mayas vs. incas
“Noble life demands a noble architecture for noble uses of noble men. Lack of culture means what it has always meant: ignoble civilization and therefore imminent downfall,” a quote from Frank Lloyd Wright. The Mayan and the Incan cultures were very different from one another. Who are the Incan people and the Mayan people and how did they relate and differ from each other? The Mayan empire was located in Mexico and Central America. The Maya area is situated in the southeastern part of Meso-America, which is also the most diverse land in the world. The Mayan civilization contained all of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the present-day Mexico, and parts of the present-day Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. There are two natural settings in the land of the Maya, highlands and lowlands. Volcanoes dominate the Mayan highlands, both extinct and active. This land curves down from southeastern Chipas towards lower Central America. Rain and erosion have made a rough landscape, with deep ravines, and there are few broad valleys. The highland vegetation is closely related to the soils and topography. On the tops of the slopes and ridges, pines and grasses grow. But down in the ravines where there’s moisture, oaks dominate. In the family life, immediately after birth, the babies’ parents went to consult with a priest to learn the destiny of their child and the name it was to have until baptism. The young men stayed apart from their families and they lived special houses where they learned about war. Girls were brought up by their mothers and suffered harsh punishments for the loss of their chastity. Marriages were arranged and there were strict rules about with whom an agreement could or couldn’t be formed with. Monogamy was general, but adultery was punished by death. In the government, political power over much of the Mayan area was in Mexican or Mexican- influenced control. Small towns were headed by the batabar, who was appointed by the ruler. They ruled through a town council made up of old, rich men. In the economy, because of the significance of trade, merchants were important to trade. Interior trade routes connected all of the lowlands and controlled the flow of goods like salt, obsidian, Jade, cacao, animal pelts, bird feathers, and ceramics. The main highland goods were tools and weapons, grinding stones, bird feathers, a tree resin called copal, and cochineal. People bartered goods directly or exchanged them for cacao beans, which was used as a currency. For the Mayan religion, the Maya worshiped the chief god, Hunab Ku, the creator of the world. He was considered too far above everyone to worship. He was more important in his appearance as Itzamna, a sky deity who was considered lord of the heavens and lord of day and night. He also brought rain, writing, and medicine. Priests worshiped him. The common people worshipped Yum Kaax, the lord of Maize, and the Chacs, who were rain gods. Women worshipped Ix Chel, the diety who was related with childbirth, healing, and weaving. The Mayan people had no school or education. Parents taught their children by making their children observe them and have them help out. In the Mayan history, the Maya civilization developed slowly. The early Maya farmers lived in small villages. They cultivated their fields as a community. Later, they adapted modern farming ways. The Maya civilization was centered on what is now known as El Paten in Guatemala. They settled there around 1000 B.C. They came from the west and south in search of fertile land. They lived in small villages and gathered food and grew crops. Between 600 to 400 B.C., the Maya built pyramids. In the social structure of the Maya, Military lords rose in power. They formed a formal priesthood that was separate from political rulers. In the Mayan customs and traditions, the Maya prized a long, backward, slopping forehead. Crossed eyes were also an important part of being beautiful. Artists decorated walls with brightly colored murals that showed people fighting in battles and taking part in festivals.