http://www.newdawnmagazine.com/articles/the-maya-archaeology-and-2012
Be Well.
David
The Maya, Archaeology and 2012
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By JIM REED
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“All was mystery, dark, impenetrable mystery, and every circumstance increased it.” So wrote 19th century explorer John Lloyd Stephens after journeying through the rainforests of Mesoamerica in search of cities long shrouded under a dense canopy of vegetation. Today, some of the mystery has been dispelled. Their great cities, their architecture and their art challenged the splendour of the ancient capitals of Asia and Africa.While Europe languished in the Dark Ages, the Maya devised sophisticated mathematical and astronomical concepts, wrote books and developed trade routes that spanned much of Mesoamerica. They derived many cultural forms from the north, but also devised many cultural innovations that profoundly influenced all subsequent cultures in the area. Much of Maya culture, particularly the religious reckoning of time, is still a vital aspect of Native American life in Guatemala and Honduras.All that the ancient Maya accomplished is truly awe-inspiring! With a difficult life in the Tropics, with heat and humidity that would melt the hardiest person, and with a very sparse population, the Maya built incredibly sophisticated ceremonial centres, an astronomical science and mathematics among the most sophisticated in the pre-modern world, and the most developed and complex system of writing in the Americas. In recent years, new archaeological and investigative breakthroughs – including the deciphering of Maya glyphic writing – have revealed a much better idea of how the ancient Maya lived their lives.
A Personal Connection
For me, the Maya are my passion. Somehow, I sense a deep inner connection from my soul to this marvellous culture. And in these times, I am able to experience my life from what some may describe as a unique position and perspective. I have lived in the Mayalands for 8 years; I maintain close contact with researchers and archaeologists who investigate the ancient Maya; and I interact with some of the modern Maya Spiritual Elders. I produce an informative monthly 8-page newsletter covering ongoing archaeology and research of the ancient Maya for the Institute of Maya Studies. I also lead group adventures to the Mayalands. Lately, I’ve emerged as one in only a handful of Maya researchers who share their insights about the current 2012 phenomena.
As you know, there is much to read elsewhere about Maya prophesies, but there is only one real Maya prophesy that I am aware of. According to Yukatek Maya Elder Hunbatz Men, the message says that, “In these times, the people of the ‘north’ will come back and help to revitalise the Maya’s own culture.” Yes, I was born in North America this time around, but I am a reincarnated Maya and I’m back to educate and motivate those who I encounter along the way – to communicate positively and realistically about the ancient Maya.
In the mid-1970s, after I had completed my regular schooling, I was invited by some good friends who had bought some land in Belize, to help them with their dream of creating a yoga retreat.
Located in the western Cayo District, their piece of land was on a hilltop above the small Maya village of Sokutz, right along the Mopan River, across from and in view of the ancient Maya site of Xunantunich. The sun would set each evening behind the silhouette of its massive great acropolis pyramid. I loved living outside of the United States at such a young age, even though it was a challenge in numerous ways. We had a Maya family helping and teaching us. We learned how to build structures of wood poles and thatch, how to plant corn and beans, how to grow a garden in the Tropics, what to eat, what not to eat, how to cook, how to survive. The Godoy family taught us how to live, to slow down and move with the cycles of nature around us, day and night.
Some of my best memories are of when my Maya friends and I would cross the river in their dugout canoe and make our own trail (with machetes) up to the top of the pyramid to spend the night on full moons. With the ancient stone and earth below me and the crisp, clear starry nights above me, I was immersed in a new world. I was between worlds. I believe it was here that I first felt the rhythm of the mysterious Maya.
We could only stay in this paradise for a year and a half, but it was a very memorable experience. When funds ran out before the government of Belize could bulldoze an access road to the centre we had created, we had to abandon the project and return to the US. They drove back and I decided to hitchhike and ride buses into Guatemala, then up though Mexico, to California and back to Florida. A three-month wild adventure of a lifetime.
