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To the ancient Maya, body modification was a reflection of a cultural, and individual identity. [11] Through different modifications, the body could be experienced individually, used as a symbol, or as a political statement. Beauty was also used to outwardly show and perform social and moral values. [12]
The Classic period also saw the intrusive intervention of the central Mexican city of Teotihuacan in Maya dynastic politics. In the 9th century, there was a widespread political collapse in the central Maya region, resulting in civil wars, the abandonment of cities, and a northward shift of population.
The political relationship between Classic Maya city-states has been likened to the relationships between city-states in Classical Greece and Renaissance Italy. [5] Some cities were linked to each other by straight limestone causeways, known as sacbeob , although whether the exact function of these roads was commercial, political or religious ...
The highest ancient Mayan social class included a single centralized leader known as the king or Kʼuhul ajaw, who was most often a man but occasionally a woman. [1] The king's power derived from religion and control over resources, and this power was reinforced by other elites , including merchants . [ 1 ]
Maya kings felt the need to legitimize their claim to power. One of the ways to do this was to build a temple or pyramid. Tikal Temple I is a good example. This temple was built during the reign of Yikʼin Chan Kʼawiil.
Satellite view of the Yucatán Peninsula. The Maya civilization occupied the Maya Region, a wide territory that included southeastern Mexico and northern Central America; this area included the entire Yucatán Peninsula, and all of the territory now incorporated into the modern countries of Guatemala and Belize, as well as the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador. [4]
The Maya area within Mesoamerica. The Maya (/ ˈ m aɪ ə /) are an ethnolinguistic group of indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica.The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people who lived within that historical region.
The Maya Region is firmly bounded to the north, east, and southwest by the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the Pacific Ocean, respectively. [1] [2] It is less firmly bounded to the west and southeast by 'zones of cultural interaction and transition between Maya and non-Maya peoples.' [3] [2] The western transition between Maya and non-Maya peoples roughly corresponds to the Isthmus of ...