History Facts

There is much left to be learned about the ancient Mayan culture from thousands of years ago in what is now Central America. Anthropologists have studied Mayan history for centuries. While they have discovered many startling wonders and facts about these amazing people, some aspects of their lives remain a mystery. Most noted is how the Mayan empire collapsed.

Fact #1 - The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, which was used by the Mayans, has an end date of December 21, 2012.

What will happen on this day? No one knows for sure. If the Mayan beliefs are true, then the world will end. We will see an apocalypose like you could never imagine. Complete destruction.

Fact #2 - The Mayans were the only Pre-Columbian civilization to have a fully developed written language.

The Mayans used a system of over 500 hieroglyphs, much like the Ancient Egyptians. They would transcribe their hieroglyphs on temple walls and pottery to tell the story of their people. Can you imagine having to learn a written language with over 500 characters? Kids today can’t even learn 26 letters in the alphabet!

Fact #3 - The Mayan practiced human sacrifice to appease their gods.

In some Maya rituals people were killed by having their arms and legs held while a priest cut the person’s chest open and tore out his heart as an offering. That’s not a fun way to go. Graphic depictions of this can be seen on the temple walls and in the recent Mel Gibson movie Apocalypto.

Fact #4 - No one knows how the Mayan civilization collapsed.

Non-ecological theories of Maya decline are divided into several subcategories, such as overpopulation, foreign invasion, peasant revolt, and the collapse of key trade routes. If i were a betting man, I would say that foreign invasion played a big role in their collapse. Natives were not immune to European disease. They had no way to combat it. Ecological hypotheses include environmental disaster, epidemic disease, and climate change.

Fact #5 - 90% of the Mayan civilization still remains unexcavated today.

So much Mayan history remains undiscovered in the dense rain forests. In addition to this, the Mayans build enormous temples and passages ways beneath the surface. We will never find it all.