When I arrived in the highlands of Guatemala, I sensed a very intense dejavú… I felt that this was my territory, this was my home. My most memorable experience was the night a Guatemalan friend took me to the top of the active Pacaya volcano. At that time you could struggle to make your way to the uppermost peak and then witness ecstatic eruptions in front and below. The ground would shake with intense tremors. This would lead to eruptions that created multi-coloured clouds and its own lightning. I had never felt so much natural energy.
It was the night of the full moon in Gemini (and I’m a Gemini), a time when in India, they celebrate the Wesak Festival, their most spiritual celebration of the year. On top of that, we witnessed a full eclipse of the moon! It was then that I made a pact with myself to return to Guatemala to live. A few years later, I did return to the land of eternal springtime and was able to stay for six years. It was the best time of my life. The ancient and the modern Maya had touched my heart and soul. It is a feeling of an intense connection that I enjoy sharing.
The Ancient Maya in Space and Time
Ancient Mesoamerica was one of the great independent hearths of civilisation. Out of varied landscapes grew some of the richest cultures of the early historic world of the Americas – Olmec, Zapotec, Izapan, Maya, Toltec and Aztec.
The beginning of civilisation in Mesoamerica dates to about 2000 BCE with the rise of the Olmecs in the Gulf Coast Lowlands of Mexico. Although the Olmecs have traditionally been viewed as the first of a series of civilisations that culminated in the Aztecs just prior to the Spanish Conquest nearly three millennia later, some researchers have argued that it is preferable to consider the cultural developments from 1500 BCE to the sixteenth century CE as one complex system with various flowerings through time and space. Such a view is more than mere semantic fiddling: it indicates how impressed scholars are with the interconnectedness of ancient Mesoamerican cultures, a process that was present from the very beginning, especially in respects to the magnificent culture we have come to know as the Maya.
The Maya lived in the area of Central America that now consists of Guatemala, Belize, the northern parts of Honduras and El Salvador, all of the Yucatán Peninsula and southern Mexico (the Chiapas and Tabasco states). This whole area lies south of the tropic of Cancer and north of the equator, and is about 900 kilometres from north to south and 550 kilometres in the east-west direction.
It is believed the first humans reached Central America about 15,000 years ago. The first identifiable culture, Clovis, existed around 10,000 BCE. Some stone tools dating back to 9,000 BCE have been found in Guatemala. Around this time, the Fourth Ice Age was drawing to a close and the climate was gradually warming up enabling humans to begin eating more plants and less meat. This change was underway around 8,000 BCE.
From 8,000 BCE to 2,000 BCE the inhabitants of Central America gradually became more agrarian and they domesticated beans, corn, peppers, squash and other plants. During this time there was still no jungle, just savannah and grassland and some trees. Evidence indicates that a tropical jungle climate appeared in Central America only quite recently, after the Maya civilisation was well underway. Towards the end of this period, some recognisably Maya villages appeared and pottery and ceramics appeared. Some villages would construct simple ceremonial platforms and temples.
The period from 1500 BCE to 300 CE is called the “Pre-Classic” period of Maya culture. During this period the diversity of Mayan languages developed. The Maya experienced population growth and larger towns were constructed. This was the period when more intense agriculture began (especially corn cultivation). Monochrome ceramics, stone carving and the construction of the first buildings in places like Kaminal Juyú, Izapa, El Baúl, Tikal, Uaxactún and Dzibilchaltún are part of this period as well. Archaeological evidence suggests the construction of ceremonial architecture in the Maya area by approximately 1000 BCE.
The earliest configurations of such architecture consist of simple burial mounds, which would be the precursors to the stepped pyramids subsequently erected in the Late Pre-Classic. Prominent Middle and Late Pre-Classic settlement zones are located in the southern Maya lowlands, specifically in the Mirador and Petén Basins. Important sites in the southern Maya lowlands include Nakbe, El Mirador, Cival, and San Bartolo. In the Guatemalan Highlands, Kaminal Juyú emerges around 800 BCE. For many centuries it controlled the jade and obsidian sources for the Petén and Pacific Lowlands.
