More of the amazing Maya, 
Aug 4, 2006

The Magnificent Maya: Part II Wednesday, August 9, 3pm, Teatro Santa Ana, Insurgentes 25, 50 pesos

The Maya were the most advanced of all the ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica. They inhabited southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and the western boundary of Honduras and El Salvador.

They built cities and paved roadways, although they used no wheeled vehicles of any kind. Their astronomers plotted the movements of the visible planets and stars using a mathematics that included zero, a rare accomplishment in world history. They were the only people of the New World to develop a complete written language that could express anything spoken in writing.

The Magnificent Maya: Part II is the follow-up lecture to Part I given last week by Professor Guillermo Méndez. The focus of Part II is Maya religion, politics and sex.

Religion permeated every aspect of ancient Maya life. Everything in nature was sacred and possessed spiritual energy. Maya cosmology was complex but intimately connected to daily life. Maya politics in the Classic Period (AD 250-900) centered on semi-divine kings who ruled and expanded their influence through warfare, marital unions (they could have "secondary" wives) and diplomacy. The beautiful (sexy) Maya, male or female, would have had an intentionally deformed skull, filed and inlaid teeth, decorative facial scars and, if lucky, slightly crossed eyes.