Unlocking the Mysteries of the Maya: 5 Fascinating Facts

1. They Were Incredible Architects

The Mayans were master builders, as evidenced by the fact that many of their structures are still standing  But the ruins that you can visit in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize only comprise a small portion of what they actually built. Archaeologists are constantly finding new sites; recently, scientists discovered a whopping 417 Mayan cities in a remote area of the jungle. In their heyday, Mayan cities were bustling centres of culture and commerce, featuring grand pyramids, elaborate temples, and expansive plazas. They also built complex water management systems, including reservoirs and aqueducts. Perhaps most impressively, many of their structures were built to align with astronomical events. For example, at the Pyramid of Kukulcan at Chichén Itzá, a remarkable phenomenon occurs during the spring and fall equinoxes: the setting sun casts a series of shadows that create the illusion of a serpent slithering down the pyramid's steps. This optical illusion, known as the "Descent of the Serpent," aligns perfectly with the carved serpent heads at the pyramid's base, showcasing the Maya's advanced understanding of astronomy and their architectural prowess.

2. They Played One of the World’s First Team Sports

The Maya civilisation played a version of one of the earliest known team sports, often referred to simply as the Mesoamerican ballgame. This game was wildly popular across the region and was also enjoyed in varying forms by the Olmec, Teotihuacan, and Aztec civilisations. It involved two teams competing to pass a rubber ball through a high stone hoop using only their hips, forearms, or thighs (the use of hands and feet was not permitted). If this sounds like fun, keep in mind that we’re talking about a 4-kilo (8 lb) ball made of solid rubber that could easily break bones, cause internal bleeding, or even kill you.

For the Maya, this game wasn’t just a form of entertainment; it also had deep religious and ritual significance. It’s thought that it served as a sort of re-enactment of the struggle between the gods of life and gods of death. Some researchers even believe that the game could be used as a proxy for war, settling disputes while avoiding bloodshed.

3. Their Rituals Could Be Gruesome

The Maya had a deeply complex belief system that intermixed ancestor worship with a pantheon of around 250 different deities. One practice they believed allowed them to commune with these gods and spirits was bloodletting. Typically performed by nobles, bloodletting involved piercing or cutting various parts of the body. One ancient carving depicts a noblewoman pulling a barbed rope through her tongue. Others show male leaders piercing themselves with stingray spines or obsidian blades.

A mere blood offering was not always sufficient, though, especially if one wanted to appease the gods. Mayan deities sometimes required the sacrifice of a living being to nourish them. And on the most auspicious occasions—the inauguration of a new building or the dedication of a new ruler, for instance—the living creature in question was often human.

4. They Were Master Astronomers 

The Maya were incredibly advanced astronomers. From their many state-of-the-art observatories, they tracked the movement of constellations and recorded the passage of celestial bodies with stunning accuracy. They could even predict solar eclipses. 

From their celestial observations, the Maya developed several interlocking calendars known as “the calendar round.” They had two standard yearly cycles, one of 260 days and another of 365, that coincide every 52 years. Additionally, the Maya created a Long Count calendar that operated in cycles of 400 years, playing a crucial role in their historical and prophetic calculations.

5. They Created One of the World’s First Writing Systems

Perhaps the Maya’s greatest intellectual achievement was the development of a written language. Made up of hieroglyphics, it is considered one of the first writing systems in human history.

Some glyphs were used to represent whole words, while others stood for sounds that could be combined to form words. In some cases, there were glyphs that did both. Tragically, the Maya language was lost for hundreds of years after Spanish missionaries burned a large number of their written works in 1562, in a campaign to eradicate their religion and convert them to Catholicism.

Only four original codices, or books, written in the Maya script are known for certain to exist today. But the language also lives on in archaeological finds—inscriptions on buildings, stone slabs, and the like. 

For nearly a century, linguists struggled to decipher the remaining Maya scripts, but after a series of breakthroughs in the 70s and 80s, the language finally revealed itself. Today, it is possible to read 80–90% of the written material available, allowing us a glimpse into the incredible world of the Maya.