The important early sites of Izapa, Tak’alik Ab’aj and Chocolá that appeared around 600 BCE were the main producers of cacao (chocolate). Mid-sized Maya communities also began to develop in the northern Maya lowlands during the Middle and Late Pre-Classic, though these lacked the size, scale and influence of the large centres of the southern lowlands. Two important Pre-Classic northern sites include Komchen and Dzibilchaltún.
Meanwhile, the Olmec culture was developing in southern Mexico. They developed a system of writing and a complex religion. The Olmecs had a considerable influence on the fledgling Maya culture. The Maya adopted many of the Olmec skills and practices and developed them further. It seems that the mixture of the Olmec and Maya cultures touched off an explosion of cultural development. The Izapan culture, in the area of the present-day border between Mexico and Guatemala also flourished during this time. Archaeologists are not sure of the cause, but from 300 BCE to 300 CE, tremendous development occurred in architecture, writing and calendrics throughout the Mayalands and the population increased.
The Classic Period of Maya development is the 650 years from 250 CE to 900 CE. The Maya refined the Long Count calendar and developed a more advanced written language that they apparently inherited from the Izpapans and Olmecs. (The 5,125-year, 13-Baktun cycle of the Long Count ends and restarts on 21/12/2012). The Maya had a tendency to tear down buildings and temples and rebuild new ones over the rubble of the old. Some buildings are built on several layers of previous buildings. Most of the great Maya cities as they appear today were built during the Classic Period, over the remains of previous construction. Architecture and culture blossomed during the Classic Period. The Maya began to accurately record important events on carved stelae. Excellent examples of Maya carved stelae and dramatic stucco art can be seen at Quirigua, Palenque and Copán.
Early in the Classic Period, around 400 CE, the Maya became heavily influenced by the civilisation of Teotihuacan to the north. Teotihuacan was the most powerful culture in Central Mexico. Much about this relationship is unclear, but it appears to have been beneficial to both civilisations because both prospered and developed at this time.
Around the year 650 CE the civilisation of Teotihuacan collapsed. This collapse triggered an upset in the Maya civilisation. Apparently there was a struggle to fill the power-vacuum left by the collapse of Teotihuacan. Now free of its relationship to Teotihuacan, the Maya reached their highest levels of sophistication. Art, astronomy and religion reached new heights. The population grew and cities expanded in this era of greatest Maya prosperity. Astronomy and arithmetic advanced and the Maya were able to measure the orbits of celestial bodies with unprecedented accuracy. The Maya predicted the motions of Venus to a degree of precision only equalled in recent times. Maya cities were much larger and more populous than any city in Europe. The Maya’s greatest artistic works in pottery and jade were made during this pinnacle of Maya development.
However, this peak of Maya development was to be short lived. By 750 CE problems arose and the “collapse” was underway. By this time, the climate was certainly changing from grassland and savannah into the tropical climate we now associate with Guatemala. In any event, the population dropped and the cities were gradually abandoned. By 830 CE construction and development had come to a halt. Some cities in Belize and the Yucatán survived longer, but in Guatemala the population abandoned the cities and redistributed itself into the farming villages of the highlands that we see today.
For reasons that are still debated, the Maya centres of the southern lowlands went into decline during the 8th and 9th centuries and were abandoned shortly thereafter. This decline was coupled with a cessation of monumental inscriptions and large-scale architectural construction. Although there is no universally accepted theory to explain this collapse, current theories fall into two categories: non-ecological and ecological.
Non-ecological theories of the Maya decline are divided into several subcategories, such as overpopulation, foreign invasion, peasant revolt, and the collapse of key trade routes. Ecological hypotheses include environmental disaster, epidemic disease, and climate change. There is evidence that the Maya population exceeded the carrying capacity of the environment including exhaustion of agricultural potential and over-hunting of megafauna. Some scholars have recently theorised that an intense 200-year drought led to the collapse of Maya civilisation. The drought theory originated from research performed by physical scientists studying lake beds, ancient pollen and other data, not from the archaeological community.
