Maya people - representatives of ancient civilization

The greatest interest of scientists, historians and archaeologists around the world is the ancient civilization of the Maya. For many years people have been trying to unravel the mysteries that the Maya people left behind. This civilization is of genuine interest to ordinary people on the planet, because of the secrets and assumptions that are advanced by scientists about the end of the world. The people of Maya compiled a calendar according to which conclusions are drawn about the impending end of life on Earth.

But nobody, so to the end did not learn everything about the Maya tribe. For the first time this people is mentioned in the 1st millennium BC. The scientists found out where the Maya tribe lived . They inhabited Central America. Today it is the southern states of Mexico. Also traces of this ancient civilization were found in the territories of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Belize. The settlement of the tribe began with the Peten Plateau. There the climate was relatively moist and warm. Then the people of Maya mastered new territories along the rivers and on the shores of lakes.

The civilization of Maya is considered one of the most developed. They were much ahead of their time. Mastering new lands, they immediately began to process them. In places of settlements the people of Maya built cities out of stone. They had a good development of agriculture. These tribes grew cotton, cocoa, maize, beans, fruit, pumpkin. Some tribes extracted salt.

The development of Maya civilization is evidenced by data on the written language, which was well mastered by the tribes. It is presented in the form of hieroglyphs. The Mayan calendar, which still surprises with high accuracy of compilation, is a testament to deep knowledge in the field of astronomy.
Despite the high level of civilization, the Maya people have never been one. They were divided into separate states. The number of inhabitants of such states was about 10 thousand people. By the second half of the first millennium AD, there were so many such small states. But at that time such a population was significant. All these small separate associations were the Mayan civilization.

The main provisions of the state system, cultural values in all parts of civilization were the same. In each separate state the dynasty of kings rules. Then the noble inhabitants and priests walked along the hierarchy. Under them were warriors and merchants. At the last stage of social differentiation were peasants, commoners and artisans.

The main architectural structure of each city was the pyramid. Its height reached 15-20 meters. This was the burial place of the nobility. Near the pyramid were located other residential buildings. The people of Maya built buildings of limestone. They had small rooms and narrow corridors.

The Maya tribes paid much attention to religion. The priestesses were equated with the most notable people of the state. Worship of the gods and sacrifices were traditional. The purpose of these rituals was to increase the life span of the gods, who in the notion of these peoples were mortal. The patronage of the gods was for them the main thing, and for this, the blood of animals and innocent people was shed.
At the end of the first millennium AD tribes suddenly began to leave their homes. This fact has not yet been found accurate definition. According to various hypotheses, the people were looking for new fertile lands or they were overtaken by an epidemic.

In 1517, the Spanish conquistadors visited the peninsula. They captured the tribes and their lands. The people of Maya did not cease to exist. Their descendants still live in the countries of Central America.

Spanish conquerors destroyed the civilization of the Maya. Those priceless manuscripts and calendars that have survived to this day are just a small fraction of the artifacts of civilization. A lot of valuable material died in the fire or was simply destroyed along with the Maya cities.