powerful connection that shaped the course of Maya history.
2. Why is the city of Teotihuacan considered so important in Mesoamerican history?
Teotihuacan is critically important because it was one of the largest and most influential cities in the ancient world. At its peak around 450 A.D., it was a major economic hub, controlling the trade of high-quality obsidian. Its architectural innovations and religious concepts were so powerful that they were adopted by many later Mesoamerican cultures, including the Toltecs and the Aztecs, who considered it a sacred, mythological site.
3. How did Teotihuacan influence Maya art and architecture?
Teotihuacan's influence is most famously seen in the adoption of the 'talud-tablero' architectural style on Maya pyramids, a distinct slope-and-panel design. Additionally, Teotihuacan's imagery, such as the 'Storm God' (similar to Tlaloc) and goggle-eyed motifs, began appearing in the art and stelae of major Maya centres like Tikal. This demonstrates a clear flow of cultural and religious ideas from Teotihuacan to the Maya region. For more details on these interactions, you can read about various societies in the early Americas.
4. What are the key differences between the Aztec and Teotihuacan civilizations?
The primary difference is the time period they existed in. Teotihuacan flourished in the Classic period (c. 100-550 A.D.), while the Aztec Empire rose much later in the Post-Classic period (c. 1300-1521 A.D.). Key distinctions include:
- Origin: The builders of Teotihuacan are unknown, while the Aztecs were a specific Nahuatl-speaking ethnic group, the Mexica.
- Relationship: The Aztecs did not build Teotihuacan; they discovered its ruins centuries after its collapse and revered it as a holy place, naming it the “Birthplace of the Gods.”
- Location: Teotihuacan was a single, massive city-state, whereas the Aztec Empire was a large tributary empire with its capital at Tenochtitlan.
5. Who built the ancient city of Teotihuacan?
The identity of the original builders of Teotihuacan remains one of history's greatest mysteries. It is widely believed that the city was multi-ethnic, with a population that may have included Nahua, Otomi, or Totonac groups. However, no specific culture has been definitively credited with founding and constructing the city. The Aztecs later named the city, but they were not its creators.
6. Where was the Mayan civilisation located?
The Mayan civilisation was located in Mesoamerica, a region that is now part of Mexico and Central America. Its heartland covered the entire Yucatán Peninsula, modern-day Guatemala and Belize, as well as western parts of Honduras and El Salvador, and the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas. Unlike other groups, they were concentrated in this single geographical block.
7. What are the most significant achievements of the Maya civilization?
The Maya are renowned for several major intellectual and cultural achievements. Some of the most significant include:
- Advanced Writing: They developed the only complete writing system in Mesoamerica, using complex hieroglyphs.
- Mathematics: They independently developed the concept of zero and used a sophisticated base-20 (vigesimal) number system.
- Astronomy and Calendrics: They created incredibly accurate calendars (the Haab' and Tzolk'in) by observing the movements of the sun, moon, and stars.
- Architecture: They engineered and built monumental temple-pyramids, palaces, and observatories without the use of metal tools or the wheel.
8. What does the name 'Teotihuacan' mean?
The name Teotihuacan comes from the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs, who discovered the abandoned city centuries after its fall. It is generally translated as “The Place Where the Gods Were Created” or “Birthplace of the Gods.” This reflects the awe and reverence the Aztecs had for the magnificent ruins. The city's original name, used by its inhabitants, is unknown.
9. Do the descendants of the Maya still exist today?
Yes, absolutely. Millions of people of Maya descent live today in their ancestral lands across Guatemala, Belize, and parts of Mexico, Honduras, and El Salvador. They continue to speak dozens of distinct Mayan languages and maintain many cultural traditions that have been passed down for centuries. They form a vital part of the region's modern population and history.