The cities the Maya built were ceremonial centres. A priestly class lived in the cities, but for the most part the Maya population lived in small farming villages. The priestly class would carry out daily religious duties, that sometimes included sacrifices, and the commoners would periodically gather for religious ceremonies and festivals.
Around the time of the collapse, there is evidence of invasion from the outside and it’s possible that economic difficulties led them to abandon the cities, but the greatest change seems to be the disappearance of the priestly class; with this disappearance, the Maya stopped working on their cities. The power of the king’s blood no longer was able to overcome the difficulties they encountered and the people quit believing in and supporting the idea of divine kingship. Some people seem to have continued to use their cities for a time, but that eventually came to a halt as well.
Life for the Maya did not really change drastically after the decline of their cities, for the cities were central only in their ceremonial life. Their “Classic” experience came to a halt, but the Maya did not disappear, they returned to their villages and plots of corn, or perhaps relocated far away, but they still survived. Today, there are over 8 million Maya living in Mesoamerica and more than 23 Maya dialects are still spoken.
Understanding 2012
I have long recognised the significance of the up-and-coming December 21, 2012 Maya Long Count Calendar end date and the increasing public interest surrounding the possible effects of the impending alignment involving the earth, the sun and the area looking towards the Galactic Centre of our galaxy.
I enjoy a great friendship with independent Maya researcher John Major Jenkins, who has penned various articles in New Dawn magazine over the past few years. I consider him the Godfather of 2012. John is one of the original investigators who figured out the alignment that the ancient Maya were anticipating, but it was he who put 2012 on the map with the release of Maya Cosmogenesis 2012 in 1994. Since then, a scholarly debate has slowly gained momentum, but it is only recently that a small number of established Maya scholars have begun to voice their opinions. It demands that we all investigate the realities behind the 2012 alignment concept a little more closely.
The Long Count end date that we are concerned with culminates one of the Maya’s 5,200 tun (5,125 year) 13-Baktun Great Cycle calendar “ages” and is the “seating” of the next Great Cycle. As much as it is significant as the ending of one Great Cycle, at the same time, it is the creation of a new sun, a new world age. It is not the end of the world.
Scholars disagree over some of the specific aspects of this alignment as it relates to the ancient Maya stargazers and calendar formulators. Were the ancient Maya really aware of the exact location of the centre of our galaxy? Were the ancient Maya astronomer priests aware of the +/-26,000 year cycle of the precession of the equinoxes? Why did the Maya choose this time, the time that we live in, as the “end” of their Long Count calendar, when their Classic culture played out more than a thousand years ago (around 950 CE)? And why did they “initiate” this calendar cycle in 3114 BCE, more than five thousand years ago, two thousand years or so before their culture ever really began to flourish?
Scholars are now beginning to agree that it is apparent that the ancient Izapan skywatchers and the early Maya did consciously choose the 21/12/2012 date, significant because it is a winter solstice, first as the end date of this Great Cycle and then back-calculated to determine the start date. And very significantly, they started the calendar on a day when the sun was at zenith at Izapa. And even if they weren’t aware of the cycle of the precession of the equinoxes nor even aware of where the “centre” of our galaxy is located, amazingly they did “anchor” this cycle’s end date to a day when viewed from earth, our sun will rise on a winter solstice directly in front of the area of the bright band (bulge) of the Milky Way galaxy where the Galactic Centre is located.
What cycle are we in, which cycle number is ending?
All Mesoamerican cultures and some North American indigenous cultures believe that the evolutional history of mankind here on earth is tied into cycles of creation and transformation. Is it the end of the fourth Great Cycle and the beginning of the fifth or is it the end of the fifth Great Cycle and the beginning of the sixth? And if the latter, would it be referred to as the beginning of the sixth Long Count, or the beginning of a new first cycle in the Grand Cycle of five ages divisible within the +/-26,000 year cycle of the precession?
