Mayan Empire

Mayan cultural and political institutions were already organized and functioning when the Europeans arrived in the Yucatan. A recognizable Mayan identity has been dated from the third century AD and described as flourishing through the tenth century AD. However, Mayan civilization appears to have survived until the sixteenth-century encounter with the Spanish and to have persisted in a sense even after that into the modern period, with the descendants of the Maya surviving today as the principal ethnic subgroup of the Yucatan area. The institutions of the Maya were different from European institutions; for example, they apparently included routine human sacrifices, but the relevant point is that they were socially organized all the same. Evidence for the issue of human sacrifices has been deduced from observations of monumental decorative architecture, notably stelae that show a Mayan ruler known as 18 Rabbit wearing a belt decorated with "anthropomorphic heads (perhaps trophy he

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seem to have had a sense of history, the degree of self-scrutinizing reflection that might have run through the culture must be considered with caution. The fact that Mayan imperial history seems to have been emblazoned on monumental architecture demonstrates conclusively that the Mayan power holders were quite conscious of their projected public image but does not demonstrate conclusively that the image matched reality. As Inomata and Houston remark, "Under extreme circumstances, rhetorical and theatrical excellence may weigh more than progress toward administrative objectives." Even so, attention to public image argues sophisticated political sensibility and a conscious practice of holding power and/or prestige. In that connection, Inomata and Houston explain that "images of the court held by the rest of society often depend heavily on the charisma of specific rulers." Furthermore, the scale of architectural expression is consistent with the idea that the Mayan civilization meant to articulate and perhaps enforce a distinctive and widely shared worldview. This does not mean, however, that the worldview was not honestly subscribed to. That is, the rulers and their subjects absorbed the lessons of their ethos and would have cel
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Approximate Word count = 1613
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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