Interesting facts about the Maya

The Mayan civilization lived in what is now called Mesoamerica. The Maya are known for their architecture, art, religion, famous calendar, but also for mathematics and astronomy. It is believed that this civilization originated around 2000 BC, and its official end is considered to be 1697 and the period of Spanish conquests.

1. Although their civilization fell, the language and culture of the Maya people still survived. In fact, it is estimated that about seven million members of this people still live on and around the Yucatan Peninsula.

2. Like other pre-Columbian peoples, the Maya tried to change their physical characteristics, so they pressed their children's foreheads to straighten it. This was mostly done by members of the upper classes. Another characteristic of the richer members of society was the crossed eyes, and this was achieved by hanging an object in front of the babies' eyes so that the eyeballs would be in the wrong position.

3. Although this people still exists today, the last state ruled by the Maya fell under the rule of the Spaniards in 1697.

4. Mayan medicine was quite advanced. They sutured wounds with human hair, filled cavities in teeth, and were able to make dentures.

5. Some members of this people still practice sacrifice today. Fortunately, only chickens are sacrificed today.

6. The Maya took painkillers from plants in their environment and used them in religious rituals as hallucinogenic substances and in medicine as anesthetics.

7. Like the Aztecs, the Maya played a game with a ball associated with sacrifice, and the remains of a playing field were found in many larger cities.

8. Saunas and public baths have played a major role in the life of this people. The Maya believed that saunas would help them get rid of internal impurities.

9. Children of the Maya people were named after the day they were born. Every day of the year had a specific name for boys and girls and parents were expected to abide by it.

10. Prisoners, slaves and others who were to be sacrificed were prepared for this act by having their bodies painted blue or tortured. After that, they were taken to the top of some of the pyramids and arrows would be fired at them, or the priest of the temple would rip their hearts out of their chests. The victims would sometimes be skinned, and the high priest would then pull it on himself and perform a ritual dance.

11. Contrary to popular belief, the Maya did not have only one calendar and none of those calendars predicted the end of the world for 2012. They used two calendars that functioned in cycles. One of them was Haab, which has 365 days, while the long-term calendar rotated every 2,880,000 days. Scientists calculated that the long-term calendar was supposed to be reversed in 2012, which led to the belief that the Maya predicted the day of judgment.

12. The Maya had a more advanced writing system than any ancient civilization and wrote about everything, including the buildings in which they lived. Unfortunately, many of their records were lost during the Spanish conquest, but the remaining writings have mostly been saved and translated, thanks to hard research from the 20th century to the present day.

13. Just like the Aztecs, the Maya never used iron or steel, and they made weapons and tools from volcanic stone.

14. The perfect shape of the nose for the Mayan people was a rather large nose, beak-shaped. If nature did not reward them with a perfect nose, members of this people would use an accessory that would make it curved. Members of the upper class often decorated their teeth by sharpening them, and the richer ones would incorporate precious stones such as jade and turquoise into their pointed teeth.

15. The Maya were an extremely organized people and built magnificent cities that served as ceremonial and religious centers. There were also research centers for astronomy and mathematics in the cities, in which they measured the solar system with incredible accuracy (with an error of only 17.27 seconds).