In my research, I have uncovered the fact that there is a difference among the beliefs of various surviving indigenous cultures, but only recently are researchers uncovering and collecting these beliefs from numerous and varied sources to get a glimpse of the whole situation.
Through a reading of the Popul Vuh, the surviving Quiché Maya Creation Myth, we find that they record four previous ages of creation and destruction (transformation) and we, like the ancient Maya, are living in the fifth cycle. The five separate creation attempts were the mountains and rivers, the animals and birds, the mud persons, the wooden persons, and now humankind (made of maize [corn]). They record that mankind first faced starvation and were eaten by jaguars and other animals. Then we faced cycle endings with transformations by wind, by a rain of fire, and more recently as most ancient cultural traditions around the world record, by floods. The end of this fifth cycle is in the calendar sign of Olin in the Nahuatl language, Caban in Yucatek Maya, and Noj in Quiché Maya, and it involves movement, vibration and earthquake. Plus, not so quite incidentally, my birthday in the sacred Tzolk’in calendar is 7 Caban – another major connection for me.
The Tz’utujil Maya creation myth confirms that we are in the fifth of a series of five eras, and also suggests an evolution through the eras, culminating in the “fruiting.” In addition, it also suggests the need for a conscious evolution during this fifth era lifetime to become the ripe fruits we are designed to be, and that there is a Creation beyond the fifth if only we continue to honour the gods. Aztec, Zuni and Navajo peoples also say we are living in the fifth era, and approaching the sixth.
Do modern Maya use the Long Count calendar?
The Maya discontinued their use of the Long Count calendar long before the Spanish arrived. The Maya living today do not use it. They now only utilise the 260-day sacred Tzolk’in calendar. The use of the Long Count calendar was glyphically carved in stone on ancient Maya stelae to indicate precise days when important rituals or activities occurred, especially period endings. This practice died out around 980 CE. There are no modern Maya predictions or prophecies for this Great Cycle ending, as much as a few confused book writers would have you believe.
And be aware, if any living Maya comes out with some prophesies nowadays, it seems they are just repeating some of the same “new-agey”-type comments that they think we want to hear. They are apparently not voyaging into the cosmic centre to retrieve wisdom and learning from the gods as their ancient royal Maya counterparts were capable of. As carved in stone with images and hieroglyphic writings, ancient Maya kings were required to undertake powerful shamanic rituals culminating in journeys to “the centre of the sky” to commune, invoke and channel the power resident in the cosmic centre. It was the basis behind the ancient Maya belief system that celebrated the power of the king’s blood, evolving into kingship by “divine rule.” It served the Maya well, for more than two thousand years, as the cohesive force that governed their cultural evolution.
The ancient Maya were not coerced into working on building their king’s massive construction projects… they willingly participated. The architecture built into all central ceremonial areas of Maya sites reflects their desire to create sacred space for the king. Their great central temples represented “symbolic sacred mountains” and were built directly on perceived earthly energy centres. The upper rooms were “symbolic sacred caves,” portals for accessing the Maya Underworld, which at night was the Upperworld above them. The king’s throne represented the inner nucleus of power, the hot seat and hotline of communion with the cosmic centre and source. In so many ways, the Maya manifested the saying: As above, so below. From what I can gather from some of the Maya spiritual elders whom I am aware of, the modern Maya are not voyaging into the cosmic centre this time around.
How might 2012 affect us?
There is an “alignment zone” for our sun’s alignment over the Galactic Centre that is 20 or so years (1 Katun) on either side of 2012, due to the perceived “width” of our sun passing over the area of the creation place. The scheduled “movement” transition isn’t going to happen all at once exactly on December 21, 2012. That particular day is only a “marker” for another age of transition, and taken by itself, it certainly isn’t the cause of anything.
Take a good look around… you can’t deny that we are experiencing worldwide transformation and change in many respects and this action will continue to accelerate. Not only is there an increase of powerful earthquakes and changes in climate around the world, but mankind is also being shaken down to the core of our most treasured beliefs. It isn’t just the physical world, but also our mental, emotional and spiritual worlds that will get a big “shaking up.” Current worldwide religious and political system divisiveness needs to transform into a global plan of mutual cohesiveness and sustenance.
Plus, scientists now know that 2012 will be the peak of a great solar cycle and we can expect to experience some major repercussions from increased solar activity. In its most drastic form, solar radiation in the short term could knock out the sensitive communication satellites that monitor and control our ever-increasing technology-dependent existence and also seriously affect our genetics in the long term.
I think you will agree that we are currently living in an age of a quickening transformation. Almost all cultures around the world record and warn in myths or legends and written texts of impending change during these times. With their multiple calendars, the Maya have only provided us with a point of reference in “time,” a guiding “lighthouse” to show us that we’re getting close. We are the ones living now who will experience this transition. It is a wonderful time to have reincarnated! We’re ready to witness the birth of the Maya’s sixth sun on Friday, December 21, 2012. And if one can gleam anything prophetic from the Popul Vuh, one finds that mankind is intrinsically intertwined with the cosmic and astronomical cycles that surround this planet we call home. We need to keep consciously evolving to have all of planet Earth support all of humankind equally. Either by cause and effect or by conscious transmutation, mankind will eventually transform into something completely different in order to survive. And through it all, remember to honour the gods!
The alignment in 2012 is very important astronomically. It involves our sun aligning with the arc of the Milky Way at a crossroads (a Maya creation place) where it hasn’t been for +/-26,000 years. It is a marker of a period of transition and change that is worthy of recognition, understanding and celebration. It is not the end of the world… it is a planetary-wide opportunity to help re-create it. There will be an international push towards aligning human intent towards manifesting a better world for ourselves with a focus towards raising our collective consciousness.
We are all co-creators with the gods. Honour the divine within you; create your own cosmic connection. But be forewarned, no matter if you celebrate the Maya Long Count calendar end date at a Maya site or not, wherever you are on 21/12/2012, take along some strong UV sunglasses and use some strong sun-block. Future generations are depending on you! Have a great 2012!
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Above photo montage of Maya Elder Don Rigoberto, one of Jim Reed’s connections. The printed version of this article includes extensive colour photos, montages and graphics that help explain concepts. Photo © and courtesy the author. Find out about tours to Maya sites by contacting Jim Reed at mayaman@bellsouth.net.
John Major Jenkins’ latest book is The 2012 Story. In a very matter-of-fact manner, John confronts his critics and lays it all on the line. Order your copy at www.the2012story.com.
No where can you get a DVD that tells the 2012 story with all colour images, including NASA photography. Understanding 2012 has its focus on Maya creation centres, the Popol Vuh, the amazing accomplishments of the ancient Izapan skywatchers, and the modern Maya Spiritual Elders. The meaning behind 2012 is told in a manner that you can grasp, then share it with your friends. Order your copy today by contacting Jim Reed at mayaman@bellsouth.net.
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JIM REED is a Maya aficionado who has been involved with Maya studies for 40 years. He is currently editor of the IMS Explorer, an informative monthly newsletter by the Institute of Maya Studies (based in Miami, Florida). He was past President of the Institute in the year 2000. The IMS offers traditional postal mail subscriptions (printed in black and white) and a colourful online version. The IMS thanks our subscribers in Australia and New Zealand and we welcome more! Jim also leads group adventures to the Mayalands. Perhaps you will need to ground yourself soon in the land where time was born. Imagine the possibilities! Contact Jim Reed for more information at mayaman@bellsouth.net. You can also contact him by searching for him using his email address on FaceBook and MySpace.
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